Tag: Dobrogea

Rare Neo-Romanian Dolphin & Vines Decorative Panel

Valentin Mandache
A rare Neo-Romanian style dolphin and vine decorative theme panels embellishing a late 1920s house in Cotroceni area of Bucharest. (©Valentin Mandache)

The panels from the above montage depict an interesting and rarely encountered Neo-Romanian decorative theme of vine leaves and dolphins, a very peculiar juxtaposition for the Neo-Romanian architectural style, which has its decorative register inspired by and large from the late medieval Wallachian church panoply and Ottoman Balkan motifs like the grape vine, the peacock, the griffin, the three of life, intricate geometrical patterns, etc. These themes and motifs pertain to a landlocked civilization as was and is still the case with the ancestral Romanian communities and their environment centred in and around the alpine ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. Which is then the explanation for the unusual aquatic motif occurrence depicted in the above image? Romanians had only a recent unmitigated contact with the sea and the seafaring way of life, namely since 1878 following the Berlin treaty stipulations, when the country was granted the Black Sea maritime province of Dobrogea or Dobruja, a territory ardently disputed with Bulgaria. The province hosts within its confines the Danube Delta and one of the largest ports in the Black Sea basin, being also an important wine producer. The coat of arms of Dobrogea contains two dolphins and my hypothesis is that the first owner of this house was a native or strongly connected with that province on the Black Sea shore. The vine leaves together with the dolphins and the Greek type cross at the centre of the right hand panels (an allusion about the Christian Orthodox faith of the local Romanian population and also about the ancient Greek colonies established millennia ago in Dobrogea) constitute a fitting regional identity statement expressed within the context of the Neo-Romanian architectural style.

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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.

Tatar Village Mosque from ‘Times of Yore’

Valentin Mandache
Tatar village mosque, Dobrogea, Eastern Romania. (old postcard -1920s-Valentin Mandache collection)

There is something exuding timelessness in this beautiful 1920s postcard (which I found at an antique fair in Bloomsbury, London), depicting Tatar villagers from Romania’s Dobrogea region on the Black Sea coast, gathering for prayer at their poor, but exceedingly picturesque rural mosque. The imam voices his loud calls from the top of a pile of stone slabs resembling a basic minaret, surrounded by pious village elders. On the mosque rooftop a stork nestle calmly, ignoring the humans around her and their peaceful daily business. Under the roof eave, above the doorway, there is also a swallow nest, thus completing the idyllic atmosphere from this ‘times of yore’ village. The native Muslim population of Romania, composed mainly of ethnic Tatars and Turks, lives in Dobrogea/ Dobruja, a province on the western coast of the Black Sea that has been for more than half a millennium an integral part of the Ottoman Empire. Historic Dobrogea is a much larger region shared with neighbouring Bulgaria, adjacent to the Black Sea, and subject of intense controversy and disputes between the two countries. The Romanian province is about three quarters the size of Wales, endowed with a peculiar geography more akin to a Mediterranean rocky landscape (in fact it seems that the name Dobrogea/ Dobruja comes from an old Bulgarian word meaning “stony land”), in sharp contrast with the landscape of the lower Danube steppe that unfurls to its west. The Tatar and Turkish settlements with their Muslim culture have developed a distinctive and beautifully quaint rural architecture and habitat, which nowadays is fast disappearing as money and modern construction materials have become widely available in the region. The image above is a small sample of that old ‘Arcadia’, at peace with itself and its environment, which this region and its natives have enjoyed until recently. On the other hand, the Tatar and Turkish old houses that are now available on the market in the Dobrogea villages, would constitute some of the the cheapest and most rewarding renovation/ restoration projects for anyone willing to take up such at challenge at the eastern confines of the European Union.

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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.

***********************************************

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.

Art Deco Black Sea Villa

Valentin Mandache
Art Deco seaside villa, Eforie Nord on the Romanian shore of the Black Sea (Valentin Mandache)
Simple, but balanced crisp Art Deco design of a mid 1930s seaside villa, Eforie Nord on the Romanian shore of the Black Sea. (©Valentin Mandache)

These examples of beautiful inter-war seaside villas were in general well maintained during the communist times as the regime used them for high ranking officials. Unfortunately now, 20 years since the fall of communism, many of these emblematic edifices are lost due to botched renovations or illegal demolitions performed by a new generation of ignorant indigenous owners and entrepreneurs. It will take probably another generation for them to realise the value of the architectural heritage put in place by their much more cultivated and sophisticated forefathers.

***********************************************

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.

***********************************************

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.