Welcome to Bucharest

Bucharest isn’t a city you fully grasp at first glance. Beneath the noise and modern facades lies a city that has witnessed kings, revolutions, dictatorship, and rebirth. If you want to understand it beyond the surface, these ten historical landmarks are essential. Each one holds a piece of the city’s identity, forming a timeline carved in stone, w...

It’s often said that a true Bucharest child grew up “outside,” even if today that childhood survives only as a hazy memory of scorching asphalt between apartment blocks and a mother’s voice calling from a window above. Beyond the ball that inevitably bounced into a parked Dacia and scraped knees treated hastily with spit or rubbing alcohol, Buchare...

On November 10, 1940, Romania experienced one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded in the 20th century. The quake struck at 3:39 a.m. local time, with its epicenter located in the Vrancea Mountains region, at an estimated depth between 133 and 150 kilometers. According to most sources, its magnitude ranged between 7.4 and 7.7 on the Richter sc...

The history of Bucharest’s administrative organization reflects the social and political transformations the Capital has undergone for more than two centuries. From the plăși of the late 18th century to the current six sectors, the city’s subdivisions have always aimed to ensure control, efficiency, and adaptation to rapid population growth. Each s...

At the beginning of the 20th century, Bucharest was a city in full transformation, caught between tradition and modernity. In 1901, the streets of the capital were filled with carriages, bicycles, and pedestrians, while automobiles were still a rarity. Only a few wealthy landowners and diplomats could afford the luxury of owning a car, usually impo...

Bucharest is often described as a city of contrasts, an urban space where architectural styles overlap, complement each other or, at times, enter into a tense dialogue. From boyar houses and Brâncovenesc churches to modernist apartment blocks and contemporary interventions, Romania’s capital reflects its fragmented yet extremely rich history. In th...

5 Historic buildings and areas of Bucharest that disappeared quietly, yet irreversiblyIn Bucharest, not all demolitions happen under the roar of bulldozers. Some losses are slow, silent, and permanent. Whether in the name of modernization, urban reorganization, or political ambition, the city has lost significant pieces of its architectural identit...

In the mid-19th century, Bucharest still retained a medieval urban structure. Most buildings were made of wood, with shingle, reed, or straw roofs. In the absence of clear building regulations and a consolidated urban authority, the city had developed chaotically, with little consideration for public safety or fire protection.The streets were narro...

Bucharest has always been a city of contrasts. Between the elegance of inter-war architecture and the brutal transition of communism, between the bohemian Little Paris and the gray of the industrial age, the city has undergone dramatic transformations, but has always kept a unique spirit. If you walked its streets at different times in the 20th cen...

At the intersection of Ion Brezoianu and Constantin Mille streets stands the Universul Palace, a building that did not only shape the architectural landscape of Bucharest, but also the evolution of Romanian journalism. The birth of a journalistic vision and the rise of an emblematic palaceFor a long time, the structure was regarded simply as a news...

Bucharest is not defined solely by administrative or cultural landmarks, but also by an active spiritual geography shaped over time by the experiences and testimonies of believers. Across the capital, there are churches that have moved beyond their status as historical monuments and have become urban pilgrimage sites, regularly visited by people wh...

When we think of Bucharest, we picture buildings, boulevards, traffic, or its eclectic architecture. Few, however, stop to ask: what kind of land does the capital actually stand on? The relief of Bucharest, seemingly flat and uneventful, has its own geological and natural stories that explain not only the city’s present-day look but also the way it...

In summer, the city empties quietly. No grand farewells, no drama. It simply dissolves, wave by wave, under the current of vacations heading for the seaside, the mountains, or anywhere but here. Bucharest is left behind like a party that ended long ago—slightly worn out, but finally spacious; the city seems to catch its reflection and doesn’t quite...

Bucharest, the capital of Romania, carries a fascinating history that spans more than five and a half centuries. Since its first documentary mention in 1459, the city has undergone countless transformations, gradually becoming the country’s main economic, political, cultural, and artistic center. Nicknamed “Little Paris” for its former charm, Bucha...

Bucharest isn't known for sweeping horizons or postcard-perfect vistas. Yet the city, with its layered architecture and unpredictable rhythm, offers moments of unexpected visual clarity—especially at sunset. This daily transition, subtle and revealing at once, has the power to temporarily reshape how one experiences urban space. Depending on light,...

In the history of Romania, there are heroic figures who shaped the nation’s destiny through courage, devotion, and sacrifice. Among these remarkable individuals stands Major Ion Coravu, one of the lesser-known heroes of World War I, who played a key role in one of the most important battles in the history of the Romanian Army — the Battle of Mărășt...

The interwar period is often evoked as a “golden age” of Romanian society, yet the reality of those times was far more complex. Beyond the elegance of salons, fashion, and a lively cultural life, Bucharest still retained the image of a city caught between modernity and visible shortcomings. Unpaved streets, the lack of modern infrastructure, and ma...

Bucharest is a city that resembles no one—not even itself. If you walk through it slowly, and truly look—not just glance—you’ll see a city that reveals itself like a book rewritten again and again, where every era has left its mark without erasing the previous one. Between the delicate French charm of the early 20th century and the heavy rawness of...

The history of Bucharest hides characters who passed from reality straight into dark legend. Among them, few figures stirred as much fear, hatred, and revulsion as Captain Costache Chioru, the man who, for more than two decades, became the absolute symbol of abuse of power. For the people of Bucharest, his name turned into a synonym for terror, the...

In a city that reinvents itself chaotically—where buildings disappear overnight and neighborhoods shift before we even understand them—Bucharest’s cemeteries are among the few places that remain. Not just intact, but alive in their own quiet way. They are spaces where memory breathes through stone, greenery, and forgotten names. And as unusual as i...