The photo shows the Piata Unirii (Central Square, Ringplatz) in Chernivtsi with the Monumentul Unirei (Monument for the Unification of the Bukowina with Romania, Vereinigungsdenkmal) being built in its middle. <br />

The monument was designed by the Architect B. Stefanescu and made by the sculptors T. Burca and S. Gheorghescu. It was unveiled in November 1924 and was meant to celebrate the “unification of the Bukowina with Romania” in 1918. <br />

The front of the monument showed a soldier and a local kissing the Romanian flag. On the back a Moldavian bull was stepping on the Austrian double headed eagle... <br />

In 1951 the last part of the monument was removed by the Soviet power. <br />

In the background (from left to right) the Anglo International Bank, the Hotel Schwarzer Adler, Postgasse with the stock exchage, and three one-storied houses that were destroyed during the second World War and not replaced by new buildings ever since. <br />

On the fire walls commercials for the department store Baltinester can be seen. <br />

The photo must have been taken from the window or balcony of the Bellevue Hotel. <br /><br /><em>Helmut Kusdat</em>