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Bucharest is the capital of Romania and one of the major cities of the Balkans, and it is known for its charming belle epoque elegance, wide boulevards, large squares and rich and varied cultural life. There is a varied selection of sights and activities as well.
Bucharest is a city with a fascinating blend of the cultural heritage of the Romanian aristocracy’s French inspiration, the German-born King Carol I and the communist era, which ruled for decades in the latter half of the 20th century.
In the final years of communism, Nicolae Ceauşescu as the state leader had the colossal government buildings completed. The Ceauşescu reign ended in 1989, but his parliament building stands as one of the world’s largest construcions. The lavishly ornated Palatul Parlamentului is open for tours, and it is an impressive palace.
There is also an old town in Bucharest, and through its narrow streets are churches from the last many centuries. Many of them are small, beautiful, cozy and all are welcoming visitors to come in. It’s just about making a walk here, of course at the main street of Calea Victoriei as well.
The area around Bucharest offers beautiful sights in a varied landscape. Here are forests and mountains, and you can choose to walk in the footsteps of Vlad Tepes (Dracula) or experience some of the Romanian cultural history outside the capital. It is not far to the Black Sea beaches as well.
At the top of Filaret Hill is the main seat and main cathedral of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Patrikatets Katedral/Catedrala Patriarhală. Together, it forms a beautiful building complex that is worth experiencing on a trip to Bucharest.
In the 15th century, a small wooden church stood here, and it was surrounded by vineyards. The current cathedral was built 1655-1658 as a monastery church by Prince Constantin Şerban Basarab, who was the ruler of Wallachia at that time. However, the free-standing bell tower was only added in 1698. In 1668, the church became a metropolitan church, and from 1925 it has been the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Church, as it was given the status of patriarchal cathedral that year.
Inside the cathedral you can see a series of frescoes from 1923, created by Dimitrie Belizarie. You can also see one of the city’s most beautiful iconostases in the beautifully decorated church space.
Next to the cathedral is the Patriarch’s Palace/Palatul Patriarhiei, which is the church’s administrative headquarters and the residence of the so-called Teoctist, who is the church’s leader.
Already after the Romanian War of Independence 1877-1878, thoughts arose of building a national cathedral as a memorial to the victory of the Orthodox faith over the Muslim faith of the Turkish Ottomans. The ideas were not then put into action in the then young Romanian state, but the plans were never shelved.
In 1990, new winds blew after decades of communist rule, and thoughts resurfaced to build a magnificent national cathedral in Bucharest. Over the years, thoughts and proposals turned into plans, and after discussing several locations, the area immediately west of the Parliament Palace was chosen, and on November 29, 2007, the foundation stone was laid by Patriarch Daniel.
The building was to function both as a national cathedral, but also as a cathedral for the patriarchate of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The cathedral was therefore designed in particularly large dimensions, which, however, is also due to a plan that the church should be higher than the neighboring building, the Parliament Palace, which was built in Romania’s communist era.
The Cathedral of the Savior was officially consecrated on 25 November 2018, although the church was not yet completed at that time. The finished cathedral can accommodate 7,000 churchgoers, and it stands as one of the world’s great churches. The height of 127 meters and the gilded domes dominate the skyline of the area.
Inside, the mighty cathedral contains the world’s largest collection of church mosaics, and with an internal height of 104 meters to the dome, there is plenty of room to admire both them and the colossal iconostasis.
Romania’s colossal parliament building is Europe’s largest building and one of the world’s largest and heaviest structures. The Parliament Palace was primarily built in the years 1984-1989 according to the head of state Nicolae Ceauşescu’s idea for a sumptuous palace that would house Ceauşescu’s organs of power and thus the supreme government of the country and the people. However, parts were only completed in the 1990s.
The original name was House of the Republic/Casa Republicii, but after the revolution in 1989 it was called People’s Palace/Casa Poporului. It had to show Romania’s skills and capacity to the whole world. All materials and fittings originate from Romania, and thus the palace was built as the pinnacle of the country’s building craftsmanship, and many times special productions were created just for individual parts for the huge palace.
The People’s Palace was built to concretely house the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party, the country’s government and various ministries. There were more than 20,000. people involved in the construction, which also set 700 architects to work on all the details of the gigantic building.
The Parliament Palace is 85 meters high and stands on a small ridge, so that it appears even larger, and so it is located as a clear focal point at the end of the kilometer-long splendid street, Bulevardul Unirii. The palace can also be seen from other places in Bucharest.
The many rooms and halls in the building span over 365,000 m². There are 12 floors, 4 basement floors and more than 1,100 rooms, which, of course, are often built with the same large dimensions as the palace’s exterior. Safety was also considered during construction. There is, among other things, a nuclear-proof basement, and ventilation is done through natural circulation to make direct poisoning of the air impossible.
The Palace of Parliament is one of Romania’s absolute greatest sights, and the extreme luxury inside cannot but impress. Here there are large carpets, crystal chandeliers, oak panels, marble decorations and mosaics, which are just some of the details you can see on a tour of the house, which today houses the country’s parliament, senate and other institutions. And even though many of the country’s power bodies are located there, it is still far from the entire building’s offices and square meters that have been put to use.
Calea Victoriei Street is one of the main streets of Bucharest and it follows the historical trade route between the Romanian capital and the city of Braşov in Transylvania; then it was also called Drumul Braşovului.
At the end of the 17th century, the road was paved with oak, and it therefore became a fashionable place to live in the 18th century, when large town houses sprung up en masse. Calea Victoriei was the center of fine Bucharest, and in 1842 the street was paved. After the War of Romanian Independence 1877-1878, it was named Sejrsgaden/Calea Victoriei.
Since then, many stately buildings have been erected along Calea Victoriei, and the totality and environment of the street make it one of the city’s best streets for a stroll with atmosphere and architecture.
There are countless attractions along Calea Victoriei. Among the highlights are the old royal palace, which today houses the National Art Museum of Romania, the Ateneul Român concert hall and the Piața Revoluției square with the building where Nicolae Ceaușescu gave several famous speeches.
Revolution Square is one of the central squares in Bucharest. Several historical events have taken place here, where there are also a number of interesting buildings around.
You can e.g. see the building where Nicolae Ceauşescu gave his most internationally famous speeches, and the former royal palace is also on the square, where you can also see the beautiful main building of the university library and one of the former offices of the Securitate.
There are also several monuments in the square. Since 2005, you have been able to see the Monument for Rebirth/Memorialul Renaşterii, which was erected in memory of those who fell in the so-called Romanian revolution, which in 1989 brought the country’s communist regime to fall. The monument consists of a 25 meter high marble column with a metal crown on it.
Behind the Monument to Rebirth you can see the fine spring water, Fântâna din Piata Revolutiei, which is particularly atmospheric with its lights in the evening. Close to the fountain you can see the Biserica Kretzulescu church, built 1720-1722 by the nobleman Crețulescu and his wife Safta, who was the daughter of Constantin Brâncoveanu, who was regent of Wallachia 1688-1714.
Finally, you can also see an equestrian statue of King Carol I in the large square. The statue was designed by the Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović and was erected in 1930. Communists destroyed the statue in 1948, but in 2005 it was decided to recreate the old statue, which could be done based on a model kept by Ivan Meštrović’s family. That’s why Carol I is looking again today at the city’s old royal castle.
Bucharest’s 27-metre-high triumphal arch was erected in 1935 according to Petru Antonescu’s drawings and with inspiration from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The occasion was to raise a memorial for Romania’s gathering in 1918, where, among other things, Transylvania and Bessarabia became part of the Kingdom of Romania.
At the Arc de Triomphe you can see the various places where the Romanian front fought during the First World War, as well as reliefs of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. The works were carried out by leading artists of the time, including Ion Jales, Constantin Medrea and Constantin Baraschi. You can go up to the Arc de Triomphe, and from here you have a nice view of the city.
The current arch is not the city’s first. It was quickly built in wood in 1878 in connection with Romania’s independence. The direct purpose was for returning soldiers to be able to march victoriously through the arch.
Along Unionsboulevard you can see the construction of the so-called Civic Center, which consists of Nicolae Ceauşescu’s mega-projects from the 1980s. There are colossal apartment complexes with marble facades and the Parliament Palace at the end as a focal point for the entire Centrul Civic project.
The large housing blocks were built with Stalinist inspiration from the 1950s Soviet Union, where various decorative elements have been used in a large form of symmetry. When you take a walk along the main street Bulevardul Unirii, it is a special sight to see the impressive buildings that are distinguished representatives of their time and style.
The fashionable street Bulevardul Unirii was laid out with the world’s great boulevards as a model, and at the same time part of the inspiration came from North Korean architecture. The street can be seen very clearly on a map of Bucharest, and space was created for the facility after the earthquake that hit the area in 1977.
A large part of the city’s old quarters in the area was destroyed and subsequently renovated to make way for Romania’s new splendid street, which was also supposed to be a symbol of the country’s skill under Nicolae Ceauşescu’s rule. The boulevard was laid out as the Boulevard for Socialismens Sejr/Bulevardul Victoria Socialismului.
The grand boulevard was inaugurated in 1984. It is 3,500 meters long and runs between Constitution Square/Piaţa Constituţiei and the Parliament Palace at the western end and Alba Iulia Square/Piaţa Alba Iulia to the east. All the way along the boulevard is the large fountain in the middle of the street, and here there are small parks and grand constructions as part of the impression.
Biserica Curtea Veche or the Old Prince’s Church is one of Bucharest’s oldest churches, having been completed in 1559 as the court church of the area’s princes. For two centuries it was also the coronation church of Romanian princes. Some of the original frescoes from the 16th century have been preserved in the impressive church room.
The church was part of a complex that also contained a princely palace, Palatul Curtea Veche, built by Prince Vlad Țepeș, known in a slightly different form as Count Dracula. After excavations, the site was turned into a museum in 1972, and the few remains of the palace were uncovered. Among the finds at the site is the oldest document that uses the name Bucureşti (Bucharest). The document was signed in 1459 by Vlad Țepeș.
The beautiful Stavropoleos Church was built in the years 1724-1730. The richly ornamented facade with, among other things, arches and columns stands as a masterpiece in the Brancovean style. The church was built by the Greek monk Ioannikios Stratonikeas.
In 1726, Stratonikeas was elected as metropolitan of Stauropolis, and hence the name Stavropoleos Church. Ioannikios Stratonikeas died in 1742 and was buried in the church. At one time, a monastery and an inn were also built by the church. The inn was typical for many monasteries as a source of income for the operation of the places.
Casa Presei Libere is an example of a large building in the Soviet construction style. The 104 meter high building was built between 1952 and 1956 and was until 2007 the tallest building in Bucharest. The architecture is clearly copied from buildings in 1950s Moscow, not least Moscow University, and in the square in front a statue of the Soviet leader, Lenin, was originally erected. However, this statue no longer stands in front of the sky-aspiring house.
Originally, the building was named after Soviet leader Josef Stalin, who succeeded Lenin, before changing its name to Casa Scînteii, a reference to the newspaper Scînteia, which was the official newspaper of the Romanian Communist Party. Today, the place is the head office of a number of different media houses; hence the new name.
Bucharest’s large university building was built in the years 1857-1859 in neoclassical style. However, the university itself was only officially established in 1864 under the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, but its prehistory goes all the way back to the royal academy founded by Constantin Brâncoveanu in 1694. The academy developed into a college located in a monastery in that very place, where the current university is located.
In 1857, the foundation stone was laid for the new and grand university building, which continues to be the institution’s headquarters. However, the building had to be rebuilt after the destruction of central building parts by German bombardment in 1944. The reconstruction took place primarily in 1969-1971.
In front of the university is the large square, Piaţa Universității. Here you can see a number of statues of prominent Romanian personalities. It concerns the writer Ion Heliade Rădulescu, the voivode Mihai Viteazul, the theologian, etc. Gheorghe Lazăr and scientist Spiru Haret.
During the political upheaval in 1989, some of the biggest battles took place precisely in this square, and in memory of the fallen, a number of stone crosses have been erected in the square since then.
The National Art Museum of Romania is housed in the former royal palace, Palatul Regal, built in 1812-1815 under Prince Dinicu Golescu. The palace became the official residence of Alexandru Ghica in 1834. After a fire, the palace was changed to its current appearance and size under King Carol II. It happened in the years 1930-1937, and the last resident of the castle was King Mihai I, who reigned in 1947, when the monarchy was abolished in connection with the communist takeover of power in Romania.
With the Communists, the Great Castle changed its name to the Palace of the Republic/Palatul Republicii to mark that Romania was no longer a monarchy. The Romanian royal family still does not use the castle, which has been a national art museum since 1950. The family instead uses Elisabeta Palads/Palatul Elisabeta north of the center of Bucharest as a residence.
The National Art Museum was founded by the Communist Party in 1950. The large collections contain both Romanian works, such as icons, wallpaper and woodwork, and foreign paintings by, among others, Rembrandt, El Greco and Breughel. The collection is quite large, with thousands of works, and there are also beautiful and restored rooms in the palace, such as the large throne room with the Romanian throne and the Scara Voievozilor staircase.
Ateneul Român is Bucharest’s most important concert building and one of the city’s most representative architectural works. Ateneul was built in the years 1886-1888 according to the drawings of the French architect Albert Galleron in a mixture of neoclassicism, baroque and Ionic style.
The city’s philharmonic orchestra, named after the Romanian composer George Enescu, plays in the building, and in addition to the music, the building’s interior is also worth a visit. In front of the Ateneul Român is a small park where you can see a statue of the Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu.
The building has a fine exterior and a lavishly decorated interior, where there are beautiful decorations in all rooms and halls. The foyer’s columns, curved stairs and fine installations impress, as does the large audience hall with colorful decorations on both the walls and the ceiling.
The great Cotroceni Palace dates back to 1679, when the Wallachian prince Şerban Cantacuzino had a monastery built on the Cotroceni ridge. A palace for King Carol I was built on the same site in 1888.
In 1975, the communist head of state Nicolae Ceauşescu made the large facility the state guest house, and after the communist era, from 1991 it got its current status as the official residence of the Romanian president.
There is public access to the part of the palace that is set up as the Cotroceni National Museum/ Muzeul Naţional Cotroceni. The museum was established in the palace’s older wing in 1990, and there is access to some beautiful rooms and halls that have been kept in their original appearance. Various works of art from the site’s large collection are also on display. You can experience both Romanian and international art, and the collection represents several different art forms.
The Village Museum is Bucharest’s prestigious open-air museum, which was founded in 1936. It consists of a very large collection of houses from all parts of Romania, and in the large museum area you can sense the cultural diversity that has characterized the many Romanian regions over the centuries.
You can thus experience the culture from e.g. German-inspired areas in northwestern Romania to the more Turkish-influenced construction and folk life of the region of Wallachia. In total, you can see more than 200 farms and houses from all over the country.
Târgoviște is a historically important city in the former principality of Wallachia, where it was the capital from the early 15th century to the 16th century. Târgoviște is located on the river Ialomița, and over the centuries it has been the scene of several events; it was here, for example, that Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu were executed in 1989.
In Târgoviște there are several things to see and everything is within a comfortable walking distance of each other. You can thus easily enjoy a stroll and, among other things, see Târgoviște’s fine town hall. You can also visit the city’s art museum and history museum, and here are several churches and the old Bucharest city gate.
North of Bucharest is Snagov, where you can visit Snagov Sø/Lacul Snagov with the small Snagov Monastery/Mănăstirea Snagov located on an island in the lake. The monastery was built in 1364 and it is believed that Vlad Țepeș was buried here. It is of course historically interesting, but you can also simply enjoy the area’s lovely nature.
Snagov Palace/Palatul Snagov is also located in the city. It was built in the early 1930s for Prince Nicolae, who was King Carol II’s brother. However, the prince rarely used the place, which from 1940 was used by Ion Antonescu as a summer residence. Communist leaders Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and Nicolae Ceauşescu also used the palace, which Ceauşescu remodeled in the 1980s.
Sinaia is a city in a beautiful location in the South Carpathians. It is named after the town’s monastery, which was founded in 1695 and which was named after the biblical Mount Sinai. Sinaia grew around the monastery, and over time it has become one of Romania’s most popular mountain resorts.
There are many experiences in Sinaia. The beautiful nature is all around the city, and with the cable car it is easy to get up into the mountains. Architecturally, Peleș Castle/Castelul Peleș is a masterpiece of German Neo-Renaissance. The castle, which was built by King Carol I of Hohenzollern in 1873-1883, is lavishly furnished, which you can clearly see on a visit to the local museum.
Ploiești is a town located at the southern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains. It is a city that over the years has been known for the area’s large oil production, but it was not the oil that developed the city in the first place. During the rule of prince Mihai Viteazul, Ploiești obtained city rights that ensured privileges in trade and politics.
Ploiești also became a garrison town and agriculture developed in the pre-industrial era of the 19th century. Oil was found in the city’s surroundings during this time, and the first refinery opened in the 1850s, creating new prosperity for the Romanian city. The importance of oil gained particular importance for Ploiești during World War II, and today there is still a large petrochemical industry in the city.
In the town of Bran in the mountains of Transylvania lies the famous castle of the same name. The castle was built from 1377 to protect the nearby city of Braşov, and since 1947 the castle has been set up as a museum. At the museum you can see art and furniture that was collected by Maria, who was the last queen of Romania.
Bran Castle is a beautiful place to visit, and a real fairytale castle with spires and towers. The castle has also become known as the home of Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula, and it attracts many tourists. However, the castle is not mentioned by Bram Stoker, and historians do not believe that the “real” Count Dracula, Vlad Țepeș, lived in or visited the castle.
Brașov is a city located in central Romania close to the mountains of the Southern Carpathians, which have the country’s highest peaks. It is a city that has had many names like Kronstadt, which the Teutonic Order established, and Orașul Stalin, whose name came from the Soviet leader Josef Stalin. The many names also indicate that many different cultures and people have left their mark on the city’s development over time.
There are many things to see in Brașov, and you can start from the central square, Piața Sfatului. There have been markets here since the 14th century, and today the cozy square is surrounded by houses primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries. In the middle of the square is the town hall from 1420, which today houses the regional history museum.
Constanța is the oldest inhabited city in Romania, and its history goes back to its foundation around the year 600 BC. The city was established as Greek Tomis, and the name is said to come from the queen Tomyris, who was ruler of the Massagetes. After the Greek start, the city and the coastline later became part of the Roman Empire and then the Byzantine Empire.
Tomis’ name was changed in the Byzantine era to Constantiana in honor of Constantia, who was the sister of Emperor Constantine the Great. The first known use of the new name dates from the year 950, and approximately 500 years followed under the rule of various kingdoms before Constantiana became part of the Ottoman Empire around 1419.
Strada CA Rossetti 5
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Calea Vitan 55
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Calea Victoriei, Bulevardul Magheru / Bălcescu, Piaţa Unirii, Calea Dorobanzilor
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Calea Grivitei 193
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According to legend, the first settlement in the Bucharest area was the shepherd of Bucur’s huts. The number of cabins grew and a smaller town was formed here on the Dâmboviţa River north of the Danube.
There was no real city in the area that changed hands several times over time; Among other things, the area belonged to the first Bulgarian empire, which consisted of the year 681 to about the year 1000.
Up to 1368, the town had no name, and archaeological excavations do not show an urban settlement in the 1300s. In some places, early Bucharest is referred to as a citadel of Dâmboviţa, but this is also uncertain.
The city of Bucharest is first mentioned in 1459, when the site was referred to as one of Vlad Țepeș’s residences. Vlad Țepeș was prince of Valacia and is also known as Count Dracula.
Vlad Țepeș became Valaky’s leader as a 25-year-old in 1456. His regime, which was subject to the Sultan of Istanbul, was characterized by discipline and harsh punishment on the people of the country. His reign was short, but he wrote a document granting the city of Bucharest commercial property rights, and the inhabitants obtained their first personal rights.
In the mid-1400s, Bucharest became the court’s favorite summer residence, and it was together with Târgovişte capital of Valakia. Furthermore, Bucharest was home to the probably strongest fortress in Valakiet, cementing the city’s position as one of the country’s leaders.
Bucharest, however, remained a smaller city, but through steady growth it gained greater importance in the country. The city’s location as a central trading point between Istanbul and Central and Northern Europe was of significant importance.
Bucharest evolved steadily from the 1400s and the following århundereder happened much in the city. In the middle of the 16th century, Valakiet’s prince Mircea Ciobanul initiated several buildings; among others Curtea Veche, the new seat of the court. He also expanded the city’s defense with palisades, and during this time water supply and better food supply were also established for the inhabitants.
In the Ottoman Empire, the Balkans continually became a more important economic region due to its trade, and from the 1600s the center of gravity in Valakia was seriously moved to Bucharest. The preliminary culmination came in 1659, when noblemen formally chose to move the capital of Valakia from Targoviste to Bucharest.
The new status was the starting point for a large-scale expansion and flourishing in the city. The wealthy nobles moved to the capital, which should have a distinctive European feel.
A modern city was built with the paving of many streets, the construction of churches and various institutions. It was a renewed Bucharest that made up the country’s capital, and by the end of the 1600s it also had the country’s largest population.
From 1683, the Great Turkish War raged, consisting of a series of battles between the Turks in the Ottoman Empire and a number of European countries led by the German-Roman Empire and Russia, among others. The war ended with the signing of the Karlowitz Treaty in 1699, which was the beginning of the end of the Ottoman Empire and which fueled the Romanian struggle for independence.
Fantefan Cantacuzino led a revolt, and after that the Ottomans changed the administration of the Valacia from 1716. In the years 1768-1774, Russian troops stayed twice in the capital Bucharest; it was the same year the Russo-Ottoman war raged with Russia as victorious. A new war between Russia and the Turkish Ottomans broke out in 1787, and after the peace in 1792, Dniester became the Russian frontier.
The Russian-Turkish fighting weakened the Ottoman Empire, and the wars continued into the 19th century. Despite wars, epidemics, earthquakes, high taxation and other things, Bucharest continued to evolve these years. The population increased and the city was the absolute leader in the Romanian region.
The 19th century marked a marked century for Bucharest’s development, both economically and politically. The growing industrialization in Romania was strongest in Bucharest, expanding. The city’s significance increased when in 1859 it also became the capital of neighboring Moldova, whose former capital Iași is today one of Romania’s major provincial cities.
The larger area governed by Bucharest merely accelerated economic development. The first railroad opened in 1869 and went to the Danube river town of Giurgiu. Trams took to the capital’s streets, and new factories and residential areas shot up.
Culturally, the mid-19th century was also an important time. Despite the formally Ottoman supremacy, several Romanian institutions were established, such as the country’s new national theater, which opened its doors in 1852. Buildings around 1850 also gained momentum after the great fire that in 1847 destroyed about a third of the city’s houses.
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Romania fought on Russia’s side against the Turkish Ottomans. On April 16, 1877, a treaty was signed in Bucharest. It secured Russia’s troops free passage through Romania in return to respect Romanian independence after a victory.
On May 21, 1877, Mihail Kogălniceanu read the Romanian Declaration of Independence in Bucharest Parliament, and the day after, Prince Carol signed the document officially securing the country’s independence. Romania immediately stopped tax payments to the Ottomans and the money was channeled to the War Department instead.
Romanian troops fought against the Turks asking for a ceasefire on January 19, 1878. The Turkish defeat resulted in international recognition of free Romania on July 13 of the same year. Three years later, the country became a kingdom with Carol I as Romanian king.
The cultural Bucharest and life in the city developed after independence and especially from the 1890s. The city was to have a touch that made it one of Europe’s most beautiful capitals, and the center was built after Parisian model with long wide boulevards and magnificent buildings. The city was nicknamed the Paris of the Balkans, and the atmosphere can continue to be felt on, for example, the central boulevard Calea Victoriei with distinguished shops, restaurants and mansion buildings. The name Calea Victoriei, Sejrsgaden, got it in 1918 in memory of Romania’s post-World War II rally.
Bucharest also got gas lights in the streets and two new railway stations were built. Horse-drawn trams began to run in the streets, and factories sprang up around the city that could also lend land to the country’s new National Bank, which opened in 1880.
Romania, into the 20th century, remained primarily an agricultural country, and it was divided into a working rural population and the elite, most often in the capital. However, it was a period not only characterized by land idyll and hectic city life; in 1914, World War I broke out in Europe, and Romania became part of the war as well.
Romania entered World War I on the Allies’ side against the Central Powers, which consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. From August 1916 to the end of 1917, there were battles over large parts of the country and the territory that today make up Romania.
Due to the fall of the Russian tsar with the Russian Revolution, Russia withdrew from the war, which put Romania in an isolated position in the Balkans. The country had to conclude the peace in Bucharest on May 7, 1918. With the agreement, Romania had to surrender land to Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, and Germany should have access to the country’s rich oil sources. Peace was ratified in the country’s parliament, but King Ferdinand I refused to sign it. In November 1918, the Allies prevailed, and the peace in Bucharest was effectively abolished; formally it happened with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
In the decades following the end of World War I, Bucharest was constantly expanded and its elegant architecture nicknamed the Eastern Balkans. During King Carol II in the 1930s, the city and the country experienced strong economic growth, with a great deal of construction activity. Art deco and neo-human building style were the focus, and large plants sprang up all over the city.
The 1930s were also the time when the fascist government saw the light of day in Bucharest. It ended with Carol II appointing Ion Antonescu as prime minister to avoid a coup of Jerngarden. Carol II was forced from the throne a few days later and sent into exile while Romania approached Germany. The country’s troops thus fought on the German side in the attack on the Soviet Union in 1941. The war quickly went against Romania, which was attacked in August 1944 by the Red Army. Allied bombings partially destroyed the Romanian capital during the fighting.
King Mihai I led a coup against the Axis forces on August 23, 1944, thereby switching the country aside during the war to support the Allies’ struggle. In the final days and aftermath of the war, there was a showdown between royalists and supporters of the Romanian Communist Party that brought Petru Gorza to power as prime minister on March 6, 1945.
In 1947, Romania officially switched to communist rule when it was declared a People’s Republic on 30 December. The reconstruction and development of the country then took off. Five-year plans for the construction of new industries, residential areas and large-scale modernization of agriculture were introduced.
For Bucharest, the communist regime meant a major expansion of the capital with new neighborhoods, not least consisting of apartment complexes for the city’s rapidly growing population. In the center were also built buildings and complexes in Soviet-inspired social realism, which can still be seen at, for example, the great Casa Presei Libere, where for many years stood a statue of the head of the Soviet Union Lenin.
In 1965, Nicolae Ceauşescu became leader in socialist Romania, and during his reign, large parts of central Bucharest changed during the same period that the Romanian capital was the subject of several other events. Bucharest thus hosted the UN Population Conference in 1974, and three years later, the city was hit by an earthquake, in which about 1,500 people perished, and large areas of the capital were destroyed.
Until the end of the 1980s, construction projects of unprecedented dimensions were carried out in Bucharest, which was done under Nicolae Ceauşescu’s leadership. The southern part of Bucharest’s old city was redeveloped and the boulevard to the Victory of Socialism was constructed as the city’s new splendor, ending at Europe’s largest building, the Palace of the People, which stands as Romania’s current parliament.
In 1989, Bucharest was the center of popular protests, as were several other Eastern European capitals. On December 21, Ceauşescu gave the speech that would be his last before he was dismissed. The one-party socialist state was over, and Bucharest and Romania then evolved toward a membership of the EU.
With an economic recovery around the year 2000, Bucharest experienced a boom in activity and construction, and on this occasion major cultural heritage restoration projects were also carried out for the benefit of citizens and tourists. By this time, the city’s population had exceeded two million, an increase from approximately 280,000 hundred years earlier.
Bucharest, Romania
Overview of Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital of Romania and one of the major cities of the Balkans, and it is known for its charming belle epoque elegance, wide boulevards, large squares and rich and varied cultural life. There is a varied selection of sights and activities as well.
Bucharest is a city with a fascinating blend of the cultural heritage of the Romanian aristocracy’s French inspiration, the German-born King Carol I and the communist era, which ruled for decades in the latter half of the 20th century.
In the final years of communism, Nicolae Ceauşescu as the state leader had the colossal government buildings completed. The Ceauşescu reign ended in 1989, but his parliament building stands as one of the world’s largest construcions. The lavishly ornated Palatul Parlamentului is open for tours, and it is an impressive palace.
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Bucharest’s 27-metre-high triumphal arch was erected in 1935 according to Petru Antonescu’s drawings and with inspiration from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The occasion was to raise a memorial for Romania’s gathering in 1918, where, among other things, Transylvania and Bessarabia became part of the Kingdom of Romania.
At the Arc de Triomphe you can see the various places where the Romanian front fought during the First World War, as well as reliefs of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. The works were carried out by leading artists of the time, including Ion Jales, Constantin Medrea and Constantin Baraschi. You can go up to the Arc de Triomphe, and from here you have a nice view of the city.
The current arch is not the city’s first. It was quickly built in wood in 1878 in connection with Romania’s independence. The direct purpose was for returning soldiers to be able to march victoriously through the arch.
Along Unionsboulevard you can see the construction of the so-called Civic Center, which consists of Nicolae Ceauşescu’s mega-projects from the 1980s. There are colossal apartment complexes with marble facades and the Parliament Palace at the end as a focal point for the entire Centrul Civic project.
The large housing blocks were built with Stalinist inspiration from the 1950s Soviet Union, where various decorative elements have been used in a large form of symmetry. When you take a walk along the main street Bulevardul Unirii, it is a special sight to see the impressive buildings that are distinguished representatives of their time and style.
The fashionable street Bulevardul Unirii was laid out with the world’s great boulevards as a model, and at the same time part of the inspiration came from North Korean architecture. The street can be seen very clearly on a map of Bucharest, and space was created for the facility after the earthquake that hit the area in 1977.
A large part of the city’s old quarters in the area was destroyed and subsequently renovated to make way for Romania’s new splendid street, which was also supposed to be a symbol of the country’s skill under Nicolae Ceauşescu’s rule. The boulevard was laid out as the Boulevard for Socialismens Sejr/Bulevardul Victoria Socialismului.
The grand boulevard was inaugurated in 1984. It is 3,500 meters long and runs between Constitution Square/Piaţa Constituţiei and the Parliament Palace at the western end and Alba Iulia Square/Piaţa Alba Iulia to the east. All the way along the boulevard is the large fountain in the middle of the street, and here there are small parks and grand constructions as part of the impression.
Biserica Curtea Veche or the Old Prince’s Church is one of Bucharest’s oldest churches, having been completed in 1559 as the court church of the area’s princes. For two centuries it was also the coronation church of Romanian princes. Some of the original frescoes from the 16th century have been preserved in the impressive church room.
The church was part of a complex that also contained a princely palace, Palatul Curtea Veche, built by Prince Vlad Țepeș, known in a slightly different form as Count Dracula. After excavations, the site was turned into a museum in 1972, and the few remains of the palace were uncovered. Among the finds at the site is the oldest document that uses the name Bucureşti (Bucharest). The document was signed in 1459 by Vlad Țepeș.
The beautiful Stavropoleos Church was built in the years 1724-1730. The richly ornamented facade with, among other things, arches and columns stands as a masterpiece in the Brancovean style. The church was built by the Greek monk Ioannikios Stratonikeas.
In 1726, Stratonikeas was elected as metropolitan of Stauropolis, and hence the name Stavropoleos Church. Ioannikios Stratonikeas died in 1742 and was buried in the church. At one time, a monastery and an inn were also built by the church. The inn was typical for many monasteries as a source of income for the operation of the places.
Casa Presei Libere is an example of a large building in the Soviet construction style. The 104 meter high building was built between 1952 and 1956 and was until 2007 the tallest building in Bucharest. The architecture is clearly copied from buildings in 1950s Moscow, not least Moscow University, and in the square in front a statue of the Soviet leader, Lenin, was originally erected. However, this statue no longer stands in front of the sky-aspiring house.
Originally, the building was named after Soviet leader Josef Stalin, who succeeded Lenin, before changing its name to Casa Scînteii, a reference to the newspaper Scînteia, which was the official newspaper of the Romanian Communist Party. Today, the place is the head office of a number of different media houses; hence the new name.
Bucharest’s large university building was built in the years 1857-1859 in neoclassical style. However, the university itself was only officially established in 1864 under the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, but its prehistory goes all the way back to the royal academy founded by Constantin Brâncoveanu in 1694. The academy developed into a college located in a monastery in that very place, where the current university is located.
In 1857, the foundation stone was laid for the new and grand university building, which continues to be the institution’s headquarters. However, the building had to be rebuilt after the destruction of central building parts by German bombardment in 1944. The reconstruction took place primarily in 1969-1971.
In front of the university is the large square, Piaţa Universității. Here you can see a number of statues of prominent Romanian personalities. It concerns the writer Ion Heliade Rădulescu, the voivode Mihai Viteazul, the theologian, etc. Gheorghe Lazăr and scientist Spiru Haret.
During the political upheaval in 1989, some of the biggest battles took place precisely in this square, and in memory of the fallen, a number of stone crosses have been erected in the square since then.
The National Art Museum of Romania is housed in the former royal palace, Palatul Regal, built in 1812-1815 under Prince Dinicu Golescu. The palace became the official residence of Alexandru Ghica in 1834. After a fire, the palace was changed to its current appearance and size under King Carol II. It happened in the years 1930-1937, and the last resident of the castle was King Mihai I, who reigned in 1947, when the monarchy was abolished in connection with the communist takeover of power in Romania.
With the Communists, the Great Castle changed its name to the Palace of the Republic/Palatul Republicii to mark that Romania was no longer a monarchy. The Romanian royal family still does not use the castle, which has been a national art museum since 1950. The family instead uses Elisabeta Palads/Palatul Elisabeta north of the center of Bucharest as a residence.
The National Art Museum was founded by the Communist Party in 1950. The large collections contain both Romanian works, such as icons, wallpaper and woodwork, and foreign paintings by, among others, Rembrandt, El Greco and Breughel. The collection is quite large, with thousands of works, and there are also beautiful and restored rooms in the palace, such as the large throne room with the Romanian throne and the Scara Voievozilor staircase.
Ateneul Român is Bucharest’s most important concert building and one of the city’s most representative architectural works. Ateneul was built in the years 1886-1888 according to the drawings of the French architect Albert Galleron in a mixture of neoclassicism, baroque and Ionic style.
The city’s philharmonic orchestra, named after the Romanian composer George Enescu, plays in the building, and in addition to the music, the building’s interior is also worth a visit. In front of the Ateneul Român is a small park where you can see a statue of the Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu.
The building has a fine exterior and a lavishly decorated interior, where there are beautiful decorations in all rooms and halls. The foyer’s columns, curved stairs and fine installations impress, as does the large audience hall with colorful decorations on both the walls and the ceiling.
The great Cotroceni Palace dates back to 1679, when the Wallachian prince Şerban Cantacuzino had a monastery built on the Cotroceni ridge. A palace for King Carol I was built on the same site in 1888.
In 1975, the communist head of state Nicolae Ceauşescu made the large facility the state guest house, and after the communist era, from 1991 it got its current status as the official residence of the Romanian president.
There is public access to the part of the palace that is set up as the Cotroceni National Museum/ Muzeul Naţional Cotroceni. The museum was established in the palace’s older wing in 1990, and there is access to some beautiful rooms and halls that have been kept in their original appearance. Various works of art from the site’s large collection are also on display. You can experience both Romanian and international art, and the collection represents several different art forms.
The Village Museum is Bucharest’s prestigious open-air museum, which was founded in 1936. It consists of a very large collection of houses from all parts of Romania, and in the large museum area you can sense the cultural diversity that has characterized the many Romanian regions over the centuries.
You can thus experience the culture from e.g. German-inspired areas in northwestern Romania to the more Turkish-influenced construction and folk life of the region of Wallachia. In total, you can see more than 200 farms and houses from all over the country.
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