Description

From: Bucharest, InterContinental Athenee Palace Bucharest
Adress: Strada Episcopiei 1-3, București 010292

The Romanian Athenaeum is a concert hall located on Calea Victoriei, in George Enescu Square, near the Hilton Hotel, right in the city center. One of the emblematic buildings of Bucharest, the Roman Athenaeum is a sumptuous edifice that impresses with form and style. With a height of 41 meters, the Athenaeum building is a neoclassical style construction that includes typical French decoration elements and the central plan is made in an eclectic style.

In 1865, at the initiative of Constantin Esarcu, the Romanian Athenaeum Literary Society was founded, a cultural society with an educational purpose that aimed to contribute to the development of knowledge useful to the people through public lectures and conferences. Initially, the activities of this company took place in one of the halls of the Ministry of Instruction, in the residence of Prince Constantin Ghica. Starting with 1886, the French architect Albert Galeron, together with the Romanians Constantin Baicoianu, Grigore Cerchez, Constantin Olanescu, Ion Mincu and Ion Gr. Cantacuzino drew up the plans for the construction of the Athenaeum.

Besides the impressive architectural elements such as the marble hall and the 12 majestic columns and the four monumental spiral staircases of Carrara marble, the visitors of the Athenaeum can also admire the 75-meter long fresco of the painter Costin Petrescu, which includes 25 episodes from Roman history. Arranged in the form of an old Greek Greek amphitheater, the nearly 1000 seats with three ground floor areas and two circular rows with 52 lodges plus a central one, of the large concert halls, ensure an impressive acoustics and perfect visibility from any angle. On the dome, are inscribed in rectangles the names of Romanian writers: Sincai, Vacarescu, Coresi, Negruzzi, Cantemir and others. Outside the dome are written famous names such as: Homer, Raphael, Corneille, Virgilius, Michelangelo, Pericle, Beethoven, Shakespeare and others.

The Romanian Athenaeum is officially part of the European heritage and, starting with 2004, it is included in the List of Historical Monuments.