Dealul Mitropoliei - History

History

In about 1650 the hill was covered in grapevines owned by the country's voivodes. The monastic complex was surrounded by walls, like a citadel; beginning in 1698, access to the monastery yard was provided by the bell tower built by Constantin Brâncoveanu. Three stone crosses stood within the yard: one in memory of Metropolitan Teodosie (d. 1708), another in honour of General Miloradovich (d. 1825), and one commemorating the 1655 revolt of the seimeni, during the reign of Constantin Şerban, against the boyars. The seimeni were a regiment of 2,000 foreign soldiers, drawn up by the prince, whose mission was to fight in foreign wars. During this revolt Papa Brâncoveanu, Constantin's father, was killed. Preda, Papa's father, later assassinated by Radu Mihnea, raised a wooden cross on the spot where his son was killed. Later, one of Constantin Brâncoveanu's sons, Constantin Beizadea, replaced the wooden cross with one of stone, still preserved, with an inscription stating it was built on July 20, 1713.

In 1859, the election of Alexander John Cuza as prince of Moldavia and Wallachia was greeted with widespread acclaim by the two provinces' inhabitants. However, there existed in Wallachia a conservative movement opposed to Cuza's victory. As the conservatives held a majority in the electoral assembly, the unionists decided to gather together a crowd during the sessions of January 22–24, 1859. Over 30,000 people gathered on Dealul Mitropoliei, residents of Bucharest and its surroundings who came in support of Cuza and to keep the legislature under pressure. Attempting to free the assembly from popular pressure, the Wallachian caimacam's office decided to move two battalions of troops in the middle of the masses on the hill and to use force to disperse them. Due to pressure from the masses and the desire to avoid a bloodbath, General Barbu Vlădoianu was compelled to order his troops to return to their barracks. On the evening of January 23 the conservatives realised that they could not depend on the army to sustain their position, so the following day the assembly voted unanimously to support Vasile Boerescu's motion that Cuza be proclaimed prince of Moldavia and Wallachia.