Baraka is the terrace next to the skatepark where the first skaters and riders of Bucharest gathered, shook hands, started calling each other by name, and met evening after evening, weekend after weekend, to learn new tricks, burn off energy, and fill the air of Herăstrău Park with their noise and laughter.
Year after year, probably hundreds of skateboards, rollerblades, bikes, and scooters have passed through here. Entire generations have learned to take a deep breath, drop in from the ramp, get up after every fall, and start over with new and creative tricks that wow their audience.
The years have flown by, the place has continuously expanded, and visitors have become more and more numerous. Baraka and the skatepark have grown together, like twin brothers, gathering around them one of the liveliest and coolest communities in Bucharest.
Even today, dozens of kids learn every weekend to get their dose of adrenaline in controlled amounts, riding the same ramps built in the late ’90s. These ramps were given a colorful makeover a few years ago by some of the most talented graffiti artists around, adding even more personality—though it hardly seemed possible—to a place with such a rich urban history.
And Baraka has become much more than just “the terrace across the street.”
- It’s a friendly place where you can find a good beer or lemonade, food at decent prices, and swings or comfortable chairs to recharge your batteries after a busy week.
- It’s the unofficial “gallery” for parents, friends, or simply onlookers who watch the skatepark intently, grimacing at every fall and smiling at every success of the kids on the ramps.
- It’s the place that comes alive every weekend with parties where the best Romanian or international DJs play music, and in the summer evenings, the crowd fills not only the terrace but also the front alley and part of the park.
When you see how many people come to Baraka every weekend today, it’s hard to imagine that the place started in 1998 from what the name suggests: a small shack, built as an annex to the skatepark.
So you might wonder: what’s the secret that has made Baraka attract generation after generation and keep the heart of Herăstrău Park alive for so long? The answer likely lies in the people who have chosen to return here time and time again:
- The older generations, who were the first to launch off the skatepark ramps.
- The new generations, who learned new tricks from them and how to look out for each other.
- The people who came to cheer at every competition, even if they didn’t dare to enter the “ring” themselves.
- And, of course, the “veterans of the place”: Mihai – Baraka & Skate administrator, who built the first ramps in the skatepark with his own hands. Andreea – Baraka manager, who ensures the place stays fresh, functional, and young in spirit year after year. And the beloved Nea’ Bebe – the one who took care of the skatepark from its opening until his last year of life in 2023.
Different people, but who chose to call each other by name, to meet weekend after weekend, adding another table and another table to make room for new arrivals at the terrace.
A mini-neighborhood of people coming from all parts of Bucharest, as diverse and colorful as the city itself, who have gathered for years in a place that has become the almost perfect definition of a “community.” People who have created a space where everyone finds their place.
