Articles (1575)

The history of the first lăutari of Bucharest, Roma slaves of the 14th century: They played until “even the stones were crying”

The history of old Bucharest cannot be understood without the sound of lutes, cobzas, and violins that accompanied the life of the city for centuries. Long before music became a free profession, the first lăutari of the capital were Roma slaves, people without rights, but endowed with a gift that made them indispensable: music. From the 14th centur...

Captain Costache Chioru, the most corrupt policeman in the history of Bucharest: He tortured detainees until he obtained the “convenient confession”

The history of Bucharest hides characters who passed from reality straight into dark legend. Among them, few figures stirred as much fear, hatred, and revulsion as Captain Costache Chioru, the man who, for more than two decades, became the absolute symbol of abuse of power. For the people of Bucharest, his name turned into a synonym for terror, the...

Operation Autonomous. How writer Mihail Fărcășanu escaped from communist Romania aboard a bomber

The history of postwar Romania abounds in shattered destinies, forced exiles, and extreme acts of courage. Among them stands out the story of Mihail Fărcășanu, a liberal intellectual, talented writer, and anti-communist activist, whose spectacular escape from Romania in the autumn of 1946 became one of the most dramatic pages of Romanian political...

From Paris to Bucharest, the “Black Pearl” captivated Constantin Tănase with her exotic dance. The story of Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker, nicknamed the “Black Pearl,” was one of the most fascinating and influential personalities of the twentieth century. A dancer, singer, actress, and activist, she managed to overcome the racial and social barriers of her time, transforming herself into a symbol of artistic freedom and courage. Her journey, from a childhood marked by...

From Vacant Lots to Playgrounds: Growing Up in Bucharest Over the Past 30 Years

It’s often said that a true Bucharest child grew up “outside,” even if today that childhood survives only as a hazy memory of scorching asphalt between apartment blocks and a mother’s voice calling from a window above. Beyond the ball that inevitably bounced into a parked Dacia and scraped knees treated hastily with spit or rubbing alcohol, Buchare...

Bucharest City Hall prepares the rehabilitation of part of the Uranus neighborhood through a partnership between key state institutions

A significant area in central Bucharest, overlapping the former footprint of the historic Uranus neighborhood, is set to be included in a large-scale urban regeneration project. The initiative comes from Bucharest City Hall and is based on a cooperation protocol bringing together several central and local public institutions.The project aims to tra...

Which are the top 50 high schools in Bucharest, based on the 2025 admission average, pass rate, and Baccalaureate average

The ranking of the best high schools in Bucharest for 2025 offers parents and students a clear picture of academic performance in the capital, based on three essential criteria: the admission average, the Baccalaureate pass rate, and the overall Baccalaureate average. The data are centralized for the 2025 school year and reflect students’ real resu...

Bucharest has a museum for the blind inside the “Regina Elisabeta” Technological High School

Starting in late January 2026, Bucharest is home to the first museum in Romania dedicated to the history, culture, and contributions of the blind community. The “Regina Elisabeta” Museum of the Community and Education of the Blind was inaugurated on Thursday inside the “Regina Elisabeta” Technological High School, marking an important milestone for...

How the legendary Charlie Chaplin and Constantin Tănase met: “Tell him I’m Romanian!”

Cultural history preserves numerous spectacular moments in which great artists of the world crossed paths, exchanging ideas, emotions, and visions. One such special episode is the meeting between Constantin Tănase, an emblematic figure of Romanian theatre, and Charlie Chaplin, the genius of world cinematography. Although they came from different cu...

The stars of interwar Bucharest: Virginica Popescu embraced acting and music from the age of 13

The interwar period represented one of the most effervescent stages in Romania’s cultural history. Bucharest had become a vibrant city, often nicknamed “Little Paris,” where theatre, music, and cinematography were in continuous expansion. In this context full of creativity and transformation, figures emerged who would come to define an entire era....