A 42-metre brick fire-watch tower built in 1890 to give the Bucharest fire brigade an overview of a city still mostly made of wood. From the gallery at the top, watchmen rang the alarm when smoke appeared anywhere within sight. The tower fell out of practical use within decades as Bucharest grew taller and was preserved as a monument; the small Bucharest National Firefighting Museum now occupies the lower floors.
The tower is closed to the public most of the year, but the museum is open Wednesdays to Sundays — old fire-engines, helmets, brass equipment, photographs of historic fires. Useful for an hour if you are in the area; not worth a special trip from the centre.