It is hard to believe, but this photograph was taken in 2009 Bucharest. It looks more like a classical fin de siècle Parisian slum building. Yet, this charming Little Paris style house (what I call the locally interpreted French late 19th century architecture) is situated in a relatively central area of Romania’s capital and conveys the plight of many such period buildings in this part of Europe.
This type of house would constitute, for anyone brave enough to buy a property in these days Romania (beware of wildly unrealistic prices), an excellent renovation project that would add again spark to the quaint historic Bucharest. There are not many takers of such a chance and until that eventuality would happen on a visible scale, the city’s old buildings will continue to display a sort of picturesque decay of which this little house is a worthy representative.
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If you are interested in acquiring a period property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advice you in locating the property, specialist research, planning permissions, restoration project management, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.
Valentin Mandache, architectural historian 