A merchant town par
\nexcellence, Bucharest also made a name for itself throughout history thanks
\nto the great number of churches it has, some of which being closely linked to
\nits status as a merchant city. Traders and craftsmen’s guilds, once they became
\naffluent, would erect a church in their neighborhood on the street most of
\ntheir trade was being made. So it was around such worship sites that small communities
\nevolved, which made one of Bucharest’s points of specificity. Foreign travelers
\nto Romanian principalities also made special note of that specific trait of
\nBucharest. Beginning with the 18th century, once the city had seen
\nits progress the number of shops and stalls also increased. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Speaking about that
\nhere is Cristina Cojocaru, with the George Oprescu Art History Institute in
\nBucharest.<\/p>\n
In the 18th century, some sort of democratization of the founding
\nundertaking occurred and quite a few of the merchants and craftsmen could thus
\nhave such churches built. If in the past only high-ranking boyars or ruling
\nprinces were entitled to having the honor of erecting a church, in time,
\nbecause of the changes that occurred in the 18th century, in
\nBucharest, merchants and craftsmen would arrive in droves from the Balkans,
\nactually from south of the Danube. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Bucharest’s
\nhistorical city center still bears the hallmark of those merchants who
\npractically built the city. Glaring evidence for all that is provided by the
\nnames of the streets in the Old City center, Blanari, Selari, Sepcari…Skinners,
\nSaddlers, Cap makers in English. There were streets that were purposefully
\nconsecrated to a craft or trade. Looming large over some of those streets was a
\nchurch. Part of those churches have been preserved to this day, and today, some
\nof them have an altered aspect. Their importance has remained unchanged,
\nthough. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With details on that, here is Cristina Cojocaru again.<\/p>\n
The oldest church erected by a Bucharest guild and preserved unaltered to this
\nday is the Scaune\/Chairs Church, lying behind the Coltea Hospital in Bucharest
\ncity center. Its name comes from the large wooden stubs where butchers did
\ntheir job, that is trenching the meat. So traditionally, the church was
\nconsidered the butchers’ church in the capital city. Its architecture is
\ntypical for the 18th century, with a porch supported by pillars with
\nstone-carved plat-bands. Fortunately, the initial painting of the Scaune church
\nhas been preserved to this day, it is very beautiful yet it needs restoring.
\nAnother church, which has remained interesting for the guilds in Bucharest but
\nalso for the entire history of the city from a broader perspective is the
\nNegustori,\/Merchants church. It was erected around 1725-1726 by the merchants’
\nguild in Bucharest, a very affluent guild, which was able to afford a big
\nconstruction that followed the same pattern that had been used for the
\nScaune\/Chairs Church. Its painting is even more interesting, and even more
\nbeautiful, and more skillfully fore grounded by recent restoration works. About
\nthe painting itself, rumor has it that it had been made by one of Parvu Mutu’s
\napprentices, actually it belonged to the school of Parvu Mutu, one of the
\nleading painters of the Brancoveanu style.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Negustori
\nchurch, on the street of the same name, is close to the historic center. There
\nare several other churches erected by guilds, right in the heart of the
\nhistoric center, known as Lipscani, the name of the most widely known street in
\nthe area. For instance, Selari, the church erected by the guild of
\nsaddlemakers, and Zlatari, the church of the jewelers’ guild. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Here is Cristina
\nCojocaru back at the microphone: <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
They are linked
\nby a common denominator: the fact that they were restored in the 19th
\ncentury. During that era, there was nothing improper in demolishing a church
\nand rebuilding it in a new style. This is what happened to the two churches,
\nSelari and Zlatari. These were old churches, built in the 18th century,
\nand restored in 1850. They were decorated with new paintings, made by Gh.
\nTattarescu. The paintings in Zlatari Church are among the first he did in
\nBucharest. Considering the fact that it was the church of the jewelers’ guild
\nwho were very rich, they could afford an altar screen that is valuable both
\nfinancially and aesthetically. It was in the Neo-Gothic style, designed by
\narchitect Xavier Villacrosse, gilded and decorated by icons painted by a Greek
\npainter in 1853.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
These churches can
\nstill be visited today, and their ancient demeanor adds flavor to today’s
\nBucharest. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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