Articles (1216)

The story of Max Goldstein, Romania’s first terrorist. “The Hooked Monster” planned the attack on the Senate in Bucharest in the 1920s

The history of interwar Romania is marked not only by cultural effervescence and political development, but also by dramatic, violent episodes that shook society to its core. One of the most shocking such moments took place on 8 December 1920, when a bomb exploded inside the building of the Romanian Senate. At the center of this attack was Max Gold...

Bucharest beyond the brochures: five pieces of the city that don’t ask for attention

You wake up on a morning when the city doesn’t seem rushed. It’s rare, but it happens. Early on a Sunday, or on a Saturday before traffic remembers who it is. You open the window and Bucharest doesn’t shout. It breathes. That’s when it’s at its best. Not the version from brochures, not the one with exaggerated skylines and slogans about a “vibrant...

Four Legs, Cobblestones, and Paradoxes: A Walk Through the Bucharest That Pretends to Love Dogs, and Sometimes Actually Does

You wake up on a Saturday morning with the sun cautiously filtering through your apartment curtains, and you feel it. The familiar, insistent stare. You sense it before you see it. The fixed, hypnotic gaze of your best friend, patiently waiting for the sacred ritual of the walk. You grab the leash—the classic urban umbilical cord—and head out. Buch...

Stories of Bucharest: Eugen Alimănescu, “The Iron Commissioner,” the Most Controversial Police Officer Who Dismantled the Capital’s Mafia

Bucharest in the 1940s was not only a city of architectural contrasts and violent political transformations but also a territory dominated by fear, chaos, and crime. Successive economic crises, wartime shortages, and widespread corruption had turned the Capital into a real battlefield between gangs of criminals and a weakened, often compromised pol...

The story of Mircea the Shepherd, the cruel ruler who killed his boyars at the Princely Court in 16th-century Bucharest

The history of Bucharest is not made up solely of moments of glory, urban development or periods of cultural effervescence. Behind the walls of the Princely Court and on the still muddy lanes of the 16th-century market town, episodes of extreme violence also unfolded, leaving deep marks on collective memory. Sadism and cruelty, although not dominan...

Great Romanian dynasties: Sturdza, a lineage of princes, politicians, actors and the first ruler who freed the gypsies

The Sturdza family holds a special place in Romania’s history, not only because of its longevity, but also due to the impressive diversity of roles played by its members over more than five centuries. From high officials and rulers of Moldavia, to great politicians, reformers, military leaders or artists, the Sturdzas decisively influenced the cour...

The stars of interwar Bucharest: Cristian Vasile, the suffering troubadour who drank Zaraza’s ashes

The perfume of interwar Bucharest has not completely faded. It still lingers discreetly today among the weathered buildings of the Old Town, on the streets where, once, lanterns lit the steps of coquettish ladies and troubadours with guitars held close to their chests. It was an era of intense passions, long nights in cafés, and romances sung with...

The Bucharest-born woman whom Charlie Chaplin called a genius. The story of Clara Haskil, one of the greatest pianists in the world

Clara Haskil remains one of the most impressive and paradoxical figures in the history of universal classical music. Born in Bucharest, appreciated late, physically fragile yet artistically immense, the pianist lived a life dominated by suffering, discretion, and absolute devotion to music. Although she performed on the world’s greatest stages, she...

How Public Street Lighting Appeared in Bucharest and Who Paid for “the Light on the Street”

A nighttime stroll through today’s Bucharest, with all its charming chaos and neon lights promising shawarma or sports betting on every block corner, gives us a sense of safety we take for granted, without a second thought about what things were like two hundred years ago. You flip a switch, the street lights up, most of the time, and your only rea...

The story of the Romanian Maria Fărcășanu, the true victim of the crime on the Orient Express

The Orient Express, one of the most famous trains in the world, has long been associated with luxury, adventure, and mystery. Yet for Romania, this legendary train is tied to a tragic story: that of Maria Fărcășanu, a Romanian woman whose life ended violently during a journey on this iconic route. Maria Fărcășanu was a young woman of Romanian origi...