Few places in Bucharest carry such a deep and symbolic history as Filaret Hill, today known as Carol I Park. Here, where the imposing Mausoleum now stands, once rose a lost architectural masterpiece — the Palace of Arts, a building that marked the beginning of the 20th century with its ambition to embody Romanian history and culture. Its story is one of enthusiasm and loss, of celebrating national identity followed by erasure.

A palace born from a desire for national affirmation

At the dawn of the 20th century, Romania was experiencing a period of consolidation and growing national awareness. The year 1906 held special significance: it marked 40 years since King Carol I’s arrival in Romania and 25 years since the proclamation of the Kingdom of Romania. 

To commemorate these historic milestones, the authorities decided to organize a General Exhibition of Romania, meant to showcase the country’s economic, cultural, and artistic progress and to strengthen the feeling of national unity.

The site chosen for this grand event was Filaret Hill, then known as Trocadero Hill. The project was approved in May 1905, and in record time — only 11 months — a veritable exhibition city was built there. The exhibition was inaugurated on June 6, 1906, in the presence of King Carol I, Queen Elisabeth, Prince Ferdinand, and Princess Marie.

At the center of this monumental exhibition stood the Palace of Arts, the emblematic building of the entire event, considered at the time one of the most spectacular constructions in Bucharest.

The Palace of Arts – the architectural jewel of the 1906 Exhibition

The edifice was designed by architects Victor Ștefănescu and Ștefan Burcuș, under the supervision of engineer Robert Effingham Grant, who was already well known for major projects such as Grant Bridge and the Palace of the Ministry of Agriculture and Domains in Bucharest.

The Palace of Arts stood out through its eclectic architectural style, combining neoclassical and Renaissance elements in a monumental composition. Its impressive façade, with columns and domes, conveyed grandeur, while the vast and luminous interior was divided into halls dedicated to fine arts, history, and science.

Inside, the palace housed the “Museum of Our Past”, an ambitious project intended to preserve “everything that concerns the Romanian people, from its formation to the present.” The exhibitions displayed historical artifacts, documents, traditional objects, and the creations of Romania’s most celebrated painters — Nicolae Grigorescu, Theodor Aman, and Ion Andreescu — along with younger artists shaping a new national artistic identity.

The central hall of the Palace of Arts was devoted to celebrating “two great figures of our nation”: King Carol I, the first monarch of modern Romania, and Emperor Trajan, symbol of the country’s Latin origins. This hall was not merely an exhibition space but a temple of national identity, designed to offer visitors a spiritual journey through the history of the Romanian people.

From royal museum to military heritage

After the closing of the 1906 General Exhibition, the Palace of Arts retained its cultural role for a short time. In 1919, the building was ceded to the Ministry of War, which transformed it into a space for military exhibitions — effectively the nucleus of the future National Military Museum.

During this period, the area gained a new commemorative dimension. In 1923, in front of the palace, authorities placed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a symbol of the sacrifice of Romanian soldiers in the First World War. Thus, the place evolved from one of art and culture to a space of remembrance and national mourning.

Fire, earthquake, and the end of a symbol

The fate of the Palace of Arts took a tragic turn. In 1938, a massive fire severely damaged the building, destroying parts of its wooden structure and interior decorations. Restoration was initially considered possible, but the historical events that followed made recovery unlikely.

Only two years later, the 1940 earthquake further damaged the already weakened structure. Although the palace remained a landmark, authorities deemed its restoration too costly.

In 1943, amid the turmoil of the Second World War, officials decided to demolish the Palace of Arts entirely. The official reason was the construction of a new memorial complex — the Cemetery of the Nation’s Heroes — which was supposed to include a central monument, the cemetery itself, and several administrative buildings.

The demolition was carried out swiftly, but the new project was abandoned in 1944, as Romania’s political and military situation changed dramatically. For nearly two decades, the once vibrant and elegant site of the Palace of Arts lay in ruins and neglect, forgotten by the city that once celebrated it.

From the palace ruins to the communist Mausoleum

The 1960s brought another transformation. During the communist era, the authorities decided to build a mausoleum dedicated to “the heroes of the struggle for the freedom of the people and the homeland.” On the very ruins of the old Palace of Arts rose the Mausoleum in Carol Park, inaugurated in 1963 — an imposing monument of Soviet inspiration, with tall red granite arches and a monumental style meant to impress and intimidate.

The site that had once symbolized Romanian cultural identity was now turned into a space of ideological glorification. In its crypt were buried prominent communist leaders such as Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Petru Groza, and Constantin Pîrvulescu.

After 1989, following the fall of communism, the mausoleum was renamed the Monument to the Heroes of the Fatherland, and the remains of communist leaders were removed. Nevertheless, the imposing structure still dominates Carol Park, standing as a silent reminder of the many layers of history and ideology that have overlapped on this hill.

A vanished memory, but not forgotten

Today, few residents of Bucharest know that before the Mausoleum, the same spot was home to one of Romania’s most beautiful architectural landmarks. Nothing remains of the Palace of Arts — no foundations, fragments, or commemorative plaques. Only old photographs, architectural plans, and contemporary writings preserve the image of what was once considered a masterpiece of Romanian architecture.

With its destruction, Bucharest lost not only a remarkable building but also a symbol of its early modern identity. The Palace of Arts had been conceived as a “museum of our past”, a place of memory and national education. Replaced by monuments of different eras and ideologies, it has become a metaphor for how Romania’s history has been rewritten and reconstructed throughout the 20th century.

Thus, the disappearance of the Palace of Arts from Carol Park represents not merely the loss of an architectural monument but also the loss of a tangible link to the ideals of modernity and national pride that defined early 20th-century Romania. In its place, time has layered new symbols, new powers, and new interpretations — but also the nostalgia for an era when art, history, and nationhood met under one roof.

The story of the Palace of Arts is, in essence, the story of Romania itself — a cycle of creation, destruction, and rebirth, a constant struggle between memory and oblivion. From Filaret Hill, where in 1906 Romanians proudly celebrated their history, today’s visitor sees a different monument, of a different era. 

Yet beyond architectural and political changes, the spirit of the place endures — a space of collective memory that continues to whisper, in silence, the story of the Palace of Arts — “the museum of our past.”

We also recommend: