Bucharest’s ‘fantastic fountains’ which were created as part of the giant palace built by Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu are springing back into life this weekend.
Fountain show
The fountain show, which had a two-year break during the pandemic, will officially start on Saturday evening and with repeat shows every weekend until the beginning of October.
The 45-minute spectacle will feature songs set to the ‘magic created by the fame of water and lights.’
The colorful, illuminated jets sway in time to a range of melodies is one of Bucharest’s s most popular attractions and are the first smart fountains in Europe designed on a computer.
Hypnotic spectacle
Both locals and visitors gather around it to enjoy a hypnotic spectacle of water choreography.
Saturday’s show will begin at 9pm moving to an earlier time in August and September as the days grow shorter.
„The fountains in Unirii Square are a true symbol of the capital, and for us it is an honor to be able to give back to Bucharest and tourists the joy brought by the water, music and lights shows, after a two-year break,” Mădălin Mihailovici, Apa Nova’s general manager told Agerpres.
Urban fountains
“We are proud of this….remarkable urban development project which mirrors our standard of excellence we aspire to every day.”
„They are the first urban fountains to benefit from state-of-the-art equipment and technology at a European level, in terms of water entertainment,” a statement said.
The Bucharest fountains were reopened in 2018 following a 9-million euro refurbishment carried out by Apa Nova. They quickly became an important tourist attraction.
Ceausescu
Some of the elements are unique to Europe with a fully digitally monitored system allowing the control of any individual unit of the 44 fountains which lie on the 1.4 kilometer-long Unity Boulevard (Bulevardul Unirii) which leads up to the giant palace built by Ceausescu in the 1980s.
The fountains which were built at the same time have been confirmed as the world’s “ Longest Line of Synchronized Choreographic Fountains” by the World Record Academy. They cover an area of 16,200 sqm.
Ceausescu’s giant palace which has been described as a Stalinist wedding cake is the second-biggest building in the world after the Pentagon. It now serves as Romania’s parliament.
Meglomaniac project
Houses, neighborhoods and churches were razed in the 1980s to make way for the meglomaniac project. People were evacuated from their homes at short notice.
