Calea Victoriei

The White Church (Romanian: Biserica Albă) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 110 Calea Victoriei in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The origins of the church are uncertain, but it probably existed in the late 17th century. It appears to have been founded on an estate of the Văcărescu family. The formal dedication likely occurred around 1700, with one theory suggesting a Văcărescu widow in the role of ktetorissa, while Jupâneasa Vișa and the priest Neagu Dârvaș are seen as likelier candidates. At any rate, the surrounding district and the church itself were nicknamed after the latter two between 1739 and 1835, while the present name became established around 1800. A wooden icon of Saint Nicholas dating to 1701-1702 confirms the church’s existence at that point. A funeral stone fragment from 1715-1716 is situated in the altar table. A restoration took place in 1784, and by 1802 the church was surrounded by monastic cells, demolished during the late-19th century urbanization.Severely damaged by that year’s earthquake, and by the 1808 tremor, it was radically rebuilt in 1827, according to the pisanie. The high Clucer Nicolae Trăsnea, a trusted adviser to Prince Grigore IV Ghica, was responsible, at the same time adding a second dedication, to the Prophet Elijah. Between 1868 and 1873, the church was transformed: the two present domes were built of wood and tin, the portico was added, the facades and interior redone, the roof changed and windows enlarged. Gheorghe Tattarescu painted the interior. Two arches were added to the portico after 1910. The painting underwent maintenance during the 20th century, with an ample restoration occurring in 1961. The building was consolidated following the 1977 earthquake.The single-nave church measures 30.3 meters long by 9.6 meters wide, with a semicircular altar apse. The two domes are octagonal on square bases: the Pantocrator dome above the nave, and the bell tower rising above the narthex. The portico is on the west side; shorter than the nave, it is open, has three frontal arches resting on masonry columns, with a triangular pediment. The narthex is just two meters deep, the result of installing a wall in 1871-1873. The nave is spacious, with a spherical ceiling. The altar has two deep niches for the tables, dug into the wall. The linden wood iconostasis is a valuable work of Brâncovenesc style sculpture. The exterior is covered in plaster; it is Neoclassical in style, with Doric inspiration visible in the pilasters, frieze and serrated cornice.George Călinescu wrote: “the White Church is not beautiful, but it surprises through its immaculate white of a rural church in the heart of a large city”. Other observers who have remarked on the building include Gheorghe Ionescu-Gion, Nicolae Iorga, Gheorghe Crutzescu and Nicolae Vătămanu. The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.

Athenee Palace Hilton Bucharest is a historic luxury hotel in Bucharest, Romania opened in 1914. It was arguably Europe's most notorious den of spies in the years leading up to World War II, and only slightly less so during the Cold War.

Cathedral Plaza is a class A office building in the city of Bucharest, Romania. It has 19 floors and a surface of 23,000 m2. At a height of 75 m (246 ft), the construction was finished in 2010.The building's proximity to Saint Joseph Cathedral has made it the target of lawsuits by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest, which claims the construction was undertaken illegally. The Project has been litigated in the Romanian Courts, declared illegal and ordered by the Courts to be dismantled by the local authority having jurisdiction.

Amzei Church (Romanian: Biserica Amzei) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 12 Biserica Amzei Street in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to the Feast of the Annunciation. The original church on the site, a small single-domed structure dedicated to Saint Nicholas, was built between 1807 and 1810. The chief ktetor was the deputy Vistier (treasurer) of Wallachia, Amza Năescu; following his death, the church was nicknamed after him. A list of people to be prayed for (pomelnic) survives, carved in elegant Romanian Cyrillic; it was originally in the altar table and is now in the yard. Prior to 1832, the church was surrounded by cells where a school with two grades for beginners functioned. An 1846 fire destroyed the church; an ample restoration followed. During repairs in 1875, two domes of wood and tin were added. Also that year, a neoclassical stone fountain, partly sculpted, was built on the grounds, near the parish house. The old church was entirely demolished in 1898, on the initiative of the priest. Construction of the present structure, designed by Alexandru Săvulescu, began in July 1898 and was completed in October 1901, as the pisanie records.The imposing cross-shaped church measures 28.7 meters long by 11 to 15.5 meters wide. It is eclectic in style, mainly Beaux-Arts. The exterior ornamentation, of stone and brick, features Romanian Revival touches: rows of brick alternating with masonry, niches beneath the cornice and richly carved string courses. The narthex is somewhat enlarged and there are three spires: a large one above the nave, ending in a spherical cupola and roof lantern; and two smaller ones above the sides of the narthex. The structure sits on a massive stone base some two meters high. There are three entry portals with doors of carved oak; the main one, on the west side, is beneath a trefoil arch. The north and south entrances have fairly deep porticoes with frontal arches. Each of the latter rests on columns with composite capitals, in academic style, and is topped by a sharp pediment. The interior is very high, with natural light entering through stained glass, in addition to three large bronze candelabra. The interior arches and columns are Renaissance Revival.The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.

The National Museum of Art of Romania (Romanian: Muzeul Național de Artă al României) is located in the Royal Palace in Revolution Square, central Bucharest. It features collections of medieval and modern Romanian art, as well as the international collection assembled by the Romanian royal family. The exhibition "Shadows and Light" ran from 15 July to 2 October 2005. With four centuries of French art, it was the largest exhibition of French painting in Central and Eastern Europe since 1945. 77 works were exhibited, including masterpieces by painters such as Poussin, Chardin, Ingres, David, Delacroix, Corot, Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, and Braque.

Saint Joseph Cathedral (Romanian: Catedrala Sfântul Iosif) is a historical and architectural monument located in Bucharest, Romania, at 19 General Berthelot Street. It is the main place of worship which serves as cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest is the Latin Metropolitan archdiocese in Romania. Its cathedral episcopal see is Bucharest. Ioan Robu was the archbishop from 1990 until his retirement on 21 November 2019. He previously Apostolic Administrator since 25 October 1984. He was succeeded by Aurel Percă. Prior to his appointment, he was served as auxiliary bishop of Iaşi. .

The National University of Arts in Bucharest (Romanian: Universitatea Naţională de Arte) is a university in Bucharest preparing students in fine arts. The National University of Arts is a higher education institution in Bucharest.

Revolution Square (Romanian: Piața Revoluției) is a square in central Bucharest, on Calea Victoriei. Known as Palace Square (Romanian: Piața Palatului) until 1989, it was renamed after the Romanian Revolution of December 1989. The former Royal Palace (now the National Museum of Art of Romania), the Athenaeum, the Athénée Palace Hotel, the University of Bucharest Library and the Memorial of Rebirth are located here. The square also houses the building of the former Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party (from where Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife fled by helicopter on December 22, 1989). In 1990, the building became the seat of the Senate and since 2006 it houses the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform.Prior to 1948, an equestrian statue of King Carol I of Romania stood there. Created in 1930 by the Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović, the statue was destroyed in 1948 by the Communists, who never paid damages to the sculptor. In 2005, the Romanian Minister of Culture decided to recreate the destroyed statue from a model that was kept by Meštrović's family. In 2007, the Bucharest City Hall assigned the project to the sculptor Florin Codre, who is going to design an original statue of Carol inspired by Meštrović's model (most consider it a plagiarism).In August 1968 and December 1989, the square was the site of two mass meetings which represented the apogee and the nadir of Ceaușescu's regime. Ceaușescu's speech of 21 August 1968 marked the highest point in Ceaușescu's popularity, when he openly condemned the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and started pursuing a policy of independence from Kremlin. Ceaușescu's speech of 21 December 1989 was meant to emulate the 1968 assembly and presented by the official media as a "spontaneous movement of support for Ceaușescu", erupting into the popular revolt which led to the end of the regime.

Sala Palatului (Palace Hall) in Bucharest, Romania is a conference centre and concert hall immediately behind the National Museum of Art of Romania, the former royal palace in the heart of the city. It was built between 1959 and 1960, during the communist era. It has been the site of conferences such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the World Congress on Population, the World Congress on Energy, and the World Congress of the Red Cross. The main hall can accommodate 4,060 spectators. It is now also used as a general conference and convention center and as a concert venue for events such as the George Enescu Festival. The main hall has a capacity of above 4,000 people. In addition to it, the entrance hall has a surface area of 2,000 m2 and is used as an exhibition space. There are also eight small conference rooms for meetings of between 20 and 30 people.

The George Enescu Festival (also known as George Enescu International Festival and Competition), held in honor of the celebrated Romanian composer George Enescu, is the biggest classical music festival and classical international competition held in Romania and one of the biggest in Eastern Europe. Enescu's close associate George Georgescu organized the first festival in 1958; highlights included a performance of Bach's Concerto for Two Violins with Yehudi Menuhin and David Oistrakh as soloists and a staging of Enescu's sole opera, Œdipe, with Constantin Silvestri conducting.The official opening day of the Enescu Festival took place on 4 September 1958, merely three years after George Enescu's death. Among the music world's personalities that were present for this first edition of the festival were performers such as David Oistrakh, Halina Czerny-Stefanka, Nadia Boulanger, Monique Haas, Iacov Zak and Claudio Arrau, and conductors such as Sir John Barbirolli, Carlo Felice Cillario and Carlo Zecchi. On 22 September of the same year, the national premiere of George Enescu's lyrical tragedy "Oedipe" took place, starring a young David Ohanesian in the lead role. This role was going to mark out the rest of his career as a soloist (conductor: Constantin Silvestri, Directed by Jean Ranzescu, Scenery: Roland Laub). Violinist, teacher, conductor and composer, worldwide known for his lush opera composition Oedipe, George Enescu presented his first work as a composer with the Collonne Orchestra in Paris, 1898; he also performed as a conductor at prestigious Carnegie Hall (NY). Enescu was also the teacher of one of the greatest violinists of the past century – Lord Yehudi Menuhin. Their bond was so strong that in 1995, Menuhin accepted the invitation to come to Romania to open the George Enescu International Festival. Menuhin also accepted to be the President of Honor of the Enescu Festival in 1998, though his schedule as a soloist was full up to 2003. Today, an average of around 20 works by Romanian composer George Enescu are interpreted in the Enescu Festival each edition. The 2015 edition of the Enescu Festival (30 August – 20 September 2015 Bucharest) brings on stage interpretations from Enescu's works by record-breaking German violinist David Garrett, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (Pulitzer Prize for Music), or Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. Highlights of this edition of the Festival also include violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Liverpool Symphony Orchestra. The concerts are held in three different venues in Bucharest, Iași and Sibiu. The 2007 presentations ended with a performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana before an audience of over 4,000 at the Sala Palatului. The competition portion of the Festival lasts about a week, and it consists of three different categories: composition (118 participants in 2007), piano (44 in 2007), and violin (41 in 2007), each a record number of participants. In the 2005 and 2007 presentations a daily open-air concert was added to the festival program. It is known as the Festival Piazza and features 3½ hours of classical music, in addition to movies about the life of George Enescu.

The Embassy of France in Bucharest is the diplomatic mission of the French Republic in Romania. Located at 13-15 Biserica Amzei Street, the building dates to 1889–1890. It is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.