[1] After the Ottoman Empire lost control of the area, the tower underwent several modifications becoming what is known today as the Giurgiu Clocktower.

Researchers at the Teohari Antonescu Archeological Museum have debunked these speculations as false, with documentary evidence that the tower's purpose was meant to help the Ottoman Empire have proper surveillance and patrol capabilities of the Danube river.

[3] This particular watchtower was built in a slightly inclined position at a height of 22 meters, aspects that make it unique in south-east of Europe.

During World War I, a large portion of Giurgiu was destroyed by a fire, including the upper floors of the tower.

An interesting aspect regarding the tower is its hexagonal plan that surrounds the base which, in the 19th century served as a home to municipal firefighters, police, and City Hall.

Initially, the clock worked as a bell-- a town hall official pulled the bell to rally municipal meetings, this providing a very important municipal function.” [2] As Giurgiu expanded and developed, city urban plans included the Clocktower as the central point of the city.

Emil Paunescu, the director of the Teohari Antonescu Museum in Giurgiu, explains that the first inclusion of the tower in urban development was done by Austrian engineer Morris Van Ott in the official city plans.

Another urban planning characteristic is that in its center there was once a circular area that locals called The Saucer (farfuria cu tei) due to its round shape.

The troops were extremely violent, retaliating on the locals of Giurgiu for their role in the Balkan War which saw the occupation of Cadrilater.

[2] After the Romanian Revolution, representatives of the “Teohari Antonescu” Museum requested from the local authorities the permission to assess and examine the tower.

Researcher Mircea Alexa talks about how they wanted to verify these legends and took advantage of the renovations in the early 2000s as an opportunity for their discovery.

The black color, for instance, corresponded to the old village Smarda, which is now a part of the city, while green was for a neighborhood where both Romanians and Bulgarians lived.

[3] After 1960, the communist regime slowly destroyed the historic urban planner's vision for the city and its star layout by building soviet-style apartment blocks throughout Giurgiu.

The communist government planned to build apartment blocks to form a rectangle around the tower and even considered physically relocating the clocktower.

However, a soviet-style apartment block from the communist period named “Eva” became the new tallest construction in the City of Giurgiu.