\n
<\/p>\n
Bucharest, which started modernizing in the second half of the 19th
\ncentury, has very few buildings left that were built more than 200 years ago. A
\nfew date back to the early 19th century, such as Sutu Palace, which
\nhosts the Bucharest Museum, built in 1830, but also Ghica Palace on the shore
\nof Tei Lake. The latter was built in 1822 in a region that is now the eastern
\nside of the city, but which used to be on the outskirts of the town when the palace
\nwas built by Grigore Ghica IV the very year he ascended the throne. He was the
\nfirst ruler from a Romanian noble family after the Phanariote period. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For over
\na century, rulers of the Romanian principalities, Moldavia and Wallachia, had
\nbeen selected by Ottoman sultans from among the Greek families inhabiting the
\nPhanar area of Istanbul. The Phanariote period ended with Tudor Vladimirescu’s
\nRevolution of 1821. The Ottoman Porte appointed Grigore Ghica IV ruler of
\nWallachia. He was a member of an old Romanian family, with Albanian roots,
\nwhich had provided rulers of the principalities before. One of the first things
\nthe new ruler did was to continue work at his residence outside the capital,
\nbuilt in Western style, one of the first of this kind in the area. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Historian
\nDan Falcan has more:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Even before he took office, in September 1822, he had ordered
\nwork to begin on this edifice, Ghica-Tei Palace, a beautiful edifice in early
\n19th century Neo-Classical style. It also has element typical of the
\nRenaissance, such as friezes and sculptures. The interior was painted by
\nItalian artist Giacometti, famous in his time. His creations have withstood the
\nvicissitudes of time, and have been preserved to this day. This was not the
\nofficial palace of the ruler, it was his residence. The architect is not known
\nany more, we only know who did the interior painting. It is supposed that the
\narchitect was foreign, because at that time Romania did not have architects. It
\nwas only after this time that Romanians started going abroad to study
\narchitecture.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The one-storied building is longer than it is tall. It lies at the
\nmiddle of a huge park on the shore of Tei Lake. In 1833, Ghica Tei Church was
\nerected next to the palace. It was initially a simple palace chapel, but it was
\nexpanded. Also as a first for its time, the architecture was also in Western
\nstyle. Its round shape and its Italian Neo-Classical style is a break with the
\nByzantine tradition. However, this is not the only building that stands out in
\nthe ensemble of the Ghica-Tei Palace. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dan Falcan used to do archeology work
\nhere in the 1970s and 1980s: <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This palace was not built on empty terrain. Another noble house
\nused to be there. Back in the 17th century, it is possible that it
\nbelonged to ruler Matei Basarab. Across the lake from the palace we have
\nPlumbuita Monastery, financed by Matei Basarab. There is a tunnel running under
\nthe lake between the monastery and the terrain where Ghica Palace was built.
\nThe tunnel can no longer be crossed completely, parts of it collapsed, which is
\nunderstandable after earthquakes, fires, and various infrastructure works. This
\ntunnel dates to the time of ruler Matei Basarab, in the first half of the 17th
\ncentury. It was definitely not dug in Grigore Ghica’s time. He may have thought
\nhe would need it, considering the murky situation after Tudor Vladimirescu’s
\nrevolution. However, the situation was even murkier in the time of Matei
\nBasarab. You could always wake up to see the city full of Ottoman troops, and
\nwhen that happened, the tunnel could have saved your life, taking you to the
\nshelter of Plumbuita Monastery.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
As the ruler of Wallachia between 1822 and 1828, Grigore Ghica IV
\nwas tasked with setting up a Romanian administration after more than a century
\nof Phanariote rule. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bucharest, which started modernizing in the second half of the 19th century, has very few buildings left that were built more than 200 years ago<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45210],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-168798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rri-encyclopaedia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n