The Independence Monument crowns Citadel Hill (Dealul Cetăţuia) on Tulcea's east side — a 23-metre stone obelisk on what was historically the high point of the city's Ottoman-era fortifications. It was raised in 1904 to mark the Romanian victory over the Ottomans in the war of 1877 and the subsequent absorption of Dobruja into Romania.
The climb up from the town centre is steep but short, and the reward is the best view in Tulcea: a wide panorama over the bend in the Danube where the river splits into the three main delta channels (Chilia, Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe). At the foot of the obelisk are small archaeological remains of the Roman-era settlement of Aegyssus. Best at sunset.