(aka ; "the beer wagon") is a bar and restaurant located at 5 Stavropoleos Street in the

Lipscani Lipscani is a street and a district of Bucharest, Romania, which from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century was the most important commercial area of the city and Wallachia. It is located near the ruins of the Curtea Veche, old Princely Court ...

district of

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, Romania. The business was originally opened as a brewery in 1879 by Ioan Căbășan and his nephews, Ion, Gheorghe, and Nicolae Mircea. They were originally citizens of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

and from Cața,

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. In 1889, Căbășan assigned his lease to his eldest nephew, Ion. Ion died later that same year and was replaced in the family firm by the youngest sibling, Víctor. Nicolae bought the building at 5 Stavropoleos Street in 1897, and made plans to open a restaurant there to expand their business operations. They hired the Austrian architect Siegfrid Kofczinsky to design a restaurant and brewery building in the

gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. Co-owners were Nicolae, Ignat, and Víctor Mircea. The restaurant opened in 1899, featuring their beer. Victor left the establishment in 1912, opening his own brewery and several years later, Nicolae set up Ignat in a wine cellar business. When Nicolae died in 1929, his heirs assumed control of the business and operated it until the

communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

nationalized the operation in 1949. In 1986, extensive restoration was done on the property, led by Nicolae Gheorghe. When the

Socialist Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

was overthrown in 1989, the heirs of the Mircea family began efforts to regain their ownership. In 1999, Caru' cu Bere was returned to them and they began extensive renovations to restore the property to its former state. It is noted for its distinctive

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

interior decoration. It is operated by Dragoș Petrescu's City Grill chain, and is classified as a historic monument, number B-II-m-B-19728. Romanian writer Mateiu Caragiale's

frame story A frame story (also known as a frame tale, frame narrative, sandwich narrative, or intercalation) is a literary technique that serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, where an introductory or main narrative sets the stage either fo ...

, ', is set in Caru' cu Bere.

Gallery

File:Edificio caru 'cu bere, 01.JPG File:Barul Restaurantului Caru' cu Bere, Bucuresti.JPG File:Caru-cu-bere-2017.jpg File:Caru cu bere.jpg File:Caru cu Bere 1.jpg File:Caru' cu bere Restaurant.jpg

References

External links

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BeerVisits
– Description of interior and beers {{Coord, 44.4321, 26.0981, region:RO_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Bucharest Gothic Revival architecture in Romania Art Nouveau architecture in Bucharest Restaurants in Romania Historic monuments in Bucharest Restaurants established in 1879 Buildings and structures completed in 1899 Art Nouveau restaurants Romanian restaurants Lipscani