When thinking about Romania, few people remember that the country was once a monarchy. For centuries, Romania’s major historical lands were under foreign rule, often ruled by several states simultaneously. The Ottoman Empire occupied the south, Russia the east, and Austria-Hungary the northwest. In the mid-19th century, however, Romania was reborn as an independent country, reaching its largest territorial size after World War I in the form of the so-called Greater Romania. The young state was a constitutional monarchy with a king descended from the German Hohenzollern dynasty and named Carol I.
Romanian rulers did not have an easy task – before World War II, the fascist Iron Guard movement was gaining ground in the country, and communists were also picking up. History teaches us that monarchies often sympathised with right-wing movements that legitimised their existence – but not here! Romania is perhaps the only country where the monarchy, while fighting fascism, made an alliance with… communists. Which led to its own destruction – after World War II, Romania became a communist country with no place for crowned heads. So how did this happen?
Join a tour that will prove that nothing is as it seems at first glance here in Romania. Learn how Romanian monarchs lived, what their duties were, and what happens to their descendants today. See with us the northern districts of the city with royal buildings on Victory Avenue built in the 19th century, in a charming belle époque style. Join us to understand the crazy political galimatias that is Romanian history!
During the tour we will see and discover:
- Victory Avenue and the stories associated with Bucharest’s highlife
- The Palace of the National Military Circle
- English Passage
- Telephone Palace
- Stories related to the Romanian monarchy
- Palace Hall
- Histories of the world wars
- Romanian Athenaeum
- Royal Palace
- Revolution Square
