BUCHAREST

Capital of Romania has rediscovered the beauty of old times, when it was recognized as "the Little Paris"

Capital of Romania has rediscovered the beauty of old times, when it was recognized as “the Little Paris”, despite the mutilations during the communist regime. Documentary certified in 1459, the city draws its name from the shepherd Bucur, who was herding his fours here. Valahia’s rulers raised a stylish palace whose ruins can be seen today - "The Old Court" - and the Lordly Church prevail, transforming the place in alternative residence and then in the capital city. During long reign of the first Romanian King (1866-1914), Carol I, of the Hohenzollern family, Bucharest tasted a real time of growth. Public buildings were raised, palaces for the magnates of those times, parks and gardens were administrated, boulevards by the Parisian model.

However, the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu demolished one-third of the graceful capital in order to bring to life the vision of a North Korean inspiration. Old churches and monasteries were erased from the face of the earth or they were translated and hidden behind some blocks,  beautiful houses, deliberately left to ruin… All of them hide stories, dramas and unhealed injuries. In December 1989, Nicolae Ceausescu’s departure with the helicopter spared Bucharest from the new urbanization plans tailored on paper upon the image of the communist dictator. In the past years, due to the restorations from the Old Town, Bucharest has restored the ancient glory of the past times.