The boom years of late 1890s until the great recession of 1907, have been very beneficial for Romania, which profited from its large grain exports to the industrial countries of Western Europe. The old small markets towns throughout the country, especially those from the wheat and maize producing areas where expanding at a fast rate and numerous new flamboyant private and public buildings in the then fashionable French c19th and also Art Nouveau styles were being erected. The town of Alexandria was one of those prosperous cities, located in the fertile plains of the Teleorman county, close to Bucharest and to the Danube ports that greatly facilitated the grain exports of the surrounding region. The bold Art Nouveau style beer restaurant from Alexandria’s public gardens, depicted in the old postcard above, is a reflection in architecture of that new found confidence and economic well being in fin de siècle Romania. The edifice is quite remarkable with its entrance modelled as a grandiose round window and audacious flowery roof eave edge ornaments. It would have been an imposing and unmissable presence in that provincial town and region of Ottoman Balkan tradition, the herald of the globalisation taking place in the Victorian era through commerce, industry and also architecture, where the Art Nouveau style was the last word in terms of modernity.
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I endeavor through this daily series of images and small articles to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural history and 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 sourcing 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 
Superb. I saw interestingly similar doorways on peasant houses in the Suceava area last March – incongruous to say the least. APT
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Such a beautiful house. What ever happend to it? Demolished?
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Yes, it has been demolished some decades ago to make space for a housing estate. VM
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Hi Valentin, I think Silwer asked the question on everybody’s lips 🙂 sad to hear it has been lost, we cannot blame the Communists for everything, but I feel that Romanian recent history should be taught compulsory in all schools, so that it becomes common knowledge, of the systematic imprisonment and murder of intellectuals and the destruction of so many beautiful buildings, a sign of wealth, so that everybody could be the same, live in a concrete box, of course the higher you were in the party, the better your concrete box 🙂 as evidence Boulevard Unirii in Bucharest. only my thoughts….
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