Dear readers,
I would like to invite you to a thematic walking tour, to take place on Sunday 7 May 2023, between the hours 12.00h – 14.00h, on the subject of the late c19th – early c20th French and western historicist inspired architecture of Bucharest, which made the city known to the rest of world as the “Little Paris of the Balkans”, a phenomenon that imprinted the personality of Romania’s capital ever since. The tour may be of interest to any of you visiting the city as a tourist or on business, looking to find out more about its fascinating historic architecture and character.
The first building boom of modern era Bucharest happened during the period aptly named La Belle Époque, which corresponds with the late Victorian and early Edwardian epochs for the English speaking world (or Gilded Age in the US). It was characterised by a charming architecture inspired especially from the flamboyant neo-Baroque, neo-Rococo and also neo-Gothic forms fashionable in France, a country seen by the Romanians of that time as a beacon of culture worthy to emulate, and from other west European states held in high regard by the then young Balkan nation. The local architecture thus acquired a personality of its own, combining the new forms with the indigenous and Ottoman traditional motifs and methods, resulting in what I call, as an umbrella term, the “Little Paris style”. This is a type of architecture peculiar to the Fin de Siècle urban Romania and also to a lesser extent to the rest of the Balkans, reflecting the modernisation of the society and fusion in architecture of the western fashions together with ancestral forms. Bucharest is the best place in the entire south-east of Europe to view and study that peculiar type of architecture, which because of its still high density of buildings in various states of preservation, continues to be an important component of the local architectural heritage and identity. In the course of this tour I endeavour to show you some of the representative Little Paris style buildings found in central Bucharest, explain their architectural intricacies and the economic and social history contained within and without their walls, and thus convey how amazing the Little Paris style is.
Book by emailing v.mandache@gmail.com or using the comments section of this post. The deadline for registrations: Friday 5 May, 20.00h (Bucharest hour). You will be informed of the meeting place after I receive the booking. 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 