This is another shot of the Museum of the City of Bucharest, this time showing the whole building. I took the photo back at the beginning of April when the trees were still bare.

These two shots show the mansion that houses the Museum of the City of Bucharest which is located in the University Square. The building is also known as Suţu Palace after the name of its builder, Costache Suţu. It was raised in 1833-1835 following the plans of Viennese architects Conrad Schwink and Johann Veit. The style of the building is considered to be neo-gothic. The palace was inherited by Costache Suţu’s son, Grigore Suţu, which together with his wife Irina, hosted many balls, receptions and dances at the palace, attracting Bucharest’s high society. After their death the palace was passed on, hosting first the headquarters of the Chrissoveloni Bank and later the offices of Romania’s National Savings Bank. In 1959 it became the Museum of History of the City of Bucharest.

Today’s photographs show Bucharest’s Anglican Church of the Resurrection, located near Icoanei Park, at the intersection of three streets. Like many other churches in Bucharest, it has an interesting past. It was built in 1913-1914 on land given to the British Crown by the city of Bucharest. It was opened in 1920 and dedicated in 1922 by the Bishop of Gibraltar. In the early days the church was regularly attended by the Queen Marie of Romania, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and it was due to her help that the building was completed. The church was closed during WWII from 1940 to Christmas Day 1944, a period when it was under the care of a church guardian and cleaner, also named Maria, who continued to work at the church until 1983 when at the age of 78 was forced to retire. She was later presented with the bronze cross of the Order of St. Augustine of Canterbury by the Archbishop of Canterbury. After the communists took power the church had no permanent chaplain, being served monthly by visiting priests. This situation lasted until 1966. The church’s official webpage describes the harsh conditions of the late 1980s when the church was under constant surveillance and how “the few Romanians who dared to step inside risked losing their job, their home, even their freedom”. These days the church offers English language services every Sunday. The building’s red brick facade is reminiscent of British architecture, and is the work of architect Victor Gh. Ştephănescu.

Gheorghe Lazăr High School is Bucharest’s second oldest high school, being opened in 1860. It is named after Gheorghe Lazăr, a Transylvanian-born Romanian scholar who founded the first Romanian language school in Bucharest in 1818 and whose statue was featured on this blog last January. The high school is one of the most famous in Bucharest and its location at the southeast corner of Cişmigiu park is unbeatable: what better place to go to when you’re skipping classes?

Today’s photograph shows a bank building on Lipscani, facing the National Bank of Romania. The books on the architecture of Bucharest that I consulted list it as being built in 1910 – 1913, but sources I found on the web say the building was most probably built before 1900. The architect is unknown. The building served as the headquarters of the General Romanian Bank, which was a branch of Gesselschaft and Bleichröder Bank (thanks to Bucharestian for this information). It was restored during the communist regime in 1983-1984 and for a while served as a shopping mall. I remember buying shoes there once. Today it’s being used as a bank again.

The beautiful palace which is the subject of today’s photo was built in 1902-1906 as a residence for Elena Kretzulescu (aka Elena Creţulescu) by architect Petre Antonescu (1873-1965). It replaced the old family house, which was built around 1718. The palace’s facade is aligned with Ştirbei Vodă Street while the back looms over Cişmigiu Park from a small hill. Purchased in 1927 by city hall, the building was used for various purposes: from 1928-1929 it housed the office of the Prime Minister, followed by the Museum of Religious Art which was closed in 1946 when the communists came to power. Since 1972 the palace has been the seat of UNESCO European Centre for Higher Education. As with many other palaces in Bucharest the architectural style is Eclectic with touches of French Renaissance, which was very much in fashion in Bucharest at the end the 19th century.

The back of the palace seen from Cişmigiu park:

The watchtower in today’s photo was used in the old times as an observation tower by the city’s firemen. Back then, the 42 meters (137,7 feet) tall tower was the highest structure in the city. It was built in 1890-1892 after plans by architect George Mandrea, to replace the old fire tower, Colţei Tower, demolished two years earlier in 1888. The tower was also supposed to serve as a water reservoir in case of fire, being equipped with a reservoir and a metal frame in the upper section. The problem was that after finishing the structure they realized that the water pumps of the local water utility company did not have enough power to fill the tower with water. This problem was solved in 1924 with the inauguration of a new water plant but by that time it was no longer necessary as the city’s water network had been developed. The fire brigade remained in the building until 1935, even though starting with 1910 the use of a tall building was made obsolete by the introduction of the telephone. The building served different purposes until 1963 when it became the Firefighters Museum.

Recently restored and looking better than ever. The hotel was built in 1886 by architects Emil Ritten Forster and I.I. Râşnovanu in German Renaissance style. It replaced another hotel, located on the same spot, Grand Hotel Broft which took its name from one of the former residents, Carol Broft.

In case you’re wondering where I disappeared, the answer would be the northwest of Argentina, more precisely in the city of Salta, at the foothills of the Andes. I’ve seen some amazing landscapes here, but I had problems connecting to the Internet which made me unable to post. Don’t worry, I plan to make up for the break.

Today’s photograph shows one of the buildings lining Queen Elizabeth Boulevard, a boulevard located downtown Bucharest, only a few steps away from the University Square. Given the fact that this should be prime time real estate, I’m surprised that its restoration and cleaning is going as slow at it is. Except for two or three buildings undergoing renovation, nothing’s been done to restore this once beautiful street to its former glory.