Memorialul Renașterii

The Memorial of Rebirth rises in Revolution Square, in the historic heart of Bucharest, marking the December 1989 Revolution and those who died bringing down the communist regime. The monument, unveiled in 2005 to a design by the sculptor Alexandru Ghilduș, is a tall marble column pierced by a metal form and accompanied by a pedestal bearing the names of the victims. It has sparked fierce debate since its unveiling and earned no shortage of mocking nicknames from locals, including "the impaled olive". Whatever you make of it aesthetically, it stands on one of the most charged sites in the city.

The square itself is a history lesson: the former Central Committee building, from whose balcony Ceaușescu gave his final speech on 21 December 1989 before fleeing by helicopter, the Romanian Athenaeum, the Central University Library — set ablaze during the Revolution and later rebuilt — and the Royal Palace, now the National Museum of Art. Standing by the memorial, you take in several layers of Romanian power at once, from monarchy to dictatorship to freedom, stacked within a few square metres.

Good to know

• Access is free and outdoors at any hour; it is a short stop, but one worth putting in context.
• Look for plaques and surviving bullet marks on nearby buildings, silent witnesses to the days of 1989.
• Pair it with the other attractions around Revolution Square and a walk along Calea Victoriei in the central districts.

To understand why today's Bucharest looks the way it does, this corner is a fitting and eloquent place to start.