Walking through the city at the best of times. When autumn is like summer, when it's Sunday, and you have nothing else to do. Sometimes these conditions are met, as happened today...
Revolution Square in Bucharest, former Palace Square, former Republic Square. The succession of names follows the path of time and history. It is the most famous square in Bucharest because it is bordered by the former royal palace, now the Art Museum of Romania. Hence the most famous name, Palace Square, could only be changed by a revolution, the Romanian Revolution of 1989.
Entering the Revolution Square. For good orientation, I will tell you that the square is behind me. If you were the author of this photo, then your position would be with your back to the square.
The boulevard you see is Victory Avenue, in my opinion, the most beautiful in the city. I've told many times about this place but never about the church and the small park behind it. I will do it now, actually a little later.
Now I'm going back to where I started my walks exploring the city. The place where I usually get my coffee when I'm in town. I live in Bucharest, but on the outskirts, and every walk through the center is synonymous with a trip to another city (given the difference between the center and the outskirts).
Right next to my favorite coffee shop, I can give an example of urbanistic contrast. The first photos show the buildings on a narrow street, so narrow that I can't even frame the whole building correctly. Here are buildings from the late 19th century. There were shops and inns. These buildings are dilapidated and there is a great danger that they will collapse in the next great earthquake that we all fearfully await. Because, like it or not, it will still come.
Vis-a-vis is an example of successful retrofitting. This is the Marmorosh Hotel, one of the most beautiful in Bucharest, housed in a former bank building built at the beginning of the last century.
At the end of the street I was pleased to discover that an old building, a sinister building because it was the headquarters of the communist militia, has started to be demolished and in its place will be built something important and spectacular, I think, because here the land is very expensive and I think nobody can afford to waste such a position.
Bucharest is a city of contrasts, a city built without rigor, a mixture of buildings and styles, a mix of old and new, of old in disrepair and old that has been restored. A city between the disorder of the East and the rigor of the West.
Some like it and some don't, of course. I struggle between conflicting feelings, between the question: What do I like about this city? and the question: What would I recommend a foreign tourist to visit? I find it hard to give an answer and have chosen to do a kind of photo reportage of places in the city and let viewers and readers decide for themselves if it is worth their interest.
I'm going back to the church and the little park near the Revolution Square.
Why is this church first? Because it is truly a historical landmark, it is the oldest building in the square. In Romania, churches and monasteries are the most numerous and the oldest buildings that have remained intact after hundreds of years. Of course, many have been restored. In Romania, the dominant religion in the Middle Ages was Orthodox Christianity, with influences from Constantinople and Greece.
This church is known as the Kretsulescu Church.
It was built between 1720 and 1722 on the order and money of Iordache Kretsulescu, that's why it bears this name.
The architectural style is Romanian and is called "Brancovenesc", after the name of the ruler of the Romanian Country, Constantin Brancoveanu. Kretsulescu's wife, Safta, was one of the prince's daughters.
These churches, which are historical monuments, are open to parishioners who attend Sunday services. The majority of believers are elderly people, especially women.
My wife takes me after her every Sunday...
I'm not too excited about this, but if it's going to happen...
... then at least let it be in a beautiful, historic place that lets me think of times past.
From the balcony of the church, I can partially see some buildings in the vicinity. A small part of the royal palace and one of the country's most famous concert halls. Is called the Palace Hall.
This building was built after 1950, during the communist period in Romania, in order to organize the congresses of the Romanian communist party. Fortunately, during the periods when it was not occupied by communist activities, many memorable performances and events were held here, such as the George Enescu International Festival, one of the oldest and most important classical music festivals in Europe.
For me, it has another meaning. This is where I saw my first concert with a Western rock band, in the early 1980s. It's Procol Harum, and the link below will take you to their most famous song.
Gorgeous!
Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale
Crossing the small park gave us the opportunity to admire the old church and the Palace Hall, an area of the city that had its glory more during the 40 years of communism in Romania.
I remember as a child being impressed by the tallest building in town, a block of flats called the Tower Block. It's twenty-something stories high, I don't remember exactly. The city of Bucharest is in a seismic zone and the technology the communists had did not allow the construction of taller buildings...
It has been a very hot and dry summer and autumn. Lack of water has caused the grass in the park to dry out. I hope we will get some rain soon.
This walking through the city will soon end in a more than pleasant way. We were supposed to meet a friend for lunch. For that, we had to cross another park. A very famous old park in the city center is called Cismigiu. I take this opportunity to put some pictures.
First of all the extraordinarily pleasant weather at the end of October, a walk through the city center and a meeting with a dear friend made this Sunday a special one, splendidly beautiful... almost sublime.
