Once upon a time this wasn’t just a pretty face. Today we stand before Turnul de Apă Cetatea lui Țepeș Vodă. Many know it simply as Castelul Vlad Țepeș. It’s a monument with a fascinating past.
This “castle” emerged in 1906. It celebrated King Carol I’s 40-year reign. The General Romanian Exhibition showcased Romania’s progress from 1866 to 1906. Authorities wanted to impress visitors. Many foreign guests attended.
Initially the structure served as a water tower. The reservoir’s shape was not aesthetically pleasing. So architects built a tower around it. It drew inspiration from Poenari Citadel. Vlad Țepeș himself raised that citadel. Ștefan Burcuș and V. Ștephănescu designed this tower.
Turnul de Apă Cetatea lui Țepeș Vodă stands 23 meters tall. Its diameter spans 9 meters. Inside, a cast-iron reservoir held 200 cubic meters of water. Oscar Maller’s workshops created this basin. Sadly the water system failed shortly after Queen Elisabeta opened the exhibition. A hundred trumpets blared and cannons fired from Calafat during the opening.
A wooden spiral staircase once led to a platform. From there one could admire Parcul Carol I. People also enjoyed panoramic views of Bucharest. A strong buttress supported the tower. A stone crenelated wall stood to the right. A smaller tower capped its corner.
Over time Turnul de Apă Cetatea lui Țepeș Vodă fulfilled different roles. From 1923 it became a barracks. Guards protecting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier resided here. The tomb sat near the National Military Museum.
Between 1942 and 1944 the tower housed soldiers. They cleared rubble from the demolished Palace of Arts. Soviet soldiers confiscated these barracks. They considered them spoils of war.
After relocating the Unknown Soldier the building continued to house military personnel. They guarded the nearby mausoleum. The mausoleum opened on December 30 1963.
After 1990 Turnul de Apă Cetatea lui Țepeș Vodă became a guardhouse for gendarmes. These officers protected banks in Bucharest. Since 2004 it has housed the National Office for the Cult of Heroes.
The National Office for the Cult of Heroes protects Romanian and foreign war memorials. This includes Romanian memorials abroad. The office was originally established in 1919. It was then known as the Society “The Graves of Heroes Fallen in War”. The communist regime dissolved it in 1948. It was revived in 2003.
Turnul de Apă Cetatea lui Țepeș Vodă stands as a testament to ingenuity. It is also a monument to evolving purposes. Its walls have witnessed history. It continues to stand tall. It is a unique landmark in Bucharest.