The Luminiș Villa, George Enescu Memorial House is located in the Cumpătu district, the only suburb of
Sinaia
Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named aft ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
. The villa is situated on the right bank of
Prahova River. It was owned by the Romanian
composer and musician
George Enescu
George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei.
Biogr ...
(1881–1955). The villa was built between 1923 and 1926 by architect
Radu Dudescu, and is an example of
Neo-Brâncovenesc style.
History
The town of Sinaia and Luminiș Villa held a special significance for Enescu, who considered them his places of refuge. Enescu was both sentimentally and professionally connected to this town, mainly due to
Queen Elisabeth's support of his musical career. Relatively isolated among the
Bucegi Mountains, Luminiș Villa become his main retreat. The villa is furnished and decorated with elements from both
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
and
Asian cultures. The marble bust of Enescu, situated at the entrance into the villa, is the work of
Ion Irimescu.
Enescu lived at the villa from 1926 until 1946. After permanently leaving Romania due to the political events of the post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
era, Enescu signed a document in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
donating his Luminiș Villa as a cultural house, conceived as a rest and recuperation shelter for Romanian and foreign artists. In 1990, Luminiș Villa underwent renovations, as part of a 5-year restoration and conservation project for cultural buildings put forth by the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to:
*Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)
* Ministry of Culture (Algeria)
*Ministry of Culture (Argentina)
*Minister for the Arts (Australia)
*Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)
* Ministry of ...
and by the European Culture Centre of Sinaia.
On September 5, 1995, during the
George Enescu Festival
The George Enescu Festival (also known as George Enescu International Festival and Competition), held in honor of the celebrated Romanian composer George Enescu, is the biggest classical music festival and classical international competition hel ...
, Luminiș Villa officially became a memorial site.
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Music museums
Sinaia
Biographical museums in Romania
Music organizations based in Romania
Houses completed in 1926
Buildings and structures in Prahova County
Museums in Prahova County