Articles (893)

Who is Doctor Joseph Lister and why a street in Bucharest’s most beautiful neighborhood bears his name

Few scientists have had as profound an impact on modern medicine as Joseph Lister. Born in 1827 in Upton, England, and passing away in 1912, Lister is considered the founder of antiseptic surgery, a medical field that has saved millions of lives and completely transformed the way surgical operations are performed. A visionary who forever changed su...

Pipera-Voluntari, a brief history. From the village of Tătărani and the refuge of war veterans to today’s luxury area

Today, Pipera and Voluntari represent one of the most dynamic and prosperous areas in northern Bucharest. The district is synonymous with luxury, rapid development, and high real estate prices, being the preferred location for wealthy families, businesspeople, and major corporations establishing their headquarters and offices here. Yet, just over a...

Jean Luis Calderon, the French journalist killed during the 1989 Revolution, has a street named after him in Bucharest

We often get into a taxi and tell the driver a street name without wondering who the person behind that name really was. Many of Bucharest’s main boulevards are named after historical figures we learn about in school, yet a number of important streets bear the names of heroes or artists about whom very few can say much. A name spoken daily, but oft...

The story of doctor Dumitru Bagdasar, founder of the Romanian school of neurosurgery and the Bucharest hospital that bears his name

The destiny of Dr. Dumitru Bagdasar, the founder of the Romanian school of neurosurgery, is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of Romanian medicine. Born on December 17, 1893, in the village of Roșiești, Vaslui County, Dumitru was the fourth child in a large family of freeholding peasants, Iancu and Smaranda Bagdasar. Coming from a m...

Pescăruș, the Favorite Restaurant of the Communist Elite in Bucharest: The History of the Venue Around Which Herăstrău Park Was Built

On the shores of Lake Herăstrău, where today dozens of modern restaurants and terraces attract visitors, stands one of Bucharest’s most historically significant places – the famous Restaurant “Pescăruș”. While currently viewed as a refined establishment frequented by locals seeking relaxation and good taste, its story spans over eight decades, clos...

Sala Palatului: A Brief History – When and Where It Was Built, Its Capacity, and the Events It Hosts Today

Sala Palatului, one of Bucharest’s most iconic buildings, was inaugurated in 1960 and has since established itself as a key cultural center in Romania. Located in the heart of the capital, in Piața Revoluției, the hall occupies a strategic position near major political and cultural institutions, giving it a central role in the city’s public and art...

The Ruthless Alexandru Lăpușneanu, the Ruler Who Killed His Entire Court of Boyars, Has a Street in Bucharest

Few rulers in the history of Moldova left a mark as powerful and bloody as Alexandru Lăpușneanu. His name is tied to one of the most horrifying scenes of terror in Romanian medieval history—the massacre of 47 boyars—a moment that turned a simple “reconciliation” banquet into an unprecedented bloodbath. History remembers him not only as a cruel rule...

The eternal Don Juan of Romanian literature, whose wife supposedly found him mistresses. The story of George Călinescu

Few literary figures have led a life as full of contradictions as George Călinescu. A critic, literary historian, novelist, university professor, and academician, he was one of the brightest minds of Romanian culture — and yet, behind the image of a scholar devoted to books hid a man of passion, a Don Juan of the literary world, whose numerous love...

The story of the Iancului neighborhood, from a modest suburb to one of the most expensive areas of Bucharest

For two years in the 1970s, traffic on Șoseaua Iancului was halted to allow for the construction of new apartment blocks — a powerful symbol of urban modernization under socialism. The old wooden-fenced “shacks” that once lined the road were demolished, replaced by monumental socialist housing blocks meant to serve the “working people.” Yet, not ev...

The story of Radu Beller, the aviator lieutenant who gave his name to Bucharest’s most luxurious street

Few people walking today along Radu Beller Street, one of Bucharest’s most elegant avenues, know that behind this name lies the remarkable story of a young Romanian aviator who gave his life for the glory of flight. Radu Beller was born on November 12, 1898, in the town of Roman, into a respected family with deep roots in the political and intellec...