Victory Square (, ) is one of the major public squares in
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
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 ...
, an intersection where
Calea Victoriei
Calea Victoriei (''Victory Avenue'') is a major avenue in central Bucharest. Situated in Sector 1, and having a length of , it leads from (which runs parallel to the Dâmbovița River) to the north and then northwest up to Piața Victoriei, w ...
,
Lascăr Catargiu Boulevard,
Iancu de Hunedoara Boulevard,
Kiseleff Boulevard,
Ion Mihalache
Ion Mihalache (; March 3, 1882 – February 5, 1963) was a Romanian Agrarianism, agrarian politician, the founder and leader of the Peasants' Party (Romania), Peasants' Party (PȚ) and a main figure of its successor, the National Peasants' Party ( ...
Boulevard, and
Nicolae Titulescu Boulevard cross.
History
The Victory Square received its name in 1878, although it appeared in maps fifty years earlier, when the
Kiseleff Road was cut. Initially, the square had an almost circular shape, edged by public buildings, the
Antipa Museum (the western side), the Sturdza Palace (the eastern side), and the Building of the Public Officials Association (the southern side), the last two no longer existing. During the interwar period, the
Victoria Palace is added in the Square, right behind the Sturdza Palace.
On 24 and 25 August 1944, during
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 ...
, after Romania started to fight together with the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
in the wake of the
coup d'état of 23 August, some buildings with important functions were bombarded by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, and destroyed partially or totally. Two main bombardment points were the Victory Square and the
Revolution Square (known at that time as the ''Royal Palace Square''), because the Victoria Palace was the Foreign Ministry at that time, a very important institution. Unfortunately, the Sturdza Palace and the Building of the Public Officials Association were heavily damaged by the bombardments. After the war, the square changed significantly. It more than doubled its area: the esplanade of the Victoria Palace was created where the Sturza Palace stood, and a little park was created where the Society of Civil Servants Building was. The south side of the square was reoccupied in the late 1980s, during the
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 ...
regime with massive housing blocks, similar with the ones from the new
Civic Centre.
Today, the square is known for its proximity to major office towers and government buildings. The main government building dates back as far as 1937, when construction work for it started, but it was only completed in 1950. In 1987, the neighboring apartment buildings and Victoria Underpass were built; the underpass was completed sometime in 1987–1989 and the apartment buildings in 1992–1994.
Important public buildings
Victoria Palace
Bucharest Victoria Palace-2.jpg, The facade of the Victoria Palace
ROMANIA, Bucuresti, 1. Dec. 2015, Palatul Guvernului (interior 6).JPG, Interior of the palace
Reliefs on the main facade of the Victoria palace in Bucharest (north).jpg, Relief on the main facade of the palace (northern part) by Mac Constantinescu
Reliefs on the main facade of the Victoria palace in Bucharest (south).jpg, Relief on the main facade of the palace (southern part) by Mac Constantinescu. Under the relief, there was a decorative fountain with three mascarons
Interwar or WW2 photo of the Victoria Palace (left) and the Sturdza Palace (right) in Victory Square, Bucharest, Romania, coexisting.jpg, Photo made before the 1944 bombardments, with the Victoria Palace (left) and the Sturdza Palace (right). This picture shows that the two buildings coexisted, and that today, the Victoria Palace isn't in the place of the Sturdza Palace as some sources might say
Despite now being the seat of the Romanian Government, the Victoria Palace was originally designed to house the Foreign Ministry. It was built between 1937 and 1947, in the
Stripped Classicist style, after the plans by
Duiliu Marcu. Stylistically, it is inspired by the architecture promoted by far right regimes from Italy and Germany, very similar with the Mussolini-era Italian
Rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...
. It was planned to represent the power of
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
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 Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, ...
and his
dictatorial regime (1938-1940), destined to be the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs ().
Initially, the façade were plated with
Carrara marble
Carrara marble, or Luna marble (''marmor lunense'') to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara ...
. The main one, towards square, included a
colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
of 19 arches and two lateral panels with reliefs. These were carved by
Mac Constantinescu in Carrara marble. Each panel was 15 m high and was made of three layers of reliefs with allegorical characters and Latin texts: agriculture and commerce, culture, geography and history, inventiveness and ingenuity, abundance. Under each panel, there was a decorative fountain, ornamented with three
mascarons and some coats of arms of the historic provinces of Romania. Besides the Victoria Palace, Mac Constantinescu also made a metal
frieze
In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
showing the
history of Romanians for the Romanian pavilion of the
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...
. He also produced costumes and stage designs for opera and ballet.
The palace (which was in construction in 1944, almost finished) was heavily damaged by the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
bombardments from 4 April 1944. The resistance structure and the reliefs on the façade were very affected. Until 1952, the façades and the interiors were consolidated, under the supervision of the architect of the building, Duiliu Marcu. However, the façade is plated with
travertine
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...
, and the reliefs and fountains no longer appear.
Grigore Antipa Museum of Natural History
1, Șoseaua Pavel D. Kiseleff, Bucharest (Romania) 1.jpg, Present-day photo of the facade
Belle Époque photo of the Antipa Museum in Victory Square of Bucharest, Romania.jpg, Belle Époque photo of the museum. Notice how there was a relief
Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
in the pediment
Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
and how its corners were decorated
Victory Square of Bucharest in 1917, with the Antipa Museum in the background.jpg, Victory Square in 1917, under the occupation of the Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
, with the Antipa Museum in the background
File:Antipa Museum in Victory Square of Bucharest, Romania, damaged by the 1977 Earthquake.jpg, Columns on the facade, damaged by the 1977 Vrancea earthquake
The 1977 Vrancea earthquake occurred on 4 March 1977, at 21:22 local time, and was felt throughout the Balkans. It had a magnitude of 7.5, making it the second most powerful earthquake recorded in Romania in the 20th century, after the 10 Novem ...
The museum was founded in 1834 as the antiques, art, and natural curiosities cabinet of the
Saint Sava Academy. It became a natural history museum at the beginning of the 20th century. The
Neoclassical building was erected between 1903 and 1906, after the plans of architect
Grigore Cerkez and engineer
Mihai Rosco. During the late 1990s and the 2000s, the museum was renovated, consolidated and redesigned.
Office buildings
Here is a list of some of the tallest office buildings:
*
Bucharest Tower Center, the second tallest building in Bucharest and Romania.
*
BRD Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Bucharest.
Future plans
There are plans to replace the parking lot opposite of
Victoria Palace with a statue of
Maxim Pandelescu, a general in the
Romanian Army
The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces.
The Romanian Land Forc ...
during
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 ...
, as well as an
anti-communist guerrilla leader.
Notes
References
*
{{Quarters Bucharest
Squares in Bucharest