The University Square At Night

I believe cities are more beautiful at night than during the day. Some cities. I can believe that sometimes the city where I live is more beautiful at night than during the day. Bucharest, in Romania.

In my youth I used to go "into town", that's what I used to say when I referred to downtown... "into town"! As if I lived in another town. That was the expression used by most people who, like me, lived in the suburbs. I used to go "into town" mostly at night. I loved walking at night!

In the meantime, my number of years increased and my night walks decreased. Going "into town", into the city center, was mostly caused by going to shows, especially theatre.

I had the same reason on my most recent evening walk. I went to the theatre, and that also caused a walk through University Square, where the National Theatre is. One of the most beautiful buildings in Bucharest, one of the few new buildings in this area of the old city.

Interestingly, I went to the theatre, but not to the National Theatre. I went to a much less important theatre but I'm glad it helped me to see the city, the University Square, the National Theatre building, and a small piece of Magheru Boulevard at night. After a very long time!

University Square

An important place for the city and its inhabitants. It can be called the center... of the center! An intersection of important boulevards, a square respected by all because here began, in Bucharest, the Romanian Revolution that led to the change of the form of state of Romania, from a communist country to a democratic one. Many revolutionaries died here, the square became a symbol of the anti-communist struggle and a place of remembrance!

University Square is an important market in Bucharest. It is located in the center of the capital; its shape is influenced by the Haussmannian model of "La Grande Croisee", delimiting the north-south and east-west axes, so as to encourage urban modernization through Parisian influence.

Source

The monument in the middle of the intersection is dedicated to I.C.Bratianu, a 19th-century Romanian patriot and politician, who had an immense contribution to the modernization of the country. It was placed on this site in 1903 and in 1948 it was demolished by the new communist regime imposed by the USSR.

The monument, 14 meters high and weighing 160 tons, was rebuilt and put back in place in 2019.

The inscription on the monument, a saying of I.C.Bratianu, is this:
"Through Our Minds, Through Our Hearts and Arms"

I chose to walk on Magheru Boulevard, perhaps the most important boulevard in the city. Word comes that I chose, in fact, I was forced to because it was the shortest route to the theatre where I had to go. The direction of the walk is north, with the University building on the left and on the right, the small park, and the two buildings built during the communist period, two emblematic buildings of Bucharest. The National Theatre, the largest theatre in Romania, and the Intercontinental Hotel, for a long time the tallest building in the city.

The National Theatre building has a turbulent history, it has been modified several times, and it is one of the buildings I love, both for its architecture and especially for what it represents, the home of Romanian theatre.

The Intercontinental Hotel was opened in 1971 and has 24 floors, and is 77 m high. Although the height is small compared to the tall buildings in the world's major cities, it should be kept in mind that Bucharest is a city with a high seismic risk, with the probability of an earthquake close to 8 Richter degrees every 80 years and earthquakes above 7 Richter degrees several times a century.

This hotel was the first 5-star hotel and was chosen mainly by western tourists, especially for its comfort, central location, and great view over the city. It is now called Grand Hotel Bucharest.

After the year 2000 many hotels were built in Bucharest, many hotels that surpass the Grand Hotel Bucharest in all aspects, but it remained a historical landmark of the city.

The short night walk under the city lights is coming to an end...

....and I ended up at the theater. It's called "Sala Scala"!

It is a small theatre where small plays are put on, without much value, and, in general, to mark certain anniversaries or cultural moments. Sometimes there are important actors on stage, such as the one for whom I went to this show. Marius Bodochi, who is also the director of the National Theatre, passed a little earlier.

After the show was over we took a short walk to the parking lot, quite far away, where our friend who invited us to this show left her car. She is an important Romanian theatre and opera director, a friend of the above-mentioned actor.

A look back to remember this wet winter night in mid-January and mid-town. So I can say that I was, again, at night, "in town"!

The car parked in front of a candy store lets me see, through the wet windshield, piles of candy held in barrels, an image worthy of a Fellini film.

This walk reminded me of the night walks through the city in my youth. The city was quite different, with dim lights and few, sad people on the streets, a picture of a lackluster, deprived communist city. Now things have changed a lot for the better and I feel the need to repeat these walks, although the current brightness is again threatened by the need to save energy... that is until a new solution is found. I am optimistic that this solution will come soon, with the help of new discoveries and technologies.

This is for #wednesdaywalk challenge, hosted by @tattoodjay in collaboration with #makemesmile hosted by @elizacheng.

Traveler to the city where I live is what I've been doing for many years, I try to show what is more interesting, more important, and not necessarily what is more beautiful in the city where I live. I don't bypass the ugly places or the sometimes uncivilized behavior that I try to explain through the history of these places but I focus especially on what I think a visitor would like to see when he arrives for the first time in Bucharest. Bucharest, the capital of Romania, a member country of the EU, is located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeast Europe. I'm going to put these places on the Pinmapple map for those who want to discover them more easily!

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