Bucharest Centennial: Petre Antonescu, a remarkable Romanian architect of the last century

Romania-Insider.com has started a series of articles about Bucharest landmarks of architecture or history, which have witnessed the last century of what is now the Romanian capital, and noteworthy people who have helped build the Romanian capital as it is today. This project is supported by the Bucharest City Hall through the Public Monuments and Touristic Heritage Administration (AMPT), within the cultural program Bucharest-Centennial.

Check the full series of articles dedicated to the Centennial on Romania-Insider.com here. Some of the most important buildings and monuments in Bucharest are designed by the famous Romanian architect Petre Antonescu. Among them is the Arch of Triumph - the symbolic monument located in the north part of the city, which still reminds passers-by of Romania’s victory in World War I and the Great Union of 1918 - and the current headquarters of the Bucharest City Hall. Schooled in France, Antonescu emphasized the neo-Romanian style in his works, combining tradition with modern elements. In nearly nine decades of life, he designed dozens of public and private buildings. Born in 1873 at Râmnicu Sărat, Petre Antonescu has been more than a famous architect in the first half of the 20th century. He was also a teacher, urban planner, restorer of historical monuments and academician. He also made an important contribution to the development of the Romanian school of architecture. Petre Antonescu attended primary school in his hometown but finished high school in Bucharest. In 1893 he went to study architecture in Paris at the famousÉcole des Beaux-Arts, where he stayed until 1899. His teachers were French architects Julien Guadet and Edmond Jean Baptiste Paulin; the latter was well known for his project of reconstruction of the Baths of Diocletian in Rome. Shortly after returning to Romania, Petre Antonescu began working in education and got involved in the preservation and restoration of architectural monuments. He became a member of the Historical Monuments Commission and started his first architecture projects. He promoted an architecture based on traditional forms, and supported the inclusion of national, traditional elements in architecture. The architect designed both monumental public buildings, such as administrative palaces and banks, as well as private buildings. One of his most representative works is the Arch of Triumph, inspired by the famous Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The Romanian monument, built in 1921 and 1922, commemorates the victory of the Romanian Army in the World War I, and the most important historical event of Romania in the last 100 years: the Great Union of 1918. Another important building signed by Petre Antonescu is the