Interesting places of my town

Sector 1(population 227,717): Dorobanti,Baneasa,Aviatiei,Pipera,Aviatorilor,Primaverii,Romana,Victoriei,Herastrau Park,Bucurestii Noi,Damaroaia,Straulesti,Grivita,1 Mai,Baneasa Forest,Pajura,Domenii

Sector 2(population 357,338): Pantelimon,Colentina,Iancului,Tei,Floreasca,Mosilor,Obor,Vatra Luminoasa,Fundeni,Plumbuita,Stefan cel Mare,Baicului

Sector 3(population399,231): Vitan,Dudesti,Titan,Centrul Civic,Dristor,Lipscani,Muncii,Unirii

Sector 4(population 300,331): Berceni,Oltenitei,Giurgiului,Progresul,Vacaresti,Timpuri Noi,Tineretului.

Sectorul 5(population 288,690):Rahova,Ferentari,Giurgiului,Cotroceni,13 Septembrie,Dealul Spirii

Sector 6 (population 371,060):Giulesti,Crangasi,Drumul Taberei,Militari,Grozavesti(also know as Regie),Ghencea

The 1st sector of Bucharest in this perimeter we copould find a lot of parcs,lacs and buildings.One of them is Herastrau Lake.

Herastrau Park is a large park on the northern side of Bucharest,Romania,around Lake Herastrau.

The park has an area of about 1.1 km²,of which 0.7 km² is the lake.Initially,the area was full of marshes,but these were drained between 1930 and 1935,an the park was opened in 1936.The park is divided into two zones:a rustic or natural zone(the Village Museum),which is left more or less undisturbed,and a public/’active’ domain with open areas for recreation activities.Small boats are allowed on the lake.At various points in its history it has been called Parcul National,Parcul Carol II,and Parcul I. V Stalin.The park once featured a statue of Stalin,which was torn down in 1956.

Gallery

Herastrau Park with a view towards Casei Presei Libere

Expo Flora

Modura Foutain

Herastrau Park:one of the islands in winter

Old lake,loks on exhibition

Flowers in Herastrau Park

Alley Herastrau Park in autum

Autum trees in Herastrau Park

Herastrau Lake in the evening

Panoramic view of Herastrau Park

Baneasa Forest

Baneasa Forest is a wood in the north of Bucharest,Romania.Covering some 80.000 hectares,the groud is located in proximity to Baneasa neighborhood and Baneasa Airport.On its southern edge,houses a zoological garden,know as Zoo Baneasa.History

After the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and the end of Romania’s communist era,a large portion of the area was transferred from state property back to private persons,who had obtained judicial recognition of their family deeds.According to a 2007 estimate in Jurnalul National newspaper,some 10.000 hectares had been reassigned throught thi process.As a consequence,Baneasa Forest alsi become a site for real-estate development,which was reportedly done at the limit of legally or ahainst the law,and involved several Romanian public figures.According to a 2008 report by Cotidianul newspaper,among the latter were businessmen-politicians Gigi Becali,Dan Voiculescu and Sorin Pantis.The same journal also claimed that the site was one of the locations at the site at the centre of another political scandal,allegendly involving former Mayor of Bucharest and later President Trian Basescu alongside controversial real-estate developer Puiu Popoviciu.Popoviciu had been accused of using land grants from the Agronomical Institute to

consolidate his personal businesses.Both Cotidianul and Jurnalul National cited a private audit used as justification by developers,according to which the building of facilities in the forest had the positive effect of reducing noise pollution,and claimed that the firm in question had among its shareholders the former Environment Minister and Democratic Liberal politician Sulfina Barbu.

In cultural reference

Baneasa Forest is assigned a central presence in Noaptea de Sanziene,a novel written after 1949 by Romanian author and researcher Mircea Eliade.Referred to as the ‘forbidden forest’ in the English version of the book,it is a paranormal site,where the protagonist Stefan finds escape from the suffering of the modern world.

The Forest

Entrance to Zoo Baneasa

Image from the zoo

The Monastery Plumbuita is an Orthodox monestary in Bucharest which is at once architecturally beautiful,very old(and with what a history) an alive,in that it is still populated by a community of monks.Built in 1560 and dedicated to the birth of Saint John the Baptist it was situated in a strategic position,out of Bucharest at the time,on a small hill on the banks of the river Colentina.The monastery played an important role in defending the city in days gone by.In 1632 a battle of immense stakes for the residents of the young Bucharest took place between the army of the Romanian Country,led by Matei Basarab,and the Turkish army,led by Radu Ilias.The latter

had been sent by the sultan to remove him from the chair and install in its place a ruler appointed by the Ottoman Empire.The name of the church Plumbuita(because the church has long been covered with sheet lead) was the product of local lore,some say that this came from this battle which took place under the walls of the monastery.The fire was so fierce that the many cannon balls on the roof of the church collapsed,melting to give the roof its leaden gloss.The architecture is typical of the Wallachian character with framed Gothic windows highlighting the influence of Moldovian architescture.

Monastery Plumbuita

Civic Center

Civic Center is a district in central Bucharest,Romania,which was completely rebuilt in the 1980 as pary of the scheme of systematization under the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.Bucharest had taken significant damage due to Allied bombing during World War II and the earthquake of March 4 1977.However,neither of these events

changed the face of the city as much as the redevelopment schemes of the 1980s,under which eight square kilometers in the historic center of Bucharest were leveled,including monasteries,churches,synagogues,a hospital,and a noted Art Deco sports stadium.

The Romanian Academy building.Civic Center architecture bears a distinctive North Korean influence.

Lipscani

Lipscani is a street and a district of Bucharest,Romania,which in the Middle Ages was the most important commercial center of Bucharest and the whole Wallachia.It is located near the ruins of the old Princely Court built by Vlad III the Impaler.

History

It was named after Leipzing as that was the origin of many of the wares that could be found on the main street.The word lipscan(singular of lipscani) come to mean trader who brought his wares from Western Europe.All trades were found in the area,including goldsmiths,hatters,shoemakers,tanners,saddlemakers,etc.,many guilds having their own street:even nowadays,the nearby streets bear the name of a trade.During the Communist period,that whole are was scheduled to be demolished,but this never came to fruition.The districtbecame neglected,but nowadays is

the most attractive area for tourists of all Bucharest.As of 2008,most of these buildings were restored.In the early 21st century,much of the district has been transformed into a pedestrian zone.

Lipscani around 1900

Lipscani-Sf. Gheorghe intersection in the early 20th century

Lipscani in the 1930

Lipscani in winter

Restoration works in Lipscani(2007)

View on the Lipscani street(2008)

A cozy bar in Lipscani

Lipscani street:name plate