Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
dru Ghica (r 1834-42). The current facade dates from the 1930s. Until 1989 it was the
seat of the State Council and was called the Palace of the Republic.
HISTORIC BUILDING
Romanian Athenaeum
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(Ateneul Român; Click here ; Str Benjamin Franklin; admission 7.50 lei) The exquisite
Romanian Athenaeum is the majestic heart of Romania's classical music tradition. Scenes
from Romanian history are featured on the interior fresco inside the Big Hall on the 1st
floor; the dome is 41m high. A huge appeal dubbed 'Give a Penny for the Athenaeum'
saved it from disaster after funds dried up in the late 19th century.
Inside, the peristyle is adorned with mosaics of five Romanian rulers, including Mol-
davian prince Vasile Lupu (r 1512-21), Wallachian Matei Basarab (r 1632-54) and King
Carol I (r 1881-1914). It was built in 1888, and George Enescu made his debut here in
1898, followed five years later by the first performance of his masterpiece, 'Romanian
Rhapsody'. Today it's home to the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra.
Athénée Palace
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(Str Episcopiei 1-3) Just to the north of the National Art Museum is the Athénée Palace,
so evocatively captured in its post-revolutionary, prostitute-teeming state by Robert Ka-
plan in his book Balkan Ghosts . Designed to outdo Paris in 1918, the hotel later served as
a hotbed for Romania's KGB, the Securitate. Now the Hilton organisation has thoroughly
cleaned it up - and priced its rooms to the stratosphere.
HISTORIC BUILDING
PIAŢA UNIRII & AROUND
South of the Old Town, Piaţa Unirii stands at the centre of the new socialist city that
Ceauşescu began building in earnest in the 1980s (knocking down much of old Bucharest
in the process). The area's broad boulevard, B-dul Unirii, was originally intended as a
kind of communist-era Champs-Élysées, with big apartment blocks on both sides housing
the party elite. It was never finished, but the sheer scale conveys something of the intent.
These days, Piaţa Unirii is a lively place with a huge roadway roundabout and a conveni-
ent metro station, and marks the southern border of the central city area. The main sights,
ironically, are a handful of beautiful historic churches that miraculously survived the re-
building and demolition project.
Patriarchal Cathedral
CHURCH
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