Spirii Hill
Initially a vineyard known as Dealul Lupeştilor, the hill was rebaptised after a doctor Spiridon Kristofi (also known as "Spirea"), who founded in 1765 the fortified Spirea Veche church; the latter was demolished in 1984 to build the House of the People.
Also on the hill were found the ruins of Curtea Nouă ("New Court"), the princely residence which was built in 1776 by Alexander Ypsilantis, Prince of Wallachia, to replace Curtea Veche. It was built together with a large wine cellar, still in use during the 1900s. Curtea Nouă was the official residence of the Phanariotes until 1812, when it burnt down — it was since known as Curtea Arsă ("Burnt Court"), the ruins being razed completely in 1986.
In July 1818, Dealul Spirii saw the rising of a hot air balloon, an event witnessed by Prince Gheorghe Caragea.
On 13 September 1848, the closing battle of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution was fought on the hill, involving the Ottoman troops sent to quell the rebels and the Firemen division of Bucharest, led by Pavel Zăgănescu.
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Famous quotes containing the word hill:
“The self-consciousness of Pine Ridge manifests itself at the village’s edge in such signs as “Drive Keerful,” “Don’t Hit Our Young ‘uns,” and “You-all Hurry Back”Mlocutions which nearly all Arkansas hill people use daily but would never dream of putting in print.”
—Administration in the State of Arka, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)