Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-2xdlg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-19T00:19:36.108Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Urban space, political identity and the unwanted legacies of state socialism: Bucharest's problematic Centru Civic in the post-socialist era

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Duncan Light  and
Craig Young
Duncan Light
Affiliation:
Geography, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom, Email: lightd@hope.ac.uk
Craig Young
Affiliation:
Science and The Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between the urban cultural landscape of Bucharest and the making of post-socialist Romanian national identity. As the capital of socialist Romania, central Bucharest was extensively remodelled by Nicolae Ceauşescu into the Centru Civic in order to materialize Romania's socialist identity. After the Romanian “Revolution” of 1989, the national and local state had to deal with a significant “leftover” socialist urban landscape which was highly discordant with the orientation of post-socialist Romania and its search for a new identity. Ceauşescu's vast socialist showpiece left a difficult legacy which challenges the material and representational reshaping of Bucharest and constructions of post-socialist Romanian national identity more broadly. The paper analyzes four attempts to deal with the Centru Civic: developments in the immediate post-1989 period; the international architectural competition Bucureşti 2000; proposals for building a Cathedral of National Salvation; and the Esplanada project. Despite over 20 years of proposals central Bucharest remains largely unchanged. The paper thus deals with a failed attempt to re-shape the built environment in support of national goals.

Keywords

RomaniaBucharestbuilt environmentCommunist showpiecenational identity
Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 41 , Issue 4: Special Issue: From Socialist to Post-Socialist Cities Guest Editors: Alexander C. Diener and Joshua Hagen , July 2013 , pp. 515 - 535
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amariei, Razvan. 2003. “The Spirit of Ceausescu.” Transitions Online, October 10. http://www.tol.org Google Scholar
Anholt, S. 2010. “Nation-Brands and the Value of Provenance.” In Destination Branding: Creating the Unique Destination Proposition (Revised Second Edition), edited by Annette Pritchard, Nigel Morgan, and Pride, Roger, 26–39. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.Google Scholar
Barriss, Roann. 2001. “Contested Mythologies: The Architectural Deconstruction of a Totalitarian Culture.” Journal of Architectural Education 54 (4): 229–237.Google Scholar
Beldiman, Alexandru. 1996. “Editorial.” Architectura 1–4: 3.Google Scholar
Beldiman, Alexandru. 1997. “Untitled Introduction.” In Bucureşti 2000: Concurs Internaţional de Urbanism, edited by Ianăsi, Rodica, Tureanu, Ileana, Lapadat, Marius, and Iliaş, Cristina, 10. Bucureşti: Simetria - Uniunea Arhitecţilor din Romănia.Google Scholar
Blockmans, Wim P. 2003. “Reshaping Cities: The Staging of Political Transformation.” Journal of Urban History 30 (1): 7–20.Google Scholar
“Bucharest 2000 Contract Signed.” 2000. The Business Review 3 (7), February 21-27: 2.Google Scholar
Cavalcanti, Maria. 1992. “Totalitarian States and Their Influence on City-Form: The Case of Bucharest.” Journal of Architectural and Planning Research 9 (4): 275–286.Google Scholar
Cavalcanti, Maria. 1994. “Ceausescu's Bucharest.” Planning History 16 (3): 18–24.Google Scholar
Cavalcanti, Maria. 1997. “Urban Reconstruction and Autocratic Regimes: Ceausescu's Bucharest in its Historic Context.” Planning Perspectives 12 (1): 71–109.Google Scholar
Ciobanu, Cristina. 2000. “Bucureşti Marriott Grand Hotel, singurul hotel de cinci stele din capital.” Romănia liberă, November 10, p. 9.Google Scholar
Cochrane, Allan. 2006. “Making Up Meanings in a Capital City: Power, Memory and Monuments in Berlin.” European Urban and Regional Studies 13 (1): 5–24.Google Scholar
Cochrane, Allan, and Passmore, A. 2001. “Building a National Capital in an Age of Globalization: The Case of Berlin.” Area 33 (4): 341–352.Google Scholar
Colomb, Clare. 2007. “Requiem for a lost Palast: ‘Revanchist urban planning’ and ‘burdened’ Landscapes of the German Democratic Republic in the New Berlin.” Planning Perspectives 22 (3): 283–323.Google Scholar
Colomb, Clare. 2011. Staging the New Berlin. Place Marketing and the Politics of Urban Reinvention Post-1989. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Cristian, Elena. 2004. “‘Central de creaţie şi cultură - Căntarea Romăniei’ va fitransformat ìn mall.” Adevărul, March 22: 13.Google Scholar
Curteanu, Raluca. 2010. “Megaproiectul Esplanada, blocat ìn exproprieri.” Adevărul de Seara, July 29. http://www.adevarul.ro Google Scholar
Czepczyński, Mariusz. 2008. Cultural Landscapes of Post-Socialist Cities. Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Czepczyński, Mariusz. 2010. “Interpreting Post-Socialist Icons: From Pride and Hate Towards Disappearance and/or Assimilation.” Human Geographies 4 (1): 67–78.Google Scholar
Danta, Darrick. 1993. “Ceausescu's Bucharest.” Geography Review 83 (2): 170–182.Google Scholar
Dawson, Andrew H. 1999. “'From Glittering Icon to…'.” Geographical Journal 165 (4): 154–160.Google Scholar
Deletant, Dennis. 1999. Romania under Communist Rule. Iaşi: Center for Romanian Studies.Google Scholar
Delanty, Gerard, and Jones, Paul R. 2002. “European identity and architecture.” European Journal of Social Theory 5 (4): 453–466.Google Scholar
Drazin, Adam. 2005. “Architecture without Architects: Building Home and State in Romania.” Home Cultures 2 (2): 195–220.Google Scholar
Dolea, Alina, and Ţăruş, Adriana. 2009. Branding Romania: Cum (ne) promovăm imaginea de ţară. Bucureşti: Curtea Veche.Google Scholar
Dumbrăveanu, Daniela. 2011. “Place Branding: A Challenging Process for Bucharest the Capital of Romania.” Human Geographies 4 (2): 53–62.Google Scholar
Gallagher, Tom. 1995. Romania after Ceausescu: The Politics of Intolerance. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Gallagher, Tom. 1998. “Romania's desire to be normal.” Contemporary Politics 4 (2): 111–125.Google Scholar
Gentes, Andrew. 1998. “The Life, Death and Resurrection of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow.” History Workshop Journal 46 (2): 63–95.Google Scholar
Giurescu, D. C. 1989. The Razing of Romania's Past. New York: World Monuments Fund.Google Scholar
Gospodini, Aspa. 2004. “Urban Morphology and Place Identity in European Cities: Built Heritage and Innovative Design.” Journal of Urban Design 9 (3): 225–248.Google Scholar
Hall, Derek. 1999. “Destination Branding, Niche Marketing and National Image Projection in Central and Eastern Europe.” Journal of Vacation Marketing 5 (3): 227–237.Google Scholar
Hall, Derek. 2002. “Branding and National Identity: The Case of Central and Eastern Europe.” In Destination Branding: Creating the Unique Destination Proposition, edited by N. Morgan, A. Pritchard, and Pride, R., 87–103. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.Google Scholar
Ioan, Augustin. 1999. Power, Play and National Identity. Bucharest: Romanian Cultural Foundation Publishing House.Google Scholar
Ioan, Augustin. 2001. “Bucharest - Memory Walled-in.” Plural 9: 159–176.Google Scholar
Ioan, Augustin. 2004. “Byzantine Tradition as (Re)source or Why and How I Designed the Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral of Bucharest.” Artmargins, April 19. http://www.artmargins.com Google Scholar
Ioan, Augustin. 2006. “Urban Policies and the Politics of Public Space in Bucharest.” In The Urban Mosaic of Post-Socialist Europe: Space, Institutions and Policy, edited by Tsenkova, Sasha and Nedović-Budić, Zorica, 337–348. Heidelberg: Physica.Google Scholar
Ioan, Augustin. 2007. “The Peculiar History of (Post) Communist Public Places and Spaces: Bucharest as a Case Study.” In The Post-Socialist City, edited by Stanilov, Kiril, 301–312. Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar
Ioan, Augustin. 2008. “The History of Nothing: Contemporary Architecture and Public Space in Romania.” Plural 32. http://www.artmargins.com Google Scholar
Ioan, Augustin. 2009. Modern Architecture and the Totalitarian Project: A Romanian Case Study. Bucureşti: Institutul Cultural Romăn.Google Scholar
Ionescu, Dan. 1990. “The People's House: A Cumbersome Legacy.” Report on Eastern Europe 23, June 8: 45–49.Google Scholar
Kaneva, Nadia, and Popescu, Delia. 2011. “National Identity Lite: Nation Branding in Post-Communist Romania and Bulgaria.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 14 (2): 191–207.Google Scholar
Kaika, Maria. 2010. “Architecture and Crisis: Re-inventing the Icon, Re-imag(in)ing London and Re-branding the City.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 35 (4): 453–474.Google Scholar
Ladd, Brian. 1997. The Ghosts of Berlin. Confronting German History in the Urban Landscape. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Light, Duncan. 2001. “Facing the Future: Tourism and Identity-Building in Post-Socialist Romania.” Political Geography 20 (8): 1053–1074.Google Scholar
Light, Duncan. 2006. “Romania: National Identity, Tourism Promotion and European integration.” In Tourism in the New Europe: The Challenges and Opportunities of EU Enlargement, edited by Smith Derek Hall, Melanie and Marciszewska, Barbara, 256–269. Wallingford: CABI.Google Scholar
Light, Duncan, and Young, Craig. 2010a. “Reconfiguring Socialist Urban Landscapes: The ‘Left-Over’ Spaces of State-Socialism in Bucharest.” Human Geographies 4 (1): 5–16.Google Scholar
Light, Duncan, and Young, Craig. 2010b. “Political Identity, Public Memory and Urban Space: A Case Study of Parcul Carol I, Bucharest from 1906 to the Present.” Europe-Asia Studies 62(9): 1453–1478.Google Scholar
Mangiurea, Horea. 1990. “Vizita publicului ìn ‘Casa Poporului'.” Romănia liberă, March 2. 2.Google Scholar
Manoliu, Maria. 2006. “Primarul Videanu vrea să exproprieze 3 la sută din Capitală.” Gãndul, June 13. http://www.gandul.info Google Scholar
Manoliu, Maria. 2009. “Catedrala Măntuirii Neamului: 110 metri ìnălţime, 12 lifturi, capacitate – 5.000 de pelerini, cost – 400 milioane de euro.” Găndul, June 26.Google Scholar
McNeill, Donald, and Tewdwr-Jones, M. 2002. “Architecture, Banal Nationalism and Re-territorialization.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 27 (5): 738–743.Google Scholar
Moga, Cristi. 2008. “Ce se va ìntămpla cu proiectul Esplanada după alegerea lui Oprescu.” Ziarul Financiar, June 17. http://www.zf.ro Google Scholar
Molnar, Virag. 2010. “The Cultural Production of Locality: Reclaiming the ‘European City’ in Post-Wall Berlin.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 34 (2): 281–309.Google Scholar
Morgan, Nigel, and Pritchard, A. 1998. Tourism Promotion and Power: Creating Images, Creating Identities. Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
O'Neill, Bruce. 2009. “The Political Agency of Cityscapes: Spatializing Governance in Ceausescu's Bucharest.” Journal of Social Anthropology 9 (1): 92–109.Google Scholar
Oţoiu, Damiana. 2009. “Construind “Victoria Socialismului.”” In Transformarea Socialistă: Politicii ale regimului communist ìntre ideologie şi administratie, edited by Ruxandra, Ivan, 175–191. Iaşi: Polirom.Google Scholar
Phinnemore, David. 2006. “Romania and Euro-Atlantic Integration.” In The EU and Romania: Accession and Beyond, edited by Phinnemore, David, 38–48. London: The Federal Trust.Google Scholar
Popa, Camelia. 2002. “Năstase nu mai vrea macarale pe “cerul” Bucureştiului.” Romănia liberă (Ediţie Bucureşti), Sept. 7, III.Google Scholar
Popa, Maria. 2007. “Understanding the Urban Past: The Transformation of Bucharest in the Late Socialist Period.” In Testimonies of the City: Identity, Community and Change in a Contemporary Urban World, edited by Herbert, Joanna and Roger, Richard, 159–186. Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Primărie Municipiului Bucureşti. No date. Progam de dezvoltare a Municipiului Bucureşti 2005-2008. Bucureşti: Primărie Municipiului Bucureşti. http://www.pmb.ro Google Scholar
Primărie Municipiului Bucureşti. 2004. Program de dezvoltare a Municipiului Bucureşti 2000-2008. Bucureşti: Primărie Municipiului Bucureşti, 2004. http://www.pmb.ro Google Scholar
Primărie Municipiului Bucureşti. 2009. Planul de dezvoltare durabilă a Municipiului Bucureşti 2009-2012. Primărie Municipiului Bucureşti, 2009. http://www.pmb.ro Google Scholar
“Proiectul SF “Esplanada” - amanat de preturile horror cerute de proprietari de terenuri.” 2006. Gãndul, Mai 23. http://www.gandul.info Google Scholar
Salecl, Renata. 1999. “The State as a Work of Art: The Trauma of Ceausescu's Disneyland.” In Architecture and Revolution: Contemporary Perspectives on Central and Eastern Europe, edited by Leach, Neil, 92–111. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Schlör, Joachim. 2006. “'It Has to Go Away, But at the Same Time It Has to be Kept': The Berlin Wall and the Making of an Urban Icon.” Urban History 33 (1): 85–105.Google Scholar
Schneider, Jane, and Susser, Ida, eds. 2003. Wounded Cities: Deconstruction and Reconstruction in a Globalized World. Oxford: Berg.Google Scholar
Sidorov, Dmitri. 2000. “National Monumentalization and the Politics of Scale: The Resurrections of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 90 (3): 548–572.Google Scholar
Smith, Alan. 2001. “The Transition to a Market Economy in Romania and the Competitiveness of Exports.” In Post-Communist Romania: Coming to Terms with Transition, edited by Phinnemore, David and Light, Duncan, 127–149. Basingstoke: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Smith, Andrew. 2010. “The Role of National Identity and Tourism in City Planning: The Case of Valletta.” Urban Research & Practice 3 (3): 63–84.Google Scholar
Smith, Andrew, and Ebejer, J. 2012. “Outward Versus Inward Orientation of Island Capitals: The Case of Valleta.” Current Issues in Tourism 15 (1-2): 137–152.Google Scholar
Staiger, Uta. 2009. “Cities, Citizenship, Contested Cultures: Berlin's Palace of the Republic and the Politics of the Public Sphere.” Cultural Geographies 16 (1): 309–327.Google Scholar
Stan, Lavinia, and Turcescu, Lucian. 2000. “The Romanian Orthodox Church and Post-communist democratisation.” Europe-Asia Studies 52 (8): 1467–1488.Google Scholar
Stan, Lavinia, and Turcescu, Lucian. 2006. “Politics, National Symbols and the Romanian Orthodox Church.” Europe-Asia Studies 58 (7): 1119–1139.Google Scholar
Till, Karen E. 2005. The New Berlin: Memory, Politics, Place. Minneapolis, MN: Univeristy of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Tureanu, Ileana, Ianăşi, Rodica, Lapadat, Marius, and Iliaş, Cristina, eds. 1997. Bucureşti 2000: Concurs Internaţional de Urbanism. Bucureşti: Simetria - Uniunea Arhitecţilor din Romănia.Google Scholar
Turnock, David. 1990. “Bucharest.” Cities 7 (2): 107–118.Google Scholar
Vachon, M. 1993. “Bucharest: The House of the People.” World Policy Journal 10: 59–63.Google Scholar
Van der Wusten, Herman. 2000. “The Cityscapes of European capital cities.” Geojournal 51 (1-2): 129–133.Google Scholar
Verdery, Katherine. 1999. The Political Lives of Dead Bodies: Reburial and Postsocialist Change. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Vulpe, Titus Liviu. 2004. “Bogdan Niculescu-Duvaz, primar general pentru o zi.” Adevărul March 27. http://www.adevarul.ro Google Scholar
Weszkalnys, Gisa. 2007. “The Disintegration of a Socialist Exemplar: Discourses on Urban Disorder in Alexanderplatz, Berlin.” Space and Culture 10 (1): 207–230.Google Scholar
Young, Craig. 2005. “Meeting the New Foreign Direct Investment Challenge in East and Central Europe: Place Marketing Strategies in Hungary.” Environment and Planning C 23 (5): 733–757.Google Scholar
Young, Craig, and Kaczmarek, Sylwia. 2008. “The Socialist Past and Post-Socialist Urban Identity in Central and Eastern Europe: The Case of Łódź, Poland.” European Urban and Regional Studies 15 (1): 53–70.Google Scholar
Zaborowska, Magdalena J. 2001. “The Height of (Architectural) Seduction: Reading the ‘Changes’ through Stalin's Palace in Warsaw, Poland.” Journal of Architectural Education 54 (4): 205–217.Google Scholar