Tag: Post-Communism

Saxophone Shaped Art Deco Flag Post

Valentin Mandache
A strikingly unusual Art Deco flag post in the shape of a saxophone; mid 1930s house in Patriarchy Hill area, Bucharest. (©Valentin Mandache)

The saxophone shape of the flag post in the image above, which I was lucky to see and photograph trough dense vegetation at full zoom, is an excellent decorative analogy to the fact that Art Deco style has its origins in the Jazz era, the saxophone being a main instrument in Jazz orchestras. It adorns the staircase tower of an once grandiose mid-1930s Art Deco house. Bucharest had a lively cabaret scene in the 1930s during an era of economic well being, derived from the country’s large oil exports, and Jazz was one of the music genres performed in town. The flag post is used today as a TV antenna, a witness of the continuous decline of Bucharest’s artistic and architectural scene in the last seven decades (five decades of communist regime and two decades of chaotic Russian oligarchy type post-communist transition).

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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.

Manor house devastated by peasants

Valentin Mandache
Former manor house in Wallachia, Giurgiu county, devastated and looted by local peasants during the 1990s, when the property rights were not specifically protected by Romania’s basic law. (©Valentin Mandache)

I took the above photograph during one of my field trips in the environs of Bucharest, searching for traditional peasant architecture houses and old manor houses or conacs, how these buildings are named in Romania. Most of the larger villages have a manor house built by the local land owner or aristocrat as a residence and headquarters from which the farm, an important business concern, was run. When the communist regime took over during the collectivisation programme in the 1950s- early ’60s, these manors were used as collective farm headquarters or local schools. This new role saved them from destruction or complete deterioration. After the events of 1989, and during most of the 1990s, the Romanian basic law (aka Constitution) was lacking specific articles protecting the private property. Also the crypto-communist government of that time was doing everything in its power to stop the descendants of the rightful owners to recover their historic properties. That led to many abuses perpetrated by the locals, who profited of the ambiguity of the law and in more isolated areas, like the countryside, went on a rampage looting and devastating the former aristocratic manors. The conac presented here, a large residence built in 1920s in a basic Neo-Romanian style, is one of those countless victims. It is hard to believe that the sorry landscape presented in this image, with sad remains of architectural ornaments scattered on the lawn, was the result of events that have happened only a few years ago. The scene in my opinion is more akin to that of an ancient Roman villa rustica devastated by invading barbarians during the fall of the Roman empire…

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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 Contactpage of this weblog.