After six hours of focused work in a conference room, it was welcomed relief to do a combined team building and cultural learning activity in Old Town Bucharest. Thanks to Iulia from the Traveling Tulip, rather than an ordinary walking tour, we participated in a scavenger hunt that helped engage us in finding clues while learning about the history, architecture and culture of Bucharest.
One of the first sites we discovered was a hidden church. During the Communist regime, dictator Nicholae Ceaușescu ordered the destruction of many Bucharest churches while embarking on a program to erect drab institutional government buildings and housing. Fortunately, several churches escaped demolition due to the ingenuity of Bucharest citizens who either constructed new buildings around them or in some instances, literally moved these churches, hiding them in the nooks and crannies of the new construction.
We entered a cobble-stoned square flanked by an orthodox church and several large buildings in the midst of ‘Old Town’, an area of Bucharest that was fortunately spared by Communist bulldozers. Called the Princely Old Court, or Curtea Veche, this part of town was occupied by Wallachian princes in the 16th century. Over the years, many of the buildings were devastated by earthquakes or fire but the church was untouched, enlarged in 1715, continues to be restored and maintained and is still used as a place of worship today.
Known today as Biserica Sfantul Anton or St. Anthony Church – Curtea Veche, this orthodox church is believed to be the oldest building in Bucharest. It was built in 1559 during the reign of Prince Mircea Ciobanul and is typical of 16th century Wallachian church architecture with its alternating light and dark brick facing and green dome.
We walked through the gated courtyard of St. Anthony’s but did not go inside as a service was in process. St. Anthony is an important and powerful Orthodox saint; he was an Egyptian hermit that lived a very simple, but difficult life in the service of the Lord.
Our scavenger hunt led us to this beautiful painted mural of Christ framed by two long rows of vigil candles for prayers and offerings.
We continued our walk through the narrow cobble-stone streets. Once the thoroughfare for merchants and craftsmen selling their wares and services, today’s streets are lined with restaurants, cafes and shops.
Old Town was left to deteriorate during the 40 year Communist regime, but since the early 90’s has been slowly undergoing renovation. Although very picturesque, many houses, buildings and even churches are still being refurbished.
Following our clues, we left the labyrinth of streets in Old Town and walked along the heavily trafficked Calea Victoriei looking for buried treasure. This led us to the National Museum of Romanian History which houses both the Romanian crown jewels as well as a 4th century collection of Gothic golden treasures (in the basement of course!). The museum is located in the former Postal Services Palace built in 1892 and besides treasure, houses important Romanian artifacts from prehistoric to modern times.
The building is impressive. It has a stone facade, Doric columns and a long portico with steps running the length of the building . The exterior archways are adorned with beautiful sculpted details.
Across the street from the museum is a magnificent, neoclassical building; from the signage, it appeared to house a bank! The grandeur of Bucharest’s architecture from its 19th century heydays is reminiscent of Paris and why Bucharest is (or was) often referred to as the Paris of the East.
Our next clue had us looking for old stones. This led us to the courtyard of one of the most beautiful monastery churches in the city, Stavropoleos. Built in 1724 by a Greek monk, the monastery and church were economically supported by income from an attached inn, a current practice of the time. The inn and monastery buildings were destroyed by earthquakes and all that remains today is the church and courtyard. The small interior quadrangle contains the fragments of old stones – tombstones and pieces of demolished churches, adorned with pots of red poppies.
The interior of the church is magnificent with its gold trim and murals, representing elements from both Byzantine and Italian artistry. The dome of the church was once toppled in an earthquake so the interior and paintings were restored in the early 20th century.
Stavropoleos is an active place of worship today and a great example of the ‘Brancovenesc’ architectural style that combines local features with Italian and Byzantine influences.
From Stravropoleous, we set off looking for four flying geese and spotted these on a mural painted on another lovely neoclassical building. We were able to look down through a plexiglass panel in the cobbled street to see an the remains of the old city under the current city that had been unearthed via archaeological excavation.
Continuing on, we entered Bucharest’s first shopping mall. The Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse was built in 1891 to connect Calea Victoriei, then the busiest street in the city, to the National Bank. Named for the chief architect of Bucharest, Xavier Villacrosse and the son-in-law of the building’s architect, Mihalache Macca, it was covered with a yellow glass roof to let in natural light yet protect people from the elements, thereby encouraging commerce. Today it is filled with restaurants and cafes, many of which offer hookah. The smell of exotic tobaccos wafted from water pipes.
Back on Calea Victoriei, we passed a large mural celebrating the 100th Anniversary of The Great Union of 1918. In December of that year, all the provinces inhabited by Romanians were joined together in one national state, called Great Romania. Bessarabia, Bukovina and Transylvania merged with the lands that were part of the Kingdom of Romania at the time. The unification agreement was signed at the Athenaeum concert hall (see earlier post). Although Great Romania was dismantled after WWII with some properties going to Soviet Union, Bulgaria and Hungary, Romanians still celebrate December 1 as a holiday.
As we searched for the gold letters to solve our next clue, we passed the Odeon Theater, one of the most important performing arts venues in Bucharest. The theater was built in 1911 and previously housed the Comedy Theater of the Romanian National Theater. The building was moved to its current location in 1974 and is one of the few theaters in the world with a sliding ceiling.
Our clues led us to turn into Pasaguel Victoriei, or Umbrella Alley. This was a narrow passageway lined with cafes and covered by umbrellas. The multi-colored umbrellas overhead created a unique ambiance and a cool photo op.
Our next clue took us through the university district. The University of Bucharest was founded in 1864 and is the second oldest modern university in Romania. Today the university educates over 31,000 students and is one of Romania’s top ranked research and academic institutions. We passed a fountain with multiple streams of percolating water.
We gathered a minute around the large Bucuresti clock and then entered an underground walkway to cross the busy Bulevardul Nicolae Bălcescu.
Our destination was the interesting bronze sculpture in front of the National Theater. Called Cargeia cu paiate or the Caragialiana sculpture, this piece of art is actually an ensemble of 16 different sculptures depicting characters from Romanian poet, playwright and author, Ion Luca Caragiale’s works. The faces of the individual figures resemble actors that played these characters over the year. A figure of a lone man smoking, sitting sideways on a chair admiring his characters is said to represent Caragiale. The sculpture is over 22 feet high, cost a million euros and was completed in 2010.
We were at the end of our scavenger hunt and began to assemble all the ‘found’ pieces of information to solve the final mystery. Spoiler alert – the solution relates to Romania’s independence from Communism. The prize – learning that Romania has finally celebrated a prominent woman on a bank note; the commemorative 100 lei note, features Queen Maria, wife of King Ferdinand and granddaughter of England’s Queen Victoria, a beloved but at times controversial woman who died in 1938. Maybe there is hope that the US will follow suit someday!
All the walking and sleuthing had made us hungry! Dinner was at the Lounge 18 restaurant, located on the 18th floor of the City Gate South Tower, providing a magnificent bird’s eye views of the surrounding area, Kiseleff Boulevard and Herastrau Lake.
Food was plentiful – we had platters of appetizers, a choice of pork, fish, lamb or vegetables as the main course and another large tray of desserts to finish the meal, plus plenty of Romanian wine. Wonderful camaraderie, beautiful view and delicious food was a great way to conclude the day!
