West Bucharest
Ceausescu strove for this, to leave his mark on the capital and in the last years of his reign he achieved his own. He has decided, that Bucharest would become similar to other great capitals, like Paris or Moscow, it needs a proper river. The commander therefore initiated a huge investment of marking a new bed for the Dymbowica River (Dambovita) in the south of the city.
To ensure a constant supply of water, in the north a mighty dam was built on the river, forming Lake Dimbovita. From the Cringasi metro station you can see the dam, half a kilometer away. At the dam, you can take the tram to the south #41 and on the loop change to #8 the 48. Two stops to the east is Ghencea Cemetery. To get here on foot, you have to travel south of the People's House (path 13 September) – some 2,5 km.
Everyone knows today, that the Ceausescu are buried in this cemetery, though this fact was supposed to be a secret. Two clearly signed graves are right in the middle, on the main alley leading to the church; are located opposite to each other: Nicolae on the left, and Elena on the right. The family wants to move their remains to Scornicesti, the native village of Nicolae. Meanwhile, faithful admirers of Nicolae and Elena make pilgrimages to the graves (there are always fresh flowers and candles are lit).
Continuing the tour, you can take the tram going south #48 and take two stops to Razoare”, where the tram takes the second turn. The paved Geniului boulevard comes to a crossing, where you need to turn right onto soseaua Cotroceni.
From the middle of the road you go along the high walls of the Cotroceni Palace, which Ceausescu restored, intending to live here in the future. The chief never moved here. The palace is open to visitors (with ex. pn.). It is entered through a small, but the distinctive gate on the eastern side of soseaua Cotroceni.
A little further east is the entrance to the Botanical Garden. It is divided into sections according to the regions of the country. You can enter the garden every day, but the Botanical Museum and Greenhouses are only open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9.00 do 13.00.
Monasteries and churches
A surprisingly large number of sacred buildings are well-preserved in Bucharest. The architecture and mood are so different from churches, we see every day, that it is probably worth spending a few hours on them.
Plumbuita Monastery, Mihai Basarab street 58, was established in the second half of the 16th century. The founders surrounded it with a thick defensive wall, because during the times of Turkish sovereignty, the Multan hospodars were forbidden to build fortified settlements, therefore, only fortified monasteries could face the invaders' attacks. The stone frames of the doors and windows of the monastery church are noteworthy here. In a monastery after the revolution was suppressed 1848 its participants were imprisoned in the year.
Mihai Voda Monastery, Archives street 2, was funded by Michał Waleczny (hence the name) at the end of the 16th century. Monastery Orthodox Church, a magnificent monument of Wallachian architecture, in style it resembles similar churches in Dealu and in Curtea de Arges. The exterior of the building is originally decorated – the colorful stripes of plaster are intertwined with the stripes of exposed brick. Within the walls, as was the custom in the past, hospodar built himself a manor.
Also from the 16th century. comes the church of St.. George the Old, in the old town, rebuilt several times in the 18th and 19th centuries. For a long time, it housed a Slavic-Romanian school.
Orthodox church of Radu Voda (Radu Voda suffers 18) built in 1614 r. Radu Mihnea on the site of the Holy Trinity Monastery, founded several decades earlier by Alexander II, and blown up by the Turks. The last reconstruction restored the original appearance of the building, which was rebuilt many times.
It is worth paying attention to the seventeenth-century monuments: church of St.. Spirit of the Old (pl. Operetta Theater 2), church of St.. Jerzy Nowe (boulevard 1848, nr 39), with wood-carved iconastas and the tombs of the hospodars, and the church of St.. The apostles (street Sf. Apostles 33).
In addition to the 18th century Stavropoleos,. Orthodox church of Coltea (boulevard 1848, nr 1), church of Kretulescu (the way of Victory 47) and the church of St.. Elefterii Starej (Elefterie street 15 bis), built among the once vast forests, of which today only clumps of trees remain in the Botanical Garden.
There are incomparably fewer Roman Catholic churches and they are not particularly interesting from an artistic point of view. In the Italian Church, on the strade of Nicolae Balcescu, on Sundays, Fr. 10.00 Mass is said in Polish.