The construction of the Palace of Justice in Craiova is part of the architectural renewal process... more The construction of the Palace of Justice in Craiova is part of the architectural renewal process that encompassed the Romanian urban space in the last decades of the 19 th century, a series of public buildings, necessary for institutional modernization, being built throughout the country during this time frame. Although the history of this edifice, symbolical for the architecture of the city, is apparently known, after studying the documents related to the construction of the palace, as well as the newspaper articles in the press of that time, a series of events are revealed, that outline a more complex picture of its evolutionary stages. Moreover, although initially considered one of Ion Socolescu's works, the building turns out to be, in reality, the work of another architect, less known today, which leads to the need to rewrite some pages in the history of Romanian architecture. This article tries to trace the main stages in the evolution of the design and construction of the Palace of Justice in Craiova, starting with the first architectural designs, which were not materialised by execution, to the last transformations brought to the building, in the 70 s of the 20 th century, revealing, at the same time, a world of architects and builders divided by rivalries and political favours, especially for the period of Romania's urban development boom. Finally, we emphasize the importance of the appearance of such an edifice in the city's landscape, which resulted in the rethinking of the street structure in this area, by the mayors of that time. We also mention the change in the functionality of the building brought about by the communist power installed in Romania after 1947, as part of a process of erasing the local memory and creating, at the same time, a new symbolism for the old heritage of Craiova.
This article focuses on an essential and little-known aspect of the urban history of Craiova. Spe... more This article focuses on an essential and little-known aspect of the urban history of Craiova. Specifically, it is one of the important landmarks of its historical topography, whose evolution has known three stages: one represented by the Gănescu church, the other by the Palace of Justice, and the third by the University of Craiova (the last two stages being related to the same building which has changed its destination). Our text is dedicated to the analysis of the first stage that helps us understand the importance of the place, its connection with local urban history, the history of its local elites of the eighteenth century, but also with the history of other important institutions essential for the nineteenth century (the Bishopric of Râmnic). We were interested in the different historical brands that characterized the evolution of this place, important not only for the history of Ulița Episcopiei/Alexandru Ioan Cuza street. We have considered the various significant historical elements, including the local community, whose urban development has inevitably left its mark on place changes. Although its centrality has remained unchanged, its historical form has changed following a temporality that forced the abandonment of the church of an old boyar family, an episcopal residence, in favour of a modern institution, according to an urban plan that gave a modern face to Craiova of the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century. As in other cases in Romanian urban history, after the physical disappearance of the building, the old toponyms of the eighteenth century, "Biserica Gănescu", "Mânăstirea Episcopiei" hardly or not at all survived in the collective memory, the first being recovered and publicly remembered today by a commemorative plaque on the wall of the current university.
The construction of the Palace of Justice in Craiova is part of the architectural renewal process... more The construction of the Palace of Justice in Craiova is part of the architectural renewal process that encompassed the Romanian urban space in the last decades of the 19 th century, a series of public buildings, necessary for institutional modernization, being built throughout the country during this time frame. Although the history of this edifice, symbolical for the architecture of the city, is apparently known, after studying the documents related to the construction of the palace, as well as the newspaper articles in the press of that time, a series of events are revealed, that outline a more complex picture of its evolutionary stages. Moreover, although initially considered one of Ion Socolescu's works, the building turns out to be, in reality, the work of another architect, less known today, which leads to the need to rewrite some pages in the history of Romanian architecture. This article tries to trace the main stages in the evolution of the design and construction of the Palace of Justice in Craiova, starting with the first architectural designs, which were not materialised by execution, to the last transformations brought to the building, in the 70 s of the 20 th century, revealing, at the same time, a world of architects and builders divided by rivalries and political favours, especially for the period of Romania's urban development boom. Finally, we emphasize the importance of the appearance of such an edifice in the city's landscape, which resulted in the rethinking of the street structure in this area, by the mayors of that time. We also mention the change in the functionality of the building brought about by the communist power installed in Romania after 1947, as part of a process of erasing the local memory and creating, at the same time, a new symbolism for the old heritage of Craiova.
This article focuses on an essential and little-known aspect of the urban history of Craiova. Spe... more This article focuses on an essential and little-known aspect of the urban history of Craiova. Specifically, it is one of the important landmarks of its historical topography, whose evolution has known three stages: one represented by the Gănescu church, the other by the Palace of Justice, and the third by the University of Craiova (the last two stages being related to the same building which has changed its destination). Our text is dedicated to the analysis of the first stage that helps us understand the importance of the place, its connection with local urban history, the history of its local elites of the eighteenth century, but also with the history of other important institutions essential for the nineteenth century (the Bishopric of Râmnic). We were interested in the different historical brands that characterized the evolution of this place, important not only for the history of Ulița Episcopiei/Alexandru Ioan Cuza street. We have considered the various significant historical elements, including the local community, whose urban development has inevitably left its mark on place changes. Although its centrality has remained unchanged, its historical form has changed following a temporality that forced the abandonment of the church of an old boyar family, an episcopal residence, in favour of a modern institution, according to an urban plan that gave a modern face to Craiova of the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century. As in other cases in Romanian urban history, after the physical disappearance of the building, the old toponyms of the eighteenth century, "Biserica Gănescu", "Mânăstirea Episcopiei" hardly or not at all survived in the collective memory, the first being recovered and publicly remembered today by a commemorative plaque on the wall of the current university.
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