Visit the Stavropoleos Monastery and Cotroceni Palace by Cryptocurrency hotel booking at XcelTrip
Cotroceni Palace
This palace has a
fascinating history. It began as a monastery in the 17th century, after which
it became the summer residence of King Carol I. Constructed from 1888-93 at the
behest of Romania's first king, Carol I, Cotroceni Palace
has since 1991 been the official residence of the Romanian President. Built on
the site of a former monastery (the foundations and cellars of which remain,
and form part of the tour of the palace), the palace was designed by a French
team of architects, led by Paul Gottereau. The design would form something of a
blueprint for Romanian domestic architecture for years to come. It served as
the Bucharest residence of the Romanian royal family until 1939.
The part that
serves today as the president's office, and official home, however, was added
after the great Bucharest earthquake of 1977, and bears the stamp of local
architect Nicolae Vladescu. Part of the palace
is open to the public, and can be visited on a tour. During the construction of
the new wing in the 1980s, ruins of the original monastery church were
discovered, including part of the original interior frescoes. The church has
been partially rebuilt and can be visited without joining the full palace tour.
Visit the Stavropoleos Monastery
In the heart of
the center you will find a building that is quite different from the other
buildings: the Stavropoleos
Monastery. Surprisingly the church, originally built in 1724 by a Greek
monk, managed to survive the fire of 1847. Not many buildings in the center of
Bucharest were able to escape that fire.
It was even able
to survive Ceauşescu’s communist era when religion was not encouraged, and he
even tried to abolish the church. However, since the church and state had a
deal where they would not openly attack each other, he couldn’t openly order
the monastery’s
demolition. Instead, he tried to make the whole neighborhood move, and the only
way the church could remain is if it moved as well. Now… can you
imagine trying to move a church? It’s kind of impossible! However, a group of
inventive Romanians managed to make it possible. They moved the entire church
to where it stands now!
Get your next
travel bookings to Romania done with XcelTrip,
you may now book hotel rooms along with flights and enjoy your trip.
Comments
Post a Comment