Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Bucharest

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The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Romanian: Mormântul Soldatului Necunoscut) is a monument located in Bucharest, dedicated to the soldiers who died while fighting for Romania. It is one of many such national tombs.

It was built in 1923 to commemorate the Romanians who died during World War I.

The tomb as it was in the 1920s

[edit] History

In 1923 it was decided to choose one of the fallen soldiers to represent all who had sacrificed their lives during the war.

Ten unidentified soldiers who died at Mărăşeşti, Mărăşti, Oituz, Târgu Ocna, Jiu, Prahova, Bucharest, in Dobruja, Transylvania and Bessarabia were exhumed and laid in oak coffins, doubled with zinc, inside the "Assumption of Mary" Church in Mărăşeşti.

On May 13, 1923, the war orphan Amilcar Săndulescu, student at the "Dimitrie Sturdza" Military High School, knelt in front of the fourth coffin and said: "This is my father". After the Unknown Soldier had been chosen, the other nine coffins were buried with military honors in the Heroes' Cemetery in Mărăşeşti.

On May 15, 1923, the Unknown Soldier's coffin, wrapped in a Romanian Tricolour, was placed on board of a special train with destination Bucharest, where it was awaited by the King Ferdinand, state officials and an honor guard. Laid on a cannon carriage pulled by eight horses, the coffin was transported in a long procession to the "Mihai Vodă" Church and remained there for 2 more days, so the people could pay their last respects.

On May 17, 1923 (which was also Heroes' Day/Ascension Day), the coffin was buried inside a crypt in Carol Park with full military honors in the presence of the Royal family, the Government, members of Parliament, and numerous members of the public. The stone slab of the crypt read: "Here lies at rest happily unto the Lord the Unknown Soldier, who sacrificed his life for the unity of the Romanian people. On his bones lies the land of united Romania. 1916-1919."

On the night of December 22/23, 1958, the Unknown Soldier’s monument was dismantled and moved, in great secrecy, to the Mărăşeşti Mausoleum by the Communist regime to make room for the Mausoleum of the Communist Heroes, where several leaders of the Party were later interred (among them Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej).

In 1991, after the fall of the regime, the Tomb was moved back to its original location.