Văcărești, Bucharest
Văcărești (Romanian pronunciation: [vəkəˈreʃtʲ]) is a neighbourhood in south-eastern Bucharest, located near Dâmbovița River and the Văcărești Lake. Nearby neighbourhoods include Vitan, Olteniței, and Berceni. Originally a village, it was incorporated into Bucharest as it expanded. Its name is related to the Wallachian aristocratic Văcărescu family, with an etymology leading back to the Romanian văcar, "cow-herder," and the suffix -ești.
The Monastery and quarter
The
Part of the buildings of the monastery were used as a prison. Inmates that were incarcerated at Văcărești Prison during the 20th century include Ioan Slavici, Tudor Arghezi, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and other members of the Iron Guard, Liviu Rebreanu, and Richard Wurmbrand. The nearby hill was home to Arghezi's long-time residence, the house he nicknamed Mărțișor (nowadays a museum).
Jewish history
In the 19th century, many
Almost all the Jews emigrated to the newly created state of Israel after World War II.[citation needed] Văcărești was one of the quarters that was completely torn down by Ceaușescu and nowadays few traces of the old quarters remain.
Văcărești Lake
In the 1980s, Ceaușescu wanted to build a large amusement park (3 km2), demolishing a sparsely built area and making place for a lake with a concrete bottom. However, it was never completed and it still remains barren as of 2022.
In 2002, 1.83 km2 of the terrain were given for 49 years to a company owned by Australian citizen Tony Mikhael that wanted to invest €650 million and build some residential areas as well as a golf course, a hippodrome, a hotel and some clubs. The terrain itself is estimated to be worth about €500 million, as the land costs in the area around €300/m2. Săptămâna Financiară argued that the concession of the terrain was illegal and that the Romanian state only gets around €0.28/m2.
Further reading
- Gheorghe Leahu. Demolarea Mânăstirii Văcărești ("Demolition of the Văcărești Monastery"), (1997) București, Arta Grafică
- Anania, Lidia; Luminea, Cecilia; Melinte, Livia; Prosan, Ana-Nina; Stoica, Lucia; and Ionescu-Ghinea, Neculai, Bisericile osândite de Ceaușescu. București 1977–1989 (1995). Editura Anastasia, Bucharest, ISBN 973-97145-4-4. In Romanian. Title means "Churches doomed by Ceaușescu". p. 171–186 is about the Văcărești Monastery, including extensive photographs and architectural drawings.
References
- "Proiectul Văcăreşti, dezgropat în 2005"[permanent dead link], Evenimentul Zilei, 13 January 2005
- "Obuz pesedist în tunul alianței - Afacerea Văcărești", Săptămâna Financiară, no. 48, 13 February 2006 p. 1, 5