Although Bucharest is a relatively
\nold city, being first mentioned in historical documents in 1459, its oldest surviving
\nbuildings date from the second half of the 19th century. You do,
\nfind, the odd exception, though, such as a house located on one of the city’s
\noldest streets called \u0218erban Vod\u0103 Road and which experts believe dates from
\naround 1790. Voina House, as it is known, after the name of its last owner, is quite
\nspecial because it is the only burgher’s house from the 18th century
\nto survive in Bucharest and because its architecture is a mixture of Romanian
\ntraditional elements and Balkan influences. Not to mention that it is located
\non a street of great historical importance, \u0218erban Vod\u0103 Road or The Beylik’s Bridge
\nas it was once known. Iozefina Post\u0103varu, an art historian at the National
\nHeritage Institute, will be making a foray into the history of this street:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Ruler Radu \u0218erban, who reigned
\nbetween 1602 and 1611, issued a decree referring to a small road which ran from
\nthe Old Court, or the Princely Court in the historical centre of present-day Bucharest,
\nto the south, all the way to Giurgiu and then further, to Constantinople. The
\nruler ordered that this road be paved with wood. Because of this measure, the
\nstreet would be named after him: \u0218erban Vod\u0103 Road. Later, however, during the
\nPhanariot rule, the street was known as Beylik’s Bridge, because it was
\ntransited by the diplomatic envoys from Constantinople or Istanbul to Bucharest
\nand further to Europe. Whenever a new Phanariot ruler would be appointed, or dismissed,
\nas the case may be, his procession would pass through this street. The processions
\naccompanying the arrival of a new ruler were prepared in detail and involved a lot
\nof pomp and ceremony. We can just imagine the locals attending enthusiastically
\nand following the new ruler’s procession all the way to the princely court, all
\nthe more so as it was customary on such occasions to toss coins into the crowds.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The name Beylik’s Bridge came from
\nthe word bey, which is the title given by the Ottoman Empire, which had
\ncontrol of Wallachia, to high-ranking officials it appointed as provincial governors,
\na title also held by the rulers in Bucharest. The latter would enter the country
\nby the road built by Radu \u0218erban. In time, new neighbourhoods mushroomed on
\neither side of this road, such as the Slobozia Domneasc\u0103 Mahalla, the St. Spyridon Mahalla,
\nand the Flam\u00e2nda Mahalla. It is in this somewhat hilly part of the city, which
\nin the old times used to be covered by woods and vineyards, that a new social category
\nwould be born. Art historian Iozefina Post\u0103varu explains:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
It was an economically and socially mixed area. It was
\nan important street, and boyar residences stood side by side with the homes of the
\npetty nobility and those of craftsmen and merchants. The area would, however
\ngradually come to be dominated by a new social category, namely that of townspeople,
\nburghers, or the early bourgeoisie of Bucharest, which was largely comprised of
\nbuilders. Some of them were brought over by the rulers to work on various new church
\nstructures. A genuine school was formed around these builders, for construction
\nand other professions. Merchants also formed part of this new social category,
\nas well as people who didn’t have a specific profession but who were definitely
\nnot farmers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Casa Voina was the home of one such burgher. City records
\nshow that it saw a number of alterations in time for which its owners asked
\npermission from the city authorities. For example, around 1890, the building underwent
\na change in its external appearance to be more in tune with the style fashionable
\nat the time. This is why, if viewed from the street, the house is no different
\nthan other buildings in the area whose facades are decorated in 19th
\ncentury style, with sombre Neo-classical elements. It’s when we step inside the
\ngarden that we notice it dates from a different era. Art historian Iozefina Post\u0103varu explains:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Once we enter the courtyard it’s like stepping a further
\nhundred years back in time, for the side of the house facing away from the
\nstreet has been unchanged from 1790. I’m referring to two facades surrounded by
\na porch with wooden columns and carved capitals supporting trefoil arches. It’s
\nsimilar to Manuc’s Inn from the historical centre of Bucharest, except for this
\nrow of columns. This type of building is typical of Balkan vernacular or
\ntraditional architecture and is also reminiscent of the br\u00e2ncovenesc style seen in Wallachia,
\nwith the trefoil arches supported by pillars being characteristic to this style
\nthat developed during the reign of Constantin Br\u00e2ncoveanu.
\nThe house was nationalised in 1950 and then rented out to various small craftsmen’s
\nworkshops, including a tapestry workshop at some point. But the building was
\nnot looked after and in the 1970s it was completely abandoned.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In the early 1990s, the burgher’s house on \u0218erban Vod\u0103 Road, which had in the meantime been
\ndeclared a historical building, came under the administration of what is today
\nthe National Heritage Institute. Restored in 1998, it still needs further
\nmaintenance works. As for its future use, there are plans to establish here a
\ncultural heritage information and promotion centre. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Voina House is believed to be the oldest surviving private residence in Bucharest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":169727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45210],"tags":[28915,34334],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-169726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rri-encyclopaedia","tag-bucharest","tag-history"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n