Cotroceni Palace
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The gate of the Cotroceni Palace, Bucharest |
Cotroceni Palace is a palace of
Bucharest which is the residence of the
President of Romania, located at
Bulevardul Geniului, nr. 1 (1 Genius Blvd.).
On the Cotroceni hill, in
1679 Şerban Cantacuzino built a monastery and this was the place where a palace was built by French architect
Paul Gottereau for King
Carol I of Romania in
1888.
In
1977,
Nicolae Ceauşescu made the palace a guest house and the old church of Cantacuzino was demolished in
1985. Since
1991, it is the residence of the Romanian President and also the National Cotroceni Museum is opened for the public.
During the time when
Ion Iliescu was president, the press said an
owl settled in the park which surrounds the Cotroceni Palace. In
Romanian folklore, an owl is said to be a
funerary birds, which announces the imminent death of somebody, as the hooting of the owl is likened to a mourning. Following this, it is alleged that a hunter was hired to shoot this owl.
