Bucharest Arch of Triumph is a monument placed not far from the center of the Romanian capital, University Square. Made of pink marble from Ruschita and stone brought from 5 important Romanian quarries, the Arch of Triumph is 27 meters high and 25 meters wide. Since March, 2025, tourists may visit it almost daily and have access in the entire building. We live in Bucharest and we know it was sad we could not share with you information and photos from inside. Until now it was closed because of maintenance issues but now you can enjoy even the view from the top of it. Bucharest Arch of Triumph is opened from Tuesday to Sunday. There are information about this on the public administration website because the arch is part of Brancoveanu palaces cultural center.

BUCHAREST ARCH OF TRIUMPH LOCATION AND VISITING HOURS

The location of the arch of triumhp is at the crossroad of four streets. Kiseleff street meets boulevards Constantin Prezan, Alexandru Averescu and Alexandru Constantinescu. The monument square is in the north of Bucharest and just near King Michael or Herastrau Park. You can easily get from the ARCH to Village Museum on foot. 

Visiting hours for Bucharest Arch of Triumph are: 10 AM to 6 PM, from Tuesday to Sunday, so it is closed only on Mondays. We visited it recently and had the chance to see a Banksy exhibition there. Learn more HERE. 

Tickets for visiting Bucharest Arch of Triumph are( in 2025): 

• Adults: 15 RON = 3 Euros for one person
• Students, retired persons: 8 RON = 1,5 Euros
• Little children and persons with disabilities: free

EARLY HISTORY OF THE ARCH

The Arch of Triumph in Bucharest was a modest monument in the beginning because it was made of wood. The state built it in 1878 after the Independence War. It was a war between the Russian Empire and Turkey and the Romanian Country fought against the Turks. The state had been under the influence of Turks for many years until then. Since we live in Bucharest, we made a research for you and you have the history below. Bucharest Arch of Triumph marked the victory parade on October 8 the same year, 1878. This is because the Russians and Romanians defeated the Turks. Oh, forgot to tell you, it is not far from the House of Free Press and you can get there by bus. 

VICTORY AND TRIUMPH SYMBOL OF BUCHAREST

There were two inscriptions in front of the monument. These are The defenders of Independence and Bucharest City. The architects put a statue representing The Victory on the Arch. They also wrote the names of the places where Romanians had fought against the Turks. This is because the War of Independence against the Turkish Empire ended a domination which lasted for more than 300 years.

HISTORY OF THE MONUMENT

SEE BUCHAREST CITY TOUR 2017 ROUTE

The second Arch of Triumph in Bucharest was built in 1922 to mark the 1918 December 1st Great Unification. The architect Petre Antonescu designed it. Authorities built it using reinforced concrete with granite decorations. In 1932, a committee, ruled by the great historian Nicolae Iorga, decided to recondition the monument. Works started in 1935 and were finished one year later. 

BUCHAREST ARCH OF TRIUMPH IN WORLD WAR 2

In 1941, at the beginning of World War 2, the Romanian army freed Basarabia and Bucovina from the Soviet Union dictatorship. That year, soldiers marched under the Arch of Triumph in Bucharest. Fortunately, the monument suffered no damages during the war despite heavy fights. The Germans and the Americans released hundreds of bombs because there were Romanian army positions in Bucharest.

BUCHAREST ARCH OF TRIUMPH AFTER COMMUNISM

After 1945 the Romanian Communist Party became the only political party in the country and ended monarchy. They destroyed the inscriptions, the original architectural style and the Royal Family insets on the Arch. The communists replaced them with floral decorations for they rewrote history. In fact, they didn’t care much about the monument and that was proved later. In 1980 they realized the Arch Of Triumph was almost a ruin and repaired it. They tried even a festive lighting outfit but that worked only once.

THE ARCH AFTER THE REVOLUTION IN 1989

Since 1990, the Arch of Triumph in Bucharest has become the most important place dedicated to the Unification Day parade, on December 1st. Here, take a look of such a parade that took place in 2016 HERE. 

By: BUCHAREST-TRAVEL.COM
Photographed In: Bucharest, Romania
Date Uploaded:2016-08-23
Description: It is a landmark to see if you use Bucharest City Tour

MAP