Primăverii neighborhood (“Springtime”) is a district situated in the north 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 ...

, the capital of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, in

Sector 1 Sector 1 is an administrative unit of Bucharest located in the northern part of the city. It contains also the northwestern districts of Băneasa and Pipera. Sector 1 is thought to be the wealthiest sector in Bucharest. Like each of Bucharest sec ...

. The area is one of the most expensive in the city and is home to many politicians and local celebrities.

History

The district is relatively new and was built on the old "Grădina Bordei" park which was situated on the outskirts of the city at the beginning of the 20th century. The park was given as a wedding present to his daughter Caliopi by Constantin Hrisoscoleu, when she married

Petrache Poenaru Petrache Poenaru (; 10 January 1799 – 2 October 1875) was a Romanian inventor. Poenaru, who had studied in Paris and Vienna and, later, completed his specialized studies in England, was a mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, teacher a ...

. The domain was later bought by

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Carol II of Romania Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, in 1914. He was the f ...

. The houses of the district were built in the 1930s as inexpensive

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single-family Duplex (building), duplex dwelling that shares one common party wall, wall with its neighbour. The name distinguishes this style of construction from detached houses, with no sh ...

houses by architect . After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, most members of the Central Committee of the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...

moved to the area, with the largest houses on Primăverii boulevard being inhabited by the members of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

. These houses, which had large gardens in the back, were surrounded by tall walls and heavily guarded by the Romanian police at the time, called '' Miliția''. Starting with the 1960s, the

nomenklatura The ''nomenklatura'' (; from , system of names) were a category of people within the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key administrative positions in the bureaucracy, running all spheres of those countries' activity: ...

began building large mansions, with many rooms, parks, and swimming pools. For instance,

Alexandru Drăghici Alexandru Drăghici (; September 27, 1913 – December 12, 1993) was a Romanian communist activist and politician. He was Interior Minister in 1952 and from 1957 to 1965, and State Security Minister from 1952 to 1957. In these capacities, he exerci ...

built a villa on the banks of

Lake Herăstrău Lake Herăstrău is an Anthropic landscape, anthropic lake located in the northern part of the city of Bucharest, developed on the Colentina River, in the area where it flows through the urban area of the city, situated between Lake Băneasa upstr ...

, which, after Drăghici fell out of favour with the leaders, was later converted into the

Primăverii Palace Primăverii neighborhood (“Springtime”) is a district situated in the north of Bucharest, the capital of Romania, in Sector 1. The area is one of the most expensive in the city and is home to many politicians and local celebrities. History ...

and used for heads of state guests.

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...

occupied a whole block of villas, including one for his security guards and one for domestic servants.

Landmarks

Primăverii has remained an exclusive district since those days. Many historic villas and mansions are now repurposed as embassies, corporate centers, and museums. Some of these are: * – Ceaușescu's villa, now turned into a museum * Museum of Recent Art (MARe) –

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

museum

Transportation

The district is served by the

Aviatorilor metro station Aviatorilor (''Aviators′'' in English) is a metro station in Bucharest. It is located at the end of Aviatorilor Boulevard, under Charles de Gaulle Square. It provides easy access to Herăstrău Park and the headquarters of the national televis ...

and by various

STB State Security (, ), or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it dealt with any activity that was considered oppositio ...

buses.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Primaverii Districts of Bucharest