Foisorul de Foc
Encyclopedia
Foişorul de Foc is a 42-metre high building in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, between Obor
Obor
Obor is the name of a square and the surrounding district of Bucharest, the capital of Romania. There is also a Bucharest Metro station named Obor, which lies in this area....

, Calea Moşilor and Nerva-Traian. It was used in the past as an observation tower by the firemen.

It was built in 1890, two years after the previous watchtower
Watchtower
A watchtower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military, and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may...

, Turnul Colţei
Turnul Coltei
Turnul Colţei was a tower located in Bucharest, Wallachia, now in Romania. Having a height of 50 metres, it was the highest building in the city for more than a century. Its initial purpose was to be used as a bell tower — its 1,700 kg bell, was moved to the Sinaia Monastery after the tower...

, built in 1715, was demolished. The plans were made by George Mandrea, back then the chief-architect of Bucharest.

Foişorul de Foc had a double role, as it was also designed to be a water tower
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....

, too. However, after the building was finished, the local water utility company (Uzina de Apă Grozăveşti) had no pumps powerful enough to fill it with water.

Foişorul de Foc was used by the firefighters until 1935, when it became ineffective, as more and more high buildings were built in Bucharest, and introduction of the telephone reduced the need for a watchtower. In 1963, it was turned into a Firefighters' Museum.
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