Bucharest, Romania: Statue of Carol I

When you are the first of anything in a country's history, chances are good you'll get to take a bow in one form of another. So it is with Carol I, the first leader of Romania - guiding the country from 1866 to his death in 1914. That's quite a run, so it's fair that he receives a giant tribute in the middle of the city.

Romania finally became free of the Ottoman Empire at the start of the time period, and Carol eventually became the leader. In 1877, Romania formally became an independent nation. 

This, though, is not the original statue. That went up in 1939, and lasted through the end of World War II. But at the end of 1947, the Communist government that had just taken over had the statue blown up. So a new version had to wait until 2010, when a similar statue was dedicated.