Designed in 1930, by the architect Duiliu Marcu, the Elisabeta Palace was intended to be the residence of Princess Elisabeta, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Maria, former Queen of Greece and aunt of King Mihai.
The edifice was built in Spanish Moorish style, fashionable at that time, with Brancoveanu-style influences.
The gates of the building opened for the first time on the 12th day of October, 1937, when the inauguration took place, which was celebrated in the presence of King Carol II. Elisabeta Palace is located on a plot of land where the Village Museum is also located, in the vicinity of the Summer Theatre in Herăstrău Park, with the entrance from Kiseleff Road.
After the bombing of the Royal Palace (located in Calea Victoriei), the day after the events of August 23, 1944, King Mihai asked his aunt's permission to move to Elisabeta Palace, along with the entire Court. In this Palace, on December 30, 1947, in one of the upstairs halls, King Mihai was forced to sign the deed of abdication. The palace was owned by Princess Elisabeta until 1948, when the governing communist regime nationalized it.
After the final return of King Mihai in our country, in February 1997, the Palace became the official residence and house of the Royal Family. Therefore, the Elisabeta Palace can be called nowadays the " centre of royalty", it is hosting numerous events, meetings, dinners, round tables, attended by personalities from the public sector, artistic and cultural, business and civil society. The meetings take place in the beautifully decorated halls: the White Hall, the Hall of the Kings, the Queen Elena Hall, the Beam Hall, the Dining Room. Guests can admire the works from the Royal Collection of Contemporary Art, composed of several works signed by 75 prestigious Romanian painters.
Elisabeta Palace has enriched its princely space, through the note of royalty brought by King Mihai and the Royal Family of Romania, which continues to carry on the tradition of their ancestors with devotion.
Sources:
https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatul_Elisabeta
Elena Radu
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