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A Soul Map Of My City
1. The city of my ancestors - myths and legends about the city
2. The city of my great-grandparents and grandparents
3. The city of my parents
4. The city of today
5. Food for thought
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1. The city of my ancestors - myths and legends about the city
The legend of Bucur
Once upon a time, there was a poor forest man who lived together with his daughter named Dambovita in a deep and big forest.
One day, a prince from a faraway country lost himself in the forest. Meeting Dambovita, he asked her to find his way. The prince saw her beauty and asked her to marry him. Then Dambovita told him that she had already promised her hand to Bucur, a sherpherd who lived near the forest. As a thank you, the prince, who was no other than The Prince of the Mountains, offered the girl a little knife and a spinning top. If she spinned the top, any wish would come true.
After that meeting with the prince, the girl took the knife and the spinning top and showed them to Bucur. She thrusted the knife into a stone, and from that place a clear river sprang, and it was as clear as the tears of the girl. Dambovita named the river after her name, and they established a little village at the edge of the forest, on the banks of the river. Bucur named the setting after his name.
And thus, the little village, nowadays a big city, is called Bucuresti and the water that crosses it is called Dambovita.
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2. The city of my great-grandparents and grandparents
Bucharest, the Little Paris of the East
"Bucharest is a creation of our own nation, it expresses our originality, it is what were able to do(...) By its own vitality, Bucharest has managed to impose itself as a unique Capital, that had received all the attentive care of some great personalities we have not fully understood, to show then the gratitude they deserved" Nicolae Iorga "The History of Bucharest", 1939
For the people initiated in French architecture this could only be in France, or maybe Belgium. Yet it's downtown Bucharest From the 1870s until the late 1920s the city began its most beautiful change from a village with muddy streets to Eastern Europe's most attractive destinatio. It was called 'The Little Paris' becaus entire neighborhoods were designed by French architects or Romanian architects tributary to the French school and some results are still here with us today, this house being one of them.
A walk in time, on the streets and boulevards of this beautiful town, by the end of the nineteenth century will lead us through a place which fully deserved its name. We shall observe the French influence on some city squares with radical streets or we shall reach streets flooded with vegetation. We shall admire monuments, and we shall try to make revive the atmosphere of the last century
Many Romanians and certainly many foreigners don't even know the value of some buildings in Bucharest and if you run a survey one in one hundred will probably know that Bucharest was the first city in the world illuminated with lamp oil. This happened in 1856. Three years later Vienna followed and then the other major European cities.
Can you imagine that Bucharest was one of the richest cities in the world back then? At the dawn of the 20-th century Bucharest was called the Little Paris and for the travelers who visited the City of Lights and later Bucharest the resemblance is obvious. The influence of the French architecture is still there in the buildings that guard the central boulevards.
In 1834 - Prince Alexandru Ghica supported the setting up of the National Library.
In 1847 - A great fire destroys the coomercial part of Bucharest. That part was remade in concordance with a civil plan.
In 31 december 1852 - The first theatral reprezentation in the new National Theatre (at that moment considered, the third of the Europa - 1000 places).
In May 1857 - Bucharest was the first city in the world with petrol lamp illumination.
In 1860 - the first streets are paved with stone.
In 1864 - University is set up
In 1882 - the first electrical illumination system, the first time at the Royal Palace, then at the National Theatre and in public garden Cismigiu.
In 1896 the first electrical tramway are built from Obor to the Cotroceni avenue. The first cinema is opened.
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3. The city of my parents
Bucharest - The City of My Parents
The Bucharest of today is very different from the Bucharest of twenty or thirty years ago, the one our parents lived in. It was the time when the communist regime was in force. People did not have the opportunity to travel to other countries, they had no freedom of speech and they had to obey very strict rules. Some say it was better then, despite the restrictions they had to put up with, as everybody had a house, a job and they didn't have to worry about tomorrow. They felt secure though they couldn't even dream of visiting non-comunist countries or of having a car other then the Romanian Dacia. Some say it was worse, as nothing in life is more important in life then being free! Free to talk about your hopes, fears and expectations, free to see the world from the train, from the plane or from your beautiful new car. Free to meet people and make friends anywhere in the world.
Back then:
School life
School life was also different from how it is today. First of all, children went to school six days a week and only had free Sundays, but they also had less classes a day, so had more free time during the week. Also, they wore a "pioneer" uniform: white blouses, dark blue skirts or trousers and red ties. Some of them also had some decorations similar to military ones. They used to participate in many organized activities, like planting trees and cleaning parks in spring, and festivities.
Free time
Back then, there was no computer or internet and the television program lasted for only a few hours, but that gave people the chance to spend their time in different ways. They would spend their whole day outside and take walks in the parks or just around Bucharest, which was considered a safer place back then. Also, they would go to the theatre or to the cinema very often, especially since there were a lot of cinemas that are closed now or don't exist anymore. If they didn't do any of these things, they could always stay home and read a book, especially during vacations, when they had a lot of free time.
Celebrating Birthdays and Other Events
Generally, birthdays were celebrated at home, with friends and family. They would get many bottles of juice and the parents would cook and order a cake. Usually, they would listen to music, dance, or just talk and have tea. Religious events weren't officially celebrated, but that didn't stop people from celebrating them at home.
Andreea Filip
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English Project - Communism
"Hello dad!"
"Hello Alex!"
"How are you?"
"Fine, thanks."
"Why do you look so worried? Did you have any problems at school?"
"No, but I am dealing with a challenging homework at English. I have to write an essay about the Communist Regime and I would like to ask you some questions about this topic, since I don't know much about it."
"Oh...that is an interesting subject and I'm sure that you will learn many interesting things about it, especially about our past which is essential for making the right decisions for the future."
"Ok...Let's go for it then!"
"Ok...What do you want to know first?"
"Hmmm...Tell me about school. What was school like when you were a teenager?"
"Well, there weren't many differences except for the fact that you could see the Communist Party flag next to the Romanian one; the General Secretary of Romanian Communist Party's portrait was placed above the blackboard; in the central hall there were portraits of other communist leaders like Vladimir Ilic Lenin, Carl Marks, Friederich Engels and the members of the Central Committee of Romanian Communist Party."
"Wow... very interesting. Today only the Romanian Coat of Arms and an icon are on the walls and in some classes you can find various pictures of things like nature, math, books... On the walls of the halls you can also see the portraits of some important leaders like, Stefan cel Mare, Alexandru Ioan Cuza and some writers like Mihai Eminescu, Ion Creanga, Vasile Alecsandri... Now something else... Can you tell me about the subjects in your timetable? What subjects were there at that time?"
"You see... Religion wasn't studied in schools and we were advised not to go to the church. At Easter or Christmas time there different shows and activities were organized in order to prevent people from going to the church. What is more, Santa Claus was called "Mos Gerila", "The Frosty Man"
"This is very strange, but amazing at the same time. So the presents were brought by a character who symbolized winter and had nothing to do with the religious celebration of Christmas. What other things can you tell me?"
"Until 1965 studying Russian was obligatory. Before Ceausescu became the leader of Communist Party all important languages were studied and you could choose what language you wanted to learn. At Romanian and Music, we learned patriotic songs and poems. At history we studied the history of Romanian Communist Party and some periods of Romanian History were left out."
"Did you wear school uniforms?"
  Pioneer Detachments
"Yes, the school uniform was mandatory between 1st and 12th class."
"Between 3rd and 8th class the students wore red ties in order to show their membership of the Children Organization of the Party and they were called pionieri. From the 9th class to the 12th class pionierii became members of U.T.C. (Young Communist Union). After that they became members of Romanian Communist Party and if they refused this they couldn't study at some universities and they didn't get important roles in the society."
 The members of the Communist Youth Union
"What's about 1st of May and 23rd August?"
"On 1st May and 23rd August some children were forced to participate in shows organized by the Romanian Communist Party. On different occasions, older students had to do patriotic (voluntary) work like planting trees, helping with the agricultural work, averting snow from important roads and many other things that could help the community. "
"What can you tell me about shops, squares and markets?"
"All the markets and shops had the same products made in Romania or in other communist countries. After 1974 there was a shortage of alimentary products and in 80's some products were allocated by card. Every person had a certain ratio at the local shop where products were distributed. Some people (but not many) could buy quality products coming from the West (western European countries) from a very restricted number of shops. Of course, you could only use dollars in these shops and you had to justify where you had the money from."
"This is very strange. Could you visit other countries?"
"It was very difficult to do this and very few people could do it. They needed approbation of the leaders of the Romanian Communist Party."
"Wow... So freedom was something very rare at that time. Freedom of traveling, freedom of speech, freedom of finding your own way to happiness... You were right. I learned very many interesting things and now I have an idea of how people lived in Romania during the communist regime. I hope something like this will never happen again. Thank you very much for the interview, dad."
"You are welcome. It was my pleasure to tell you about Romanian History and the way people lived about 25 years ago."
Alexandru Dinca
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4. The city of today
Bucharest In My Heart - Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Always
I was born and brought up in a district of Bucharest which was built in the second half of the 22-th century - Vatra Luminoasa.
The beauty of this district comes from the peace and balance of the houses, whose small gardens are a wonderful view. In spring you can see snowdrops raising their heads and fighting against the remaining snow; in summer the yellow and the red of the roses make you feel energetic and happy. In winter you will find Christmas trees in every garden and you will listen to Christmas carols at every door! Autumn is a symphony of colours and you cannot but wonder haw surprising this city is.
This is were I first played hide-and-seek, were I learned to ride my bike and were later I was taught how to read and write. It's the place of my first day at school, the place of my first contest or my first test paper! I have made lots of friends and I have learned how to deal with difficult situations.
My school is now becoming more and more modern, but not just because new furniture is bought or new teaching materials are now available. I'd say that my school is a modern one because new relationships are being established with students and teachers all over the world.
We want to let the world know that we are here, we have been here from the beginning of time and that we have something special to offer to people everywhere.
Our city is a wonderful mixture of past and present. You can find the grandeur of the past in buildings such as Saving Bank, The University, The Royal Palace or The History Museum. You can almost hear the sound of violins coming from George Enescu's House or The Athenaeum Concert Hall, which is an architectural masterpiece of the 19th century.
The past can be admired in great religious settlements such as Antim and Radu Voda Monasteries. I still remember how impressed I was when my grandmother showed me The Bucur Monastery whose name is a reminder of the shepherd who, as the legend say, was the first dweller of these places.
Dambovita, the river that crosses our city has been the most loyal witness of the history of Bucharest. You can read the past in its water and you can feel the present. But I can also see the future. I imagine light boats floating on the still water and foreign tourists taking photos of wonderful places such as National Library, The Romanian Academy, The Museum of National History or The Peasant's Museum.
The present is to be found in big and impressive buildings of steel and glass or in typical blocks of flats of the communist regime.
Today the city needs hanging roads, new undergrounds lines and more green spaces, as the heavy traffic and pollution are our major problems.
I hope future will be good to us that many great things are get to come and that we will be able to keep alive everything that is of real architectural, cultural and historical value.
Uidumac Rares
***
The Bucharest of our days
1.What makes Bucharest our home?
Even if sometimes we say that Bucharest is very crowded and noisy, that it has no parking lots and not enough green spaces, it's our home. If you ask children of our age if they want to leave Bucharest, to move to another city, they will probably say "no". They will tell you that, because, like us, here they have their friends, their school, and the places they are used to. These are the things that make Bucharest my home.
2. A day in the life of my city.
Well, usually, on a weekday, we wake up at 8 or 9 a.m. and we study, practice a sport or just relax a little bit before school. At 11 a.m. we get ready, because we have to be at school at 12 p.m. we finish school at 6 p.m. and we go home. We usually do our homework, watch TV or play on the computer after school. At weekend, we go to the mall to see a film, we go shopping or take a walk in the park.
3.Things to do and places to see on a spring Sunday
Well, if you have a free Sunday, I really recommend that you visit Cismigiu Gardens. It is a great place where you can relax, you can play volleyball, you can feed the pigeons, or you can just walk.
Another interesting place to see is the National Art Museum. You can find a variety of old and new paintings of well-known artists there. Moreover if you want to get a memorable view of Bucharest, you should see The Palace of Parliament. Other nice places are: the Mall, the centre of the city or Herastrau Park.
Voinea Cristina
Nastase Daniela
Fillip Maria
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5. Food for thought
19-th Century Bucharest in Painting
Bucharest of Today in Poetry
Adrian Păunescu
Îndrăgostit de Bucureşti / In love with Bucharest
Nu ştiu de ce, pe cât m-afund în viaţă
mă simt atras de fleacuri omeneşti,
şi-mi place-n anotimpul de vacanţă
să-ntârzii, să ramân în Bucureşti.
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I don't know why as I'm going through life,
I feel attracted to human trifles,
And I like it, when it's holiday time,
In Bucharest to hang for a while.
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De el ne-am săturat, dar el ne place,
el e un prag lovit să vezi alt prag,
şi-acum, când sunt sătul de locul zilnic
mă simt golit şi-mi e deodată drag.
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We are tired of it and yet we still like it,
It's just a threshold we hit to see another one.
And now when I'm fed up with my daily life places,
I suddenly feel empty and I love my old town.
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Aici m-au sufocat cu dulce teii
şi au trecut aiurea anii mei
aici copiii mi-au venit la viaţă
şi am născut şi-am îngropat idei.
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The sweetness of lime trees have filled my breath here
And in no time my years have gone,
My wonderful children came to life here,
It's where my ideas were born and sometimes just died
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La Bucureşti, copilaria toată,
visam s-ajung să pot şi eu vedea
celebrii câini ce au covrigi în coadă
şi să-ntâlnesc şi eu pe mama mea.
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And I was dreaming my whole childhood
To Bucharest to go and get to see
The proud stray dogs wearing on tails good pretzels,
And I was hoping for my mother once to meet.
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L-am părăsit destul, ca azi să-l caut
şi să-l găsesc întodeauna treaz,
nu este el cel mai frumos din lume,
dar cel mai drag ne e în orice caz.
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Enough I've left my city... and now when searching
For it, I find it watchful and alive,
It might not be the most exciting city ever,
But it's the dearest to us, no doubt!
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