Sturdza Palace, București

Sturdza Palace was built at the end of 19^th century, as per the wishes of Grigore Sturdza, the son of the ruler Mihail Sturdza. The construction plan was drawn by a German architect, Iulius Reinqke, who decided that the Palace would have an eclectic, grandiloquent style.

Sturdza dies shortly after the Palace is constructed and doesn’t get to live here, so the building becomes the residence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This will be the place where, in 1913, the Peace Treaty of Bucharest will be signed, which ended for a while the Balkan wars. The Palace suffers great damage in 1945, and is considered to be beyond repair by the administration of that time, which will decide to build a new Palace, named the Palace of the Council of Ministers (today is known as the Government building). Its’ foundation was already established in 1937, and by 1952, the new building has risen, as per the projects of Marcu Duiliu, and under the supervision of King Carol the 2^nd. The building coexisted alongside Sturdza Palace until 1945, in Victory Square.

The antithesis between the 2 Palaces was visible. The rigorous, dry, authoritarian and functional style of Victoria Palace was in a strong contrast with the beauty and the imposing aspect of Sturdza Palace.

Victoria Palace was initially projected for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, just as its’ predecessor, and it was the headquarters of the Ministry during the communist era. From 1990, it has become the main office of the Romanian Government, and it was included on the list of historic monuments in 2004. The Palace’s façade is 90 meters long, and the building has a total surface of 26.0000 square meters.

Victoria Palace can be considered the replacement of Sturdza Palace, but the beauty of the former can never be equaled. Grigore Sturdza’s building is one of the most important victims of Bucharest from the 2^nd World War, because, alongside it, the capital lost a drop of special beauty, which it never regained.