Radio România Internațional

Tag: King Carol

  • May 10, 2020 UPDATE

    May 10, 2020 UPDATE

    Relaxation of measures — Another 9 people have died of COVID-19 in Romania taking the total death toll to 961 – the Strategic Communication Group announced on Sunday evening, the total tally of coronavirus infections exceeding 15,300. Of the people testing positive for COVID-19, over 7 thousand have recovered. More than 2,750 Romanians from abroad have been infected with the new coronavirus, mostly in Italy, Spain and Great Britain. Since the start of the pandemic, 100 Romanians from abroad have died. In Romania, restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic will be relaxed as of May 15, however, certain rules will have to be strictly observed. People have to wear face masks in enclosed public spaces, in shops, public transportation means and at the work place. Companies and institutions will have to re-schedule employees’ working hours to avoid overcrowding of transportation means and to allow employees to work from home, if possible. Still forbidden are the open-air events and meetings as well as indoor cultural, artistic, sport and religious events.



    COVID – 19 world — Over 4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection have been reported at global level, show data collected by the American University Johns Hopkins. The number of deaths the world over has exceeded 277,000. The US is the hardest hit country by the pandemic, accounting for more than a quarter of the confirmed cases of infection and for one third of the deaths. Experts warn that the real number of infections is probably much higher, given that the testing rate in many countries is quite low. The number of deaths reported daily continues to drop in some states, but there is fear that relaxing restrictions might bring about ‘a second wave’ of contaminations. Moreover, governments are preparing for an economic downturn since the pandemic has affected the global markets and the supply chains.



    Parliament — The Romanian health minister Nelu Tataru, the labor minister Violeta Alexandru and the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu are called on Monday in Parliament to brief MPs on the way in which they managed the situation during the state of emergency. A sensitive issue on the agenda of discussions is the situation of the Romanian seasonal workers who left to work abroad in full COVID-19 crisis. Minister Bogdan Aurescu needs to explain how the Romanian workers went abroad and why they worked in insecure conditions. The labor minister also has to answer the MPs questions related to the Romanian employees’ furlough and to the promised pension increase and the measures the government is going to take in this respect. The health minister is expected to provide answers related to how many individuals have been tested for COVID-19 so far and how many tests were made across Romania and also to what is going to happen after the easing of restrictions following May 15.



    PSD — The speaker of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies and the interim leader of the Social Democratic Party PSD felt sick during a press briefing held at his party’s headquarters. He was presenting the journalists with some of the provisions of an economic recovery plan called “Restarting Romania.” The press conference was suspended and the official was taken to hospital, the doctors concluding that it was just a fainting spell.



    May 10 — University professors from Cluj (northwest) are asking that May 10, which marks Royalty Day at present, should be declared the National Day of Romania alongside December 1. They suggested the model of Poland, which has two national days, or that of Hungary which has 3 such holidays. May 10 has a triple significance for Romanians: in 1866 the Hohenzollern dynasty was instated in Romania, with the coming to power of the German Prince Carol I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; in 1877 Romania proclaimed its independence after, one day before, Parliament had called on Carol I to sever all ties with the Ottoman Empire; and in 1881 Romania was proclaimed a kingdom. May 10 was the National Day of Romania until 1947 when Romania’s last king Mihai I was ousted by the then puppet Communist regime instated by the Soviet troops. In the past years, May 10 has been marked through various public events in Bucharest and other cities of Romania as well as in the neighboring Republic of Moldova. Princess Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania on Sunday conveyed a message saying that the royal family joins all those who are celebrating the Crown of Romania, the country’s modern history and its aspirations of freedom, progress and democracy. (translation by L. Simion)

  • Peles Castle

    Peles Castle

    Ceremonies marking 150 years since the instatement of the Romanian monarchy have also been venued by the Peles Castle, a landmark of the Romanian Royal House situated in Sinaia, one of the most popular mountain resorts in Romania, which partly owes its fame to this emblematic building. It was in Sinaia that the new sovereign of Romania chose to build an authentic royal residence, of unparalleled beauty, as compared to what he found upon his arrival in Romania, in 1866.



    Construction works started in 1873, and the foundation stone was laid two years later. The official inauguration was held in 1883, but works continued and were completed rather late, in 1914. Thus, Peles Castle has become an architectural landmark of the late 19th century in Romania, says art critic Ruxandra Beldiman, who authored the book “Peles Castle. An Expression of German historicism.” But who are the builders and architects who worked on the Peles Castle along the years? Ruxandra Beldiman tries an answer.




    Ruxandra Beldiman: “In a first stage, Wilhelm von Doderer, a professor from Vienna, who had earlier worked at Baile Herculane (Herculane Baths), and later on, Johannes Schulz’s aide who remained at Peles until 1881 had a significant contribution. In a second stage, after 1895, works were taken over by the Czech architect Karel Liman, who also became the director of the royal architecture office.



    As Carol I wanted to propose a political and social model of German inspiration, his residence was to bear the same hallmarks. He didn’t want Peles to be a residence where to relax or spend his leisure time, but he regarded it as a residence of high political and symbolic value. He designed it as a cradle for his dynasty, a dream that came true in 1893, when Prince Carol, the future king Carol II was born, and later on when Prince Mihai was born on the Peles royal estate, which became a place where significant political decisions were made.”




    Architects Schultz and Liman were followed by Emil Andre Lecomte du Nouy, the architect who also worked on the Princely Church in Curtea de Arges, who was joined by various fine artists and decorators. Consequently, Peles Castle owes its appearance to the transformations brought to it in 1894. The castle covers an area of 3,400 square meters, has a ground floor, two floors and an attic. The interior is just as spectacular as, if not more spectacular, than the exterior. Art critic Ruxandra Beldiman has more.



    Ruxandra Beldiman: “Stylistically speaking, Peles is emblematic of the late 19th century European architecture. As regards the façade, we notice a mixture of German and Italian architectural styles, German Neo-Renaissance being illustrated by the wooden structure incorporated in the masonry, in the upper part of the building, whereas the lower part of the castle is of Italian inspiration. The interior boasts a wider variety of styles, such as German Neo-Renaissance, which was the favorite style of Carol I, as well as Neo-Renaissance in 19th century Florence or the Austrian Baroque, with several halls being decorated in Moorish-Ottoman style and last but not least, Art-Nouveau.”



    Walking through the Peleş Castle’s rooms, visitors may be surprised to discover paintings by Gustav Klimt, which are quite different from those that made him famous. Ruxanda Beldiman is back at the microphone.



    Ruxandra Beldiman: “Gustav Klimt together with his brother Ernst and a friend from faculty set up an interior decoration workshop in Vienna in 1879. At the time, Klimt was not famous. It was only 16 years later that his star began to rise, so at the Peleş Castle they worked in their quality as a subcontracting company. Therefore, by accident, the Peleş Castle came to have among its assets valuable paintings by Klimt, given that his youth paintings started to be reassessed. These paintings are atypical because, when he worked at the Peleş Castle, he used the techniques he learned in school, namely the academic style. And I’m referring to the Gallery of King Carol’s ancestors on the Main Staircase and the reproductions after the grand old masters. Another piece by Klimt, close to the art nouveau style, is the frieze that decorates the theater hall: Muses, Masks and Allegories. The frieze, made in 1884, has several elements that allude to the style that would later make Gustav Klimt famous.”



    Nationalized in 1948, turned into a museum between 1953 and 1975, the Peleş Museum is today open to visitors. During Communism, a part of the castles’ assets was transferred to other museums and to the Communist Party’s Economic Department. There have been attempts to recuperate the assets integrally, but they have failed. Nevertheless, by capitalizing on the building ‘in situ’ and by initiating a large-scale restoration work starting in 1975, the Communist regime managed to preserve the Peleş Castle that has eventually survived. Today it belongs to its rightful owners, the heirs of King Carol I: the Royal House of Romania.

  • The University Halls in Bucharest

    The University Halls in Bucharest

    If you take a stroll along the streets of historical Bucharest, each and every corner has its own pleasant surprise lying in wait for you. For instance, on the streets behind the tall buildings lining the Magheru Boulevard, Bucharest’s main thoroughfare, among an assortment of neo-Romanian and modernist structures, you will come across a neo-Gothic building surrounded by a lush garden. The building is known as Casa Universitarilor (the University Halls). It was built in mid 19th-century by Cezar Librecht. Historian Dan Falcan tells us who Librecht was:



    ”Cezar Librecht had quite an adventurous life. He was part of the inner circle of ruler Alexandru Iona Cuza. It appears the two had met before Cuza became ruler in 1859, probably in 1856 or 1857. At the time, Cezar Librecht, who was of Belgian origin, was in Galati working for the Danube Commission’s Telegraphic Service, while Cuza was the prefect of county of Covurlui, which is present-day Galati County. It’s hard to say what brought the two together. Perhaps it was the passion they shared for horseracing and for gambling. What we do know is that Cezar Librecht remained a friend of Alexandru Ioan Cuza even after the latter was elected ruler of Moldavia on January 5th 1859 and also of Wallachia, a little later, on January 24th. He was one of Cuza’s most trusted men and was even appointed the head of the Postal and Telegraphic Services, while unofficially he was in fact running the ruler’s secret service, having direct access to letters and telegraphic dispatches which he could intercept and read. Taking advantage of the special status he had been granted by the ruler, as well as of the intelligence he got, Cezar Librecht became a thriving businessman. He was part of Cuza’s close circle of friends, a circle formed around Maria Obrenovici, the ruler’s mistress. Librecht made his fortune through acts of corruption and the privileged relationship he had with the ruler.”



    While Librecht’s morality as a businessman was questionable, his tastes when it came to the arts and architecture were not, as demonstrated by the house he owned in Bucharest. Historian Dan Falcan tells us more about this building:



    “This splendid house, now a listed building, was built by Cezar Librecht in 1865, one year before Cuza abdicated, and was designed by an architect of Dalmatian origin, Luigi Lipizer. The building is spectacular. Its eclectic architecture combines neo-Gothic, Byzantine and Islamic elements. With its crenellations and lavish decoration in the Neo-Gothic and Romantic styles typical of the 1850s and 60s, as well as its Byzantine and Arabic influences, this building is atypical of Bucharest’s architecture. Most of the stately buildings that are still left in the city date from around the same time as Librecht’s residence, or even to a later date, to around 1880 and 1890, but their style is predominantly French. However, the Librecht house stands out, also on account of the large gardens surrounding it, which make it all the more attractive.”



    The building stood the test of time and became a symbol of Bucharest, even after its resident fell into disgrace. Here is historian Dan Falcan once again, telling us more about the life of Cezar Librecht:



    ”After his protector Cuza stepped down and left the country, Librecht was involved in a lawsuit. He was investigated, put on trial and convicted. He even spent time in prison for about a year or two, and afterwards left for France, although he was a Belgian. He was an adventurer all his life and that’s also how he died. In the late 1880s, he became involved in the Spanish civil wars and died there during the conflicts. So his ending was suited to the adventurous life he had lived. The people of Bucharest, however, are grateful for the fact that, despite his many dubious affairs, he at least left the city this architectural masterpiece. The building was confiscated by the Romanian state and later purchased by the Royal Palace Marshal Gheorghe Filipescu during the reign of King Carol I. This is why the building was known for a long time as the Librecht-Filipescu house, after the names of its two owners. In 1947, when the communists had already seized power in the country, they nationalised the building and, a year later, in 1948, turned it into the University Halls.“



    Today, the Librecht-Filipescu House is the property of the University of Bucharest.


    (Translated by E. Nasta)