Thematic file

German Architecture in Romania

Translation by Kázmér KOVÁCS
Notes: Șerban POPESCU-CRIVEANU

Only a few years ago we had the opportunity to enjoy the surprising prospects that opened up for the expansion of German architecture in Far East Asia. The award by the Imperial Japanese Government to Messrs. Ende & Böckmann of the commission for the great monumental ensemble planned for Tokyo is still the subject of general interest, particularly in specialized circles; but we are already in a position to report a similar success with a foreign commission, awarded to another Berlin architectural office. Already a year ago, at the Jubilee Art Exhibition, among the works presented by the successors of Gropius & ^Schmieden5, Mr. Schmieden, Mr. v. Weltzien and Mr. ^Speer6, was a sketch for a new museum building in Bucharest. Today we are in a position to report that the artists were entrusted not only with the final design, cost estimates and architectural site supervision for the Museum building, but also with the design of new buildings for the University of ^Bucharest7. These are achievements which, in terms of their complexity and scale, as well as their artistic importance, can be considered at least on a par with those of Tokyo.

And just like that brilliant commission from the Japanese side, this decision of the Royal Government of Romania should be considered - in addition to a personal success for the master commissioned with the work, of course - first and foremost a national victory for our art. It is no coincidence that we have chosen a title for today's report that links it directly with our recent article on "German Architecture in Japan".

While in Japan the competition from England and America had to be defeated, the entry of German architecture in Romania was much more strongly influenced by the French. For the young, vigorous, flourishing Danubian state did not have Japan's position of calm neutrality towards the cultures of the western peoples, but - despite the German origins of its sovereign - has always leaned with a categorical predilection on France and the French manner. The sons of the wealthy are educated in Paris; the language spoken in society and at official events, alongside Romanian, is French, and the Germans in the country can only assert themselves through a constant struggle with the almighty influence of the supporters of French culture.
Moreover, Romania has no shortage of technical forces of German or Austrian origin, but they are rarely to be found in higher positions. They mostly belong to the category of entrepreneurs, who are also in many ways opposed to French competition. The more substantial buildings which the country has seen erected in more recent times have almost without exception been by Parisian or French school architects. To them belong the recently built urban Royal ^Palace8, the National Bank of Romania - now under ^{construction9}, the Palace of Justice designed by A. ^Ballu10, the recently completed reconstruction of the most beautiful church in the country, at Curtea de Argeș, near Pitesti, undertaken by Le ^Comte11, as well as many other buildings in Bucharest, but unfortunately their execution shows all too clearly that a semi-cultivated Orient still has difficulties in its endeavor to imitate French art.

So far, German architects have only been called upon for buildings whose costs have not been covered by the country's funds, such as the very romantic summer residence of the King, the Peles Castle in Sinaia in the ^Carpathian Mountains12 or the beautiful Roman Catholic Church in Bucharest, a work by the Viennese Friedrich V. ^Schmidt13.

A first, encouraging, attention paid to German architecture has recently been expressed by the fact that the Romanian state authorities have increasingly resorted to the excellent German potential for the expertise of new technical enterprises. We recall the work of Prof. Dr. Winkler in the jury of the competition for the great bridge over the Danube at ^Cernavodă14 and that of the main site manager, Franzius, in connection with the regularization of the ports of the ^Danube cities15. The ongoing orders for the architects Schmieden, v. Weltzien and Speer, which are the subject of this report, were also prepared by the repeated visits to Romania of Schmieden's construction adviser, Schmieden, for decisions concerning the interior design of a large military hospital in Bucharest, namely the most appropriate heating and ventilation installations, gas and water supply, etc., thus giving him the opportunity to establish relations with the ^{authorities16}. As a result, already at the beginning of last year, he was sought out by the Ministry of Religious ^Affairs17 to submit a sketch of the building project for a National Museum, and now that, after the allocation of the funds available, the final contracts with him and his associates have been concluded, it is to be hoped that German architecture will have established itself on a lasting basis in Romania.

Until the necessary construction drawings, which in the meantime are nearing completion, are drawn up, the site is being cleared on the spot; thus - unless armed conflicts break out again - the rapid start of construction work can be considered assured.
Bucharest, with its approximately 178,000 ^{inhabitants18}, is of an unusual size. Only a few main streets are densely built. Small houses, set isolated among their own gardens and farmland, linked together without any system, make up self-contained outer neighborhoods, formed one after another by the settlement of people from the country, and often so spread out that the population density of the city is on average even lower than that of the kingdom of Belgium.

The lands designated for the Museum and the University are on the two banks of the Dâmbovița, a river which runs through the city from east to west and which has been canalized in more recent times by the ^local administration19. A boulevard, only partly completed for the time being and no doubt destined to become, in the unplanned tangle of streets, a traffic artery adorned with monumental ^buildings20, reaches the Dâmbovië river in the south-west of the city, about a quarter of an hour from Cotroceni, the King's summer ^residence21 and Asyle ^Hélène22. As can be seen in the plan opposite, the Museum, which - with the two adjoining buildings, the execution of which has not yet been decided - will enclose a kind of Arts Forum, will be located on the south bank of the Dâmbovië, while the University's institutes will be located on the north side, between the Dâmbovië and the boulevard.
The image above, developed from the sketch presented at the Jubilee Exhibition, may give an impression of the appearance and scale of the buildings in question; the adaptations that will be made as a result of the processing will probably not be so radical as to alter the overall picture significantly. On the contrary, it is of course out of the question that, before the changes have been finalized and approved, we should be able to go into the details of such a beautiful and majestic building and illustrate them. For the present, let the brief description of the fact that in the main central body of the Museum, whose ^staircase23 develops unhindered into the space of the dome, surrounded by two-storied halls, will be found a considerable collection of Roman antiquities, coming especially from the time of Trajan, as well as a number of monuments of Byzantine art, but first of all a large library, the State Archives and the Archives of the Academy of Sciences; in front of the building, at the express wish of the administration, a faithful copy of Trajan's Column in Rome. The arcaded halls linking the central and lateral buildings are intended for a Gallery of Painting and a Museum of Applied Art, and will not be completed until the growth of the collections, which were at first housed in the main building, makes them necessary. The buildings of the University to be located on the other side of the Dâmboviëa will take over the Central Institute of Chemistry [as well as] both parts of the Institute of Physiology and of Pathological Anatomy.

Perhaps we shall soon be in a position to bring significant additions to these brief accounts. For today, we wish, together with our fellow members of the guild, to express our heartfelt joy at such an honored success achieved by German architecture abroad, by the work of German architects in Romania, together with the flourishing German occupations connected with the building industry,

especially the applied arts, which have the opportunity to conquer new market territory. If successful, it could easily increase immeasurably the economic significance for Germany of the relations won by Mr. Schmieden, the construction advisor, incomparably greater than the initiation of similar relations in Japan. For the German technicians it would be all the more gratifying since, unfortunately, only the mistakes of their fellow craftsmen who were involved in the construction of the Romanian railroads can be blamed for the fact that German art and technology had not consolidated their position here two decades ^earlier24.

NOTES

1 Al. Tzigara-Samurcaș, Muzeul Neamului Românesc, Ce a fost; ce este; ce ar trebui fie, București: Minerva, Institute of Graphic Arts and Publishing, 1909, p. 52.
2 Ibid, pp. 52-54.
3 Ibid, pp. 40-41, 45.
4 "Deutsche Baukunst in Rumänien", in Deutsche Bauzeitung, year 21, no. 25 of March 26, 1887, signed F. Deutsche Bauzeitung, the oldest German architectural magazine, turned 152 years old in 2018.
5 Important Berlin architectural firm formed in 1865 by the architects Martin Phillip GROPIUS (1824-1880) and Heino SCHMIEDEN (1835-1913).
6 After the death of M. P. GROPIUS, H. SCHMIEDEN formed a new firm with the architects Victor von WELTZEIN and Robert SPEER.
7 The University of Bucharest already had its own premises, built between 1857-1869 to the design of Arch. Alexandru ORĂSCU (1817-1894, diplomat in Berlin).
8 The Royal Palace in the center of Bucharest - today 49-53 Calea Victoriei - was built between 1882-1885 by the French architect Paul GOTTEREAU son; the new wing of the Palace was built at that time, parallel to Calea Victoriei, a wing that included the protocol, administrative and military functions of the Royal House. The wing facing the Crețulescu Church of the Palace was also fitted out for the private residence of the royal family, by converting the house built in 1812-1815 by the visionary nobleman Dinicu GOLESCU. The shape of the current building and its architecture were changed after the fire of 1926, which destroyed part of the Palace; the building was elevated and extended towards Știrbei Vodă Street, between 1928-1937, according to the project of the architect Nicolae G. NENCIULESCU (architect with studies in Paris); bombed by the German air force after August 23, 1944, the building was finished in 1947. It should be noted that the residence of the royal family was remodeled in 1928 by the German architect Arthur LORENZ, who respected the exterior architecture of the architect NENCIULESCU's project.
9 The building of the National Bank of Romania - today 25 Lipscani St. - was built between 1883-1885 according to the plans of the French architects Paul Louis Albert GALLERON and Joseph Marie Cassien BERNARD. The Romanian engineer and architect Nicolae P. CERCHEZ (diplomat in Paris), assisted by the architect Constantin BĂICOIANU (diplomat in Paris), was in charge of the construction of the building.
10 The Palace of Justice in Bucharest - today Splaiul Independenței 5 - was designed by the French architect Albert BALLU and was built between 1890-1895. The interior fittings and construction details were designed by the Romanian architect Ion MINCU (diplomat in Paris), who supervised the execution of the works.
11 The restoration of the church of the Curtea de Argeș Monastery, the metropolitan cathedral and mausoleum of the Romanian royal family, was completed in 1880, the work being carried out by the French architect Emile-André LECOMTE DU NOÜY, recommended for this work by the great French architect Eugène Emmanuel VIOLLET-LE-DUC; the same Lecomte du Noüy designed the building of the Metropolitan Palace, located to the east of the church.
12 The Peles Castle at Sinaia, used for the summer government and the residence of the royal family, was built with funds from King Charles I between 1875-1883, designed by the German architects Willhelm von DODERER (1872-1876) and Johannes SCHULTZ (after 1876). The construction was completed in 1896, according to the designs and under the direction of the Czech architect Karl LIMAN (studied in Prague and Munich).
13 St. Joseph's Catholic Cathedral in Bucharest - 17, General Henry Berthelot St. - was built between 1875-1884 according to the plans of the Austrian architect Friederich von SCHMIDT, an important church builder in Central Europe. It was financed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Romania, whose first archbishop was Monsignor Ignazio PAOLI.
14 In 1883, the Romanian state launched an international competition for the design and execution of the bridge over the Danube between Fetești and Cernavodă. The jury had as secretary the Romanian engineer Anghel SALIGNY (studied at Charlottenburg) and was composed of Prof. Dr. E. WINKER (Berlin), Prof. E. COLLIGNON (Paris) and several Romanian engineers. The result of the competition was not satisfactory, so it was repeated in 1886, when the winner was Eng. Anghel SALIGNY.
15 FRANZIUS - German family of engineers specializing in hydraulics: Ludwig (1832-1903) worked at the Port of Bremen and was professor of hydraulics at the Bauakademie in Berlin; Georg (1842-1914) worked at the Kiel Port and Canal. The two brothers were consulted by the Danube Commission on the regularization works on the Lower Danube, in particular the Sulina Canal.
16 The Central Military Hospital "Regina Elisabeta" in Bucharest - today 134 Calea Plevnei, with entrance also from Mircea Vulcănescu Street - was built between 1883-1889 on a plot of land located in the major bed of the Dâmbovița River. The designer was Eng. Ștefan EMILIAN (1819-1899, diplomat in Vienna), who conceived, in the spirit of the time, separate pavilions for different clinics. It is said to have been the first hospital in Europe to be equipped with electrical, steam, gas, etc. installations, thus explaining the need to consult German specialists, primarily Heino SCHMIEDEN.
17 Between 1882 and 1888, the liberal I. C. BRĂTIANU; between 1885-1888, the Minister of Worship and Instruction was Dimitrie A. STURDZA (1833-1914), a historian and politician educated in Munich, Bonn and Berlin.
18 In 1878, the population of Bucharest was 177,646. Between 1878 and 1903, the city's population increased by an average of about 4,500 inhabitants per year; thus, the probable population in 1887 was over 220,000.
19 The Dâmbovița River crosses the city of Bucharest and flows from west to east (the cardinal points are reversed in the plan). Grigore P. CERCHEZ (diplomat in Paris) for the transformation of the river's capricious course into a regularized canal, bordered by two traffic arteries ("Splaiul Dâmboviței"). The work was entrusted (by tender) to the French engineer Alexandre BOISGUéRIN. As a result of the regularization of the river, vast areas of previously flood-prone land were reclaimed. Many of the institutions needed by the municipality and the modern state were located on this land. One of these plots of land, about 12 ha, was the site on which it was decided in 1886 to build the National Museum.
20 The present-day Regina Elisabeta and Mihail Kogălniceanu Boulevards, as well as the Boulevard of the Sanitary Heroes, were built on the basis of a project approved, in principle, by the Bucharest Communal Council in 1868; the designer was probably Eng. Scarlat KUSCHNOVSCHI (the route between the intersection of Piața Universității and Calea Victoriei had been realized in 1860). In 1890, the boulevard was finished, on the route Palatul Cotroceni-Calea Victoriei. In 1892, the first electric tramway in Bucharest was put into operation on this boulevard, with electricity supplied by the Grozăvești Electric Power Plant.
21 The royal family's summer residence in Bucharest (extra-urban) was the Cotroceni Palace, located within the monastery. Crown Prince Ferdinand, who would marry Princess Maria in 1894, lived here. In 1893, the Cotroceni Palace was reorganized according to the design of the French architect Paul GOTTEREAU.
22 "Elena Doamna" orphanage for orphan girls - today Șos. Panduri nr. 90-92 - built between 1862-1870, according to the plans of the architect Carol BENISCH (1822-1896, architect of Czech origin). According to other sources, the hospital was built by arch. GIESEL and LIPIZER.
23 In the builders' jargon, the 'staircase house' is the space in a building in which the staircase connecting the different levels of the building is built.
24 In 1880, after the bankruptcy of the Prussian consortium led by Dr. STROUSBERG, which was executing the railways in Romania, the Romanian state took over the railways owned by the Society of Shareholders and set up the Princely Directorate of Romanian Railways, with the role of developing them on behalf of the state; in 1883, this institution became the CFR Directorate.