Radio România Internațional

Tag: refurbishment

  • The Romanian Royal Family and its interesting past

    The Romanian Royal Family and its interesting past


    The Hohenzollern dynasty put Romania on the map of modernization, ever since Carol arrived in the Romanian Principalities in 1866. The remarkable domestic feats of success, such as the Constitution of 1866, or the exploits at foreign level, such as Romania’s gaining its state independence in 1878, the proclamation of the Romanian Kingdom in 1881 and the country’s connection to the European economic system, all that laid the foundation of the new kingdom’s progress. Tourism was one of the economic sectors that saw a tremendous progress at that time. The construction of the Pelisor or Peles castles literally meant the birth and the development of the town of Sinaia and of the mountain resorts on the Prahova River Valley. We should also note, though, that the Romanian royal family had a crucial contribution to the development of tourism on the Black Sea coast. Dobrogea became part of Romania in 1878. The region literally provided Romania’s opening to the Black Sea, also whetting Romanians’ appetite for seafaring journeys.

    The historian Delia Roxana Cornea is the author of The Royal residences on the Black Sea Coast. The Romanian Queens’ Dream Homes. The volume provides a detailed account of the Romanian sovereigns’ four residences on the Black Sea Coast. The Royal Palace was one such residence. With details on that, here is the author herself.



    Delia Roxana Cornea:

    It was built between 1905 and 1907, and was designed by architect Pierre Louis Blanc. The residence became operational in the autumn of 1907, when, for the first time ever, Dobrogea saw military maneuvers taking place, under King Carol the 1st’s command and coordination. Shortly afterwards, the city dwellers of Constanta, through Anghel Saligny, at the suggestion of King Carol I, offered Queen Elizabeth, the poet Carmen Sylva, a small pavilion built on the port dam, the so-called Queen Elizabeth’s pavilion, later the Queen’s nest, a venue where, at least until 1914, the city’s entire intellectual elite convened and where lots of literary evenings took place, presided by the queen herself.



    They say walls have a memory of their own. We can also say that about the royal palace, which welcomed great guests within its walls.

    istorian Delia Roxana Cornea :

    The two residences were the witnesses of an event that was very special in the history of the city, they played host to Tsar Nicholas the 2nd’s one-day visit. The photos of the two families are very popular, the Russian imperial family and the Romanian royal family, reunited in the pavilion lying on the Constanta port dam. Unfortunately, the trying times of World War One and especially the Bulgarian-German occupation of Constanta and Dobrogea between 1916 and 1918 caused a lot of damage to both royal residences.



    After 1918, when everything would change, the old royal palace also had a different destination. This time around, its destination had the Romanian monarchy’s coat-of-arms at the center, paying homage to the visionary policy of the two Romanian sovereigns, Ferdinand and Marie, the iconic personalities of then the new Romanian world.



    Delia Roxana Cornea:

    After the war, the old Royal Palace became the Court of Appeal of the Constanta city. The municipality of Constanta offered King Ferdinand and Queen Marie, just as it was specified in the title of the donation, in remembrance of the difficult years of the occupation and on behalf of the forefathers of the motherland, a plot of land made of a several hectares, at the heart of Mamaia resort. It was the very moment when, in effect, the resort of Mamaia was put on the map of tourism. In the following years, almost all families of the well-to-do class wanted to have a holiday house in Mamaia. The royal residence in Mamaia was built between 1924 and 1927 and was made of two separate buildings. We’re speaking about the Royal palace and a small pavilion that was built at the suggestion of Queen Marie, who intended to offer it to Michael. Unfortunately, King Ferdinand never got round to being accommodated in that residence because the construction works were completed in the spring of 1927, and the King died the same year, in the summer.



    The inauguration of the new palace took place on August 22, 1927, with the little, six-year-old king Michael attending the event. In the following period of time, the palace was visited by the royal family and their guests, among whom there was the Greek royal family, to whom the Romanian one was related. But the history of the building would change. With details on that, here is the historian Delia Roxana Cornea once again.



    Unfortunately, the history of that royal residence was changed because of its selling, in 1932, according to a deal the mother-princess, Helen, had with her former husband, King Carol I. From that moment on, the Royal Palace became, in turn, the marine aviation base in Mamaia, then, later, during the communist year, it was turned into a holiday residence for the workers’ class, while in the 1970s the communist authorities redesigned the entire building and turned ii into a Neckermann Club, exclusively destined to German tourists. Just as it was stipulated in the supporting memorandum, it was intended to bring in hard currency, while at that time the one-place nightly accommodation fee at the former Royal Palace stood at 13 USD.



    After 1989, the story of the Royal Palace in Mamaia went on, but those who officially took possession of the palace did not provide appropriate maintenance. The building became derelict and then it was abandoned. However, the building’s upgrading ongoing campaign is a promising one and, in the long run, the city dwellers of Constanta hope to yet again see the palace in its initial grandeur.(EN)




  • The estate of Bratianu family in Florica

    The estate of Bratianu family in Florica


    The Florica estate is located around 100 kilometers north-west
    of Bucharest. It is one of the best-known such estates across the country.
    Proof of that stands the personality of those who created the estate and lived
    there afterwards. We’re speaking about the Bratianu family. It is a most
    distinguished family, which for two generations had been actively taking part
    in the making of modern Romania. Ion C. Brătianu and his
    brother, Dumitru, were members of the generation of the 1848 Revolution, also
    contributing to Moldavia’s Union with Wallachia in 1859. Their sons, Ion I. C. Bratianu,
    Dinu Bratianu and Vintila Bratianu were leading representatives of the 1918
    generation, which among other things, had an important contribution to the
    emergence of Greater Romania.


    There
    is a story behind the origins of the Florica estate. Historian Narcis-Dorin Ion documented that story. The
    foundation of the estate was laid by Dinca Bratianu, the father of the future
    great politician Ion I.C Bratianu. Ion I.C Bratianu inherited the Florica and Samburesti estates. Back in the day
    Ion I.C Bratianu also bought the adjoining vineyard, known as Floreasca. The
    vineyard would be Ion I. C Bratianu’s concern until he died, vineyard he would
    tend to and exploit.

    Historian Narcis Dorin Ion gives us the details.


    Ion C. Brătianu would build a
    first house in Florica in 1858, and here is how his nephew, the poet Ion
    Pillat, reminisced about it, in 1943: ‘where the old cellar and wine-cellar of the
    Brancoveanu vineyard once stood, a plot of land that later was the property of
    Dinca Bratianu, his son, Ion C. Bratianu, would build a simple,
    two-storey winegrower’s house, which also had an open terrace, back then. The gazebo remained in a primitive state until the old
    man’s death. That house in Florica, an old one, where I also spent part of my
    childhood, there was something quiet and traditional about it, something that
    never vanished form my soul.’


    Initially,
    the house was a modest lodging placed in the middle of the vineyard. From a
    three-room house and a wine cellar, in time, Ion I.C. Bratianu built a storied
    mansion and an open terrace. In August 1865, the house in Florica had ten
    rooms, but Bratianu was well aware of the fact that the lodgings still failed
    to provide the amenities he would have liked for his family, which had many
    children, all of them living in Bucharest. In 1877 the Florica railway station
    was inaugurated, so travelling form the capital city Bucharest became a lot
    easier.


    Historian Narcis-Dorin Ion:


    In a letter he sent to his wife,
    Pia, in 1871, Bratianu described the home in Florica as follows: ‘then I calmed
    down and I got myself seated in the smaller parlor. The room seemed big to me.
    From the little parlor, when I looked at the great parlor, I felt as if I were
    somewhere in the palaces in Germany which, being deserted, seemed to me the
    most spacious I had ever seen.’.


    Whenever
    he had his short holidays in Florica, Bratianu liked to be there all by
    himself, with his thoughts and with the passion he had for the vineyard and the
    livestock. In 1869, Bratianu confessed to his wife about what that place meant
    for him, it is the sheer sweetness of a home, since it is only here
    that I feel I am at home, with us. In Bucharest, despite all the amenities we
    have there, I feel like I am in a high-standard hotel, but nothing more than
    that .


    As
    long as he lived, the house had an austere style, imposed by his
    simple taste. Towards the end of his life, his son, Ionel, found it really hard
    to persuade him to make some changes, since Ionel was so passionate about
    constructions.

    Historian Narcis-Dorin Ion:


    The great changes occurred in 1905-1912 and 1924-1925,
    following architect Petre Antonescu’s plans. To this day, thanks to their
    lavish interior decoration, the bookcases can still impress visitors. The early
    days of the library in Florica are also linked to Ion I. C Bratianu, the one
    who had the first bookcase built on the premises. The first books in the
    library were purchased by Bratianu, from Paris. It was also the old man who
    compiled the first catalogue of that rich library, which proudly included
    bibliophile copies coming from the libraries of his friends in politics, C. A.
    Rosetti, Cezar Bolliac, Alexandru Papiu-Ilarian, as well as his brother, Dumitru
    Brătianu.


    Ion C.
    Brătianu also had a park built, which he names Semiramis’ Gardens, since the
    planting of trees was also one of his hobbies. Apart from the house, the
    vineyard and the park, on the estate, Ion C Bratianu has also set up a farm and
    had a church built there. It was in the church that he would be buried,
    alongside his first child, a girl, Florica, who died at the tender age of 3. Four
    of the Bratianu’s eight children got married on the Bratianu estate. They were
    Sabina, Maria, Vintila and Tatiana. The
    place was visited by many personalities of that time, among them King Carol I,
    his wife Elisabeth and prince heir, the future King Ferdinand I.

    Historian Narcis-Dorin Ion:


    Quite telling for the modesty in which the late 19th
    century’s most prominent politician lived are his and his wife’s room, kept in
    mint condition, also as a result of the mansion’s thoroughgoing refurbishment
    and extension works initiated by Ionel Bratianu. For the family’s elder son, so
    passionate about the study of history, those rooms already had a historic
    value, being presented to the high-brow guests of the mansion as some sort of
    family museum, something the contemporaries held in high esteem. ‘Daddy’s room
    had remained intact as a historical monument, in the cupboard the clothes he
    wore for the last time had been neatly arranged, as well as his Junker’s
    uniform and ma’s engagement dress. His bathroom, simple as it was, had remained
    intact. Ionel’s cult for daddy had been so very uncompromising’, recalled the
    daughter, Sabina Cantacuzino.


    To this day, the Florica estate is a Romanian heritage
    in its own right. It is a tourist asset that also facilitates a trip down the
    memory lane.


    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)