Eugen Schileru or Schilleru (pen name of Eugen Schiller ; September 13, 1916 – August 10, 1968) was a Romanian art, film and literary critic, essayist and translator. Born in Brăila , he was of part- Jewish descent, being often described (and, during World War II, persecuted) as a Jew. He entered literary life in the early 1930s, while enrolled at Nicolae Bălcescu High School ; he then attended the University of Bucharest , specializing in aesthetics , but also taking degrees in law and pedagogy. As a student, Schilleru became involved with the outlawed Romanian Communist Party and its Union of Communist Youth . He only got his break into the mainstream after the anti-fascist coup of August 1944 , when he joined the new cultural establishment—he was initially involved with the generic democratic press, including National Liberal Party 's Viitorul , and wrote on a variety of topics; with time, he was exclusively employed by communist papers, and had to embrace the core tenets of Socialist Realism .
172-544: For a while after 1948, Romania's new communist regime promoted Schileru, assigning him to a publishing company, to the Romanian Academy 's library, and finally to the Nicolae Grigorescu Fine Arts Institute . He was secretly opposed to Socialist Realism, and offered moral support to writers repressed under its cultural guidelines. He alternated this dissident stance with shows of obedience, and used
344-503: A humid continental climate ( Dfa by the 0 °C isotherm), or a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa by the -3 °C isotherm), with hot, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. Owing to its position on the Romanian Plain, the city's winters can get windy, though some of the winds are mitigated due to urbanisation. Winter temperatures often dip below 0 °C (32 °F), sometimes even to −10 °C (14 °F). In summer,
516-455: A "poet of death", and therefore by recontextualizing his modern " Orphism ". Schileru's essays on Sima and Ion Irimescu were published in 1968 and 1969, followed by the monograph Impresionismul (1969). The latter was issued from raw text, and was as such incomplete; according to Moangă, it should be praised for its "stylistic clarity" in discussing obscure pictorial techniques, and with its analysis of Impressionism as an intellectual current and
688-487: A "spiritual restlessness". More controversially, Schileru joined up with Paraschivescu and Nicolae Moraru in pushing for strict communist dogmas, against independent-minded columnists who spoke of the period as one of intellectual crisis—the latter category included Tudor Arghezi , Barbu Brănișteanu , Ion Caraion , Șerban Cioculescu , Alexandru A. Philippide , Vladimir Streinu , Alexandru Talex , Tudor Teodorescu-Braniște , and Constant Tonegaru . Around 1947, Schileru
860-504: A community police force ( Poliția Comunitară ), dealing with local community issues. Bucharest also houses the general inspectorates of the Gendarmerie and the national police . Bucharest's crime rate is rather low in comparison to other European capital cities, with the number of total offences declining by 51% between 2000 and 2004, and by 7% between 2012 and 2013. Bucharest, along with Cluj-Napoca , Timișoara , Brașov and Iași ,
1032-452: A corollary of de-Stalinization in the mid-to-late 1950s, Romania also began abandoning Socialist Realism, and Schileru was able to return as an approved author—initially, with film chronicles celebrating Italian neorealism . He was then primarily active as a lecturer and columnist on art and literary topics, drawing both praise, for his innovative approach, and criticism, for his lengthy digressions and lack of academic focus. He only published
1204-636: A degree in aesthetics; his thesis dealt with art and pathological manifestations. His advancement in this field was reportedly blocked by the cultural establishment, including the same Oprescu. Schileru had enlisted at the Bucharest Faculty of Law in parallel to his cultural studies, and, in 1939, also received a law degree. In 1938, he had received a vacation scholarship from the French Institute of Advanced Studies in Romania. Also that year, he graduated from
1376-522: A failed attempt by German troops to regain the city. After the establishment of communism in Romania , the city continued growing. New districts were constructed, most of them dominated by tower blocks . During Nicolae Ceaușescu 's leadership (1965–89), a part of the historic city was demolished and replaced by ' Socialist realism ' style development: (1) the Centrul Civic (the Civic Centre) and (2)
1548-443: A far-reaching contribution toward shaping new generations of artists and art theorists, over two decades." Schileru had left a large collection of books which were unusually hard to find under communism. Most of these were sold off. Shortly after, Schileru's unfinished introduction to the poetry of Dan Botta was included in a definitive Botta collection. It impressed critics for its rejection of clichés, resisting Botta's depiction as
1720-516: A few of his scholarly works, including a 1966 monograph on Rembrandt , before his death from cancer at age 51. His main series of essays, revealing his core theories on art criticism, were published in installments over the next decade. Schileru was born in Brăila on September 13, 1916, into what later sources describe as a "family of intellectuals." His parents were Henri Schiller, an otorhinolaryngologist , and his wife Maria ( née Demetrescu); his father
1892-435: A film chronicler. By 1946, Schileru was covering the crossover of cinema and writing, exploring the transformation of American novels under the impact of cinema conventions and aesthetics. At Revista Fundațiilor Regale , he published "remarkable contributions" on Eugene O'Neill . According to Șerban, he was carried by "internal impulses to intervene, on multiple levels, toward the edification of public opinion", and overall
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#17330861553462064-484: A film critic, noting that he was highly influential in bringing "nonconformist art" to Romanian screens. He was mainly producing short and occasional works on fine arts (exhibition catalogues, aesthetic commentaries, notes about Impressionism , classical and contemporary painting). Comarnescu, who was by then his rival, argues that some of his contributions showed Schileru's overconfidence in his abilities, in particular when he discussed stage design though he "never went to
2236-457: A fisherman, a shepherd or a hunter, according to different legends. In Romanian , the word stem bucurie means 'joy' ('happiness'), hence the city Bucharest means 'city of joy'. Other etymologies are given by early scholars, including the one of an Ottoman traveller, Evliya Çelebi , who claimed that Bucharest was named after a certain 'Abu-Kariș', from the tribe of ' Bani-Kureiș '. In 1781, Austrian historian Franz Sulzer claimed that it
2408-630: A former Axis member which had overthrown their pro-Axis government , was occupied by the Soviet Union as the sole representative of the Allies . On 6 March 1945, after mass demonstrations by communist sympathizers and political pressure from the Soviet representative of the Allied Control Commission , a new pro-Soviet government that included members of the previously outlawed Romanian Workers' Party
2580-561: A good chorba in this Brăila of yours?" The memory of the incident haunted Schileru, and prompted Eliade to apologize in his later diaries. Schileru went on to study at the literature and philosophy faculty of the University of Bucharest (1934–1938), specializing in "philosophical aesthetics". His younger friend, the art historian Geo Șerban , notes that he arrived in Bucharest alongside another author, Dolfi Trost , and that both were fleeing
2752-664: A guide for uninformed Romanians. In May, he was inducted into the Romanian Writers' Society . He was also a regular with film and art chronicles Revista Fundațiilor Regale and in George Călinescu 's Lumea , where he also produced translations of French works by Benjamin Fondane . Future screenwriter Radu Cosașu , who grew up reading the Lumea columns, argues that, over time, Schileru became especially respected and somewhat feared as
2924-461: A high-school education, was unable to respond, and humiliated himself. As recounted by fellow art scholar Radu Bogdan, Schileru and Comarnescu were equally shocked to discover that the new regime was stifling independent art, including one of a leftist bent, and imposing Socialist Realism as the singular dogma. Schileru himself undermined Moraru's influence at the Institute by making his students read
3096-452: A large article by Aurel Haiduc, which detailed the accusations brought up against Schileru, Bogdan, and other authors. According to Bogdan, the piece was very likely composed by the PMR's agitprop department. Schileru was not prevented from publishing and, in 1954, was reportedly the unsigned contributor to Oprescu's History of Romanian Sculpture —his chapter, covering the more modern contributions,
3268-567: A memoir of her father in 2016, the centenary of his birth. Socialist Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( Romanian : Republica Socialistă România , RSR ) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989 ). From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian People's Republic ( Republica Populară Romînă , RPR ). The country
3440-449: A mood (in outlining this thesis, Schileru proposed that Marcel Proust was a literary exponent). Scrisoarea de dragoste ("Love Letter"), comprising eight of Schileru's essays on various topics, appeared in 1971, also at Meridiane; they were arranged for print by his daughter, Mihaela (or Micaela) Schileru-Chiose, and carried a preface by sociologist Miron Constantinescu . The anthologized pieces are noted for their unifying thread, which
3612-421: A party cell within the university's Faculty of Letters. Visual artist Mircia Dumitrescu, who was Schileru's student and friend later in life, also argues that his professor was a PCR member during the underground period. Schileru was additionally a contributor to left-wing reviews ranging from Viața Romînească to Cuvântul Liber and Reporter . He became a "journalist of note with his 1930s contributions in
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#17330861553463784-499: A pedagogical institute. This allowed him to take up positions as a schoolteacher in Bucharest, moving from Matei Basarab to Gheorghe Lazăr . During World War II, he frequented Veac , a literary circle formed around the anti-fascist poet Ovidiu Rîureanu. Under Ion Antonescu , Romania was drawn into an alliance with Nazi Germany , and adopted policies of racial exclusion against Jews. Listed as Jewish, and banned from publishing, Schileru
3956-714: A plenary PMR meeting in March 1956, Miron Constantinescu and Iosif Chișinevschi , both Politburo members and deputy premiers, criticized Gheorghiu-Dej. Constantinescu, who advocated a Khrushchev-style liberalization, posed a particular threat to Gheorghiu-Dej because he enjoyed good connections with the Moscow leadership. The PMR purged Constantinescu and Chișinevschi in 1957, denouncing both as Stalinists and charging them with complicity with Pauker. Afterwards, Gheorghiu-Dej faced no serious challenge to his leadership. Ceaușescu replaced Constantinescu as head of PMR cadres. The cadres – anyone who
4128-526: A power struggle, was succeeded by the previously obscure Nicolae Ceaușescu . During his last two years, Gheorghiu-Dej had exploited the Soviet–Chinese dispute and begun to oppose the hegemony of the Soviet Union. Ceaușescu, supported by colleagues of Gheorghiu-Dej such as Maurer, continued this popular line. Relations with Western countries and many other states began to be strengthened in what seemed to be
4300-736: A pretyped instrument of abdication and demanded that he sign it. With pro-Communist troops surrounding his palace and his telephone lines cut, Michael was forced to sign the document. Hours later, Parliament abolished the monarchy and proclaimed Romania a People's Republic . In February 1948, the Communists merged with the Social Democrats to form the Romanian Workers' Party . However, most independent-minded Socialists were soon pushed out. Meanwhile, many non-Communist politicians had either been imprisoned or fled into exile. The communist regime
4472-552: A pro-monarchy demonstration in front of the Royal Palace in Bucharest escalated into street fights between opposition supporters and soldiers, police and pro-government workers, resulting in dozens of killed and wounded; Soviet officers restrained Romanian soldiers and police from firing on civilians, and Soviet troops restored order. Despite the King's disapproval, the first Groza government brought land reform and women's suffrage ,
4644-473: A professional critic to at least June 1968, but was shortly after diagnosed with cancer. As noted by his colleague Comarnescu, the disease had an "amazingly fast" progression. He died in Bucharest on August 10, 1968, just shortly after having taken over as chair of the Institute's Art History Department. As reported by Șerban, Schileru's death at the age of 51 was completely unexpected, leaving many to realize his cultural importance only through his absence. His body
4816-518: A roughly round shape, with the centre situated in the cross-way of the main north–south/east-west axes at University Square . The milestone for Romania's Kilometre Zero is placed just south of University Square in front of the New St. George Church (Sfântul Gheorghe Nou) at St. George Square (Piața Sfântul Gheorghe). Bucharest's radius, from University Square to the city limits in all directions, varies from 10 to 12 km (6 to 7 mi). Until recently,
4988-532: A scholarship for creative writing without delivering the required paper. In May 1952, as the PMR purged itself of Ana Pauker and her supporters, the authorities also instigated their own version of the " anti-cosmopolitan campaign ". Schileru was caught up in this backlash, and singled out at the Plenary of the Union of Plastic Artists (UAP) for acting in a " cosmopolitan " way. That same month, Contemporanul journal hosted
5160-469: A socially disadvantaged area. Although the presence of street children was a problem in Bucharest in the 1990s, their numbers have declined in recent years, now lying at or below the average of major European capital cities. As stated by the Mercer international surveys for quality of life in cities around the world, Bucharest occupied the 94th place in 2001 and slipped lower, to the 108th place in 2009 and
5332-611: A study published by the United Nations, Bucharest placed 19th among 28 cities that recorded sharp declines in population from 1990 to the mid-2010s. In particular, the population fell by 3.77%. The city's population, according to the 2002 census, was 1,926,334 inhabitants, or 8.9% of the total population of Romania. A significant number of people commute to the city every day, mostly from the surrounding Ilfov County, but official statistics regarding their numbers do not exist. Bucharest's population experienced two phases of rapid growth,
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5504-434: A tightening of Romania's bonds with China, which also advocated national self-determination and opposed Soviet hegemonism. Gheorghiu-Dej resigned as the party's general secretary in 1954 but retained the premiership; a four-member collective secretariat, including Nicolae Ceaușescu , controlled the party for a year before Gheorghiu-Dej again took up the reins. Despite its new policy of international cooperation, Romania joined
5676-414: A total social break with the countryside. The peasants returned periodically to the villages or resided in them, commuting daily to the city in a practice called naveta. This allowed Romanians to act as peasants and workers at the same time. Universities were also founded in small Romanian towns, which served to train qualified professionals, such as engineers, economists, planners or jurists, necessary for
5848-545: A unique habitat. In May 2016, the lake was declared a national park, the Văcărești Nature Park . Dubbed the 'Delta of Bucharest', the area is protected. Bucharest is situated in the center of the Romanian Plain, in an area once covered by the Vlăsiei Forest, which after it was cleared, gave way for a fertile flatland. As with many cities, Bucharest is traditionally considered to be built upon seven hills, similar to
6020-529: A unique status in Romanian administration, since it is the only municipal area that is not part of a county . Its population, however, is larger than that of any other Romanian county , hence the power of the Bucharest General Municipality ( Primăria Generală ), which is the capital's local government body, is the same as any other Romanian county council. The Municipality of Bucharest, along with
6192-554: Is a city of high population density : 8,260/km (21,400/sq mi), as most of the population lives in high-density communist era apartment blocks ( blocuri ). However, this also depends on the part of the city: the southern boroughs have a higher density than the northern ones. Of the European Union country capital-cities, only Paris and Athens have a higher population density (see List of European Union cities proper by population density ). In addition to blocks of flats built during
6364-486: Is a rejection of grand metaphors in favor of precise case-studies (though the title itself is a metaphor, likening artistic processes to a correspondence between lovers); Schileru cites Alain Robbe-Grillet and Gottfried Benn as his direct precursors in the advocacy of stylistic concreteness. Beyond this, he "advocates for sincerity and authenticity, censuring mimicry, mannerism and eclecticism." With additional input from
6536-410: Is administratively known as the 'Municipality of Bucharest' ( Romanian : Municipiul București ), and has the same administrative level as that of a national county , being further subdivided into six sectors , each governed by a local mayor. The Romanian name București has an unverified origin. Tradition connects the founding of Bucharest with the name of Bucur , who was a prince, an outlaw,
6708-421: Is governed by a local mayor, as follows: Sector 1 – Clotilde Armand ( USR , since 2020), Sector 2 – Radu Mihaiu ( USR , since 2020), Sector 3 – Robert Negoiță (PRO B, since 2012), Sector 4 – Daniel Băluță ( PSD , since 2016), Sector 5 – Vlad Popescu Piedone (former mayor Cristian Popescu Piedone's son) (PUSL, since 2024), Sector 6 – Ciprian Ciucu ( PNL , since 2020). Like all other local councils in Romania,
6880-583: Is headed by a general mayor ( Primar General ). Since 29 October 2020 onwards, it is Nicușor Dan , currently an independent politician previously backed by the PNL - USR PLUS centre-right alliance at the 2020 Romanian local elections . Decisions are approved and discussed by the capital's General Council ( Consiliu General ) made up of 55 elected councilors. Furthermore, the city is divided into six administrative sectors ( sectoare ), each of which has its own 27-seat sectoral council, town hall, and mayor. The powers of
7052-541: Is listed as 'endangered' by the World Monuments Watch (as of 2016). Although many neighbourhoods, particularly in the southern part of the city, lack sufficient green space, being formed of cramped, high-density blocks of flats, Bucharest also has many parks . In 2024, Bucharest was ranked by the digital publication Freaking Nomads as the 9th best city in the world for digital nomads , due to its elaborate and diverse architecture, an arts scene featuring some of
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7224-406: Is located in the southern part of the city. Over 190 hectares, including 90 hectares of water, host 97 species of birds, half of them protected by law, and at least seven species of mammals. The lake is surrounded by buildings of flats and is an odd result of human intervention and nature taking its course. The area was a small village that Ceaușescu attempted to convert into a lake. After demolishing
7396-458: Is more common, particularly in the form of pickpocketing , which occurs mainly on the city's public transport network. Confidence tricks were common in the 1990s, especially in regards to tourists, but the frequency of these incidents has since declined. Theft was reduced by 13.6% in 2013 compared to 2012. Levels of crime are higher in the southern districts of the city, particularly in Ferentari ,
7568-501: Is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 2.3 million residents, which makes Bucharest the 8th most-populous city in the European Union . The city area measures 240 km (93 sq mi) and comprises 6 districts ( Sectoare ), while the metropolitan area covers 1,811 km (699 sq mi). Bucharest is a beta global city , a major cultural, political and economic hub, and
7740-572: Is shown as serving the paideia of modern citizens. This posthumous period also witnessed the publication of Schileru's commentaries on Romanian Television , as well as samples of his translations from German poetry; many other interventions remained scattered and unpublished as of 2021. For a few months in 2009, Bucharest's Dialog Art Gallery hosted an exhibit showcasing Schileru's life and surviving books, alongside portraits done by Corneliu Baba and Henri Mavrodin , and engravings by Mircia Dumitrescu. His daughter, who had emigrated to Canada, published
7912-460: Is tentatively identified as the pseudonymous editor of another magazine, Stiletul ("The Stiletto"), which put out a few issues in 1933. Also then, he collaborated on the literary review Start , put out by Ștefan Baciu of Brașov . He was associating with Sebastian, who introduced him to the successful novelist Mircea Eliade , who was conferencing in Brăila. He felt snubbed by Eliade, who interrupted their conversation to ask: "Where might one go for
8084-550: The Allied side, Michael could do nothing to erase the memory of his country's recent active participation in the German invasion of the Soviet Union . Romanian forces fought under Soviet command, driving through Northern Transylvania into Hungary proper, and on into Czechoslovakia and Austria. However, the Soviets treated Romania as a conquered territory, and Soviet troops continued to occupy
8256-541: The Constitutional Court of Romania . Bucharest has a municipal police force, the Bucharest Police ( Poliția București ), which is responsible for policing crime within the whole city, and operates a number of divisions. The Bucharest Police are headquartered on Ștefan cel Mare Blvd. in the city centre, and at precincts throughout the city. From 2004 onwards, each sector city hall also has under its administration
8428-632: The Danube–Black Sea Canal project, halted rationing and hiked workers' wages. These factors combined to put Romania under Gheorghiu-Dej on a relatively independent and nationalist route. Gheorghiu-Dej identified with Stalinism , and the more liberal Soviet government threatened to undermine his authority. In an effort to reinforce his position, Gheorghiu-Dej pledged cooperation with any state, regardless of political-economic system, as long as it recognized international equality and did not interfere in other nations' domestic affairs. This policy led to
8600-627: The International Gothic . As Moangă notes, Schileru was himself a literary Impressionist , though one who could always back his interpretations with the "absolute rigors" of scholarship. With Frunzetti and Hăulică, Schileru attended a congress of the International Association of Art Critics , held at Prague in September 1966. Alongside Liviu Ciulei and Paul Bortnovschi , he was commissioned by Meridiane to work on an album covering
8772-499: The International Monetary Fund and World Bank because of his independent political line. Romania under Ceaușescu maintained and sometimes improved diplomatic and other relations with, among others, West Germany , Israel, China, Albania , and Pinochet 's Chile , all for various reasons not on good terms with Moscow. Ceaușescu refused to implement measures of economic liberalism . The evolution of his regime followed
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#17330861553468944-661: The Mastercard Global Index of Urban Destinations. As for the past two consecutive years, 2018 and 2019, Bucharest ranked as the European destination with the highest potential for development according to the same study. Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania and the richest capital and city in the region, having surpassed Budapest since 2017. The city has a number of large convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues, traditional 'shopping arcades' and recreational areas. The city proper
9116-692: The Palace of the Parliament , for which an entire historic quarter was razed to make way for Ceaușescu's megalomaniac plans. On 4 March 1977, an earthquake centred in Vrancea , about 135 km (83.89 mi) away, claimed 1,500 lives and caused further damage to the historic centre. The Romanian Revolution of 1989 began with massive anti-Ceaușescu protests in Timișoara in December 1989 and continued in Bucharest, leading to
9288-770: The Securitate , Schileru was for a while included on the editorial staff for the PCR's leading daily, România Liberă . He then collaborated as a columnist on Anton Dumitriu 's daily, Democrația , as well as on the Marxist Veac Nou . His lecture on Jewish writers and their contribution to the French Resistance was arranged by the Jewish Democratic Committee in December 1945. In March 1946, Veac Nou hosted his overview of Soviet cinema , which also presented itself as
9460-596: The homicide rate of Bucharest was 0,8 per 100,000 people. Crime in Bucharest is combated by national forces, such as the Romanian Police and Romanian Gendarmerie , and by local forces, such as the Local Police of Bucharest. Although in the 2000s, a number of police crackdowns on organised crime gangs occurred, such as the Cămătaru clan, organised crime generally has little impact on public life. Petty crime, however,
9632-411: The urban area , the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.3 million people. In 2020, the government used 2.5 million people as the basis for pandemic reports. Bucharest is the eighth largest city in the European Union by population within city limits. In 2017, Bucharest was the European city with the highest growth of tourists who stay over night, according to
9804-429: The "classics of Marxism" against his former employer Călinescu—advising state publishers to not feature Călinescu's new novel, Bietul Ioanide , since it was ideologically suspect. Bârna intervened to undercut Schileru's report, and managed to get the book approved by communist censors . In 1951, Schileru himself was formally investigated by the governing Communist Party, now called Workers' Party (PMR), after accessing
9976-457: The "mediocre painter" Ion Sima—the latter, only because Sima's wife had "lured" him in with food and drink. Comarnescu, who acknowledges that Schileru still had genuine worth as a historian, posthumously castigates him for not finishing his coverage of more worthy artists, such as Henri Catargi and Paul Klee . Astaloș believes that Schileru's health was ultimately compromised by the liquor he imbibed at Singapore Bar. He continued to be active as
10148-465: The 107th place in 2010. Compared to it, Vienna occupied number one worldwide in 2011 and 2009. Warsaw ranked 84th, Istanbul 112th, and neighbours Sofia 114th and Belgrade 136th (in the 2010 rankings). Mercer Human Resource Consulting issues yearly a global ranking of the world's most livable cities based on 39 key quality-of-life issues. Among them: political stability, currency-exchange regulations, political and media censorship, school quality, housing,
10320-399: The 1948 Constitution and its two successors provided a simulacrum of religious freedom, the regime in fact had a policy of promoting Marxist–Leninist atheism , coupled with religious persecution . The role of religious bodies was strictly limited to their houses of worship, and large public demonstrations were strictly forbidden. In 1948, in order to minimize the role of the clergy in society,
10492-565: The 1956 revolution) Imre Nagy into custody. He was jailed at Snagov, north of Bucharest. After a series of interrogations by Soviets and Romanian authorities, Nagy was returned to Budapest for trial and execution. Romania's government also took measures to reduce public discontent by reducing investments in heavy industry, boosting output of consumer goods, decentralizing economic management, hiking wages and incentives, and instituting elements of worker management. The authorities eliminated compulsory deliveries for private farmers but reaccelerated
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#173308615534610664-682: The 1960s and early 1970s, but all were halted after Ceaușescu embarked on what is known as "The Small Cultural Revolution " ("Mica revoluție culturală"), after visiting North Korea and the People's Republic of China and then delivering a speech known as the July Theses . In the late 1970s, the construction of the Bucharest Metro system was started. After two years, 10 km of network were already complete and after another 2 years, 9 km of tunnels were ready for use. By 17 August 1989, 49.01 km of
10836-683: The 1980s. In the 1960s and 1970s, Nicolae Ceaușescu became General Secretary of the Communist Party (1965), Chairman of the State Council (1967), and the newly established role of President in 1974. Ceaușescu's denunciation of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and a brief relaxation in internal repression led to a positive image both at home and in the West. However, rapid economic growth fueled in part by foreign credits gradually gave way to an austerity and political repression that led to
11008-480: The 1990s (when many orphanages were closed and the children ended up on the streets), and overcrowding in homes and schools. Other restrictions of human rights included invasion of privacy by the secret police (the " Securitate "), censorship and relocation, but not on the same scale as in the 1950s. During the Ceaușescu era, there was a secret ongoing "trade" between Romania on one side and Israel and West Germany on
11180-535: The Bucharest Tribunal ( Tribunalul Bucureşti ), the city's municipal court. The Bucharest Court of Appeal ( Curtea de Apel Bucureşti ) judges appeals against decisions taken by first-instance courts and tribunals in Bucharest and in five surrounding counties (Teleorman, Ialomița, Giurgiu, Călărași, and Ilfov). Bucharest is also home to Romania's supreme court, the High Court of Cassation and Justice , as well as to
11352-417: The Bucharest sectoral councils, the capital's general council , and the mayors are elected every four years by the population. Additionally, Bucharest has a prefect , who is appointed by Romania's national government. The prefect is not allowed to be a member of a political party and his role is to represent the national government at the municipal level. The prefect is acting as a liaison official facilitating
11524-717: The Communist Party in Hungary virtually disintegrated during a popular revolution. Poland's defiance and Hungary's popular uprising inspired Romanian students to organize meetings in București, Cluj and Timișoara calling for liberty, better living conditions, and an end to Soviet domination. Under the pretext that the Hungarian uprising might incite his nation's own revolt, Gheorghiu-Dej took radical measures which meant persecutions and jailing of various "suspects", especially people of Hungarian origin. He also advocated swift Soviet intervention, and
11696-630: The Communists. In 1946 and 1947, several high-ranking members in the pro- Axis government were executed as war criminals, primarily for their involvement in the Holocaust and for attacking the Soviet Union. Antonescu himself was executed 1 June 1946. By 1947, Romania remained the only monarchy in the Eastern Bloc . On 30 December that year, Michael was at his palace in Sinaia when Groza and Gheorghiu-Dej summoned him back to Bucharest. They presented him with
11868-529: The Cotroceni (1679) and Pantelimon (1750) Monasteries, and the art deco "Republic's Stadium" (ANEF Stadium, 1926). Even the Palace of Justice – built by Romania's foremost architect, Ion Mincu – was scheduled for demolition in early 1990, according to the systematisation papers. Yet another tactic was abandoning and neglecting buildings and bringing them into such a state that they would require being torn down. Thus,
12040-506: The Decree ). To counter the sharp decline of the population, the Communist Party decided that the Romanian population should be increased from 23 to 30 million inhabitants. In October 1966, Decree 770 was authorized by Ceaușescu. These pro-natalist measures had some degree of success, as a baby boom resulted in the late 1960s, with the generations born in 1967 and 1968 being the largest in
12212-725: The Manger , done by Schileru from the Spanish original, was used by the Bucharest Municipal Theater for a 1948 production, with Beate Fredanov and Ion Lucian in the main roles. In 1949, Schileru became a professor of aesthetics at Bucharest's Nicolae Grigorescu Fine Arts Institute . Around the time of his appointment, he openly derided Moraru, who was lecturing in Marxism-Leninism , by asking him to distinguish between Nicolai Hartmann and Eduard von Hartmann ; Moraru, who only had
12384-513: The Russian departure (remaining in the city until March 1857). On 23 March 1847, a fire consumed about 2,000 buildings, destroying a third of the city. In 1862, after Wallachia and Moldavia were united to form the Principality of Romania , Bucharest became the new nation's capital city. In 1881, it became the political centre of the newly proclaimed Kingdom of Romania under King Carol I . During
12556-629: The Singapore Bar in Rosetti Square. In a 2010s interview, poet Mircea Ivănescu recounts that he was initiated into heavy drinking by Schileru. After 1956, George Ivașcu , who was editor at Contemporanul , sought to expand that magazine's coverage of all artistic areas, and offered Schileru a permanent column (he was recruited alongside Vianu, Ion Frunzetti , Ecaterina Oproiu , and D. I. Suchianu ). He wrote about film, until he had to renounce his column in favor of Emil Suter—a dogmatic Stalinist who
12728-548: The Soviet Union reinforced its military presence in Romania, particularly along the Hungarian border. Although Romania's unrest proved fragmentary and controllable, Hungary's was not, so in November Moscow mounted a bloody invasion of Hungary. After the Revolution of 1956, Gheorghiu-Dej worked closely with Hungary's new leader, János Kádár , who was installed by the Soviet Union. Romania took Hungary's former premier (leader of
12900-529: The Soviet Union to control Romania's major sources of income. Another drain was the war reparations paid to the Soviet Union. However, during the 1950s, Romania's communist government began to assert more independence, leading to, for example, the withdrawal of all Soviet troops from Romania by 1958. Overall, from the 1950s to the 1970s, the country exhibited high rates of economic growth and significant improvements in infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy, urbanization, and women's rights, but then stagnated in
13072-453: The Soviet's SovRom agreements, which facilitated shipping of Romanian goods to the Soviet Union at nominal prices. On 11 June 1948, all banks and large businesses were nationalized . In the communist leadership, there appear to have been three important factions, all of them Stalinist , differentiated more by their respective personal histories than by any deep political or philosophical differences. Later historiography claimed to identify
13244-535: The Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Gheorghiu-Dej and the leadership of the Romanian Workers' Party ( Partidul Muncitoresc Român, PMR ) were fully braced to weather de-Stalinization. Gheorghiu-Dej made Pauker, Luca and Georgescu scapegoats for the Romanian communist past excesses and claimed that the Romanian party had purged its Stalinist elements even before Stalin died in 1953. In all likelihood, Gheorghiu-Dej himself ordered
13416-474: The Warsaw Treaty Organization ( Warsaw Pact ) in 1955, which entailed subordinating and integrating a portion of its military into the Soviet military machine. Romania later refused to allow Warsaw Pact maneuvers on its soil and limited its participation in military maneuvers elsewhere within the alliance. In 1956, the Soviet premier, Nikita Khrushchev , denounced Stalin in a secret speech before
13588-765: The [communist] party's legal magazines". Under the pen name Adrian Schileru, he published in the Marxist review Era Nouă in 1936. He completed his mandatory service in the Land Forces alongside fellow students such as Gellu Naum , Silvian Iosifescu , Mihnea Gheorghiu , Al. I. Ștefănescu , Miron Constantinescu , and Alexandru Balaci . As Balaci recalls, the unit they trained with did not provide them with uniforms; Schileru, as an "indigent boy", begged his commanding officer not to have him perform exercises that would have ruined his suit. At university, Schileru studied under various scholars, including George Oprescu , and graduated with
13760-513: The anti-communist movement in Hungary and coordinate activity. The authorities' reaction was immediate – students were arrested or suspended from their courses, some teachers were dismissed, and new associations were set up to supervise student activities. Tens of thousands of people were killed as part of repression and agricultural collectivization in Communist Romania primarily under Gheorghiu-Dej. Gheorghiu-Dej died in 1965 and, after
13932-512: The average high temperature is 29.8 °C (85.6 °F) (the average for July and August). Temperatures frequently reach 35 to 40 °C (95 to 104 °F) in midsummer in the city centre. Although average precipitation in summer is moderate, occasional heavy storms occur. During spring and autumn, daytime temperatures vary between 17 and 22 °C (63 and 72 °F), and precipitation during spring tends to be higher than in summer, with more frequent yet milder periods of rain. Bucharest has
14104-664: The benefits offered by the state (free medical care, pensions, free universal education at all levels, etc.) were a leap compared to the pre-WWII situation of the Romanian population. Certain extra retributions were allowed for the peasants, who started to produce more. Concerned about the country's low birthrates, Nicolae Ceaușescu enacted an aggressive natalist policy, which included outlawing abortion and contraception, routine pregnancy tests for women, taxes on childlessness , and legal discrimination against childless people. This period has later been depicted in movies and documentaries (such as 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days , Children of
14276-403: The book from publishing, and, when he could not succeed in this, made sure that it was ignored by other professionals. Schileru eventually completed his own Rembrandt monograph, which came out at Editura Meridiane in 1966. Comarnescu, who was the first to review the work for print, noted that it some portions were heavily reliant on Otto Benesch , to the point of plagiarism. He believes that this
14448-526: The city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom. It is one of the fastest-growing high-tech cities in Europe, according to the Financial Times , CBRE , TechCrunch , and others. In 2016, the historical city centre was listed as 'endangered' by the World Monuments Watch . In January 2023, there were 1.74 million inhabitants living within the city limits, and adding the satellite towns around
14620-595: The city was hit by Caragea's plague . The city was wrested from Ottoman influence and occupied at several intervals by the Habsburg monarchy (1716, 1737, 1789) and Imperial Russia (three times between 1768 and 1806). It was placed under Russian administration between 1828 and the Crimean War , with an interlude during the Bucharest-centred 1848 Wallachian revolution . Later, an Austrian garrison took possession after
14792-557: The city was the scene of the Legionnaires' rebellion and Bucharest pogrom . As the capital of an Axis country and a major transit point for Axis troops en route to the Eastern Front , Bucharest suffered heavy damage during World War II due to Allied bombings . On 23 August 1944, Bucharest was the site of the royal coup which brought Romania into the Allied camp. The city suffered a short period of Nazi Luftwaffe bombings, as well as
14964-403: The collectivization program in the mid-1950s, albeit less brutally than earlier. The government declared collectivization complete in 1962, when collective and state farms controlled 77% of the arable land . Despite Gheorghiu-Dej's claim that he had purged the Romanian party of Stalinists, he remained susceptible to attack for his obvious complicity in the party's activities from 1944 to 1953. At
15136-655: The communist era, there are also older interwar ones, as well as newer ones built in the 1990s and in the 21st century. Although apartment buildings are strongly associated with the communist era, such housing schemes were first introduced in Bucharest in the 1920s. About 97.3% of the population of Bucharest for whom data are available is Romanian . Other significant ethnic groups are Romani , Hungarians, Turks, Jews , Germans (mostly Regat Germans ), Chinese, Russians, Ukrainians, and Italians. A relatively small number of Bucharesters are also Greeks , Armenians, Kurds, Bulgarians, Albanians, Poles, French, Arabs, Africans (including
15308-461: The country on the basis of the Romanians having been active Nazi allies with a fascist government until very recently. The Yalta Conference had granted the Soviet Union a predominant interest in Romania. The Paris Peace Treaties did not acknowledge Romania as an allied co-belligerent , as the Romanian army had fought hard against the Soviets for the better part of the war, changing sides only when
15480-400: The country's history. The natalist policies temporarily increased birth rates for a few years, but this was followed by a later decline due to an increased use of illegal abortion . Ceaușescu's policy resulted in the deaths of over 9,000 women due to illegal abortions, large numbers of children put into Romanian orphanages by parents who couldn't cope with raising them, street children in
15652-411: The country's seat of government. Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459. The city became the capital in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture, and art. Its architecture is a mix of historical (mostly Eclectic , but also Neoclassical and Art Nouveau ), interbellum ( Bauhaus , Art Deco , and Romanian Revival architecture ), socialist era , and modern . In the period between
15824-467: The early settlements in antiquity until its consolidation as the national capital of Romania late in the 19th century. First mentioned as the ' Citadel of București' in 1459, it became the residence of the ruler of Wallachia, Voivode Vlad the Impaler . The Old Princely Court ( Curtea Veche ) was erected by Mircea Ciobanul in the mid-16th century. Under subsequent rulers, Bucharest was established as
15996-471: The eastern plains ( Bărăgan ). The government decision was directed towards creating a cordon sanitaire against Tito 's Yugoslavia , but was also used as an intimidation tactic to force the remaining peasants to join collective farms. Most deportees lived in the Bărăgan for 5 years (until 1956), but some remained there permanently. Anti-communist resistance also had an organized form, and many people opposing
16168-695: The environment, and public safety. Mercer collects data worldwide, in 215 cities. The difficult situation of the quality of life in Bucharest is confirmed also by a vast urbanism study, done by the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism . In 2016, Bucharest's urban situation was described as 'critical' by a Romanian Order of Architects (OAR) report that criticised the city's weak, incoherent and arbitrary public management policies, its elected officials' lack of transparency and public engagement, as well as its inadequate and unsustainable use of essential urban resources. Bucharest's historical city centre
16340-487: The film chronicler at Gazeta Literară . His work there received mixed reviews from his literary peers: Sami Damian referred to the column as "competent", though he chided his "overflow of information" and desire to "astound" his readers; Eugen Simion was impressed by Schileru's ability to draw connections between cinema and other arts, but noted that he was "hesitant" in his verdicts, even when it came to panning films that were of dubious quality. Cosașu praises Schileru as
16512-491: The first beginning in the late 19th century when the city was consolidated as the national capital and lasting until the Second World War, and the second during the Ceaușescu years (1965–1989), when a massive urbanization campaign was launched and many people migrated from rural areas to the capital. At this time, due to Ceaușescu's decision to ban abortion and contraception, natural increase was also significant. Bucharest
16684-480: The following factions: the "Muscovites", notably Ana Pauker and Vasile Luca , who had spent the war in Moscow and the "Prison Communists", notably Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej , who had been imprisoned during the war. Pauker and her allies were accused of deviating to the left and right. For instance, they were initially allied on not liquidating the rural bourgeoise, but later shifted their position. Ultimately, with Joseph Stalin 's backing, Gheorghiu-Dej won out. Pauker
16856-600: The former gave the party widespread popularity among peasants from the South and East while the latter gained it the support of educated women. However, it also brought the beginnings of Soviet domination of Romania. In the elections of 19 November 1946 , the Communist-led Bloc of Democratic Parties (BPD) claimed 84% of the votes. These elections were characterized by widespread irregularities, including intimidation, electoral fraud, and assassinations Archives confirm suspicions at
17028-623: The gardens are the main recreational facility in the city centre. Bucharest parks and gardens also include Herăstrău Park , Tineretului Park and the Botanical Garden . Herăstrău Park is located in the northern part of the city, around Lake Herăstrău, and includes the site the Village Museum . Grigore Antipa Museum is also near in the Victoriei Square. One of its best known locations are Hard Rock Cafe Bucharest and Berăria H (one of
17200-691: The government adopted a decree nationalizing church property, including schools. The regime found wiser to use religion and make it subservient to the regime rather than to eradicate it. The communist government also disbanded the Romanian Greek-Catholic Uniate Church , declaring its merger with the Romanian Orthodox Church . The early years of communist rule in Romania were marked by repeated changes of course and by numerous arrests and imprisonments as factions contended for dominance. The country's resources were also drained by
17372-422: The government took up arms and formed partisan groups, comprising 10–40 people. There were attacks on police posts and sabotage. Some of the famous partisans were Elisabeta Rizea from Nucșoara and Gheorghe Arsenescu . Despite the numerous secret police ( Securitate ) and army troops massed against them, armed resistance in the mountains continued until the early 1960s, and one of the best known partisan leaders
17544-606: The history of Romanian stage design. The art critic always remained in touch with literary life, prefacing translations from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , Thomas Mann , Herman Melville , Alberto Moravia and Cesare Pavese . Schileru himself translated, alone or in collaboration, works by Sinclair Lewis , Ernest Hemingway , James Hilton , Horace McCoy , Giovanni Germanetto , André Ribard, Claude Lévi-Strauss , Albert Maltz , Richard Sasuly and Tirso de Molina . As reported by Comarnescu, Schileru spent an inordinate amount of time researching local figures such as sculptor Victor Roman and
17716-416: The houses and building the concrete basin, the plan was abandoned following the 1989 revolution. For nearly two decades, the area shifted from being an abandoned green space where children could play and sunbathe, to being contested by previous owners of the land there, to being closed for redevelopment into a sports centre. The redevelopment deal failed, and over the following years, the green space grew into
17888-469: The implementation of national development plans and governing programs at local level. The prefect of Bucharest (as of 2024) is Mihai Mugur Toader. The city's general council has the following political composition, based on the results of the 2024 local elections : Bucharest's judicial system is similar to that of the Romanian counties. Each of the six sectors has its own local first-instance court ( judecătorie ), while more serious cases are directed to
18060-612: The industrialization and development project of the country. Romanian healthcare also achieved improvements and recognition by the World Health Organization (WHO). In May 1969, Marcolino Candau, Director General of this organization, visited Romania and declared that the visits of WHO staff to various Romanian hospital establishments had made an extraordinarily good impression. The social and economic transformations resulted in improved living conditions for Romanians. Economic growth allowed for higher salaries which, combined with
18232-513: The interwar years, Bucharest's urban development continued, with the city gaining an average of 30,000 new residents each year. Also, some of the city's main landmarks were built in this period, including Arcul de Triumf and Palatul Telefoanelor . However, the Great Depression in Romania took its toll on Bucharest's citizens, culminating in the Grivița Strike of 1933 . In January 1941,
18404-509: The largest beer halls in Europe). Tineretului Park was created in 1965 and designed as the main recreational space for southern Bucharest. It contains a Mini Town which is a play area for kids. The Botanical Garden, located in the Cotroceni neighbourhood a bit west of the city centre, is the largest of its kind in Romania and contains over 10,000 species of plants (many of them exotic); it originated as
18576-414: The latest art books. Some of his educational work was done entirely outside academia, reflecting his bohemianism . His " Socratic dialogues " could be spontaneously generated in any environment—"in the coffeehouse, during street-walks, and even during evenings of agitated bacchanals in some random tavern". As the offbeat literary scene was formally repressed, he joined other writers in "sordid" dives, such as
18748-428: The local government over a certain area are, therefore, shared both by the Bucharest municipality and the local sectoral councils with little or no overlapping of authority. The general rule is that the main capital municipality is responsible for citywide utilities such as the water and sewage system, the overall transport system, and the main boulevards, while sectoral town halls manage the contact between individuals and
18920-425: The local government, secondary streets and parks maintenance, schools administration, and cleaning services. The six sectors are numbered from one to six and are disposed radially so that each one has under its administration a certain area of the city centre. They are numbered clockwise and are further divided into sectoral quarters ( cartiere ) which are not part of the official administrative division: Each sector
19092-561: The machine-tool, tractor, and automotive industries; large-tonnage shipbuilding; the manufacture of electric diesel locomotives; and the electronics and petrochemical industries. Prior to the mid-1970s, Bucharest, as most other cities, was developed by expanding the city, especially towards the south, east and west. High density residential neighbourhoods were built on the outskirts of the city, some (such as Drumul Taberei , Berceni , Titan or Giurgiului ) of architectural and urban planning value. Conservation plans were made, especially during
19264-509: The merits of neorealism, and to speak of it as a positive influence on Romania's own film school . He himself continued to be formally attached to Socialist Realism, and, in Contemporanul , spoke of it as the more superior form of modern art, since it could answer the valid questions posed by Existentialism and Neo-expressionism . In the Western bloc , "even those works that are an indictment of
19436-772: The mid-2000s. In 2015, 64 people were killed in the Colectiv nightclub fire . Later the Romanian capital saw the 2017–2019 Romanian protests against the judicial reforms, with a 2018 protest ending with 450 people injured. The following treaties were signed in the city: The city is situated on the banks of the Dâmbovița River , which flows into the Argeș River, a tributary of the Danube. Several lakes – the most important of which are Lake Herăstrău, Lake Floreasca, Lake Tei, and Lake Colentina – stretch across
19608-503: The more classical works of Tudor Vianu . The period witnessed other episodes in which he transgressed against the expected behavior. He maintained a friendship with the Christian esotericist Marcel Avramescu , who, upon his invitation, performed demonstrations of hypnosis in Călin's apartment. Novelist Constantin Țoiu , who was being subjected to ideological "verification" (during which he denied
19780-531: The most notorious prisons included Sighet , Gherla , Pitești , and Aiud , and forced labor camps were set up at lead mines and in the Danube Delta . One of the most notorious and infamous brainwashing experiments in Eastern Europe's history took place in Romania, in the political prison of Pitești, a small city about 120 km (75 mi) northwest of Bucharest. This prison is still infamous in Romania for
19952-436: The national interest of Romania. Under a policy of de-Russification the forced Soviet (mostly Russian) cultural influence in the country which characterized the 1950s was stopped and Western media were allowed to circulate in Romania instead. On 21 August 1965, following the example of Czechoslovakia, the name of the country was changed to "Socialist Republic of Romania" ( Republica Socialistă România, RSR ) and PMR's old name
20124-611: The nickname of 'Paris of the East' ( Parisul Estului ), with the Calea Victoriei as its Champs-Élysées . Between 6 December 1916 and November 1918, the city was occupied by German forces as a result of the Battle of Bucharest , with the official capital temporarily moved to Iași (also called Jassy), in the Moldavia region. After World War I, Bucharest became the capital of Greater Romania . In
20296-567: The northern parts of the city, along the Colentina River , a tributary of the Dâmbovița. In addition, in the centre of the capital is a small artificial lake – Lake Cișmigiu – surrounded by the Cișmigiu Gardens . These gardens have a rich history, having been frequented by poets and writers. Opened in 1847 and based on the plans of German architect Carl F.W. Meyer,
20468-525: The nucleus of anti-Communist resistance. According to figures, in the years between 1945 and 1964, 73,334 people were arrested. The existing prisons were filled with political prisoners, and a new system of forced labor camps and prisons was created, modeled after the Soviet Gulag. A decision to put into practice the century-old project for a Danube–Black Sea Canal served as a pretext for the erection of several labor camps, where numerous people died. Some of
20640-405: The occasion was noticably ambiguous, a way of "running with the hare and hunting with the hounds". In 1958, the regime allowed Romanian moviegoers a glimpse of Italian neorealism , by encouraging the belated distribution of Roberto Rossellini 's Rome, Open City . In 1958, Cesare Zavattini was welcomed in Bucharest; this in turn prompted Schileru and his colleague Florian Potra to openly discuss
20812-488: The other side, under which Israel and West Germany paid money to Romania to allow Romanian citizens with certified Jewish or German ancestry to emigrate to Israel and West Germany, respectively. Ceaușescu's Romania continued to pursue Gheorghiu-Dej's policy of industrialization . Romania made progress with the economy. From 1951 to 1974, Romania's gross industrial output increased at an average annual rate of 13 percent. Several branches of heavy industry were founded, including
20984-584: The overthrow of the Communist regime . Dissatisfied with the postrevolutionary leadership of the National Salvation Front , some student leagues and opposition groups organised anti-Communist rallies in early 1990, which caused the political change. Since 2000, the city has been continuously modernised. Residential and commercial developments are underway, particularly in the northern districts; Bucharest's old historic centre has undergone restoration since
21156-504: The party's dogmas against more senior colleagues, including George Călinescu and Petru Comarnescu . This interval came to an end in 1952, when Schileru himself was repressed by an " anti-cosmopolitan campaign ". Though not entirely banned by the communist censors , he was pushed outside the literary mainstream, and prevented from advancing professionally. His reputation among nonconformists was instead consolidated, and he took his teaching to informal settings, including taverns and bars. As
21328-406: The path begun by Gheorghiu-Dej. He continued with the program of intensive industrialization aimed at the economic self-sufficiency of the country which since 1959 had already doubled industrial production and had reduced the peasant population from 78% at the end of the 1940s to 61% in 1966 and 49% by 1971. However, for Romania, like other Eastern People's Republics, industrialization did not mean
21500-411: The pleasure park of the royal family. Besides them, there are many other smaller parks that should be visited, some of them being still large. Alexandru Ioan Cuza Park, Kiseleff Park, Carol Park , Izvor Park, Grădina Icoanei , Circului Park and Moghioroș Park are a few of them. Other large parks in Bucharest are: National Park, Tei Park, Eroilor Park and Crângași Park with Morii Lake . Lake Văcărești
21672-498: The policy towards the city after the earthquake was not one of reconstruction, but one of demolition and building anew. An analysis by the Union of Architects, commissioned in 1990, claims that over 2000 buildings were torn down, with over 77 of very high architectural importance, most of them in good condition. Even Gara de Nord (the city's main railway station), listed on the Romanian Architectural Heritage List,
21844-492: The rapidly declining Brăila. Both of them befriended Miron Radu Paraschivescu , who supported the outlawed Romanian Communist Party (PCR or PCdR), and, through him, became friends with non-communist liberals such as Mariana Șora . This period saw them opposing the rise of fascism, as embodied by the Iron Guard ; members of the latter took their revenge by once beating up Trost, who had to be hospitalized for his injuries. Schileru
22016-423: The reality in which the author and his people live, are depressing with their hopelessness and increase the chaos of thoughts and emotions." In January 1961, Paul Barbăneagră released a documentary film on Romania's decade of Socialist Realist art; Schileru provided the screenplay. The result was criticized by I. Toma of Contemporanul , for both its writing and its montage . By then, Schileru had been employed as
22188-543: The regions surrounding Bucharest were largely rural, but after 1989, suburbs started to be built around Bucharest, in the surrounding Ilfov County . This county , which has experienced rapid demographic growth in the 21st century, being the fastest growing Romanian county between 2011 and 2021, had a population of 542,686 people at the 2021 Romanian census . In the 21st century, many of Ilfov county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns , which act like suburbs or satellites of Bucharest. Bucharest has
22360-514: The second half of the 19th century, the city's population increased dramatically, and a new period of urban development began. During this period, gas lighting , horse-drawn trams , and limited electrification were introduced. The Dâmbovița River was also massively channelled in 1883, thus putting a stop to previously endemic floods like the 1865 flooding of Bucharest . The Fortifications of Bucharest were built. The extravagant architecture and cosmopolitan high culture of this period won Bucharest
22532-452: The separate existence of a working-class culture ), reports that he was comforted by a group of "valuable Jews", including Schileru, Iosifescu, and Călin. He contrasts this group with Jews such as Leonte Răutu and Iosif Chișinevschi , who had built their careers on a "fanatical" endorsement of Stalinism , and whom Schileru and the others secretly despised. Journalist and editor Vlaicu Bârna recalls however that, in early 1950, Schileru used
22704-508: The seven hills of Rome. Bucharest's seven hills are: Mihai Vodă, Dealul Mitropoliei , Radu Vodă, Cotroceni , Dealul Spirii , Văcărești , and Sfântu Gheorghe Nou. The city has an area of 226 km (87 sq mi). The altitude varies from 55.8 m (183.1 ft) at the Dâmbovița bridge in Cățelu, southeastern Bucharest and 91.5 m (300.2 ft) at the Militari church. The city has
22876-457: The so-called 'Pitești experiment' or Pitești phenomenon, conducted there between 1949 and 1952. The prison in Pitești and the Pitești experiment aimed to 'reeducate' the (real or imagined) opponents of the regime. It involved psychological and physical torture of prisoners, and the submission of them to humiliating, degrading and dehumanizing acts. Tens of people died in this 'experiment', but its aim
23048-414: The subway system and 34 stations were already in use. The earthquake of 1977 shocked Bucharest; many buildings collapsed, and many others were weakened. This was the backdrop that led to a policy of large-scale demolition which affected monuments of historical significance or architectural masterpieces such as the monumental Văcărești Monastery (1722), the "Sfânta Vineri" (1645) and "Enei" (1611) Churches,
23220-576: The summer residence of the royal court. During the years to come, it competed with Târgoviște on the status of capital city after an increase in the importance of Southern Muntenia brought about by the demands of the suzerain power – the Ottoman Empire . Bucharest finally became the permanent location of the Wallachian court after 1698 (starting with the reign of Constantin Brâncoveanu ). The city
23392-466: The surrounding Ilfov County, is part of the București – Ilfov development region project, which is equivalent to NUTS-II regions in the European Union and is used both by the EU and the Romanian government for statistical analysis, and to co-ordinate regional development projects and manage funds from the EU. The Bucharest-Ilfov development region is not, however, an administrative entity yet. The city government
23564-650: The theater"—the result was an "embarrassingly uninformed" article. They conferenced together about Michelangelo , with Schileru covering the pictorial contributions. According to Comarnescu, this was another embarrassment, since his colleague confronted the public with "sensationalistic" details, failing to give attendees a "substantial overview" of his subject matter. During the liberalization episode that peaked around 1964, Schileru could be seen queuing up for Western magazines that had been vetted be censors, alongside figures such as Cosașu, Ovid S. Crohmălniceanu , Horia Deleanu , and Nicolae Steinhardt . According to Cosașu, he
23736-571: The tides started to turn. The Communists, as all political parties, played only a minor role in King Michael's first wartime government, headed by General Constantin Sănătescu , though their presence increased in the one led by Nicolae Rădescu . This changed in March 1945, when Dr. Petru Groza of the Ploughmen's Front , a party closely associated with the Communists, became prime minister. His government
23908-509: The time that the election results were, in fact, falsified. After forming a government, the Communists moved to eliminate the role of the centrist parties; notably, the National Peasants' Party was accused of espionage after it became clear in 1947 that their leaders were meeting secretly with United States officials. A show trial of their leadership was then arranged, and they were put in jail. Other parties were forced to "merge" with
24080-456: The two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nicknames of Little Paris ( Romanian : Micul Paris ) or Paris of the East ( Romanian : Parisul Estului ). Although buildings and districts in the historic city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, and even Nicolae Ceaușescu 's program of systematization , many survived and have been renovated. In recent years,
24252-497: The very communists he once believed in, but again reintegrated; into his fifties, he could not advance to a position other than lecturer. His influence was nevertheless preserved: students he helped form intellectually include Andrei Pleșu , Marin Tarangul , and Dan Hăulică . The latter recalls that Schileru always ignored the regime's commands and, during political-training sessions, preferred to transform these into friendly chats about
24424-418: The violence and coercion in the collectivization movements, since he did not rebuke those who perpetuated abuses. In fact, Pauker reprimanded any cadre who forced peasants, and once she was purged, the violence reappeared. In October 1956, Poland's communist leaders refused to succumb to Soviet military threats to intervene in domestic political affairs and install a more obedient politburo . A few weeks later,
24596-614: The violent fall of his totalitarian government in December 1989 . Many people were executed or died in custody during communist Romania's existence, most during the Stalinist era of the 1950s. While judicial executions between 1945 and 1964 numbered 137, deaths in custody are estimated in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Others were arrested for political, economical, or other reasons and suffered imprisonment or torture. The 1965 Constitution remained in effect after its dissolution and
24768-461: The works of Norbert Wiener and Max Dvořák , Scrisoarea de dragoste tackled modernist art as " entropy ", and therefore as a function of alienation under capitalism . Some of Schileru's essays appeared in Hebrew translation in 1972, as part of an anthology of Romanian Jewish authors. Marcel Marcian, who was himself included in that volume, found the criteria questionable, particularly since Schileru
24940-453: The world’s best galleries, museums, and theatres, and its tranquil parks. As per the 2021 census , 1,716,961 inhabitants lived within the city limits, a decrease from the figure recorded at the 2011 census. This decrease is due to low natural increase, but also to a shift in population from the city itself to its smaller satellite towns such as Popești-Leordeni , Voluntari , Chiajna , Bragadiru , Pantelimon , Buftea and Otopeni . In
25112-687: Was Jewish and his mother ethnic Romanian. In a more detailed report, poet George Astaloș , who had met and befriended Schileru in his later years, recalls being told that Henri, a man of German Jewish extraction, was also a medic and colonel in the Romanian Land Forces , while Maria had been born to a wealthy shepherd from Țara Moților . Schileru took a critical view of destitute Jews, once telling Astaloș: "There's nothing sadder on this earth than an impoverished Jew of an alcoholic Jewess. [...] A Jew, once he turns to poverty, never comes out of it!" According to fellow art historian Petru Comarnescu , he
25284-536: Was laid in state at the UAP, before being taken for burial at Bellu cemetery , on August 14. The funeral oration was delivered by Comarnescu. He later confessed that he genuinely missed Schileru, who would still have had time to fulfill his promises. An obituary piece in Scînteia noted: "Gifted with a rare charm, brilliant in his lectures and conferencing, attentive and loving when it came to cultivating young talents, he has had
25456-456: Was also the first communist-era work to praise Constantin Brâncuși as an "exceptional talent". Though Schileru was generally not granted permission to leave Romania during his entire subsequent career (and had to rely on traveling friends to obtain any foreign books), he was able to conserve his position at Grigorescu Institute. Dumitrescu notes that he was constantly "sacked from the faculty" by
25628-525: Was amended to reflect Romania's transition to democracy. It was replaced by the current constitution on 8 December 1991, after a nationwide referendum abolished the socialist system of government completely and replaced it with a semi-presidential system . When King Michael , supported by the main political parties, overthrew Ion Antonescu in August 1944, breaking Romania away from the Axis and bringing it over to
25800-408: Was among those who, despite being sampled, "had no connection whatsoever with Judaism, in their writings." At home, Pleșu sought to revive interest in his teacher's work in 1975, when he anthologized his essays as Preludii critice ("Critical Preludes"). It was accompanied by Pleșu's own "moving recollections". As read by Moangă, Preludii critice is the closest to a "system", in which criticism itself
25972-647: Was an Eastern Bloc state and a member of the Warsaw Pact with a dominant role for the Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its constitutions . Geographically, RSR was bordered by the Black Sea to the east, the Soviet Union (via the Ukrainian and Moldavian SSRs ) to the north and east, Hungary and Yugoslavia (via SR Serbia ) to the west, and Bulgaria to the south. As World War II ended, Romania ,
26144-426: Was because Schileru, who knew his subject well and had been reading "tens of authors", was too involved with drink and his "sentimental dramas" to function on an academic level. Scholar Emil Moangă calls the book "penetrating and empathetic", noting that Schileru had placed his subject's style and psychology in their historical context, leading to a larger meditation on the development of chiaroscuro from its sources in
26316-639: Was broad-based on paper, including members of most major prewar parties except the fascist Iron Guard . However, the Communists held the key ministries, and most of the ministers nominally representing non-Communist parties were, like Groza himself, fellow travelers . The King was not happy with the direction of this government, but when he attempted to force Groza's resignation by refusing to sign any legislation (a move known as "the royal strike"), Groza simply chose to enact laws without bothering to obtain Michael's signature. On 8 November 1945, King Michael's name day ,
26488-417: Was brothers with the official literary critic, Ion Vitner . Schileru was vindicated during the de-Stalinization period of the late 1950s, which also witnessed the phasing out of Socialist Realism. In early 1957, the UAP chief ideologue, M. H. Maxy , was formally exposed by the PMR's Răutu, who allowed other Union members to express criticism of Maxy's dogmatism. Schileru was hesitant to join in: his speech on
26660-493: Was established in 1948 with the stated aim "to defend the democratic conquest and to ensure the security of the Romanian People’s Republic against the plotting of internal and external enemies". All strata of society were involved, but particularly targeted were the prewar elites, such as intellectuals, clerics, teachers, former politicians (even if they had left-leaning views), and anybody who could potentially form
26832-419: Was formalized with the constitution of 13 April 1948 . The new constitution was a near-copy of the 1936 Soviet Constitution . While it guaranteed all manner of freedoms on paper, any association which had a "fascist or anti-democratic nature" was forbidden. This provision was broadly interpreted to ban any party not willing to do the Communists' bidding, and gave a legal façade to political repression. Although
27004-560: Was himself a practicing Christian, with "something Dostoevskyian in his nature". Eugen was first educated locally, at the Schwartzman Jewish–Romanian School, whose other alumni included Mihail Sebastian , Ilarie Voronca , Oscar Lemnaru , and Ury Benador . He then attended Brăila's Nicolae Bălcescu High School (1930–1934), during which time he began writing for local publications such as Columna lui Traian (1931), Premergătorul (1932–1933), and Tribuna (1934). He
27176-550: Was installed. Gradually, more members of the Workers' Party and communist-aligned parties gained control of the administration and pre-war political leaders were steadily eliminated from political life. In December 1947, King Michael I was forced to abdicate and the People's Republic of Romania was declared. At first, Romania's scarce post-war resources were drained by the " SovRoms ," new tax-exempt Soviet-Romanian companies that allowed
27348-488: Was nevertheless always pursuing "beautiful women". Comarnescu believes that self-awareness, and a string of rejections, are what pushed Schileru deeper into alcoholism. His jazz-man friend, Johnny Răducanu , contrarily reports that Schileru was always outstandingly successful in his romantic life. Comarnescu, who was allowed to visit foreign countries, prepared an in-depth study on Rembrandt , publishing it in 1956. He claims that Schileru, being jealous of him, tried to prevent
27520-561: Was not a rank-and-file member of the Communist Party – were deemed the Party's vanguard, as they were entrusted with the power to construct a new social order and the forms of power that would sustain it. They still underwent extensive surveillance, which created an environment of competition and rivalry. Once the Communist government became more entrenched, the number of arrests increased. The General Directorate of People's Security, or ' Securitate ',
27692-545: Was not captured until 1974. Another form of anti-communist resistance, non-violent this time, was the student movement of 1956 . In reaction to the anti-communist revolt in Hungary, echoes were felt all over the Eastern bloc. Protests took place in some university centers resulting in numerous arrests and expulsions. The most-organised student movement was in Timișoara , where 3000 were arrested. In Bucharest and Cluj, organised groups were set up which tried to make common cause with
27864-531: Was not to kill the people, but to 'reeducate' them. Some of those who were thus 'reeducated' later became torturers themselves. Of those who survived Pitești, many either took their own lives or ended up in mental institutions. The Communist government also decided on the deportation of peasants from the Banat (south-west from Transylvania, at the border with Yugoslavia), started on 18 June 1951. About 45,000 people were forcibly "resettled" in lesser populated regions on
28036-409: Was partly destroyed by natural disasters and rebuilt several times during the following 200 years. The Ottomans appointed Greek administrators ( Phanariotes ) to run the town ( Ottoman Turkish : بكرش , romanized : Bukreş ) from the 18th century. The 1821 Wallachian uprising initiated by Tudor Vladimirescu led to the end of the rule of Constantinople Greeks in Bucharest. In 1813–14
28208-493: Was passionate about West Germany , and instructing his peers that they should read Die Welt rather than Le Monde . The same friend notes that Schileru was never alone, but rather integrated within various groups, "from the kids who played in [Romania's] first-ever electric-guitar orchestras to the brilliant young artists, in whose youth he believed as if fascinated by some vital genius". Seen by Comarnescu as outstandingly ugly with "rodent-like" jaws, his speech "monotonous", he
28380-598: Was purged from the party (along with 192,000 other party members); Pătrășcanu was executed after a show trial . Gheorghiu-Dej , a committed Stalinist, was unhappy with the reforms in Nikita Khrushchev 's Soviet Union after Stalin's death in 1953. He also balked at Comecon 's goal of turning Romania into the "breadbasket" of the East Bloc, pursuing an economic plan based on heavy industry and energy production. The government closed Romania's largest labor camps, abandoned
28552-405: Was ranked among the top 100 safest cities in the world in a list compiled by Numbeo. The study found Bucharest to be very safe with regard to aspects such walking alone, home invasions, muggings, cars being stolen, assault, insults, assault due to skin color, ethnic origin, or gender, drug dealing, and armed robberies, with the only crimes in the high category being corruption and bribery. In 2015,
28724-483: Was related to bucurie (joy), bucuros (joyful), or a se bucura (to be joyful), while an early 19th-century book published in Vienna assumed its name to be derived from 'Bukovie', a beech forest. In English , the city's name was formerly rendered as Bukarest . A native or resident of Bucharest is called a 'Bucharester' (Romanian: bucureștean ). Bucharest's history alternated periods of development and decline from
28896-514: Was reportedly welcomed into the Democratic Students' Front, an anti-fascist group formed around Gogu Rădulescu ; through this sort of affiliations, he was an adherent by proxy of the then-illegal Union of Communist Youth (UTC). The latter organization was a branch of the similarly outlawed PCR—in a 1972 writer Nicolae Dan Fruntelată included Schileru and Virgile Solomonidis on a list of PCR/UTC men who, at some point before 1939, had formed
29068-526: Was restored ( Partidul Comunist Român, PCR ; "Romanian Communist Party"). In his early years in power, Ceaușescu was genuinely popular, both at home and abroad. Agricultural goods were abundant, consumer goods began to reappear, there was a cultural thaw, and, what was important abroad, he spoke out against the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. While his reputation at home soon soured, he continued to have uncommonly good relations with Western governments and with international capitalist institutions such as
29240-484: Was scheduled to be torn down and replaced in early 1992. Bucharest Bucharest ( UK : / ˌ b uː k ə ˈ r ɛ s t / BOO -kə- REST , US : / ˈ b uː k ə r ɛ s t / -rest ; Romanian : București [bukuˈreʃtʲ] ) is the capital and largest city of Romania . The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population
29412-506: Was still able to find work at Ecoul daily, through friends such as Paraschivescu and Virgil Ierunca . Schileru was welcomed into the literary and journalistic mainstream during the war's later stages (after the anti-fascist coup of August 1944 ). Immediately after this event, he was employed as culture editor for the National Liberal mouthpiece, Viitorul , which also hosted some of his own articles. According to reports preserved by
29584-543: Was working alongside Iosifescu and Vera Călin for the state publishing company, Editura de Stat , which was managed by poet Alexandru Toma . From 1948 to 1951, under the newly established Romanian communist regime , he directed the Romanian Academy 's library. Șerban, at the time a young researcher, recalls that he was "always ready to give guiding suggestions, to let others borrow from his vast baggage of readings. His eyes were glistening upon discovering new venues for his bookish roving." A version of Lope de Vega 's Dog in
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