Stephen The Great Monument, Chisinau

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The Stephen the Great Monument was designed by Architect Alexandru Plămădeală back in 1923. It's situated near the main entrance of the Stephen the Great Park right in Central Chişinău. The monument took shape over four years, finally being completed in 1927 and unveiled on April 29th, 1928. This was to replace a different monument dedicated to Alexander II of Russia that had been destroyed by Romanian authorities in 1918. Just before the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina took hold in 1940, the monument got relocated to Vaslui, and its pedestal was blown up. However, on August 25th, 1942, the monument made a triumphant return to Chişinău, only to be taken back to Romania two years later in 1944. In 1945, Soviet authorities ordered the monument's restoration to its former glory in Chişinău. The monument has seen better days, but it finally got returned to its original location on August 31st, 1989, just as Architect Alexandru Plămădeală had envisioned back in the 1920s. The initial inscriptions were restored, and today flower-laying ceremonies are a regular occurrence at the pedestal of this monument, taking place every national holiday and during high-level visits.