Dear readers,
I would like to propose you an architectural history tour, in the western part of the picturesque Cotroceni quarter, which contains the grandiose edifices of the Medical Sciences University and the Palace of the President of Romania. The tour completes my series of distinct walks (east, central and west) covering this architecturally valuable area of Bucharest.
The event is scheduled to take place this Sunday 5 May 2024, between 11.30h – 13.30h. This cultural excursion could be of interest to any of you visiting Romania’s capital as a tourist or on business, looking to understand the character of this metropolis through discovering its peculiar and fascinating old architecture.
The most beautiful baroque revival style palace of Bucharest is the Medical Sciences University, the best such school in southeast Europe, designed by the Swiss architect Louis Blanc, and built in 1902, which is at the centre of west Cotroceni. Its aesthetics is auspiciously put into light by the the surrounding elegant built environment, one of the finest in the capital. You are thus going to sample, under my guidance, many of those examples, displaying a dazzling array of symbolism and messages, typical of the Neoromanian, the national architecture of this country, or the international Art Deco, Modernist and Mediterranean styles. The creators of many of those buildings were part of the golden generations of Romanian architects, people active mostly in the interwar period, when this part of Cotroceni was endowed with the bulk of its houses. Some of them are still being mentioned in name tablets on the walls of the residential edifices they designed, akin to the signature of a painter on canvass, people like I. Sillion, Petre Boico or Jean Burcus. Sometimes we will also encounter name tablets of inter-war building companies, such as I. Moscovici, one of the builders for the elites of the 1920s and the 1930s. That architecture is gracefully put into context by the gardens adorning many of those houses, enclosed by beautiful wrought iron fences and gates, complemented in the case of Neoromanian residences, by wooden ethnographic verandas inspired from those of the Romanian countryside. We will also catch a glimpse, as walls and gates allow, of the first-class garden refinement of Bucharest, the park of Cotroceni Palace, landscaped by Friedrich Rebhun, the designer of Cismigiu Park, and other gardeners, among them Alice Martineau, a highly qualified English gardner brought over by Queen Marie in the 1920s. The palace, designed in stages, in historicist Venetian villa rustica style, by arch. Paul Gottereau in the 1880s, and continued at the turn between the 19th and the 20th centuries by Grigore Cerkez in Neoromanian, is a famous former royal residence, now the headquarters of the presidency, constituting the other architectural focus point of west Cotroceni. All of that alluring collection of quality Bucharest architectural heritage is awaiting for you to discover as part of this Historic Houses of Romania cultural experience.
Book by emailing v.mandache@gmail.com or using the comments section of this post. You will be informed of the meeting place after I receive the booking. Minimum three participants, maximum ten.
Valentin Mandache, architectural historian (tel: 0040 (0)728323272)
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I endeavour through this series of periodic articles to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural heritage.
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If you plan acquiring or selling a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advise you in sourcing and marketing the property, specialist research, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.
Valentin Mandache, architectural historian 