Foișorul de Foc (literally ''The Fire Tower'') is a high building in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, between

Obor Obor is the name of a square and the surrounding district of Bucharest, the capital of Romania. There is also a Bucharest Metro station (on the M1 line) named Obor, which lies in this area. The district is near the Colentina and Moșilor ne ...

Calea Moșilor Calea Moșilor (, ''Moșilor Avenue'') is both a historic street and a major road in Bucharest, Romania. It runs from the back of the Cocor Shopping Mall (near Piața Unirii) to Obor. The street is divided into two distinct parts. East of the in ...

, and Nerva-Traian. It was used in the past as an observation tower by the firemen. It was built in 1890, two years after the previous

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

Turnul Colței ''Turnul Colței'' (also ''Turnul Colțea'' or ''Colții'') was a tower located in Bucharest, Wallachia, now in Romania. Its initial purpose was to be used as a bell tower — its bell, was moved to the Sinaia Monastery after the tower was de ...

, built in 1715, was demolished. The plans were made by

George Mandrea George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

, back then the chief-architect of Bucharest. Foișorul de Foc had a double role, as it was also designed to be a

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

, too. However, after the building was finished, the local water utility company (''Uzina de Apă Grozăvești'') had no pumps powerful enough to fill it with water. Foișorul de Foc was used by the firefighters until 1935, when it became ineffective, as more and more high-rise buildings were built in Bucharest, and the introduction of the telephone reduced the need for a watchtower. In 1963, it was turned into a Firefighters' Museum.

References

*Institutul de Memorie Culturală
Ultimul Foișor de Foc al Bucureștiului
accessed 7 March 2005. Bucuresti, Romania, Foisorul de Foc, Bd. Ferdinand nr. 33, sect. 2.JPG, Daytime view Foisirul de foc IMG 7257.JPG, Night view {{DEFAULTSORT:Foisorul de Foc Museums in Bucharest Historic monuments in Bucharest Towers in Romania Round towers Firefighting museums Fire lookout towers Towers completed in 1890 1890 establishments in Romania