I lived for decades on Calea Victoriei, at number 68-70. More precisely, between 1957 and 1980.
At Calea Victoriei, or Mogosoaiei Bridge, as it used to be called, I made my first trip to the General School, No.5 in Amzei Square. Then daily until the end of the 8th grade. This happened between 1959 and 1967. On the Calea Victoriei, I read in the Central University Library before the present equestrian monument of Carol I, was mounted there. And although I looked for her in many places, I found my wife on the same street.
In this area, one of my favorite places is on the bench in front of the Romanian Athenaeum. Here is where i waited for my girlfriends, here my nieces came to play with the pigeons, and also here is the statue of Eminescu, about which i did a review on Radio Romania Actualitati.
I am writing you these lines, about the street on which i always walk with tears of joy in my eyes. There are 2.700m starting from the bottom, from the river Dambovita, where United Nations Square is, to the top, in Victoriei Square the place where the current seat of government is.
If I were to write in the pages of 10 medium sized volumes, it would not be enough for my thoughts and emotions that I have experienced here on my dear Calea Victoriei.
We take a walk from the Dambovita River. Immediately on the right is the Post Office Palace, the current headquarters of the National Museum of History, where my friend Ernest Oberlander-Tarnoveanu is the director. Across the street is the impressive headquarters of the CEC Palace. Both buildings were inaugurated in 1900, during the reign of King Carol I.
On the left we have the Police headquarters and up Elisabeta Boulevard are the Bancorex tower building and Victoriei Store.
Then the Macca-Villacrosse Passage appears. It was built by the architect Filip Xenopol in 1891. It is covered with glass and houses boutiques, cafes and apartments.
On the other side of the boulevard we have the Central Military Circle, located in front of the Capsa House, the place where I discovered the wonderful taste of the first kiss.
Next comes the Telephone Palace, which was built between 1929 and 1934. It is a modernist building, reminiscent of North American skyscrapers on a smaller scale. At the time of its completion, it was the tallest building in Bucharest with its 53 meters. A special place in the sentimental history is occupied by the site of the former National Theater, where an imposing hotel now stands, opposite the Continental Hotel. In past decades people used a carriage, today they walk.
Then Muzica Store and Kretulescu Church are next.
The Royal Palace now houses the National Museum of Romanian art. Paintings by Theodor Aman, Nicolae Grigorescu, Ion Andreescu, Stefan Luchian, Theodor Pallady, Gheorghe Petrascu, El Greco, Rembrandt, Rubens and other illustrious names from the international history of fine art are exhibited here.
Here is the square with the former headquarters of the C.C. (Central Committee) of the P.C.R. (Partidul Comunist Roman – Romanian Communist Party) with the historic balcony where Ceausescu gave his last public speech. This was followed by his helicopter flight to his death. On the surrounding buildings one can still see traces of the bullets fired then.
Next is the Athenaeum building and the hotel of the same name.
The Museum of Art Collections, the Writers Union or the former Monteoru house, the buildings of Romanian Academy, the Institute of Art History, Cantacuzino Palace (George Enescu National Museum) appear on the street.
The route ends with an amazing landmark: Cesianu House, seat of the current Museum of Bucharest.
In the end, please allow the author of these lines to tell you where his favorite place on Calea Victories is. It is the Revolution Square… But not because of the events of 1989, no. For other reasons. I’ll just tell you two of them.
First, it reminds me of my mother, the painter Adriana Bunescu. She used to pass by every 3-4 days in the morning on her way to Amzei market. She used to buy two very heavy bags of vegetables, fruits and meat from there. She carried them, with difficulty, but happily, to our block and up the stairs. Then began the stage of preparing lunch, which consisted of three dishes. She would sit in the steam, in the heat of the oven…etc. etc. and after she was done, she would call us to the table. After this ritual, I would eat two or three bites and then throw the food out of my mouth under the table. Sadly, she later discovered my “act”.
Another reason. For years I went to foreign tourists in this square and told them the story of this place. Simply for the pleasure of communicating. The CC balcony with Ceausescu, the Royal Palace, the Central University Library, i was touring the important buildings. Admittedly, this experience had a shortcoming that I had to overcome. I was often looked at like a criminal by foreigners because they were warned from home, “Attention, do not talk to strangers in Romania. The moment you open your mouth, your wallet is gone!”
