The Athenaeum was built in 1888 through a public fund raising campaign entitled “dați un leu pentru Ateneu?”. It was meant for a literary society, then it played host for the Deputes (1919-1920) and, being bombed by the German planes in August 1944, it was restored after the war and used ever since to host classical music concerts. The best time to visit this place is when there is a classic music concert, as one can explore the fine interiors and also enjoy the brilliant acoustics. Regular concerts take place on Thursday and Friday evenings, September to June (usually they have the same thing on Thursday and Friday, then change the concert the following week), but quite often also on Saturday and / or Sunday (sometimes in the morning). Book tickets at the “casa de bilete” located just around the corner on the left side of the building as you look at it, a few days before and ask for seats in the central area (rows 10-15, centre-right or centre-left). One can sometimes also visit the hall at daytime, at the official rate of RON 7.50 (entrance around the corner to the right as you look at the facade).

Ask for a ticket.

The main hall has 600 seats and 52 loggias disposed on two rows. It has a circular shape, a 28 m. diameter and a 16 m. height. The hall has an outstanding 3 m. wide and 70 m. long fresco going around the walls, presenting moments of the Romanian history. It shows the following succession of 25 scenes: Traianus entering Dacia; Romans colonizing Dacia; the formation of the Dacian – Roman state; the Roman guard; the barbarians’ invasion; the beginning of the Romanian people; peasant defending his land; the first lands organizing around knights; Mircea the Old, founder of the military state; Alexandru the Good giving weapons; the Romanian crusade against the Turks (Ioan Corvin of Transylvania, Vlad Dracul of Wallachia and Stefan the 2nd of Moldavia); Stephen the Great receiving a message from the Pope (“soldier of Christ”); peace and faith (Neagoe Basarab at Curtea de Argeș Monastery); Michael the Brave, the first unifier of the Romanian kingdoms; the beginning of Romanian culture; Horia, Cloșca and Crișan, the three revolutionaries of 1784; Tudor Vladimirescu and the revolution of 1821; year 1848 in Transylvania; year 1848 in Wallachia; Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the first voyevode of the unified Romanian kingdoms; year 1859: the unification of Wallachia and Moldavia; Charles the 1st and the Independence War; the 1916-1918 war for nation completion; Ferdinand the 1st; the consolidation (Charles the 2nd and Michael the 1st).

GPS - N44 26.468 E26 05.815