The photograph is from the time of the Great War, presenting Queen Marie of Romania together with her daughters, Princess Maria, future Queen of Yugoslavia, and Princess Elisabeta, future Queen of Greece, among wounded soldiers recovering at a camp hospital within the grounds of a small monastery in unoccupied Eastern Moldavia in the summer of 1917, when most of the rest of the Romanian territory, including the capital, were overwhelmed by the Central Powers’ armies. What drew my attention from an architectural history point of view is the rich decoration and particular splendid Ottoman Balkan architecture of the church, which is one of the main sources of inspiration for the modern Neo-Romanian architectural style, as conceived by its initiator, the remarkable architect Ion Mincu in the last decade of the c19th.
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I endeavor through this daily image series to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural heritage.
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If you plan acquiring a historic 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 