The main piece of the part of town currently known as the ‘Old Town’ (Ro. Orașul Vechi) and the one around which it developed was the Court. While the area had been inhabited since the Neolithic, the early Middle Ages saw the existence of a few scattered villages in the extensive - at the time - woods of Vlăsia. The fortification that would develop in the Court was first raised in the 13th century according to Chronicler Giacomo di Pietro Luccari, with the initial structure possibly raised by Negru Vodă around the time Wallachia was founded. The fortress would be developed afterwards by the rulers that followed on the Wallachian throne including Basarab I (1315), Mircea the Old (towards the end of the 14th century) and Vlad the Impaler (1459), until it was turned into a voyevode seat in 1465, respectively the capital of Wallachia in 1659. The fortress used to stretch from Dâmbovița River (S) to Lipscani Street (N), Șelari Street (W, initially, it then expanded to the Calea Victoriei), respectively the Calea Moșilor (E). It was naturally protected from the South due to the high, steep shore of the Dâmbovița, and it bore strong walls to the other sides; there were towers in the four corners. The fortress was initially built on a hill, but the area was flattened in time as streets and houses were built. As the town developed, with new neighbourhoods appearing around the fortress walls, the district within the walls and - later on - in its immediate vicinity was to be called the Târgul din Lăuntru or simply the Târg (En. the Town), while the area around was divided in 4 districts. The time saw an intense trade with merchants from Istanbul, Brașov, Moscow, Leipzig. The name of the street around which the actual Old Town radiates, Lipscani (called the Ulița cea Mare until 1589), comes from the Leipzig - originating merchants trading their stuff there.
The first market in town, the so-called St. Anton Market (or the ‘Pazar’, name derived from the ‘bazaar’ calling, read more on the old markets in Bucharest here), used to lie on part of Manuc’s Inn and on the open area between the Old Court Church and Nicolae Bălcescu Avenue nowadays. The market used to lie next to St. Anton Church, built in 1735 and burnt down in 1847. In 1885, as streets and markets had become specialized in certain products or crafts, St. Anton’s became the Flower Market, also selling folk art items such as embroideries or rugs. It was there that the Podul Târgului din Afară leading to the actual Obor Market used to begin. A small metal structure was raised to host the merchants. The flower market would move to the Calea Rahovei - Uranus junction once the 1967-1971 archaeological works started in the area, meant to uncover the ruins of the Old Court. For more on the markets mentioned here, refer to the Markets and Farmers article.
The Old Court’s heyday, at the time of Constantin Brâncoveanu, saw a square garden inside, arranged after the Italian pattern and centered by a kiosk; it lay near the Covaci and Șelari crossing. At the same time, the voyevode’s residence had an impressive marble stairway, a main column-sustained hall, a throne hall that doubled as a reception hall, audience rooms, as well as a treasury, a dungeon for criminals and prison rooms in the bell tower for disobedient boyars; additional houses for the voyevode’s sons were raised out of the fortress walls, by the river. Brâncoveanu being killed in Istanbul in 1714, his successor added an 8 room palace in the NW corner of the court. The 1718 fire desolated the court, which was not restored to its former glory afterwards. In 1775 a New Court was built near Mihai Vodă Monastery (which did not lie in its actual site, but on Spirea Hill, where the actual Palace of the Parliament lies); the New Court would soon burn down, changing its name for the Burnt Court and the voyevodes that followed settled their residence mainly at Cotroceni Palace. The earthquake in 1802 would see the still standing walls fall down, while the free plot of land resulting was soon used to build merchant houses in a part of town that was thriving with business.
The Old Court (“Curtea Veche”, open Wednesday – Sunday 10.00-18.00), located in the centre of the old town; it used to lie on the left bank of the river. In this area archaeological diggings have released proof of the existence of some 6th – 7th century cottages, as well as remains of a 14th century fortress. The building was about 160 sq. m. wide and also had a tower. In the times of Vlad the Impaler a new fortress was built, in rectangular shape and of over 600 sq. m. in shape, with many cellars. In the end of the 15th century the fortress was almost 1000 sq. m. wide, with the followers of Vlad the Impaler continuing his work (Basarab the Young, Mircea the Shepherd); the whole structure was much developed during the rule of Matei Basarab (1632-1654) and Constantin Brâncoveanu (1688-1714). In 1972, on the site of the former Princely Court there was inaugurated an open air museum with fragments from different stages of the fortress development. The museum can be also seen from outside, as there isn’t much to the back, but it can also be visited by entering; GPS - N44 25.797 E26 06.078.
Next to the museum there is the Curtea Veche Church, built in 1559 by Mircea the Shepherd and being Bucharest’s oldest church. The church was much deteriorated during the Turkish campaigns of 1595 and 1658-1659, it was subsequently restored in the beginning of the 18th century just to partially burn down during the 1804 and 1847 fires that desolated a wide part of Bucharest. The church got its actual looks after the 1928 and 1935 restoration works that brought it back close to the former looks. In the niches of the lateral walls belonging to the entrance one can still see a few original frescoes from the time of Stephen Cantacuzino (1714-1715).
During the late Middle Ages, both on plots of land that used to belong to the Old Court (which had stretched far beyond the little we can see of it today) and on land to the North, West and East of it, various merchants settled with their businesses. They built houses and shops or caravanserais. Houses were designed on the bazaar scheme, with living quarters upstairs and shops on the ground level. Of the many houses in the Old Town, on the Covaci and Șepcari streets (50 m. North of Curtea Veche Church along Șepcari Street), the single floor, whitewashed Cafeneaua Veche stands out. It was probably built around the mid 18th century and mentioned in historic records in 1781. The Renaissance style, relief medallions and forged iron commercial, as well as the black iron doors will probably get your attention. Some of the interiors still preserve the original vaulted structure. It nowadays hosts a fancy club which has little to do with traditional coffee making in Wallachia, but that should not keep you from having a look and, why not, coffee. The picture to the left shows it as it was before being turned into the actual Italian restaurant, as one can see the structure and decorations better.
In the same area, just across the street from the Old Court Church there is the 1808 Manuc Inn. The great open air courtyard restaurant and the first floor terrace, as well as a few rooms (one turned into a cafeteria, another one in a Lebanese restaurant, both worth a peek for the decorations there) have been reopened after a needed restoration, while the hotel is still closed for restoration.
GPS - N44 25.803 E26 06.136.
Larger caravanserais were arranged around a central church, with a wide open area around and surrounded by a building hosting storage space in the cellars, shops downstairs, with rooms for rent upstairs. It was, for instance, the great Șerban Vodă Inn built by Șerban Cantacuzino in 1687, demolished in 1882 when they built the National Library (ruins of the inn can still be traced at GPS - N44 25.944 E26 05.932) and the buildings around it, while one could hardly believe that the still standing Sfântul Gheorghe Nou Church (see my special tip for that) was initially part of such an inn, accomplished in 1698 and demolished after the devastating fire in 1847. Smaller caravanserais were arranged on the simpler bezesten scheme (shops all around, rooms upstairs); it was the case of the nowadays restored Gabroveni Inn or of the fine Hanul cu Tei, the latter nowadays hosting a hilariously misplaced lounge where Heineken-branded, contemporary style armchairs mingle with forged iron items and great art shops in a typical, both annoying and captivating at the same time, Balkan way.
Just like in a bazaar, the Old Town of Bucharest developed gathering guilds or merchants dealing a certain type of products on a certain street, hence the name these streets have: Lipscani (merchants coming from Leipzig), Gabroveni (merchants coming from Gabrovo, with their own inn), Șelari (merchants trading horse saddles), Șepcari (hat makers), Căldărari (bucket makers), Zarafi (bankers, cash dealers). The exception in terms of name, the Strada Franceză has got its name from the French influence architecture of the houses bordering it; it was initially called the Ulița Mare (En. the Great Street), leading from the Dâmbovița gate of the Old Court to the point where the Podul Mogoșoaiei (the actual Calea Victoriei) started. Of the streets in the Old Town, most have seen the desperately needed restoration works, while especially those East of Nicolae Bălcescu Avenue (which was cut across the Old Town) are still undergoing that. Even though many houses around had been neglected or abandoned for a long while during the Communist regime and in the 1990s, upon the restoration of the streets in the Old Town, most of them have been turned into restaurants, bars and souvenir shops, often based on entirely imported concepts. While the whole area is slowly turning into the typically uninspiring, open air mall familiar in old towns across Europe, it is well worth walking and admiring the old houses. However go early in the morning or when weather is bad / cold, as one can hardly walk around in the evening for most of the summer, with crowds and tables filling every corner.
Of the plethora of venues around, I mention here a few different ones: Bruno Wine Bar (3 Covaci, with a great selection of wines and cold cuts), Divan (46-48 Franceză, with Turkish cuisine, including some great kebabs and a fine kadayif, waterpipes and a belly dancer at night), La Comedie (2 Sfantul Dumitru, a nice terrace next door to the Comedy Theatre, complete with a street organ player, hamster on his hat and lucky parrot in his hand), Bordello’s (9-11 Șelari, an ever more popular pub with night shows and plenty of period pictures explaining its name), the heritage Hanul lui Manuc (62-64 Franceză), Saint George (44 Franceza, a Hungarian restaurant with an interesting menu and a cosy interior atmosphere, but which however still has problems with its service, customer approach et al); the list could continue with Lebanese, Chinese, Irish, French theme venues and even with a German cart selling wurst and bier (opposite the SE corner of the National Bank).
Lipscani Street is the heart of the Old Town, a wider pedestrian street bordered by beautiful houses and plenty of small lovely shops either restored or under restoration works. The name of the street comes from the merchants that used to come here with merchandise brought from Lipsca (Leipzig). Façades illustrate all 19th century architectural styles, from the Classical one (see building at number 21) to the Art Nouveau style (number 72-74). The street no longer is a noisy bazaar, as it has got slowly filled with bars and the few remaining shoe, hat and wedding dress shops that once were the norm are quickly disappearing. At its centre there is the ‘Teatrul de pe Lipscani’, a variete show venue where one can sometimes watch a recommended Dan Puric Company act. GPS - N 44 25.55 E 26 06.05.
Curtea Sticlarilor. Located on Șelari Street, with the entrance next to a great glass panel covered facade, the Curtea Sticlarilor (En. Glassmakers' Yard) is one of the great - and of course hidden (hey, you are in Bucharest, nothing is obvious) - treasures of the Old Town. The yard hosts workshops of 6 craftsmen organized by Master Nicolae Cioboiu. They work glass the traditional way, similarly - up to a point - with French glassmakers that made stained glass windows for cathedrals during the 12th century. They produce here Galle or Nancy-like vases, Tiffany lamps, chandeliers, as well as stained glass panels. The yard also features a fine cast iron staircase, as well as a few souvenir shops and a relaxing cafeteria. Products coming from Curtea Sticlarilor can also be found in a few shops along Șelari Street (even though most of the glassware sold there comes from Buzău nowadays).
Macca-Villacrosse Passage. This is an interesting part of the Old Town. On the site where the actual passage lies there used to be Câmpineanu Inn, bought in 1831 by Petros Serafim. In 1843, his daughter married Xavier Villacrosse, the chief architect of Bucharest at the time, and they received the inn as a wedding present. Still used until the end of the century under the name of Villacrosse Inn, it was however demolished and replaced with the actual structure, in U-shape, covered with yellow glass meant to protect it from the rain and to nevertheless provide it with natural light. The ground floor space was used for different shops, while the rooms upstairs were meant for rental. The Carada Street leg was called Villacrosse Passage, while the Calea Victoriei leg was called Macca Passage, after the name of the builder's brother-in-law. The passage played as the first host of Bucharest Stock Exchange. Nowadays it hosts various restaurants and cafes: a Blues Bar, to a bistro, a Chinese restaurant, a few Oriental cafes with water pipes and Turkish coffee... GPS - N44 26.014 E26 05.862 (the Calea Victoriei entrance).
A few years ago, the City Hall started talking about refurbishing the Old Town. They wanted to have this part of the city closed for traffic, to evacuate the illegal occupants (which had been moved here once the original owners either left the country, were thrown in jails or simply evicted with no reason following the change of regime after the end of WW2) which were turning some of the old houses into rubble, have them restored or sold to people / companies that could do so, change all sewage and electricity wires, even up the pavement and turn this area into a tourist attraction.
The results were, just like life, uneven. While some of the old cobblestone streets were re-paved with cement biscuits, the whole area was however restored, allowing tourism and bon vivants to step in. Other good parts included creating special areas where they uncovered old foundations (of Șerban Vodă Inn in front of the National Bank for instance), so that people can see them while walking. The whole quarter became cleaner and what the City Hall did not complete, Capitalism and its many small businesses that quickly spread around did: over a hundred bars, restaurants and souvenir shops appeared, tables fill most streets which are nowadays pedestrian only and the place is buzzing with people having a good time from noon til past midnight on a daily basis from spring till the break of winter.
Meanwhile, works are nearly complete. The good thing is that cars have virtually no place to sneak in due to the many terraces (supply vans go in during the early morning though). Thank Nanak for that. An arguably positive thing is that the Old Town has since changed. In my opinion, to the comfortably bland and pinky cute taste of mall goers. But, it should be crystal clear by now, I am mean and love it, while European conformism is not my piece of cake, so you do not have to follow my taste. Especially as Prague, dear God, is definitely not my kind of city. So, go out enjoy the Old Town!
