Royal Palace of Bucharest

About

The old Royal Palace – Golescu Mansion (1812–1937)

Between 1812 and 1815, the Golescu Mansion was built at the place of the present Royal Palace. It belonged to stolnic Dinicu Golescu, a high-ranking aristocrat ( boyar ). The house was built in Neoclassical style and had 25 rooms, a quite large house for the Bucharest of that era. In 1837, the Golescu Mansion became the official residence of Prince ( Hospodar ) of Wallachia, Alexandru II Ghica. From 1859 to 1866, the Prince (styled Domnitor after 1862) of the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, used the Golescu Mansion as his official residence.

In February 1866, Cuza was removed from the throne by a political coalition of Liberals and Conservatives (see " Monstrous coalition ") and the German Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (who would rule as Carol I ) was invited to become Domnitor of the country, by then officially known as Romania. On 10 May 1866, Prince Carol I arrived in Bucharest for the first time and the aristocrats offered him the Golescu Mansion as state residence. During his reign, king Carol I made various changes to the mansion. After gaining its independence from the…