Bucharest

I

Introduction

Bucharest (Rom., Bucureşti), capital and largest city of Romania, situated on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River (a tributary of the Danube), approximately 64 km (40 mi) north of the Danube. The city lies on a generally level plain and, including suburban districts, occupies an area of about 300 sq km (117 sq mi).

The population of Bucharest was 2,064,474 in 1990, approximately 9 per cent of Romania's population. The population, which was 631,288 in 1930, doubled after World War II, as a result of the policy of industrialization and urbanization carried out in the 1950s, and then increased steadily. During the communist years, housing was limited to 12 sq m/person. Even now, the city faces a shortage in housing. Due to the lack of financial resources, many of the apartment buildings started under Nicolae Ceauşescu are still unfinished. Population 1,853,000 (2003 estimate).

II

Economy

A major industrial centre, Bucharest accounts for one-fifth of Romania's industrial production. Industries include heavy machinery, aviation, precision machinery, agricultural tools, furniture, electronic components and equipment, chemicals, textiles, leather goods, wire, soap, cosmetics, and processed food. Bucharest is also the financial and trade centre of Romania.

III

Places of Interest

The city is divided into two sections by the Dâmboviţa river and is crossed by two wide boulevards (north-south and east-west). It consists of seven administrative districts (“sectors”): six in the city proper and the seventh being the adjacent rural area. The city of Bucharest underwent major changes in the inter-war period. Many imposing buildings were erected: the new royal palace, banks, ministries, colleges, and apartment buildings, which gave it the name of “Little Paris”. Most industries are located in the suburbs, while the city itself is primarily residential.

During the last ten years of his dictatorship, Ceauşescu ordered the demolition of houses, and even historical monuments, on a vast area on the banks of the Dâmboviţa. Buildings in North-Korean style were erected (many of which are still unfinished), including the Parliament Palace (originally Palace of the People), which is the second-largest administrative building in the world, surpassed in size only by the Pentagon, measuring about 270 by 240 m (880 by 790 ft) and reaching a height of about 100 m (330 ft).

Important buildings include the House of Parliament, the Palace of Justice (1864), the Stirbey Palace (1835), the National Bank (1885), the Cotroceni Palace (17th century with later additions, now the Presidential Palace), the Athenaeum (1888), and the buildings of the Central Library of the University (1893), and the University of Bucharest (1869). In the 20th century, the Cantacuzino Palace (1900), the Central Post Palace (1900), the Central Savings Bank (1900), the Royal Palace (1935), the Central Army House (1913), and the Arch of Triumph (1920) were built. Among its outstanding churches are the Antim monastery (early 17th century), the Patriarchate Church (1665), and the church of Domniţa Bãlaşa (1751). In addition to the University, educational institutions include the Polytechnic University (1819), and academies of economics, agriculture, architecture, medicine, and music. The complex built on the orders of Ceauşescu, although of little architectural value, gives a useful insight to the personality of the man who commissioned it.

Cultural institutions in Bucharest include several libraries, of which the National Library and the Library of the Academy are the most important, the Romanian Art Museum, the National History Museum, the Romanian Opera and Theatre.

IV

History

The history of Bucharest can be traced back to the 14th century, when Ottoman rulers built a fortress here to gain control of the trade route to Constantinople (now İstanbul). Following the revolt of the vassal principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia against their Turkish conquerors, the Turks burned the city in 1595. The Turkish sultan Mustafa II made Bucharest the seat of government of Wallachia in 1698. Between 1711 and 1829 seven wars were fought among the neighbouring great powers (Turkey, Austria, and Russia), some of which led occasionally to the occupation and destruction of Bucharest. Additional disasters included fires, earthquakes, and epidemics of bubonic plague.

In 1859 Bucharest became the administrative centre of the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, under Turkish suzerainty. By the decisions of the Congress of Berlin, providing for a general settlement of the Balkan situation after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Romania (name adopted in 1862) was recognized as an independent country with Bucharest as its capital. During World War I, German troops occupied Bucharest from December 6, 1916 until mid-1918. On October 10, 1940, Ion Antonescu (then ruler of the country), admitted German troops to Romania. Bucharest was occupied until August 26, 1944, when German troops surrendered, following Allied bombing and Romanian insurrection. On August 31, 1944 the Red Army marched into the city. Direct military occupation of the country lasted until 1958.

In 1977, a Richter 6.5 earthquake caused extensive damage and the loss of more than 1,500 lives in Bucharest. Another Richter 6.0 earthquake occurred in 1990, but produced only minor damage. Earthquakes originate from the fault at the curve of the Carpathian mountains. In 1989 mass protests in the streets of Bucharest led to the ousting of Ceauşescu. In the 1990s, Bucharest was the scene of demonstrations in the support of economic reforms.