Dear Readers,
I would like to invite you to an architecture history walk in one of the prestigious quarters of Bucharest, Cotroceni, its eastern, older, part, centred on the area between Dr. Nicolae Staicovici Street and Dr. Joseph Lister Street. This cultural excursion is open to all of you who would like to accompany me, the author of Historic Houses of Romania blog, for two hours, between 12.00h – 14.00h, on Sunday 9 April 2023.
I will be your guide through one of the best quality historic architecture areas of Romania’s capital, constituted from an array of exquisite Little Paris, Neoromanian, and Art Deco and Modernist style houses, intercalated with some alluring examples of Art Nouveau and Mediterranean. The eastern part of Cotroceni is also its oldest, containing one of the best preserved laid out property developments from the Fin de Siècle years. These edifices were built mainly by people belonging to the professional classes of Romania, especially medical doctors and army high echelon officers, of the La Belle Époque and interwar periods. They constructed their residences close by the former Royal Palace of Cotroceni, where the crown couple lived, today used as the Presidential Palace, and the Medical Sciences University, the most prestigious such institution in the south east of Europe, making the area one of the high status quarters of the capital. We will examine and admire the message and symbolism encompassed within designs created by a number of well known architects, like Jean Burcus or Peter Boico, and unearth layers of social and economic history underpinning the development of architecture of this quarter. I will show you how periods such as the prosperous years of the late 19th century or the oil export boom of the 1930s have left their imprint in the magnificence of the ornaments and details, but also how the Peasant Uprising of 1907, or the 1929-1933 Depression, have stunted the development of the area and diminished the aspirations of local patrons and their architects. Cotroceni is also populated by diverse species of trees, which will give us an image of how a beautiful Bucharest quarter of yester-decades used to look, a sample of its environmental identity, a city renowned by its gardens and tree lined streets, before the urban agglomeration and decay of the communist and post-communist eras altered that charming character. All of this richness of detail is waiting to be discovered by you under my guidance as part of this cultural trail.
Book by emailing v.mandache@gmail.com or using the comments section of this post. You will be informed of meeting place on booking after I receive the booking. Deadline for registrations: Friday 7 April, 20.00h (Bucharest hour). Minimum three participants, maximum ten.
I look forward to seeing you at the tour,
Valentin Mandache, architectural historian, tel: 0040 (0)728323272
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I endeavour through this series of periodic 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 or selling a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advice you in sourcing and transacting the property, specialist research, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.
Valentin Mandache, architectural historian 