In the last 15 years University Square has proved to be a popular railing point
at the time of national crisis as well as celebration: people gathered here during the 1989 revolution and
the sad events of June 1990 and they continue to gather here every time the national team wins a soccer game
(which unfortunatelly doesn't happen very often these days). If you see a lot of people loitering around the
underground passage entrance in front of the National Theater is because it's probably the most popular meeting
place in Bucharest. It's a place buzzing with crowds and traffic, a true center of activity. The square is surrounded
by interesting architecture starting with the University of Bucharest building on the square's northwestern corner.
Facing the university there are four statues of illustrious pedagogues and statesmen. On the other northern corner,
adjacent to the Intercontinental hotel, is the National Theater of Bucharest. Opposite it lies the beautiful building
of the School of Architecture, behind a little square with a small fountain where people stop and sit when the weather
is nice. On the southwestern corner of the square, the Bucharest History Museum traces the city history from the beginning
to modern days and across from it lies the neo-Classical building of the Coltea Hospital and its lovely church. In the
middle of the square, in a little island, there are ten stone crosses that pay homage to those killed during the 1989
revolution. Below the square there is an underground passage with shops and eateries which allows pedestrians to cross
to from one side of the square to another and also leads to the subway station.
