Bucharest, 2057

An article written for inclusiv.ro in 2020

A text about Bucharest in 2057, when my son will be my current age.

My dear,

You have won the elections… Congratulations! May it be a momentous occasion.

Somehow, we expected this outcome. Since you were little, I wondered what it would be like for you to one day rise to the leadership of this city that I have cherished so much, that I left behind and rediscovered much later: chaotic, dynamic, and challenging.

In essence, the signs were already present. One summer morning, you proclaimed, “Today, I am the mayor! Come to my office,” and you invited us to the edge of the balcony, determined, dressed in diapers and a red t-shirt. We laughed, but somehow it felt fitting. You were only two and a half years old, and we were still living on Splai, in the “block with the gods,” where the Dâmbovița River flowed sadly through a canal lined with concrete walls.

Now you have reached the age I was that day. Much has changed in the meantime. I wonder what changes you will bring.

It is widely acknowledged that the future lies in the densification of urban living, in cities, of course. Ultimately, urban life is the most efficient, with shorter commutes and a direct correlation between size and diversity: the larger the city, the more opportunities it offers to all its residents – entertainment, culture, employment, education.

This is the allure of large cities. A metropolis can afford a myriad of establishments, a botanical garden, a university, an opera house, and an excellent public transportation system. However, a metro system is not financially viable for cities with less than a million inhabitants. It is a costly investment that requires a critical mass of users to ensure economic sustainability. As more people rely on public transportation, it becomes increasingly cost-effective. The tram serves as a prime example, being a traditional electric means of transport. If the number of passengers diminishes, the maintenance costs escalate, and neglect becomes more prevalent. If the threshold drops below a certain point, it becomes unaffordable, leading to a scenario where everyone resorts to private cars.

It is often said that a city functions as an efficient organism, but this statement holds true only when it is managed correctly. Ineffectual administration results in public distrust, corruption, political instability, and, ultimately, economic decline and poverty. It perpetuates a vicious cycle, giving rise to vulnerable segments of the population that depend heavily on local governance and become more susceptible to abuses.

Given this context, it is unsurprising that the level of aggression increases in direct proportion to the complexities citizens face when attempting to access basic services. That is why most cities consistently ranking in the top 10 for quality of life statistics are located in Switzerland and Germany, while Bucharest traditionally occupies a place in the lower half of the spectrum.

Vienna and Zurich have been vying for the top spot for years, cities where navigation is seamless and citizens have faith in their local authorities, who, in turn, treat them with respect and attentiveness. They serve as exemplars of good governance, often fostering citizen participation. Residents of various neighborhoods actively contribute to decision-making processes and the city’s overall functioning, alongside professionals, while administrative decisions are made transparently. In Bucharest, civic initiative groups emerged from conflicts of interest between municipal administrations and citizens, dating back to 2010.

As you assume the role of mayor in 2057, I hope you will strive to bring about positive change in Bucharest. Lead with integrity, inclusivity, and a vision for a city that places the well-being and aspirations of its residents at the forefront. Embrace participatory governance and transparency, working towards creating an environment where people can thrive, discover opportunities, and live fulfilled lives.

I have unwavering confidence in your ability to make a difference. Remember to lend an ear to the voices of the people, collaborate with experts, and exhibit courage in your decision-making. Bucharest possesses immense potential, and under your guidance, it has the opportunity to become a city that we can genuinely take pride in.

© Ștefan Tuchilă, ultimul Etaj

When the last major earthquake struck in 2027, you were 10 years old. The administration monumentally failed to cope with the disaster, resulting in a significant increase in casualties, similar to what happened during the Colectiv nightclub fire in 2015, two years before you were born, where more people died in hospitals than in the actual fire. Since then, Bucharest residents have learned, and civil society has organized itself better, getting involved in preparedness operations for diseases and response to earthquakes.

The 2020s were a turbulent decade: it began with the Covid-19 pandemic and continued with the rise of far-right movements, as if Europe had grown tired of the hard-won democracy in the East, gained just 30 years earlier. From France to Poland and from Hungary to Germany, many people’s expectations had been disappointed, and the new extremists flagrantly trampled upon the rights of minorities, women, and vulnerable groups. However, they eventually learned, albeit reluctantly after violent protests, that cities must first and foremost be communities: a city without people would not exist.

For a long time, our city had been renowned abroad for its unique dynamism, the opportunities it offered to everyone, the affordability of drinks, and the rich social life. It was like a paradise city, much like Brecht’s Mahagonny, “a place of pleasures where no one works, everyone drinks, plays, fights, and goes to prostitutes; all that matters is whether you can afford the services.”

Tolerance for different opinions and diverse lifestyles, as well as relative social security, declined over time as the city was increasingly mismanaged and temperatures rose. This was reflected in the numbers: after 1992, the illusion no longer held, and the population began to decline towards 1.8 million inhabitants.

The 30 years following the collapse of the totalitarian regime in which I grew up felt like an eternal transition. My generation aged, waiting for something that never happened. Back then, the streets were so crowded every day of the week that you would think no one was working in the office buildings constantly being constructed by real estate developers.

Unexpectedly, in 2020, the pandemic arrived and changed everything. Unfortunately, it is during challenging times and catastrophes that we truly learn and grow, not during easy situations. With each earthquake, fire, and pandemic, people learn to build safer, introduce safety and hygiene standards, and modernize infrastructure, rethinking urban regulations and adapting them to current life, much like they did in the Middle Ages, placing fountains at every important crossroads.

© Ștefan Tuchilă, ultimul Etaj

Slowly, the climate changed everywhere: in Bucharest, the average temperature increased by a few degrees, fueled by continuous traffic congestion and, especially, the “trimming” of trees. Once their cool shade was replaced by air conditioners dripping on the heads of passersby from April to October, making summers harder to bear, Bucharest residents became climate migrants, seeking refuge in the mountains for four months of the year. However, the suffocating flow of cars did not decrease because people understood something, but only after reaching a crisis: frustrated by the continuous traffic jam on the DN road, people from Prahova County started setting fire to large black cars with a “B” license plate. That’s why the Băicoi-Brașov tunnel was dug, and the Pitești-Sibiu highway was finally built, connecting Muntenia with Transylvania.

A city from which anyone can afford to escape the heat becomes semi-deserted for a third of the year – and suffocated by cars for the rest of the time. Many establishments cannot cope with this fluctuating influx and end up closing their doors forever, impoverishing the culinary landscape. You can no longer go to “the Chinese place on Occidentului Street,” “the Frog,” “the Turkish restaurant on Viilor Street,” or “the Russian spot”; you end up ordering everything online. But you didn’t go out to the city just for food, but for entertainment, to meet people. However, people stopped going out too since the pandemic. Along with the disappearance of restaurants, taverns vanish as well, and if you don’t go out anymore, another reason to stay in Bucharest disappears. Then you could stay in another city that offers you more.

Why struggle in a capital city that has been deteriorated by so many incompetent and greedy administrations, with insufficient parking spaces, buildings at risk of collapse, closed or overcrowded nurseries and schools, neglected parks overrun by concerts and festivals that terrorize entire neighborhoods with their decibels? For a while, people worked from home, then they realized that things wouldn’t change anytime soon and that it was preferable to move to a smaller city that, however, functioned better.

Understanding this, those who could, left for Cluj, Iași, or Constanța, where services were cheaper, green areas were closer, and they offered peace and tranquility. What’s the point of a “Green Village” for which you had to cross the city in infernal traffic? You spent hours in the car that you could have spent with your loved ones. And you arrived home completely aggressive – “so many hysterical people in traffic today!” You had become one of them yourself.

In the smaller city, your income might have been slightly lower – but everything was cheaper and more accessible – so practical! Traveling less and more thoughtfully, people brought home lifestyles that no longer fit the “more is more” and “the law is for fools” mentality of the 2010-2020 years. Adversity towards opulence, combined with new sanitary norms, gradually led to profound changes in urban living.

When the pandemic broke out and people were forced to stay in their homes during the first lockdown from March to May 2020, Bucharest residents began to discover their proximity. At that time, I was curating the Street Delivery event, which had been taking place for 15 years on Verona Street, which aimed to transform it into a green, pedestrian axis from east to west. Due to the new regulations, that year the event was divided into islands throughout the city, and its theme was called “ReSolutions.” Projects that proposed the improvement of the space around homes were awarded.

By autumn 2020, some of these small projects had grown, taking root and then being replicated in other neighborhoods. Gradually, flower beds and beehives appeared on the rooftops of many buildings, first around Cișmigiu Park and in the gardens of the Dorobanți neighborhood, then in Pantelimon and Militari – even though we were the only European capital where beekeeping was not encouraged, but explicitly prohibited. This was absurd because urban honey is actually cleaner than “rural” honey since bees can filter out pollutants but not pesticides from the environment. Paradoxically, some of the first guerilla gardeners were actually employees of the Parliament Palace, who had planted a small vegetable garden in its courtyard.

The pandemic in 2020 accelerated some changes that had already been underway for some time. Among them was the reconsideration of urban space. First, malls fell out of use, those large, rare places where people used to cram together – they reminded the population of the consumer frenzy that followed the poverty of the 1980s. In some neighborhoods, there were hardly any commercial spaces at all – that’s where the appearance of pop-up markets was supported, held for two or three days a week, like the one at the University corner where we used to go on Thursdays and Fridays, with you in the stroller and later on bicycles, to buy blackberries, quinces, and cheese.

Sidewalks were widened, and the importance of cars, which had reached a number equal to the population in 2021, diminished. They congested the streets from Monday to Friday and mysteriously disappeared on weekends. The ostentatious and heavy SUVs, which could block multiple parking spaces at once, went out of fashion. They had become status symbols that no one could afford to buy with their salaries. Wasting resources had become the mark of parvenus from bygone times. “Small is the new big,” every child knew by then, and children became more resourceful than their parents and grandparents, preferring experiences over material wealth.

Temporary pedestrianization was introduced: on many streets, car traffic was prohibited in the evenings, which encouraged local businesses in the neighborhoods. Gradually, people finally began to perceive public space as belonging to everyone, not to no one, so tall fences went out of style. A street with 3-meter fences became a road between battlements, not pleasant at all, and it made you wonder, “What important thing do they have to hide here?”

Then, a belt of greenhouses and community gardens grew around the city, which could be rented annually to grow vegetables close to home. Small streets shaded by pines and oaks became trendy again. It was easy to navigate through our city; signs and infographics were placed everywhere in the hope that tourists who once came for cheap drinks would return for the quality of services.

People understood that shade provided coolness, not air conditioners that heated the surroundings and wasted energy. Thus, buildings were equipped with facade blinds and brise soleil. Inspired by the Greek city model, city officials introduced the “Umbrella” program – a cheap solution that turned apartments into greenhouses and standardized facades, instead of the thermal insulation programs that had struggled to take off in the 2010-2020 period.

To decongest the streets and create socializing spaces close to home, ground floors of apartment buildings were transformed into neighborhood shops and parking spaces. Trees were planted on both sides of the streets, and small parks were created at every possible intersection, reclaiming spaces previously occupied by cars. Now you have access to green spaces on every street corner; there’s no need to travel to a park. Seniors and mothers with young children were the first to benefit from these improvements.

With the opening to the Greek city model, suitable for the arid climate of the steppe region where Bucharest is located, other lessons were learned from the Hellenic experience, where the capital clearly set the tone: Athens was already one of the most densely populated cities in Europe, growing from 4,000 inhabitants gathered around historical ruins in 1833 to 3 million in 2020.

To accommodate the wave of Greek immigrants from Asia Minor starting in 1920, the Athenians invented and endlessly replicated throughout the city the “polikatoikia,” a type of building with 4-7 floors and a simple concrete structure, which now represents the overwhelming majority of buildings in Greek cities. The initial constructions adhered to urban planning rules and were pleasant, with sufficiently high ceilings, 100 square meter apartments, and friendly balconies. However, after the 1960s, the quality of construction began to decline in favor of profit.

We hoped not to repeat the mistakes of Athenians: prioritizing the interests of real estate developers, ignoring urban development regulations, which led to the construction of buildings that were too close to each other and “face-to-face.” To make room for them, Athenians had demolished older, classical-style buildings.

But that was already happening here anyway, even in the “restituted” parks, now exploited for real estate purposes. Then, the almost identical reproduction of the same dull building model on every plot of land. The taller, the better! And it should be as cheap as possible! But the apartments themselves were expensive, large, residential, with an average size of 75 square meters, starting from 3 rooms upwards, contradicting the needs of Bucharest residents for smaller and more affordable housing. My generation had already made this mistake.

Only the fetishization of historical substance remained, the principle on which Athens had built its entire modern identity. Due to lack of interest and education, and because of the unclear property situation, Bucharest residents had neglected their heritage for decades – or what was left of it after the communist systematization and demolitions. And now they risked jumping to the opposite extreme, transforming the facades of the 1980s apartment blocks into fake Art Deco.

In essence, Bucharest had much in common with Athens, its older sister in every respect. But it lacked the sea. Our capital had emerged in the midst of the semi-arid Bărăgan Plain, on a fold of land eroded by the Dâmbovița River, as a marketplace at the crossroads of commercial routes between the Levant and Western Europe. The local climate had always been relatively harsh, with temperature extremes, even before the climate crisis, compared to most settlements in the region that were located “below the mountains” or closer to larger, navigable waters.

Over time, the city continued to grow, most significantly during the industrialization period when it tripled in size between 1912-1948, surpassing 1 million inhabitants. Then, it experienced another wave of growth after 1966, with the forced centralization by the communists, reaching over 2 million residents in 1992.

© Ștefan Tuchilă, ultimul Etaj

Like Athens, the city had developed without consistency, without harmony in the mix of architectural styles and forms, many of which contradicted each other from the moment they appeared (such as the traditional Neo-Romanian style with liberal modernism at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries). Growing rapidly and with changing administrations that didn’t manage to complete the projects they started, the city had been hit by various urban plans, all of which were initiated but never fully executed.

Thus, chaos and urban heterogeneity became ingrained here, reflected in the way architectural styles blend and details from “Little Paris” coexist with a little Moscow and a small Istanbul. Each person did as they saw fit, enclosing balconies, personalizing facades, erecting fences where it seemed convenient. It wasn’t until after the pandemic in 2020 that open balconies reappeared, after being used as storage spaces for so long. After all, the balcony is what provides shade to the sidewalks and facade and offers a semi-public space where you can interact with others – and during lockdown, without the risk of infection (at that time, it was called social distancing).

And the river, the ancient Dâmbovița, on whose banks the city was founded, became the absolute center of interest. In a competition organized by the Architects’ Association in 2020, the winning project proposed a series of bridges that moved the action from the city center directly onto the river, transforming the industrial canal-like banks hastily created in the 1980s into genuine sloping gardens.

Water became the essential theme of the capital: swimming pools, recreational areas, and especially drinking fountains are now everywhere! Today, nobody would buy bottled water from a store as we used to. Single-use plastic had become absurd, and the European Union had banned its use since 2019 to protect rivers and seas.

The city’s natural springs, such as Bucureștioara, were rediscovered. In parks, public toilets with water were reintroduced, converted into restaurants after the 1990s. With the new administration elected in 2020, everyone understood what a business private contracts for public toilets had been, inappropriately labeled as “eco.”

Now, Lake Herăstrău is clean, and regular swimming competitions are held there, culminating in the big April crossing, where 300 people swim from Pescăruș to the elegant pedestrian bridge under the railway overpass.https://inclusiv.ro/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/cStefan-Tuchila_k20_5761-2-scaled.jpgserie de Ștefan Tuchilă

When the pandemic hit and people were required to stay at home during the first lockdown from March to May 2020, Bucharest residents began to discover their sense of proximity. At that time, I was curating the Street Delivery event, which had been taking place on Verona Street for 15 years. The event aimed to transform the street into a green pedestrian axis from east to west. However, due to the new regulations, the event that year was divided into islands throughout the city, and its theme was called “ReSolutions.” Projects that focused on improving the spaces around homes were awarded.

By the autumn of 2020, some of these small projects had flourished and started to spread to other neighborhoods. Gradually, rooftops of many buildings became adorned with layers of flowers and beehives, first around Cișmigiu Park and in the gardens of the Dorobanți neighborhood, and later in Pantelimon and Militari. Interestingly, Bucharest was the only European capital where beekeeping was not encouraged; in fact, it was explicitly prohibited. This was absurd because urban honey is actually cleaner than “rural” honey since bees can filter out pollutants but not pesticides from the environment. Paradoxically, some of the first guerilla gardeners were employees of the Parliament Palace, who had planted a small vegetable garden in its courtyard.

The pandemic in 2020 expedited changes that had been brewing for some time. One of these changes was the reconsideration of urban space. Malls, once crowded and reminiscent of the consumer frenzy that followed the poverty of the 1980s, fell out of favor. In some neighborhoods, commercial spaces were scarce. As a result, pop-up markets emerged, operating two or three days a week, such as the one near the University, where I used to go on Thursdays and Fridays with you in the stroller, and later on bicycles, to buy blackberries, quinces, and cheese.

Sidewalks were widened, and the importance of cars, which had reached a number equal to the population in 2021, diminished. They congested the streets from Monday to Friday and mysteriously disappeared on weekends. The ostentatious and heavy SUVs, which could block multiple parking spaces at once, went out of fashion. They had become status symbols that no one could afford to buy with their salaries. Wasting resources had become the mark of parvenus from bygone times. “Small is the new big,” every child knew by then, and children became more resourceful than their parents and grandparents, preferring experiences over material wealth.

Temporary pedestrianization was introduced: on many streets, car traffic was prohibited in the evenings, which encouraged local businesses in the neighborhoods. Gradually, people finally began to perceive public space as belonging to everyone, not to no one, so tall fences went out of style. A street with 3-meter fences became a road between battlements, not pleasant at all, and it made you wonder, “What important thing do they have to hide here?”

Then, a belt of greenhouses and community gardens grew around the city, which could be rented annually to grow vegetables close to home. Small streets shaded by pines and oaks became trendy again. It was easy to navigate through our city; signs and infographics were placed everywhere in the hope that tourists who once came for cheap drinks would return for the quality of services.

People understood that shade provided coolness, not air conditioners that heated the surroundings and wasted energy. Thus, buildings were equipped with facade blinds and brise soleil. Inspired by the Greek city model, city officials introduced the “Umbrella” program – a cheap solution that turned apartments into greenhouses and standardized facades, instead of the thermal insulation programs that had struggled to take off in the 2010-2020 period.

To decongest the streets and create socializing spaces close to home, ground floors of apartment buildings were transformed into neighborhood shops and parking spaces. Trees were planted on both sides of the streets, and small parks were created at every possible intersection, reclaiming spaces previously occupied by cars. Now you have access to green spaces on every street corner; there’s no need to travel to a park. Seniors and mothers with young children were the first to benefit from these improvements.

With the opening to the Greek city model, suitable for the arid climate of the steppe region where Bucharest is located, other lessons were learned from the Hellenic experience, where the capital clearly set the tone: Athens was already one of the most densely populated cities in Europe, growing from 4,000 inhabitants gathered around historical ruins in 1833 to 3 million in 2020.

To accommodate the wave of Greek immigrants from Asia Minor starting in 1920, the Athenians invented and endlessly replicated throughout the city the “polikatoikia,” a type of building with 4-7 floors and a simple concrete structure, which now represents the overwhelming majority of buildings in Greek cities. The initial constructions adhered to urban planning rules and were pleasant, with sufficiently high ceilings, 100 square meter apartments, and friendly balconies. However, after the 1960s, the quality of construction began to decline in favor of profit.

We hoped not to repeat the mistakes of Athenians: prioritizing the interests of real estate developers, ignoring urban development regulations, which led to the construction of buildings that were too close to each other and “face-to-face.” To make room for them, Athenians had demolished older, classical-style buildings.

But that was already happening here anyway, even in the “restituted” parks, now exploited for real estate purposes. Then, the almost identical reproduction of the same dull building model on every plot of land. The taller, the better! And it should be as cheap as possible! But the apartments themselves were expensive, large, residential, with an average size of 75 square meters, starting from 3 rooms upwards, contradicting the needs of Bucharest residents for smaller and more affordable housing. My generation had already made this mistake.

Only the fetishization of historical substance remained, the principle on which Athens had built its entire modern identity. Due to lack of interest and education, and because of the unclear property situation, Bucharest residents had neglected their heritage for decades – or what was left of it after the communist systematization and demolitions. And now they risked jumping to the opposite extreme, transforming the facades of the 1980s apartment blocks into fake Art Deco.

In essence, Bucharest had much in common with Athens, its older sister in every respect. But it lacked the sea. Our capital had emerged in the midst of the semi-arid Bărăgan Plain, on a fold of land eroded by the Dâmbovița River, as a marketplace at the crossroads of commercial routes between the Levant and Western Europe. The local climate had always been relatively harsh, with temperature extremes, even before the climate crisis, compared to most settlements in the region that were located “below the mountains” or closer to larger, navigable waters.

Over time, the city continued to grow, most significantly during the industrialization period when it tripled in size between 1912-1948, surpassing 1 million inhabitants. Then, it experienced another wave of growth after 1966, with the forced centralization by the communists, reaching over 2 million residents in 1992.

Like Athens, the city had developed without consistency, without harmony in the mix of architectural styles and forms, many of which contradicted each other from the moment they appeared (such as the traditional Neo-Romanian style with liberal modernism at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries). Growing rapidly and with changing administrations that didn’t manage to complete the projects they started, the city had been hit by various urban plans, all of which were initiated but never fully executed.

Thus, chaos and urban heterogeneity became ingrained here, reflected in the way architectural styles blend and details from “Little Paris” coexist with a little Moscow and a small Istanbul. Each person did as they saw fit, enclosing balconies, personalizing facades, erecting fences where it seemed convenient. It wasn’t until after the pandemic in 2020 that open balconies reappeared, after being used as storage spaces for so long. After all, the balcony is what provides shade to the sidewalks and facade and offers a semi-public space where you can interact with others – and during lockdown, without the risk of infection (at that time, it was called social distancing).

And the river, the ancient Dâmbovița, on whose banks the city was founded, became the absolute center of interest. In a competition organized by the Architects’ Association in 2020, the winning project proposed a series of bridges that moved the action from the city center directly onto the river, transforming the industrial canal-like banks hastily created in the 1980s into genuine sloping gardens.

Water became the essential theme of the capital: swimming pools, recreational areas, and especially drinking fountains are now everywhere! Today, nobody would buy bottled water from a store as we used to. Single-use plastic had become absurd, and the European Union had banned its use since 2019 to protect rivers and seas.

The city’s natural springs, such as Bucureștioara, were rediscovered. In parks, public toilets with water were reintroduced, converted into restaurants after the 1990s. With the new administration elected in 2020, everyone understood what a business private contracts for public toilets had been, inappropriately labeled as “eco.”

Now, Lake Herăstrău is clean, and regular swimming competitions are held there, culminating in the big April crossing, where 300 people swim from Pescăruș to the elegant pedestrian bridge under the railway overpass.

https://inclusiv.ro/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/cStefan-Tuchila_K5_10145-2-scaled.jpgserie de Ștefan Tuchilă

This is how the reorganization of neighborhoods began: there are no more purely residential neighborhoods like Bercenii or strictly corporate neighborhoods like Pipera, where poor people had to commute daily. Different functions were introduced in all neighborhoods, such as parks, swimming pools, sports arenas, and summer gardens that also serve as open-air cinemas. Flexible part-time work schedules became popular, prioritizing office spaces for families and individuals who cannot work from home.

With great success, after the elections in 2024, the previous sector divisions in the form of a pizza were replaced by 20 metropolitan districts. As smaller administrative units, it became easier for the mayors to take responsibility and address local issues. There are no longer situations like before, where you had the Unirii Square in the heart of the city and the Livezilor Alley in Ferentari in the same sector, with the latter only making the news around election time.

The administration itself has completely changed. Mayors regularly walk the streets during peak hours and in all weather conditions, using public transportation, walking, or cycling, without drivers or security, to monitor the well-being of their city. They have learned that you can’t truly understand the issues of your city if you live outside of it and only traverse it in an SUV with a driver and security, as many did in the early decades of the century.

Moreover, the number of security guards has significantly decreased. The era of snobby secretaries, bodyguards who triage emergency cases, and security guards at pharmacies and grocery stores is long gone. Public service has become a respectable and respectful matter: being a public servant means serving the citizens well, not exercising control or abusing them. When good services are provided, everyone benefits.

Education underwent reform as well. Initially, due to the lack of space resulting from new sanitary regulations (pandemic!), school hours started to be held in museums, greenhouses, parks, gardens, and swimming pools. Seeing the excellent results and the need for additional staff, now with much smaller classes of 10-15 children, the changes continued. In addition to traditional teachers, professionals from different fields started teaching for a few hours a week. Working in the public service is now trendy.

The old school buildings have become community centers, with public spaces for residents, mainly used by young people but also open to seniors, with libraries and multifunctional halls. Regular earthquake response training takes place here: people have learned from the last major earthquake that hope lies in civil society, not the system.

Despite the climatic and administrative complications, or perhaps precisely because of them, Bucharest has grown into a pleasant city with diverse public spaces, realizing its significant potential.

Now let’s see what you will do with it. Good luck!

Ausstellung 3x Bukarest: Bohème – Diktatur – Umbruch

Die EinladungDie Ausstellung ereignete sich zwischen 26.02.-26.03.2010 in Zürich und fand gleich grossen Anklang: viele Rumänen kamen, um sich zu erinnern, viele andere Besucher, neugierig, etwas über einen Teil Ostblockgeschichte zu erfahren. BILDER AUS DER AUSSTELLUNG HIER

Bei Nachfrage könnte man die Ausstellung auch an anderen Orten aufbauen. Für weitere Details und Fragen erreichen Sie mich hier per Mail.

Meine Lieben

 

Zehn Jahre ist es her, seit ich „für ein Jahr ins Ausland“ ging. Ich bin immer noch weg –  aber diese Stadt wird mich nie loslassen. Ich liebe sie, ihre vielen Schichten, ihr ewiges Treiben, die Art, sich immer wieder neu zu erfinden und doch nichts vollständig umzusetzen. Klein Paris – und gleichzeitig klein Istanbul. Sogar klein Moskau, je nach Blickwinkel.

Bukarest folgt mir überall hin.

Ich lade Euch herzlich zur Ausstellung, die vom Leben in Bukarest im Wandel der Zeit erzählt, ein. An der Bar trinkt man rumänischen Wein.

 

Diese Ausstellung wurde aus eigenen Mitteln finanziert. Sie ist verkaufs- und eintrittsfrei. Für einen symbolischen Beitrag steht ein dankbares Gefäss an der Bar.

 

Ich freue mich auf Euer Kommen!

So begann die Ausstellung in der Nachtgalerie, in dreieinhalb Räumen im Untergeschoss eines Hauses in Zürich. Die Einrichtung entspricht jeweils dem Ambiente des Raumes, in welchem man in den unterschiedlichen Perioden zusammenkam: heute – die Bar, früher – der Salon, zwischen den Zeiten – im Korridor der Platte.

Der Eingang ist hinterm Haus, die Treppe runter, an der Garderobe vorbei. Die erste Tür links führt zur Bar in “unsere Zeit”.


An der Bar unterhält man sich in drei Sprachen

Von dort aus geht man in den Salon über – die Bohème vor dem zweiten Weltkrieg. Damals wie heute gab es in Bukarest eine grosse Toleranz für unterschiedlichste Baustile. Die Stadtväter wollten nur das Beste für ihre Stadt – und jedem sein Bestes sah anders aus. Es wurden klare städtebauliche Richtlinien beschlossen, diese  jedoch immer nur für begrenzte Zeit umgesetzt. Jedes Mandat brachte neue Richtlinien mit sich. Man genoss das Leben in vollen Zügen, ungeachtet der Verhältnisse, als gäb’s kein morgen. 

Der Salon © Irina Vencu

Um in den nächsten Teil der Ausstellung zu kommen -zur Diktatur- muss man die Galerie verlassen und hinter der Ecke den zehn Meter langen Korridor finden, welcher nirgendwohin führte.

Das rasende Tempo der erzwungenen Industrialisierung bringt Zuzügler in die Stadt, durch diese verdreifacht sich die Bevölkerung innert wenigen Jahren. Das neue Regime möchte Bukarest völlig umgestalten, nichts soll mehr an das alte, aristokratische Leben erinnern. Die neue Gestalt tritt allmählich durch breite Achsen, rasch gebaute Plattenviertel und Eintönigkeit in Erscheinung.

Versammeln in öffentlichen Räumen ist ab sofort verpöhnt. Um miteinander zu kommunizieren treffen sich die Leute in den Treppenhäusern und Korridoren der Plattenbauten. Dort wird auch Propaganda gemacht, Plakate zeigen wie man “richtig” lebt, wohnt und sich anzieht.

Die Fotos aus diesem Bereich sind aus den 50er Jahren, als die Bauten noch neu waren und über einen gewissen Reiz verfügten.


Der Korridor

Rechts sind die Wohnungstüren, hinter welchen eine jeweils unterschiedliche Geräuschkulisse zu hören ist: ein Ausschnitt vom XIII-ten kommunistischen Parteitag, Radio Freies Europa mit Aussagen der Flüchtlinge in Paris, in der Tagesschau wird die Produktion pro Hektar gelobt, Radio Beromünster berichtet über den Einzug der sowjetischen Panzer in Ungarn…

Zwischen den Wohnungen 36 und 37 fehlt eine Tür. Hier ist eine verlassene Wohnung, die Möbel in der Mitte gestapelt. Aus den Fenstern sieht man auf die Abrissarbeiten der 80er Jahre, eine Strasse, die zwei Tage später aufhörte zu existieren, das Kloster Vacaresti, welches ein halbes Jahr nach sorgfältiger Restaurierung niedergerissen wurde. Im Hintergrund sieht man den Volkspalast im Bau, seitlich deutet ein weisses Fenster darauf hin, dass die Zukunft, von dieser Zeit aus gesehen, unbekannt ist. Ein Stövchen mit Kochplatte und Kerzen wartet auf seinen Einsatz, falls wieder mal unerwartet der Strom, die Heizung, das Wasser abgestellt werden…

Die verlassene Wohnung

Detailierte Artikel über die einzelnen Teile der Ausstellung folgen in Kürze.

link Nachtgalerie

Grundriss Galerie

Expo 3x Bucuresti: Boema – Dictatura – Tranzitie

Aceasta expozitie a avut loc in Zürich in perioada 26.02.-26.03.2010 si a beneficiat de un mare succes: multi romani au venit sa-si aminteasca cu drag – si multi straini au vizitat-o, curiosi sa afle cate ceva despre Europa de est.

La cerere, expozitia ar putea fi adaptata si prezentata din nou in alt spatiu.
Pentru mai multe detalii si intrebari sunt disponibila pe adresa de mail.

Februarie 2010. Invitatia.
Dragii mei

Au trecut zece ani de cand am plecat “pentru un an in strainatate”. Sunt in continuare plecata – insa acest oras nu o sa-mi dea drumul niciodata. Il iubesc, cu straturile lui multe, cu agitatia continua, cu felul sau de a se reinventa mereu, fara a duce totusi nimic pana la capat. Micul Paris -si in acelasi timp micul Istanbul. Chiar si mica Moscova, in functie de perspectiva.

Bucurestii ma urmaresc peste tot.

Vă invit cu drag la o expoziție care povestește despre București în schimbarea vremurilor. La bar găsiți vin românesc.

Aceasta expoziție a fost finanțată prin mijloace proprii. Pe tejgheaua barului se găsește un vas pentru donații. 

Ma bucur de oaspeti!

Plan galerie

Asa a inceput expozitia, in trei incaperi si jumatate, in subsolul unei cladiri din Zürich. 3 incaperi, amenajate dupa locul in care se aduna lumea in perioada respectiva: azi – barul, pe vremuri – salonul, si – intre vremuri – holul de bloc.

Intrarea prin fundu’ curtii pe o scara, pe langa garderoba. Prima usa la stanga este barul din “vremea noastra”.

La bar se discuta in trei limbi

De acolo se trece în salonul ce înfățișează boema dinainte de al doilea război mondial. Atunci, că și acum, exista o mare toleranta pentru stiluri arhitectonice foarte diferite. Edilii vroiau binele orașului – și binele fiecăruia arata altfel. Se construia în toate chipurile și se luau decizii urbanistice clare, dar pentru perioade finite. Fiecare mandat nou aducea cu sine legi noi. Și se trăia din plin, cu buzunare pline sau mai puțin pline, de parca nu ar mai veni ziua de mâine.

Salonul © Irina Vencu

Din expoziție trebuia să ieși din nou pentru a ajunge în cea de-a treia perioadă, cea comunista: un hol de bloc, lung de zece metri, care nu duce nicăieri.

Pentru prima oara în istoria Bucurestilor se vă construi după linii generale care urmează să transforme consecvent întreg orașul, dandu-i o fata cu totul noua și uniforma. În noile blocuri se aduna lumea pe hol și pe scara blocului, ce devin locuri publice, spatiile de întălnire și comunicare. Acolo se făcea și propaganda, cu afișe ce arata cum să locuiești, cum să arați și cum să trăiești corect.

Fotografiile provin din anii ’50, când construcțiile erau noi și aveau încă un oarecare farmec.

Holul de bloc

Pe dreapta, ușile apartamentelor, de după care se aud diferite culise sonore, Radio Europa Liberă, discursurile de la al XIII-lea Congres al Partidului, Telejurnalul lăudând producția la hectar, Radio Beromünster informând despre intrarea tancurilor sovietice în Ungaria…

Intre apartamentele 36 și 37, o ușă lipsește. Înăuntru, spațiul unui apartament părăsit, cu mobila grămadă în mijloc. Pe doua geamuri se văd demolările în curs ale anilor ’80, strada Bateriilor și Mănăstirea Văcărești. În geamul din capăt răsăre Casa Poporului, în construcție. Lateral, un geam alb reprezintă viitorul neclar al orașului și al României în general în acel moment. Reșoul cu plita electrică deasupra – și lumânări, mereu la îndemâna, pentru cazul în care se oprește căldură, apa sau gazele. Anii `80…

Apartamentul părăsit

De aici lumea se întoarce la locul preferat de întălnire azi: barul. Vizitatorii încep dezbateri înfocate la un pahar de vin, căutând rezolvări și creând scenarii pentru orașul lor iubit sau pe care au început să-l cunoască și să-l îndrăgească din această seară.

Articolele detaliate despre cele trei părți ale expoziției vor urma în curând.

Link Nachtgalerie

Visby, die vergessene Hansestadt

Visby am Meer auf halbem Weg zwischen Schweden und Lettland

 

alle Fotos Kirchen

alle Fotos Wikimedia Commons ©CC

die alten arabischen, römischen & co. Münzen –

Vikinger, gingen in alle Welt – nordische Götter, späte Konvertierung zum Christentum.

St. Olof, kannonisierter König der Norweger

Paralellreligionen und -rituale. Petrus de Dacia. Hugin und Munin, Odin und Frigg,  Slepinir mit acht Beinen

die Pferde auf der Insel

12, 13.Jh die Blütezeit. Die Visbianer stärken ihre Beziehungen zu Händlerfamilien aus anderen mächtigen Städten durch das gegenseitigen Verheiraten der Töchter.

Gotländische Genossenschaft

Ab dem 12. Jahrhundert wurde der Ostseeraum im Rahmen der Ostsiedlung zunehmend für den deutschen Handel erschlossen.

In Lübeck entstand nach dem Vorbild kaufmännischer Schutzgemeinschaften die Gemeinschaft der deutschen Gotlandfahrer, auch Gotländische Genossenschaft genannt. Sie war ein Zusammenschluss einzelner Kaufleute niederdeutscher Herkunft, niederdeutscher Rechtsgewohnheiten und ähnlicher Handelsinteressen u.a. aus dem Nordwesten Deutschlands, von Lübeckern und aus neuen Stadtgründungen an der Ostsee.

Der Handel in der Ostsee wurde zunächst von Skandinaviern dominiert, wobei die Insel Gotland als Zentrum und „Drehscheibe“ fungierte. Mit der gegenseitigen Versicherung von Handelsprivilegien deutscher und gotländischer Kaufleute unter Lothar III. begannen deutsche Kaufleute den Handel mit Gotland (daher „Gotlandfahrer“). Bald folgten die deutschen Händler den gotländischen Kaufleuten auch in deren angestammte Handelsziele an der Ostseeküste und vor allem nach Russland nach, was zu blutigen Auseinandersetzungen in Visby, durch den stetigen deutschen Zuzug mittlerweile mit großer deutscher Gemeinde, zwischen deutschen und gotländischen Händlern führte. Dieser Streit wurde 1161 durch die Vermittlung Heinrichs des Löwen beigelegt und die gegenseitigen Handelsprivilegien im Artlenburger Privileg neu beschworen, was in der älteren Forschung als die „Geburt“ der Gotländischen Genossenschaft angesehen wurde. Hier von einer „Geburt“ zu sprechen verkennt jedoch die bereits existierenden Strukturen.

Visby blieb zunächst die Drehscheibe des Ostseehandels mit einer Hauptverbindung nach Lübeck, geriet aber, die Rolle als Schutzmacht der deutschen Russland-Kaufleute betreffend, mit Lübeck zunehmend in Konflikt. Visby gründete um 1200 in Nowgorod den Peterhof, nachdem die Bedingungen im skandinavischen Gotenhof, in dem die Gotländer zunächst die deutschen Händler aufnahmen, für die Deutschen nicht mehr ausreichten.

Der rasante Aufstieg, die Sicherung zahlreicher Privilegien und die Verbreitung der nahezu omnipräsenten Kaufleute der Gotländischen Genossenschaft in der Ostsee, aber auch in der Nordsee, in England und Flandern (dort übrigens in Konkurrenz zu den alten Handelsbeziehungen der rheinischen Hansekaufleute) führte in der historischen Forschung dazu, in dieser Gruppierung den Kern der frühen Hanse zu sehen (Dollinger sieht im Jahr 1161 sogar die eigentliche Geburtsstunde der Hanse überhaupt). Eine Identifizierung der Gotländischen Genossenschaft als „die“ frühe Hanse, täte jedoch allen niederdeutschen Handelsbeziehungen unrecht, die nicht unter dem Siegel der Genossenschaft stattfanden.

St. Olof wurde nach dem verlassen lange als Steinbruch benutzt, nur der Westturm blieb als Ruine übrig.

1361

Lange Zeit Zwischenhalt aller durchreisenden Schiffe, dadurch bessere Handelsbeziehungen zu anderen Ländern als zum übrigen Umland. Daher die grosse Stadtmauer! Siehe auch: Waldemar IV. Atterdag König der Dänen greift an. Gotland wehrt sich tapfer, Visby hält sich komplett aus der Schlacht heraus. Die Gotländer verlieren, Valdemar und seine Armee steht vor den Toren. Die Visbianer machen auf und bereiten sich für Verhandlungen. Valdemar stellt drei grosse Bierfässer auf den Marktplatz auf und verlangt, dass diese bis zum Sonnenuntergang bis zum Rande mit Gold und Silber gefüllt werden, sonst wird die Stadt in Schutt und Asche gelegt und ihre Bewohner geknechtet, ihre Frauen entehrt und ihre Läden geplündert. Beim Anbruch der Nacht sind die Fässer voll, alle Bewohner haben ihre Wertsachen abgegeben, Valdemar geht und lässt Visby seine erkaufte Freiheit.

der Bürgerkrieg mit dem Umland. Tiefe Steuern der Farmen: ca. 12g Silber pro Jahr statt 94 g wie im der Region um den Mälarensee

Häuser gegen den Hafen sind meist Handelshäuser mit mehrstöckigen Lagerräumen, “Verkaufsetage”

“Zinnenfassade” Ausgeklügeltes Latrinensystem.

Paris hatte zur Zeit bereits 100’000 Leute, Visby als Stadt auf einer Insel 6- 7’000.

Die Schiffe werden mit der Zeit grösser und sind nicht mehr gezwungen, in Gotland anzuhalten. Daher beginnt Visby an Bedeutung zu verlieren, die Geschäfte gehen nicht gut und die Verhandelsposition ist geschwächt. Zweite Hälfte des 14. Jh ist eine Sschlechte Zeit für Visby: Bürgerkrieg mit Umland?, Pest suchen die stolze Stadt heim.

1525 Die Armee der Lübecker greift von Norden auf Land an, die Tochter eines Goldschmieds verrät die Stadt und öffnet ein Tor, aus Liebe zu einem ?Offizier. Alle 18 Katedralen werden zerstört und angezündet, allein Marienkirche, da Kirche der Deutschen, bleibt verschont.

Visby erholte sich nie mehr, daher wurden die Kirchen weder wiederaufgebaut, noch für wichtigere Bauwerke als Steinbrüche genutzt.

Einige waren bereits angeschlagen. Die Reformation brachte die katholische Kirche in eine schwächere Rolle, ab 1530 leerten sich die Klöster und alle Kirchen bis auf St. Marien wurden aufgegeben.

Diejenigen Kirchen, die nicht schon als ausgebrannte Ruinen leerstanden,verloren schnell ihre Türen, Fenster und Dächer. Damit war der Weg für den fortgesetzten Verfall geebnet. Die aufgegebenen Kirchen gingen in den Besitz des Hospitals von Visby über, das Einnahmen durch das Verpachten der Ruinen und der dazugehörigen Grundstücke innerhalb und ausserhalb der Stadt erzielte. In gewissem Umfang wurden die Ruinen als Steinbrüche genutzt.

1805 kamen die Ruinen unter Denkmalschutz, erst 50 Jahre später begann man etwas man etwas gegen den weiteren Verfall zu unternehmen.

Die aufgegebenen Kirchen

Grösstes Schiffsunglück vor der Küste – Begräbnis von xy. Sturm.

Spaziergang auf Visbys Karte

satelittenbild

satellitenbild alle Kirchen

St. Per und St. Hans

S. Katarina

Drotten und St. Lars

 

Das Kasino in Constanta, 1910 – 2005

Das Gründerzeitkasino an der Hafenpromenade ist das Wahrzeichen von Constanţa. Erbaut wurde es 1909 in französischem Neobarockstil von dem rumänischen Architekten Daniel Renard. 1985 wurde es restauriert. In dem prächtigen Gebäude kann man auch schlemmen, der Glücksspielbetrieb aber wurde 2005 eingestellt.

 

Constanţa ist die älteste Stadt auf rumänischem Boden. Erstmals im Jahre 657 vor Chr. erwähnt, als an der Stelle der heutigen Halbinsel (unter dem heutigen Wasserspiegel, auf dem Platz des heutigen Kasinos) eine griechische Kolonie namens Tomis gegründet wurde. Die Ortschaft wurde 71 vor Chr. von den Römern erobert und in Constantiana umgenannt, zu Ehren der Schwester des Kaisers Constantin des Grossen.

Im Laufe des 13. Jh. wird das Grosse Meer (wie damals das Schwarze Meer genannt wurde) von italienischen Händlern aus Genua dominiert; diese bauten die Stadt aus. Bis 1420 gehört Constanţa zur Walachei und dann schließlich zum Osmanischen Reich, bis es 1878 im Rahmen des Berliner Kongresses mit der Dobrudscha (dessen Zentrum Constanţa ist) Rumänien zugeschlagen wurde.

Unter osmanischer Besetzung bis auf die Grösse eines Dorfes zurück geschrumpft, das von griechischen Fischern und tatarischen Pferde- und Schafzüchtern bewohnt wurde. Die Ortschaft entwickelte sich wieder zur Stadt nach dem Bau der Eisenbahnlinie Cernavodă-Constanţa und des Hafens, in 1865, über den hauptsächlich rumänisches Getreides exportiert wurde. Nach dem Russisch-Türkischen Krieg (1877-1878) gewann Rumänien die Dobrudscha zurück. Constanţa wuchs zum wichtigste Hafen des Landes, was es heute noch ist.

Heutzutage ist der Hafen Constanţa der grösste am Schwarzen Meer und der viertgrösste in Europa. In den nächsten Jahren besteht das Potential, dass Marseille und Antwerpen überholt werden und Constanta an zweiter Stelle hinter Rotterdam landet.

Der Hafen © maryus_razvan

1889, kurze Zeit nachdem die Stadt unter rumänische Verwaltung gekommen ist, wird am Ende des einzigen Boulevards der Stadt, neben dem Genuesischen Leuchtturm, mit dem Bau eines ersten Amüsierlokals begonnen. Das Gebäude des Kasino-Kursaals ist sehr schlicht – aussen mit Holzlatten beschlagen – und beherbergt zwei Tanzsäle, zwei Lesesäle und zwei Spielhallen. Die Terrasse davor, welche sich grösszügig zum Meer hin öffnet, ist der beliebteste Treffpunkt der Stadt. Seeleute, Reisenden und die lokale Elite kommen her, während der Saison finden fast jeden Abend Bälle statt. Zu den Klängen des Militärorchesters wird Walzer getanzt; die Berühmtheiten jener Zeit geben oft Konzerte, die von der Stadtverwaltung finanziert werden.

Constanta zu Beginn des 20.Jh, die Grosse Moschee Carol I, erbaut 1910

1891 zerstört ein wütender Sturm ein Grossteil des Holzgebäudes. Der Bürgermeister beschliesst ein neues, solideres Gebäude bauen zu lassen, da die Reparatur des alten nicht rentabel wäre.

Das neue Gebäude des «Kursaals» wird 1893 einige Meter weiter vom Genuesischen Leuchtturm entfernt als das alte gebaut, etwa auf der Stelle des heutigen Kasinos. Erneut wird ein schlichter Bau auf Holzstützen im Meer errichtet. Er besteht aus Tanzsaal, mehrere Räume für unterschiedliche Nutzungen und einer Terrasse zum Meer.

 

«Gleich zu Beginn zieht uns der Festpavillon an, dessen Beine aus den Wellen ragen, wärend die Veranda über das Meer hinausgeschoben ist. Drinnen spielt Musik und fröhliche Paare tanzen den Boston; aussen tauchen aufgehängte Lampions alles in ein märchenhaftes Licht, in welchem sich Damen und Herren intim unterhalten, wie in Tausend und einer Nacht» schreibt Petru Vulcan

Seitenansicht mit Fenster über der Treppen ©dstoica

Zuerst werden die Räumlichkeiten extern vermietet, danach wird das Gebäude von der Stadtverwaltung Constanţa in Eigenregie verwaltet. Ziemlich bald wird festgestellt, dass der Gewinn die Instandhaltungskosten kaum übersteigt; die Stadt bietet die Räume wieder zur Vermietung an. Mai 1902 bewirbt der einzige Sohn des Ion Creanga – ein grosser rumänischer Schriftsteller – sich als Mieter: Kapitän Creanga ist Bäcker und Konditor und spricht die damals gängigen zwei Fremdsprachen. Er bekommt das Gebäude für 2’000 lei im Jahr, unter den Bedingungen, dass er «Konsumartikel bester Qualität» verkauft und für die Beleuchtung «Petroleum bester Qualität, um Geruchentstehung zu vermeiden» benützt.

Das Kasino wird zur Hauptattraktion der Stadt, an sämtlichen Abenden im Juli und August finden Konzerte zwischen 5-7 Uhr und 8-12 Uhr statt, die bedeutendsten Orchester der Zeit treten auf; man kann sich ein Saisonabonement kaufen.

«An ruhigen Abenden füllen sich die zwei Terrassen des alten Kasinos mit vornehmer Gesellschaft, die draussen diniert, vor dem in Dunkelheit gehülltem Meer, und lauscht den den täuschenden Klängen des Orchesters». Der alte Holzbau steht auf kräftigen Stützen, am Rand des Boulevards. In dem improvisierten Salon freuten sich und feierten während vieler Saisons Leute aus ganz Rumänien und aus aller Welt Bälle und rauschende Feste. Heute scheinen die Erwartungen gestiegen zu sein und die Leute schauen voller Mitleid auf die alte Baracke, die einst so viele Stelldicheins und Extase barg.» “Malerisches Constanta” – Ion Adam

 

Somit war die Architektur des Gebäudes bereits zu Beginn des 20. Jh. aus der Mode gekommen; die Stadtverwaltung wünscht ein modernes Kasino zu errichten, im Stiel der Bauten der französischen Riviera.

 

Architekt Daniel Renard wird mit dem Projekt beauftragt, er ist 32 Jahre alt und hat die Ecole des Beaux Arts absolviert. Sein Vorschlag, ein Jugenstilgebäude zu bauen, ist zunächst sehr umstritten: von den Liberalen, die gerade an der Macht sind, sehr ermutigt, wird das Projekt von der gesamten Opposition scharf kritisiert. Die Arbeiten beginnen, jedoch endet das Mandat der Liberalen, und die neu gewählten Konservativen stoppen den Bau. Sie ersetzen den Architekten Renard mit ihrem Favorit, dem berühmten Petre Antonescu, welcher ein Theater – ähnliches Gebäude mit zwei Türmen vorschlägt. Die Arbeiten an der neuen Gründung beginnen. Inzwischen geht auch das Mandat der Konservativen zu Ende – und die Liberalen werden 1907 wieder gewählt. Auf der dritten Gründung wird schliesslich zwischen 1907 und 1910 das heutige Kasino gebaut, Kostenpunkt 1.3 Mio lei.

Genuesischer Leuchtturm

Das Fenster über der Treppen, Innenansicht

 

 

Viele mögen den Bau nicht. Zum Beispiel einem französischen Diplomaten,

ᅠGeorge Oudard,welcher 1935 Constanta besucht, erscheint das Kasino- Gebäude als furchtbar.

Er schreibt in seinen Reisebericht: «eine Sache ist an diesem freundlichen Ort enttäuschend: das weisse Kasino, anspruchsvoll und kompliziert , im schrecklichsten Stile des 1900, welches das Meeresufer beladen aussehen lässt.»

Meist war die zeitgenössische Kritik nicht gnädiger und brauchte das Kasinogebäude oft in den Schlagzeilen unterschiedlicher politischer Auseinandersetzungen. In einer Nummer vom März 1910 beschreibt die Zeitung «Conservatorul Constantei» das Kasino als ein «mit lauter unterschiedlichem Flitter geschmücktes Ungetüm». Im Dezember 1911 kritisiert die Zeitung «Drapelul» (die Flagge) den Bürgermeister Titus Cananau, weil er als Chefingenieur die Pläne und Baugesuche genehmigt hat, obwohl er «in seiner Stellung als Leiter des Technischen Dienstes und Mitglied des Baurates den Bau des Ungeheuers hätte verhindern können und müssen.»

 

 

 

 

© Asen

 

Fürst Ferdinand eröffnet am 15. August 1910 das Kasino, dessen Verwaltung Alphonse Hietz, Hotel- und Restaurantbesitzer aus Bukarest übernimmt.

 

Der Raum mit der Bühne. Fenster in Muschelform, typisch Jugendstil

Gegenüberliegende Wand im selben Raum

 

Um die enorme Investition für den Bau zurück zu gewinnen, autorisiert die Stadtverwaltung im März 1911 die Glücksspiele. Zwei Billardtische und 17 runde Kartentische werden zur Benutzung gestellt. Alsbald kommen Spielsüchtige und Abenteurer aus der ganzen Welt zum feiern und spielen her, wo der Luxus und die Eleganz zu Hause sind. Im Kasino finden leidenschaftliche Dramen statt – und sagenhafte Reichtümer wechseln ihre Besitzer innert kürzester Zeit. Manche der Verlierer werfen sich in die Wellen oder erschiessen sich in einem Hotelzimmer in der Nähe.

Der Baron Edgar de Marcay lässt 1912 das Hotel Palace bauen – speziell für die Kunden des Kasinos, wie mit der Stadtverwaltung vereinbart (Mein Grossvater, arch. Agripa Popescu, gestaltete die Inneneinrichtung in den 1970er Jahren, als das Hotel saniert wurde).

Im ersten Stock. Links die Tür zum Spielraum, vorn kommt man zu einem Festsaal

 

Entgegen aller Kontroversen behält das Kasino seine ursprüngliche Funktion über die Jahre hinweg, mit einer einzigen Ausnahme: im Ersten Weltkrieg wird das Gebäude als Spital benutzt – und vom Meer aus beschossen.

In der Zwischenkriegszeit strahlt das Kasino wieder in seiner alten Pracht. Das Gebäude, welches eine Baufläche von 801m² misst, wurde 1956 denn auch unter Denkmalschutz gestellt.

2005 wird das Kasino geschlossen und zur Konzession angeboten.

Ein Jahr später, Januar 2006, zeigt nur die israelische Firma “Queen”, welche auch Casino Palace in Bukarest besitzt, Interesse. Die Firma plant eine Neueröffnung in der zweiten Hälfte des Jahres 2009, mit erweitertem Programm für VIPs.

 

Realitatea.net schreibt im Juni 2007:

Nach zwei Ausschreibungsetappen, zum Zeitpunkt der direkten Verhandlung, wurden die Vorgänge angehalten. Die Ausschreibung war international, erschien in der Presse und wurde auch in der Zeitung der EU angezeigt, jedoch verordnete die Regierung, dass auch ein Beamter des Kulturministeriums der Ausschreibungs – Kommission beiwohnen, erklärte der Bürgermeister Radu Mazare. Das Kulturministerium hat sich danach geweigert, eine Person für das Komitee zu nominieren, mit der Begründung, die nötigen Verfahrensnormen existierten noch nicht. Die Stadtverwaltung Constanţa startete ein Anzeigeverfahren, danach wurde rasch ein Beamter des Kulturministeriums nominiert. Die Verhandlung mit der Firma Queen, immer noch die einzig interessierte, wurde eine Woche später mit einem Vertrag beendet.

 

 

Luftansicht, vom Meer aus © Stadt ConstantaDas Kasino auf der Küste wird der israelischen Firma für 49 Jahre in Konzession übergeben, mit einer Verlängerungsmöglichkeit für weitere 24 Jahre. Die Lizenzgebühr beträgt 140’000 € pro Jahr und fliesst in den Gemeindehaushalt ein; dazu wird der Betreiber verpflichtet, 9 Mio. € in die Restaurierung des Gebäudes zu investieren.

 

Das Zeitfenster fürs Renovationsprojekt erstreckt sich auf ein halbes Jahr hinaus, danach beginnen im Anschluss die Sanierungsarbeiten, wenn das Bauvorhaben bewilligt wird.

Je nach Ausgang des Gutachtens werden sowohl die Tragstruktur, als auch die Innenräume saniert.

 

 

Meine Fotos stammen aus 2007, als an einem Septembertag im unteren Teil des Gebäudes eine Hochzeitsfeier vorbereitet wurde. Durch die Säle im Erdgeschoss liefen eilig Kellner umher und deckten die festlichen Tische, im oberen Geschoss flogen Tauben durch den Saal mit der Bühne – deren Spuren man auf den Fotos erkennen kann.

Durch Anklicken der kleinen Fotos gelangst Du direkt zur Galerie der Kasino-Fotos.

Link zum Satellittenbild hier