Bucharest - Teatrul Bulandra, Sala Toma Caragiu 01

Bust_of_Adrian_Păunescu,_20140817_București_013

''Grădina Icoanei'' ("

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

's Garden") is a small park in central

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, situated not far away from

Piața Romană Piața Romană (''The Roman Square'') is a major traffic intersection in Sector 1, central Bucharest. Two major boulevards intersect in Piața Romană: Lascăr Catargiu Boulevard (which runs northwest towards Piața Victoriei) and Magheru Bo ...

and Bulevardul Magheru. The park, located next to Gheorghe Cantacuzino Plaza in

Sector 2 Sector 2 ( ro, Sectorul 2) is an administrative unit of Bucharest. Demographics Sector 2 is the city's most multicultural sector. In particular, it contains Romania's largest community of Chinese people, who mainly live in the districts of C ...

of the city, was inaugurated in 1873. The park has a surface area of and attracts an average of 1,100 visitors on a weekend day. The

Bulandra Theatre The Bulandra Theatre ( ro, Teatrul Bulandra) in Bucharest, Romania was founded in 1947 as Teatrul Municipal; its first director was Lucia Sturdza-Bulandra, one of the leading Romanian stage actresses of her generation. Liviu Ciulei was director b ...

(the

Toma Caragiu Toma Caragiu (; (21 August 1925 – 4 March 1977) was a prolific Greek-born Romanian theatre, television and film actor. He was born in an Aromanian family from the village of Chroupista (since 1926 renamed Argos Orestiko) in the region of Mace ...

stage, ''Sala Toma Caragiu''), (now called "

Ion Voicu Ion Voicu (; October 8, 1923 – February 24, 1997) was a Romanian violinist and orchestral conductor of Romani ethnicity. In 1969 he founded the award-winning Bucharest Chamber Orchestra, which is now conducted by his son Mădălin Voicu. Life ...

"), the

Icoanei Church The Icoanei Church ( ro, Biserica Icoanei) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 12 Icoanei Street in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The church derives its name from a 1682 icon that mentions a wooden church which, ac ...

, and the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

are located in the park's immediate vicinity.

History

In a city plan from 1852, the area occupied now by the park was designated as ''Maidanul Stăpânirii'', signifying a city-owned town square. In the area was the Icoana Pond, from which the Bucureștioara brook sprang, and a wooded grove, which formed the nucleus of the present-day park. The pond, which covered some , was drained between 1832 and 1846, during the urban development efforts prompted by General

Pavel Kiseleff Count Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov or Kiseleff (Па́вел Дми́триевич Киселёв) (, Moscow – , Paris) is generally regarded as the most brilliant Russian reformer during Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas I's generally conserva ...

and the Organic Regulations. The construction of the park was done in 1870–1873, based on plans drawn by the architect Karl Kuchnovsky and approved by , while the landscaping was done by the

horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

Louis Leyvraz in 1873. At that time, the garden was at the outskirts of the city; it was a place where parties were held, lovers met, and fiddlers sang among the bushes. At the entrance of the park, a statue of , made by French sculptor

Ernest Henri Dubois Ernest Henri Dubois (March 16, 1863 in Dieppe; December 30, 1930 in Paris), was a French sculptor. He enrolled in 1881 at the École des Arts décoratiif and then attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he studied under Alexandre Falgui ...

, was inaugurated in 1904. A female character is at the base of the statue, holding a tablet with her left hand; the feather she was holding in her right hand has since disappeared. In another corner of Grădina Icoanei is the bronze bust of

Adrian Păunescu Adrian Păunescu (; 20 July 1943 – 5 November 2010) was a Romanian writer, publisher, cultural promoter, translator, and politician. A profoundly charismatic personality, a controversial and complex figure, the artist and the man are almost im ...

, a poet who lived near the park; the bust, made by the sculptors Ioan Deac-Bistrița and Dragoș Neagoe, was inaugurated in 2012. From November 2021 to February 2022 the park was completely renovated, under a 2.7 million leis contract; the two fountains were changed and the main lanes, originally covered with sand, were paved with a layer of crushed limestone, on top of which a layer of gravel was laid.

References

Icoanei, Gradina 1873 establishments in Romania Historic monuments in Bucharest {{Romania-geo-stub