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29-489: The heights were also known as Dealul Arsenalului (Arsenal Hill) and Dealul Uranus (Uranus Hill), after the armoury established there and the quarter built around the hill, respectively (see "History" section). Initially a vineyard known as Dealul Lupeștilor ('the hill of the Lupescu family'), it was rebaptised after a certain doctor Spiridon "Spirea" Kristofi, who founded the fortified Spirea Veche church in 1765. The church

58-528: A bomb was detonated on 8 December 1920 in the Romanian Senate (situated on the hill), which was detonated by Max Goldstein , a communist sympathizer. Also located on this hill was Stadionul Republicii , an Art deco stadium inaugurated in 1928 as the "ANEF Stadium" (the stadium of the "National Academy of Physical Education") and used by the Progresul football team, now known as FC Național . The stadium

87-416: A description of the building which suggests that he was not very impressed with it: "This palace is in all respects irregular and ill-proportioned, just like the boyars' residences, about which we mentioned that are built in octagonal and even twelve sides polygonal shapes, from well placed bricks, but due to the lack of wood, having the windows, doors and floors ill-fitted." His opinion may have been colored by

116-505: A document dated 1804 (during the rule of Ypsilanti) we find that "near the gardens of the Dudescu residence [near the Court] there is a "baltac" [stale water] which is infecting the entire neighborhood. The ruler decrees that the master of the place must drain it, or else, whoever drains it should become the master of the place." In 1806 Madame Reinhard was received in audience at Court, and described

145-566: A medieval polity situated between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube until the union with Moldavia in 1859, which led to the creation of Romania . Dynastic rule is hard to ascribe, given the loose traditional definition of the ruling family. On principle, princes were chosen from any family branch, including a previous ruler's bastard sons, being defined as os de domn , "of Voivode marrow", or as having heregie , " heredity " (from

174-410: A popular subject for artists visiting the city, who left drawings and paintings of the ruins. Michel Bouquet (1807-1890) left lithographs showing views of Bucharest during his travels in eastern Europe in the 1840s. Carol Szathmari (1812 - 1887) left paintings and sketches of the burnt ruins. List of rulers of Wallachia This is a list of princes of Wallachia , from the first mention of

203-623: A tragic ending. He was assassinated in Feb 1799 by an executioner sent by the Sultan. Alexander Mourousis : He ruled first during 1793-1796 and again 1798–1801. He can be see in the illustration above, meeting Robert Liston, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, at some time during his first rule during 1793–1796. The dating is possible because we know that Robert Liston was posted as British ambassador to

232-510: Is assassinated by Turks, probably as punishment for having abandoned his post. Mihai Sutu returns in 1791. Hangerliu is one of the most colorful characters of this period. A ruler with extravagant tastes, he organized parties and orgies at the court. One of the latter was recorded as given in honor of the Commander of the Ottoman fleet, Capudan Pasha, during his visit to Bucharest. Hangerliu had

261-512: Is enthroned. He starts a renovation project of the Court building, financed with a dedicated tax levied on merchants and boyars. In November 1789 Bucharest is occupied by Austrian troops, following hostilities between Austria and Russia on one side, and Turkey on the other. The Prince of Coburg takes temporary residence in Curtea Noua. Mavrogheni leaves the capital and takes refuge south of Danube where he

290-627: The Black Death . 44°25′38.79″N 26°5′18.91″E  /  44.4274417°N 26.0885861°E  / 44.4274417; 26.0885861 Curtea Nou%C4%83 Curtea Nouă ( Romanian pronunciation: [ˈkurte̯a ˈnowə] , New Court ) was the residence of the Princes of Wallachia between 1776 and 1812. Located near the Mihai Vodă Monastery , on Dealul Spirii in Bucharest , it

319-599: The Latin hereditas ); the institutions charged with the election , dominated by the boyars , had fluctuating degrees of influence. The system itself was challenged by usurpers , and became obsolete with the Phanariote epoch , when rulers were appointed by the Ottoman Sultans ; between 1821 and 1878 (the date of Romania's independence), various systems combining election and appointment were put in practice. Wallachian rulers, like

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348-568: The Moldavian rulers , bore the titles of Voivode ("duke") or/and Hospodar ("lord, master"); when writing in Romanian , the term Domn (from the Latin dominus ) was used. Most rulers did not use the form of the name they are cited with, and several used more than one form of their own name; in some cases, the ruler was only mentioned in foreign sources. The full names are either modern versions or ones based on mentions in various chronicles. From

377-593: The Ottoman troops sent to quell the rebelion, and some infantry troops along with the fire brigade of Bucharest, led by Pavel Zăgănescu. In 1861, the Bucharest Army Arsenal was established on the hill. which led to its alternate name, Dealul Arsenalului . After World War I , the hill gave its name to the famous Dealul Spirii Trial , which involved members of the Romanian Communist Party , after

406-510: The Porte as rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia ) until 1812, when it burnt down; it was since known as Curtea Arsă ('the Burnt Court'), the ruins being razed completely in 1986. In July 1818, Dealul Spirii saw the rising of a hot air balloon , an event witnessed by Prince John Caradja . On 13 September 1848, the closing battle of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution was fought on the hill, involving

435-682: The United States (as the second British diplomat to this country after the Independence War) from 10 March 1796 until 1800. He returned for a second posting to Constantinople in 1812, which is after Mourousis' rule. During his second rule, Bucharest was invaded in May 1801 by Carjalii, a band of marauders from South of the Danube. Many of the Bucharest residents left the city and took the road to Brasov. The city

464-587: The city were up and out on the streets. It was as bright as in the middle of the day. A short while later we were informed that the fire was put out, but the Palace and all it contained were consumed by the flames." From now on Curtea Noua will be known as Curtea Arsă ("Burnt Court"). Its prominent location on the top of the Dealul Spirii next to the Mihai-Voda Monastery made it visible from far away. It became

493-521: The early 15th-century the family was divided in two main branches: June1476 January–December 1477 Teodosie was defeated in 1521, fled with his mother, and died in exile the following year. The Ottoman influence in the Wallachian rulers' election grows from the mid-17th century onward. From 1659, the rulers elected are mostly scions of Greek families, and increasingly less linked to the original Wallachian ruling family. The process reached its peak with

522-521: The experience of having to walk through a yard with chickens and past stables before passing through the "Harem" and several darkened rooms to reach the princely chambers. In the same year 1806 General Langeron left us the description of a reception at Court given in honor of the Russian General Milaradovici who had just won a battle against the Turks and drove them out of Bucharest. In his honor

551-462: The fact that Transylvanian builders and architects were employed for its construction, who were forced to return without being paid. Construction was begun with architects and laborers from Brasov, and was continued and completed with work force brought from the Balkans and locally sourced. We know the name of one of the architects – Spiridon Macri (a Greek from Italy). Atanasiu Comnen Ipsilanti gives also

580-440: The names of the boyars (ispravnici) appointed by the ruler to oversee the construction: Marele Ban Dumitrache Ghica, Marele Vornic Nicolae Dudescu and Medelnicerul Ion Vilard. The court was not only the residence of the ruler (Domnului) but also the seat of the chancellaries: Inaltul Divan Domnesc, Logofetiile, and even the secret prison where disgraced boyars were held in arrest. In the 20th century, archeologists discovered under

609-564: The palace staircase was decorated with heads of Turkish soldiers lit in candlelight. Curtea Noua has been the residence of several rulers of Wallachia. Alexandru Ypsilanti built Curtea Noua as the new residence of the Wallachian princes. Nicolae Caragea is mentioned in a document dated May 1783 as taking temporary residence over the summer at the Cotroceni Monastery. Mihai Sutu (Aug 1783) Nicolae Mavrogenes (Mavrogheni) arrives in Bucharest on 17 May 1786 from Constantinople and

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638-471: The place where the palace stood two cellars and two secret passages . From Sestini, Ispilanti's secretary, we have an vignette of life at Curtea Noua. "Laziness and vanity have conjured a new and strange fashion in Bucharest. All boyars, with or without any business, spend their mornings at Court, chatting in circles in different rooms. This custom spread also to traders and one does not count for much who does not go and wastes his time in this fashion." From

667-571: Was built between 1775 and 1776 during the rule of Alexander Ypsilantis , and it meant to replace the old princely court at Curtea Veche . Curtea Noua appears at the top of the Sulzer map (1781) It is isolated from the city of Bucharest, across the Dambovita river. Curtea Nouă was described as being in Byzantine style , having three floors, four staircases and three towers. The Swiss chronicler Sulzer left

696-499: Was covered up during the construction of the People's House. As of 2006, the remnants of the stadium are being converted into an underground parking lot. The quarter located around the hill was named after its main thoroughfare, Uranus, which ran up the hill from Calea Rahovei to the Stadium, and thence to Splaiul Independenței  [ ro ] ('Independence Quay') and Izvor . Uranus

725-711: Was demolished in 1984 to make place for the People's House . Also on the hill were found the ruins of Curtea Nouă ('the New Court'), the princely residence built in 1776 by Alexander Ypsilantis , Prince of Wallachia , to replace Curtea Veche ('the Old Court'). It was built together with a large wine cellar , still in use during the 1900s. Curtea Nouă was the official residence of the Phanariotes (members of upper-class Greek families from Constantinople 's Phanári quarter, chosen by

754-526: Was in Bucharest at the time. "At five in the morning a terrible racket woke me up. I thought that the city is under attack; a blinding bright light shone into my room. I looked out the window and saw the palace of the Prince of Wallachia in flames. Set up on a height, it brought to mind the Vesuvius in an eruption; the flames it threw around threatened to set the entire city on fire. Bucharest, a city of wooden buildings,

783-407: Was in danger of being consumed by flames from one end to the other. I dressed up quickly and went outside to watch more closely the spectacle. Help was quickly summoned and was largely effective. Firemen, covered with helmets and a kind of Roman clothing, were courageously climbing the roofs, and entered houses to remove furniture. Despite their efforts the fire was spreading rapidly. All inhabitants of

812-463: Was left without protection, and was taken over by mobs, who also set up mock court at Curtea Noua. This led to the legend of the Craii de la Curtea Noua . Ioan Gheorghe Caragea (1801 - 1814) The history of the palace comes to an end during the rule of Caragea with the disastrous fire which burnt it down on 22 December 1812. There exists a description of the event from Count Lagarde, a French traveller who

841-428: Was one of the historic districts completely destroyed by Ceaușescu's communist regime , in order to build the "People's House" (see Ceaușima ), part of the larger project involving Bucharest's new Civic Centre . Dealul Spirii has been the site of many historic buildings, including a number of churches and synagogues. When the hill was razed, a mass grave was also discovered, containing the remains of people killed by

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