Lipscani: Bucharest's Old Town

Call it Lipscani, call it the Historic Centre (Centru Istoric, in Romanian), call it what you like. But the area of Bucharest described by the river to the south, Calea Victoriei to the west, Brătianu to the east and Regina Elisabeta to the north is more or less all that’s left of pre-World War II Bucharest. What the war didn’t destroy (and it destroyed a fair bit: allied bombing was fierce during the early part of 1944) communism did, most notably in the form of the grandiose Civic Centre project that saw almost a fifth of the total area of the city flattened to make way for Bulevardul Unirii and Casa Poporului. That anything survives at all is little short of a miracle.



Bucharest was founded, legend has it, by Bucur the Shepherd, who built a church somewhere on the eastern bank of the Dâmboviţa river; nobody is sure exactly where, or when. What we do know is that by the first reign of Vlad Ţepeş (1459-1462) there was a palace and court here (the Palatul Curtea Veche), and that what today we term Historic Bucharest today grew up quickly around the palace. By the middle of the 17th century the area was recognized as Bucharest merchant’s district, which it remained until the end of World War II when the rightful owners of the houses and businesses which lined the area’s streets were arrested by the communist authorities, who proceeded to confiscate their property and hand it to Gypsies, who have by and large occupied the area ever since.

As we write, much of Lipscani is, if not exactly inaccessible, then rather difficult to navigate. A number of streets were dug up ahead of planned street repairs before quite simply being abandoned. The problem? The discovery of archaelogical ruins, which delayed work indefinitely, and an almighty row between Bucharest city council and the contractor, a Spanish company. As a result the area looks like a bomb has hit it. Indeed, forget the mythical epithet Paris of East, Lipscani resembles far more some kind of Bombay of the West. Str. Lipscani itself, however, was at least repaved in time for Bucharest's 550th birthday party in September 2009.

Not that entrepreneurs have been put off.; far from it. This year, more cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs have opened than ever before in the Old Town area. We counted a grand total of 65 venues (bars, pubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels) on our last trawl of the area in September. At least a third are new this year. Even on those streets devastated by excavations, new locales have sprouted up faster even than the weeds in the mud. 

(The best of the bunch, by the way, is probably the Grand Cafe Van Gogh, opposite the National Bank).

Old Town’s Sights

If you head into the Old Town area from Universitate, the first sight that will grab your attention is the St. Nicholas Students’ Church.



Built in 1905-09 with a 600,000 gold rouble donation from Tsar Alexander II, this Russian orthodox church is topped with seven typically Russian onion domes and crowned with an orthodox cross. The wooden, gold-gilded iconostasis (catapeteasmă) is allegedly a copy of the altar in Arhangelsk Cathedral, in Moscow's Kremlin.

Right of here is the Czech Cultural Centre (Ceske Centrum) a lively hibe of cultural activity and (for the brave) Czech language courses. Walk to the end of the street and you will see in front of you the unmistakably neoclassical exterior of the National Bank of Romania (BNR). stands on the site of one of the most famous buildings in Romania: the Hanul Serban Voda, which from 1678 until 1883 was the home of various things, from a pub, to an inn to a dormitory for a nearby girl's school. After two fires gutted the building, however, the land was levelled and in 1883 work began on the BNR, completed to the designs of French architects Cassien Bernard and Albert Galleron in 1885. Built in a French, Neo-Classical style, the building boasts a facade with Corinthian columns, and an enormous central banking hall. The passing of time has seen the building become rather hemmed in, but it remains a classic worthy of admiration.

(For a more detailed look at the National Bank, try this post on the website of architectural commentator, Valentin Mandache).

On Str. Blanari you will find the St. Nicolas Church, built in the 1880s as a private chapel for Romania’s first royal couple, who still have special, reserved seats on the left and right of the church’s 18th century icon should they ever return. The icon itself is said by churchgoers to have magical healing powers. Behind the church is a narrow little alleyway that takes you past the Interbelic speakeasy and out onto Str. Lipscani itself.

The street gets its name from the large number of traders who, in the 18th century, sold wares here brought from Leipzig, which at the time was one of the largest trading posts in Europe. As Str. Lipscani dissects the area neatly in two, it came to eventually give its name to the whole area, hence Lipscani today refers not merely to this one street, which, its name and history aside, has little to recommend it, except the Hanul cu Tei (Hanul cu Tei; Open 09:00-18:00, Sat, Sun 09:00-14:00) a wonderful side street (once part of an inn) which houses art galleries, antique shops, second-hand book shops, gift shops, studios and portrait artists.

Str. Stavropoleos, named for the eponymous church found along its length (Biserica Stavropoleos; Open 08:30 - 18:00. Services (in Romanian) on Sunday at 09:30, 10:30).

The church was built in 1724 by the Greek monk Ioanikie Stratonikeas, and is currently under going much-needed restoration. It is characterized by its beautiful stone and wood carvings, of which the finest are on the main doors. The courtyard outside (beautiful on a warm afternoon) has a curious collection of tombstones dating from the 18th century.

For a beer, coffee, bite to eat or simple jaw dropping experience (the interior is astonishing) head for Caru cu Bere, a beer hall and restaurant dating from 1875. It is on the other side of the road to the church a little further up. Church fans might also want to venture out on to Calea Victoriei. To the right is the Mother of God Church (Biserica Doamnei) built in 1683 under the orders of Princess Maria, wife of Prince Serban Cantacuzino. The church was the first in the city to boast octagonal stone pillars: note the decorative floral motifs of oriental origin at the foot and top of each column. They also decorate the door. The ornate building opposite is the headquarters of CEC, the national savings bank.

The real showpiece street of the area Lipscani area is Str. Smardan, the one street which has been completely resurfaced and which now buzzes with cafes and – when it is not raining - terraces. Str. Smardan is named for a famous victory the Romanian army won over the Turks in Russo-Turkish War of 1877-8, and try and find the plaque beside the door of No. 42, once the Hotel Concordia. (You may have to wade through a sea of smoking locals sitting on a terrace). It was here in January 1859 that Wallachian deputies elected Alexandru Ioan Cuza as their Prince. As Moldavian deputies had already done likewise a week earlier, the election that took place here to all intents and purposes created the first unified Romanian state since Mihai Bravu’s short-lived reign of 1600.

At the bottom of Str. Smardan is Str. Franceza, which in 1860 was one of the first in the city to be fully paved. To the right is a pleasantly wide pedestrian-only promenade, while to the left a narrow walkway allows you to reach the birthplace of Bucharest, the Old Court Palace and Church (Palatul şi Biserica Curtea Veche; Open 10:00 - 18:00. Closed Mon).



The Old Court, first built on this site in the second part of the 15th-century by Vlad Ţepeş, was considerably extended during the 16th-century, by Mircea Ciobanul, and again a century later, this time at the hand of Constantin Brancoveanu, who added a splendid voievodal palace, decorated with marble and icons. The palace was by and large destroyed by a series of fires in the 19th century however, and subsequently neglected. Much of what remains today was uncovered during archeological digs that took place from 1967-72, when the palace ruins were first opened as a museum. There are fragments of the original 15th-century walls, as well as remnants of the voievodal palace throne room, in which most of the relics found on the site are exhibited. Next door to the palace is the Old Court Church, the oldest in Bucharest, dating from 1545. It was enlarged in 1715, during the reign of Ştefan Cantacuzino, and the frescoes inside, painted by maestros Constantin Lecca and Mişu Papa, were added in 1847.

Directly opposite is the Hanul lui Manuc, the best preserved caravanserai (inn) in the city. Built in 1808 it is currently being restored after a long and often ugly legal battle finally saw the Romanian state return it to the descendants of its original owners in 2007. It has yet to be reopened.

Elsewhere in Lipscani, it is worth checking out the Glassblower’s Courtyard (Curtea Sticlarilor; Str. Selari 9-11) another former inn now put to good use as an artisan’s workshop and as the home of a couple of decent bars.

Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse

Today packed with cafes, Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse was built in 1891 as a conduit between Calea Victoriei – then the busiest street in the city – and the National Bank. It is named for a Catalan architect, Xavier Villacrosse, who from 1840-50 was the chief architect of Bucharest, and Mihalache Macca, son-in-law of the building’s architect, Felix Xenopol. It is covered with an arcade yellow glass roof to allow natural light, also intended to encourage commerce at street level. In other words, this was Bucharest’s first shopping mall. During the communist period the passage was known by the name Pasajul Bijuteriei (Jewellery Passage) and hosted the city’s largest jewelers. It’s original name was restored in 1990.