Articles (1006)

He modernized the Capital, went to prison, and died before the Great Union. Nicolae Filipescu, the mayor thirsty for lethal duels

Nicolae Filipescu was described by the City Council as “a young man with noble sentiments, full of energy and intelligence” when he was elected mayor of Bucharest. Born in 1862 in the Romanian capital, Filipescu came from the union of two prominent boyar families: he was the son of Grigore Filipescu and Anastasia Rosetti. Early life and educationHi...

The Bucharest-born actor who conquered Hollywood. Edward G. Robinson, the only Romanian actor to receive an Oscar

Few people in Bucharest know that one of Hollywood’s greatest actors from the golden age of cinema was born right in Romania’s capital. Emanuel Goldenberg, who would become famous under the name Edward G. Robinson, was born on December 12, 1893, in Bucharest, into a Jewish family. He was the fifth of six children of the Goldberg family and grew up...

Where the name of the Balta Albă neighborhood comes from. Caragea’s plague decimated 19th-century Bucharest

Bucharest is a city of contrasts, where modernity and history meet at every step. Each neighborhood preserves traces of the past, even when they are not visible at first glance. Streets, squares, and districts are not just geographical spaces, but places that have gathered stories, memories, and legends. Among these places is the Balta Albă neighbo...

The story of Willy Pragher, the greatest photographer of interwar Bucharest

Few visual artists managed to capture the essence of a foreign land as faithfully as Willy Pragher did. Born in Berlin on May 4, 1908, under the name Wilhelm Alexander Prager, he became known to the world as Willy Pragher. Although German by birth, much of his childhood and cultural formation took place in Bucharest, in the home of his grandfather,...

Who was Ion Marin Sadoveanu, the writer seduced and abandoned by one of the greatest actresses of interwar Bucharest

Less than fifteen years after the birth of the celebrated Mihail Sadoveanu, Romanian literature received another name destined to endure in history. In a family with Bucharest roots, on June 15, 1893, Iancu Leonte Marinescu was born, the one who would become known under the pen name Ion Marin Sadoveanu. This choice was not accidental: the young wri...

How much apartments and houses sold for in Bucharest in August 2025. Transaction prices per square meter

Statistics confirm that the Bucharest real estate market remained active in August 2025, with prices reflecting both the growing demand for small and medium-sized homes and the steady interest in premium properties. The differences between segments show that every category of buyers maintains its preferences, from studios considered affordable inve...

The hidden costs of healthcare in Bucharest: when you end up paying out of pocket in public hospitals

Romania’s public healthcare system is funded mainly by the state and the National Health Insurance House (CNAS). In theory, if you are insured, most hospital services should be free or heavily subsidized. In practice, however, many patients in Bucharest (and across the country) face unexpected additional expenses — medications, materials, certain p...

Sephardim, the vanished community of Bucharest. Who they are and how many still live today

The Sephardic Jewish community of Bucharest has a history spanning several centuries, but today their numbers are extremely small. Descendants of those expelled from Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15th century, the Sephardim found refuge in southern Romania and later contributed to the economic, social, and cultural life of the capital. Once...

Why Bucharest Has a Square Named Charles de Gaulle and the History Behind It

Charles de Gaulle Square, one of the busiest and most well-known intersections in northern Bucharest, has a unique history, marked by successive name changes dictated by the political context of each era. The place that today connects the Primăverii neighborhood, Aviatorilor Boulevard, and Herăstrău Park was, at the beginning of the 19th century, k...

History with a taste of the past. “Caragiale’s Gambrinus Brewery, the fiercest rival of the famous Caru’ cu Bere

Few stories in Bucharest’s history combine flavors, culture, and literary memories as well as that of the Gambrinus Brewery. A celebrated haunt of the city’s bohemian circles, the legendary establishment was more than just a tavern: it became a symbol of the capital, a meeting point for writers, journalists, artists, and politicians. Its associatio...