Memorial of Rebirth

The Memorial of Rebirth (Memorialul Renașterii in Romanian) is a memorial in Bucharest, Romania that commemorates the struggles and victims of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, which overthrew Communism. The memorial complex was inaugurated in August 2005 in Revolution Square, where Romania's Communist-era dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu, was publicly overthrown in December 1989. The memorial, designed by Alexandru Ghilduș, features as its centrepiece a 25-metre-high marble pillar reaching up to the sky, upon which a metal "crown" is placed. The obelisk is surrounded by a 600 m2 (6,500 sq ft) plaza covered by marble and granite. The memorial cost 5.6 million lei (RON 5.6 million, ROL 56 billion, approximately €1.2 million). Its initial name was "Eternal Glory to the Heroes and the Romanian Revolution of December 1989" (Glorie Eternă Eroilor și Revoluției Române din Decembrie 1989). The memorial's name alludes to Romania's rebirth as a nation after the collapse of Communism.