Articles (1006)

How Bucharest’s Jewish Quarter Disappeared, Now Lost Among Interwar Houses and the Scent of a Bygone Era

The heart of Bucharest’s old Jewish Quarter is a place where one can no longer stroll—simply because it no longer exists. Nor do the Jews of that bygone time. All that remains is the fascinating story of what was once the city’s largest minority community and a few streets that survived the massive demolitions of the 1980s.The vanished heart of a c...

“The weekend escape”: why young people are leaving Bucharest every Friday

Every Friday between 4 and 7 p.m., Bucharest quietly empties. Not suddenly, but through a steady flow of cars heading out of the city — toward Brașov, the Prahova Valley, Vama Veche, Breaza, Comana, even the small villages surrounding the capital. It’s a cyclical migration, a ritual of escape that says more about the city’s real condition than any...

Bucharest City Hall, the history of a grand palace: Maidanul lui Duca, the Ministry of Public Works, and the People’s Council

On Regina Elisabeta Boulevard, right across from the quiet greenery of Cișmigiu Park, stands the imposing building that today houses Bucharest City Hall. With a history spanning more than a century, this monumental edifice is not only an administrative landmark but also a true testament to the architectural and urban evolution of Romania’s capital....

Flămânda District in Bucharest, the neighborhood where the beggars from the Metropolitan Hill gathered

In old Bucharest, neighborhoods known as mahalale formed naturally around a church, a tavern, or a marketplace. They were small, self-contained worlds with their own rhythms, simple people, and customs that shaped the daily life of the city. In such a place emerged Flămânda, one of the oldest and most fascinating neighborhoods in the Romanian capit...

„No one shall pass here!” General Eremia Grigorescu, the hero of World War I, rests in the Mausoleum at Mărășești

Eremia Teofil Grigorescu was born on November 28, 1863, in the village of Golășei near Târgu Bujor (then part of Covurlui County, now Galați). He was the fourth child of Grigore Grigorescu, a schoolteacher, and Maria Grigorescu, following Dumitru, Constantin, and Sevastia. Despite the difficulties caused by the early death of his father, young Erem...

The history of the Ghencea neighborhood in Bucharest: the mahalaua, the Burnăzești boyars, Vladimirescu’s pandurs, and Ghenci-aga’s mercenaries

Ghencea, located in Sector 5 of Bucharest, is today one of the oldest and most historically rich neighborhoods of the capital. With a population of approximately 180,000 inhabitants, the area is divided into two main sectors: Old Ghencea, consisting mostly of apartment blocks built in the 1970s, and New Ghencea, currently under development along Gh...

Gheorghe Șincai National College, one of the oldest high schools in Bucharest, designed by Romania’s first female architect

Gheorghe Șincai National College is today one of Bucharest’s symbolic educational institutions, a place that breathes history and tradition, and also a living proof of the evolution of Romanian education over more than a century. Officially founded on December 8, 1892, the high school was established by royal decree, as a response to the increasing...

Famous boulevard names: Ferdinand I, the unifier king of Greater Romania

Ferdinand Victor Albert Meinrad of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was born on August 24, 1865, in Sigmaringen, into one of the oldest princely families in Europe. His father, Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, had been a pretender to the Spanish throne, and his mother, Infanta Antonia of Portugal, descended from the royal houses of Bragança and Saxe-Co...

The Palace of the National Archives of Romania: The History of the Most Imposing Building on Regina Elisabeta Boulevard

Standing majestically on Regina Elisabeta Boulevard in Bucharest, the Palace of the National Archives of Romania is one of the city’s monumental public buildings. After extensive consolidation and restoration, it now rivals its neighbor, the Bucharest City Hall Palace, in both elegance and grandeur. Both edifices are emblematic of the Neo-Romanian...

The Glucose Factory of Bucharest: From the Interwar Production of Alcohol and Glucose to Today’s Caro Hotel

In today’s Bucharest, as you cross Barbu Văcărescu Boulevard near the bridge over Lake Colentina, few would guess that this area hides a fascinating piece of industrial history. Today, it is home to the Caro Hotel complex, but more than a century ago, the same site hosted The Glucose Factory, a landmark of Romania’s early modern economy and industr...