BUCHAREST THE CAPITAL OF

ROMANIA AND OUR CITY

A SHORT HISTORY Bucharest was first

mentioned in documents in 1459, in the time of Vlad Tepes, the Ruler of Valahia.

In 1862 it became the capital of United Principalites.

Its architecture is a mix of historical (neo-classical), interbellum(Bauhaus and art deco), communist-era and modern.  In the period between the two World Wars the nickname of Bucharest was “Little Paris”.

Demographic and administrative facts

According to the 2011 census, 1,883,425 inhabitants live within the city limits, which means 8,9% from romanian population. The urban area extends beyond the limits of Bucharest proper and has a population of about 1.9 million people.

The metropolitan area has about 2.27 milions inhabitans

Bucharest is the sixth-largest city in the European Union.

Bucharest’s population density is: 8,260/km2.

Demographic and administrative facts

The city is administratively known as the "Municipality of Bucharest“ and has the same administrative level as that of a national county (judete).

 It is subdivided into six sectors, each governed by a local mayor.

TOURIST SPOTS

Bucharest has many popular places and beautiful buildings.

It is a little bit crowded, but definitly worth visiting. Some of the most popular tourist spots are:The Romanian Atheneum, The Grigore Antipa Museum, The National Art Museum, The Parliament House, The Triumphal Arch,  the Museum of the Romanian Peasant, The National History Museum, The Village Museum, The Cotroceni Museum and The Old City Center.

The Romanian Athenaeum building is a symbol of Romanian culture and since 2007 is on the list of the Label of European Heritage sites. Today it is the most important concert hall in Bucharest. Opened in 1888, it was the opera of french architect  Albert

Galleron. A part of the construction funds was raised by public subscription

in a 28-year-long effort, of which the slogan is still remembered today: "Donate one leu for the Ateneu!

The overall style is neoclassical. In front of the building there is a small park and a statue of Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu

The Romanian Athenaeum

The Triumphal Arch which is located on the Kiseleff Street, was declared a historical monument in 2004.  The structure of the current Triumphal Arch made by the architect

Petre Antonescu dates back to 1922 but the present decorative elements were added only 16 years later, in 1938, the year when the monument was inaugurated.

Until 1922, previous versions of the arch were built in 1848, 1859, 1878, 1906 and 1918, in order to mark certain military and political achievements of Romania, but these versions did not survived because of the construction materials.

The Arch was constructed in order to celebrate the victory of Romania in World War One and the unification of all the Romanian territories.

The Triumphal Arch

The Palace of the Parliament is the seat of the Romanian Parliament. It is the second largest administrative building in the world,

after The Pentagon in the United States, it is also the third biggest building in the world and the haviest construction.

For its construction was organized a contest, won by the architect Anca Petrescu (at that time, she was just 28). The actual construction began on 25 June 1984 and the inauguration of the work was attended by the comunist president Nicolae Ceaușescu.

THE PALACE OF THE PARLIAMENT