Romanian Athenaeum, Bucharest

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The Ateneul Român or Romanian Athenaeum is considered by many to be Bucharest's finest building. At sunset it is certainly attractive and the gardens in front of it are much favoured by newly-married couples for wedding photos.

It was built, in 1888, in neo-classical style after a design by the French architect Albert Galleron. It has a 40m high dome and Doric columns. It is actually a concert hall and the home of Romania's premier orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, named after the country's leading composer, who gave the first performances of his major works here.

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The work of French architect Albert Galleron, who also designed the National Bank of Romania, the Athenaeum was completed in 1888, financed almost entirely with money donated by the general public. One of the preeminent public fundraising campaigns ever in Romania, the "Give a penny for the Athenaeum" campaign saved the project after the original patrons ran out of funds. With its high dome and Doric columns, the Athenaeum resembles an ancient temple.

The lobby has a beautifully painted ceiling decorated in gold leaf, while curved balconies cascade in ringlets off a spiral staircase. A ring of pink marble columns is linked by flowing arches where elaborate brass lanterns hang like gems from a necklace. Inside the concert hall, voluptuous frescoes cover the ceiling and walls. Renowned worldwide for its outstanding acoustics, it is Bucharest's most prestigious concert hall and home of the Romanian George Enescu Philharmonic.

Another picture taken with my digital phone (but is the general idea it counts, isn't it). It is taken inside the main concert hall. The hall has a total of 652 seats. Around the interior of the cupola, there is a 3 meters high and 70 meters long painting - made by Constantin Petrescu - showing some of the main (25) events in romanian history.

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The Athenaeum was inaugurated in 1888 and it was designed by French architect Albert Galleron (who also conceived the shapely National Bank of Romania in the Lipscani District).
To experience the Athenaeum try to attend a concert here in the evening. The Philharmonic George Enescu, the city's premiere orchestra, gives lots of concerts here.

The most beautiful building we saw in Bucharest was the Romanian Athenaeum (Ateneul Roman), a concert hall opened in 1888 in a building designed by French architect Albert Galleron.

Some of the funding for the building came from a 20+ year funding raising effort from the publicwith the slogan "Dati un leu pentru Ateneu!" (Give one leu for the Ateneu!). Had we stayed in Bucharest for a longer period of time, I would have loved to see a performance here, alas all we got to see was the exterior of the building.

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The Romanian Athenaeum is the work of French architect Albert Galleron. It was built in 1888 and was financed almost entirely with money donated by ordinary citizens during a fundraising campaign which has remained famous to this day, called "Give a penny for the Athenaeum."

It is the home of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, and hosts foreign philharmonic orchestras, as well as a wide range of other top performers.

In front of Athenee Palace in the middle of the city Romanian Atheneum is really very beautiful and interesting building.They say that the French architecht Galleron made the work and Romanina people pay for it lei by lei.The place is used as concert hall.The area is also known for the revolution against Caucescu and I am one of the lucky man who use to stay Ýn the Athenee Palace just at this period.

Possibly the finest building in the city, the Romanian Atheneum, with its sublime baroque cupola, stands proudly at the flux of the city's busiest public square, competing with the Athenee Palace Hilton hotel, the Royal Palace and the old national library for attention. The work of French architect Albert Galleron, who also designed the National Bank of Romania, the building was inaugarated on Febrary 26, 1888, and was built almost entirely with money donated by ordinary citizens of the capital