No More Horse's Tail

There are 4 statues in front of the University: 3 belong to some cultural personalities and one is Michael the Brave, the first ruler who achieved the union of all 3 Romanian provinces, in 1600, on his horse.
For us, his horse, more precisely its tail, is a milestone, a cardinal point. :)
"The horse's tail" is a place any dweller of the town knows, a famous meeting point and also a fancy place with shops etc. Well, not the tail, but the sidewalk it points to.
But the statues are taken down for a while, in order to build a big underground parking lot.
So, for some time, this famous and familiar place will be out of our conversations.

Bridge

Our river got a present today: a new bridge was finished. Here you are the very moment it happened, as the last section was added. And if you look closely at the first photo, you can see the champagne bottle underneath.

Every-Day Beauty

I have been a bit unsure about showing these. They might look a bit too shabby.
The Coltea Church was built in 1641 as part of a complex of buildings: a hospital, a drugstore, a watch and firefighters tower, living quarters for the doctors, a school and three smaller chapels. It was a rich monastery surrounded by a wall for a while, but now it's just a small church that's under restauration. It's closed for works, just as it was during the last years before the revolution (that might have saved it from demoltion).
These are just photos from its entrance: the door and an old stove that had been taken out. The stove has to be ancient because it bares the old name of out town: Bucuresci, unused for about a century.
Just some every-day things, common things people use without paying much attention to them. Still, they have such a grace!
I'm sure there are some around you, too. Let's try to find more!

The first photo (and many more of the place if you want) is from here.

The gate in El Grande behind the fence

Works are always uncomfortable. Both tourists and citizens have to suffer inconveniences: noise, dust, blocked streets. It must be hard getting closer to one of the most popular monuments in Ávila to find it almost fenced.
Yet, even tourist cities need reparations to make citizens' life easier.

The Stavropoleos Church

The small and beautiful Stavropoleos church is hidden behind the National History Museum, between higher buildings.
According to its story, it was founded by a Greek monk named Ioanichie, who settled down here.
It is built in the Brâncovenesc Style, a typical Romanian style from the 17th-19th centuries. It can be seen in its columns, pedestals, balcony and the carved ornaments showing plants and animals.
The church survived many earthquakes, starting with two very bad ones in 1802 and 1838, but now both the building itself and the surrounding area need major rehabilitation.

Skeleton

This is a building I like and I've showed you before, but only recently I found out what it was.
It's the former headquarters of the fierce "Direcţia a V-a"(The Fifth Direction), the most dreaded part of the "Security", the political police during Ceauşescu's regime. On top of these premises, ruined during the 1989 revolution, the Architects' Association built the new structure for their use.
I like the symbol of old and new, of progress supported by history, but most of all I hope that what the old building hosted will always be a skeleton.

When reparations are needed

Old towns with lots of history frequently need reparations. Nothing lasts forever. Even the best mansions suffer. New social necessities turn palaces into official buildings, museums, libraries. The ancient flavour remains in the walls but our towns change their faces from time to time.
Sometimes, the skeleton stays in front of our eyes for us to witness a part of our past.
Wood, iron, stone and the sky to cover our history