Royal Palace of Bucharest
Royal Palace of Bucharest | |
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Palatul Regal din București | |
General information | |
Address | 49–53 Calea Victoriei, 010063 Bucharest, sector 1 |
Town or city | Bucharest |
Country | Romania |
Coordinates | 44°26′22″N 26°05′45″E / 44.439362°N 26.095943°E |
Current tenants | National Museum of Art of Romania |
Groundbreaking | 1812 |
Completed | 1937 |
Renovated | 2013 |
Owner | Government of Romania |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 4 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Nicolae Nenciulescu |
Website | |
http://www.mnar.arts.ro/ |
The Royal Palace (
The palace is the largest and most significant royal residence in the country, containing emblematic official spaces such as the Throne Hall, the Royal Dining Hall and the monumental Voivodes' Staircase. An
History
The old Royal Palace – Golescu Mansion (1812–1937)
Between 1812 and 1815, the Golescu Mansion was built at the place of the present Royal Palace. It belonged to
In February 1866, Cuza was removed from the throne by a political coalition of Liberals and Conservatives (see "Monstrous coalition") and the German Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (who would rule as Carol I) was invited to become Domnitor of the country, by then officially known as Romania. On 10 May 1866, Prince Carol I arrived in Bucharest for the first time and the aristocrats offered him the Golescu Mansion as state residence.[1][2][3] During his reign, king Carol I made various changes to the mansion.[1][2][3] After gaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War, Romania was proclaimed a kingdom in 1881, with the mansion now serving as Royal Palace.[1][2][3] As the Golescu mansion was neither large enough nor had it the appropriate spaces for official duties, it was enlarged by a new wing, which included the main state rooms such as the throne hall.[1][2][3]
In 1926, a fire destroyed the main building of the old Royal Palace.[1][2][3] The royal family then used Cotroceni Palace as its official residence in Bucharest (Cotroceni was built by King Carol I as a residence for the young couple Ferdinand and Maria, during their tenure as Crown Princes).[1][2][3] Since a total renovation was necessary, the remains of the old palace were demolished during the ample reconstruction performed in 1936–1937.[1][2][3]
The new Royal Palace (1937–47)
The new Royal Palace, as it stands today, was erected between 1936 and 1937 under the direct supervision of Queen Marie and her son, King Carol II.[1][2][3] The architect of the building was Nicolae Nenciulescu.[1][2][3] During World War II, a complete reconstruction of the place before the palace was planned, but this architectural project was never completed.[1][2][3]
Until 24 August 1944, a villa, called Casa Nouă ("The New House"), existed behind the Royal Palace, on the site occupied nowadays by the Sala Palatului concert hall.[1][2][3] This was the house in which the royal family actually lived, since the new Royal Palace contained mainly official, large spaces.[1][2][3] An alley existed between Casa Nouă and the palace, requiring visitors to go outdoor when passing from one to the other.
It is in villa Casa Nouă that the arrest of Marshall
After 24 August 1944, with the Royal Palace made uninhabitable by the German bombardment and Cotroceni Palace still not recovered after the disastrous earthquake on 10 November 1940, the Romanian royal family missed again a functional Bucharest residence.
In 1945, the Throne Hall in the Royal Palace was superficially repaired, in a hurry, to host the ceremony of decoration for King Michael I, by the Soviets. They awarded the King the Order of Victory, their highest military decoration, for his merit in the 1944 coup. For the same reason, the King was awarded the Legion of Merit at highest degree (Chief Commander) by U.S. president Harry S. Truman, a year later.
The Royal Palace during the Communist regime (1947–89)
During communist rule, the Royal Palace in Bucharest was used to host the National Museum of Art of Romania.[1][2][3][5]
The Throne Hall in the palace was renamed as "Sala Consiliului de Stat" ("The Hall of the State's Council") and used by subsequent leaders of Romania – such as Nicolae Ceaușescu – for various political events.[5] During that era, all symbols reminding of the monarchy, such as the throne armchair itself, the great royal coat of arms on the walls and others, were removed.[2] Behind the Royal Palace, a multi-purpose hall was built between 1959 and 1960 on the site where the royal residence called "Casa Nouă" was located, which now serves as a concert and conference hall 'Sala Palatului'.[5]
In 1965, the Hall of the State's Council was used for the lying-in-state of deceased leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, with Romanian people encouraged to pay the last respects.[6]
The Royal Palace after the Romanian Revolution of 1989
After its
After the Romanian Revolution, former King Michael and his wife,
In August 2016, the coffin of Anne, King Michael's spouse, was laid in the Throne Hall for two days, before her burial in Curtea de Argeș, with thousands of Romanians paying homages.[8][9] Also in December 2017, the funeral of king Michael took place out of the Royal Palace.[10][11]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-606-92162-2-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-606-793-205-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-606-572-026-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0750938471.
- ^ a b c d e "History section of the official website of the multipurpose hall 'Sala Palatului'". salapalatului.ro. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "Cine a primit ultimele omagii pe pământ, la Palatul Regal, în timpul comunismului?" (in Romanian). EVZ.ro. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ^ "Historic spaces of the royal palace". www.mnar.arts.ro/. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ^ "Romanians bring final tribute to Queen Anne at Royal Palace in Bucharest". www.romaniajournal.ro. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ^ "Royal funeral for Romania's uncrowned Queen Anne". BBC. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ^ "King Michael: Romania bids farewell to former monarch". BBC. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- ^ "Romanians Turn Palace Into Shrine Before Royal Funeral". Balkan Insight. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
Literature
- St. Noica, Nicolae (2009). Palatul Regal Muzeul National de Arta al Romaniei (in Romanian). Bucarest: Cadmos. p. 143. ISBN 978-606-92162-2-4.
- Ion, Narcis Dorin (2013). Palate din Bucuresti (in Romanian). Bucarest: Noi Media Print. p. 207. ISBN 978-606-572-026-8.
- Badea-Paun, Gabriel (2017). De la Palatul Domnesc de pe Podul Mogosoaiei La Palatul Regal de pe Calea Victoriei Arhitectura si decoruri (1866-1947) (in Romanian). Bucarest: Corint. p. 141. ISBN 978-606-793-205-8.
External links
- "Website of the National Museum of Art of Romania". www.mnar.arts.ro/. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- "Website of the multi-purpose hall Sala Patatului". salapalatului.ro/. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
Image gallery
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The Royal Palace during the summer of 1941. In front of the palace stands theKing Carol I equestrian statue, by Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović
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The façade of the Royal Palace in Bucharest (left wing, nearAthenee Palace Hilton Hotel), photographed before dawn.
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The Throne Hall, restored after 1989
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Ceiling details in the Throne Hall.
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Entering The Voivodes' Staircase at first floor.
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The Royal Dining Room, ground floor.