A slow-paced stroll through the middle of Little Paris can place the whole world at your feet. You can leave Paris for London, from London you can head to Hague and you can return, through Rome, on Washington. It’s true that we’re talking about a journey you can take only imaginarily, touring about on the streets in Bucharest bearing names of capitals.
We come across the majority of the streets with such names east of Piaţa Victoriei / Victory’s Square, around Paris Street, in what was called during the period between the two World Wars “Bonaparte Parceling.” By the way, the Bonaparte Street is the old name of the artery that today is called Iancu de Hunedoara Boulevard. “The first such names emerged in the 3rd decade of the 20th century, expressing the geographical and political sympathies of the Romanian society at the time. Piaţa Dorobanţilor / Dorobanţilor Square bore for a period of time the name of Piaţa Confederaţiei Balcanice / Balkan Confederation’s Square, other names in the same category appearing subsequently even beyond Calea Dorobanţilor / Dorobanţilor Avenue (Amman, Chile). To be noticed that the names Berlin and Vienna were ascribed to a number of streets only during the period of 1941-1944, when Romania was fighting side by side with Germany, being afterwards withdrawn; and Moscova / Moscow and Budapesta / Budapest will linger for a long time still on the waiting list,” explains to us Aurel Ionescu, the researcher that devoted his time to studying the streets’ names.
Let Us Visit Paris!
We will commence our journey in Paris – Paris Street.
Leaving the Antipa Museum, along the Victory Palace / Palatul Victoria, we will plunge step by step in a charming residential area, in which the urban noise fades away as you get lost among the skittish bungalows that guard on either side the Paris in the middle of Little Paris.
The charm of the area will capture you and will automatically provide you with the sensation that you have stepped into another world, a world full of architectural treasures that any lover of beauty will admire.
I for one have discovered Bucharest during a day of fall, in which the sun still held the power of the summer time. Availing myself of the warm air, I took a slow walk admiring in amazement spectacular details in a city that revealed itself to me in all its splendor.
Elegant buildings, courtyards guarded by giant trees divesting themselves of their foliage, giving birth to splendid fall paintings, Embassy headquarters, you can find them all on the Paris Street. It is a perfect blend of old and new, masterfully bringing out the history of these places.
It’s good to make the first stop at No. 14, where there is the house in which the mathematician Miron Nicolescu (1903-1975) used to live. Also, if you go on Paris, it is mandatory to stop at No. 19, where a historical monument mansion – B Category – stands. The edifice has been recently reframed by a courageous team of architects. The specialists succeeded to accomplish an extensive remodeling of the building, both at the façade level and at the carpentry level, preserving untouched the beauty of the mansion, representative for the local heritage.
As spectacular are the Embassies headquarters located on Paris Street. The facilities hosting the diplomatic missions of such states as Sudan, Syria or Portugal remind you by certain details those respective countries.
The Monument of Aviator Mircea Zorileanu
And if the stroll by foot wears you out, you can take a few leisure moments and can stop in one of the squares “cracking” Paris Street, in order to admire the monuments located here. In the Quito Square you will discover The Monument of Aviator Mircea Zorileanu, dedicated to one of the pioneers of aviation in Romania. We’re talking about Mircea Zorileanu (October 14th 1883 – February 10th 1919), the second patented aviator in Romania and a World War I hero. The monument is also known as The Air Monument and was performed by Sculptor Emil Ludovic Gové. In the year 1937 it was placed in the Quito Square. At that very time the Romania Royal Aerial Club was inaugurated. As a curiosity, it has to be mentioned that within this memorial monument, formed of a statue made of bronze and iron and a pedestal made of four stone columns, the funerary urn of the Aviator Mircea Zorileanu is kept.
Another stopover you can make in the Napoleon III Square, a superb small public garden dominated by a bust of the great military strategist, who had a significant contribution to the history of these lands. Napoleon III was one of the European personalities that supported the Small Union in 1859.
And if you want to leave Paris, we invite you to a new destination: London – London Street.
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