the InterContinental hotel and National Theatre once was home to an outdoor circus, around which existed shops with mititei (small Romanian sausages) and beer, and a stum shop named Zori de zi (Daylight). All this disappeared after urban planning in the 1960s proposed the idea of developing the area through tourism, cultural or administrative functions. Between 1968 and 1970 the Hotel InterContinental (architects Dinu Hariton, Gheorghe Nădrag, Ion Moscu and Romeo Belea) was built, and the new National Theatre was constructed between 1964 and 1973 in the style of that period, the halls being equipped with top stage installations. Damaged during the 1977 earthquake, the theater was rebuilt 1982–1984, under the aegis of Cezar Lăzărescu, in a heavy form and lacking spectacular elements. The square was the site of the 1990 Golaniad, a peaceful student protest against the ex-communists in the Romanian government. The demonstrations ended violently when miners from the Jiu Valley were called in by president Ion Iliescu to restore order in Bucharest (see: Mineriad). Events In September 2014 the 2014 FIBA Europe 3x3 Championships, the European Championships of 3x3 basketball, were contested at the University Square. References Squares in Bucharest Historic monuments in Bucharest 1857 establishments in Romania Basketball venues in Romania