Cotroceni Palace is a palace of Bucharest which is the residence of the President of Romania.

On the Cotroceni hill, in 1679 Şerban Cantacuzino built a monastery and this was the place where a palace was built by French architect Paul Gottereau for King Ferdinand I of Romania in 1888

In 1977, Nicolae Ceauşescu made the palace a guest house and the old church of Cantacuzino was demolished in 1985. Since 1991, it is the residence of the Romanian President and also the National Cotroceni Museum is opened for the public.

During the time when Ion Iliescu was president, the press said and owl settled in the park which surrounds the Cotroceni Palace. In Romanian folklore , an owl is said to be a funerary birds , which announces the imminent death of somebody, as the hooting of the owl is likened to a mourning. Following this, it is alleged that a hunter was hired to shoot this owl.