Ten stone crosses on the traffic island in the middle of B-dul Nicolae Bălcescu pay homage to those killed during the revolution, while a black cross at number 18 marks the spot where the first victim of the revolution fell in Bucharest. Mihai Gâtlan died here on December 21, 1989, at 17:30. Revolutionaries had gathered here after the earlier protests at the Central Committee building further along the road. (See Piata Revolutiei). A long night of pointless killing followed, with die hard revolutionaries manning barricades in front of the InterContinental hotel, from where forces loyal to the old regime, as well as conscript soldiers who had little idea what was going on, fired into the crowd as it was forced to disperse shortly before dawn.
