Victoriei

Located right at the heart of the CBD, the office hub home to more than 32,000 employees, the Victoriei area also enjoys easy access to all of the city's office hotspots, thanks to its central position and multiple public transport connections.

District 1 covers the northern and north-western part of Bucharest. With 264,185 residents, it is the least populous of the six administrative sectors, accounting for 12.5% of Bucharest's population of 2,108,049. At 68 km², however, it is by far the largest by land area — more than a quarter of the city's 236 km² — and holds 163,088 dwellings, or 15.1% of the capital's housing stock of 1,082,392.

About the area

The area, at a glance

Calea Victoriei remains the city's most representative artery: the Athenaeum, palaces, hotels and restored heritage buildings. Living here is a statement: apartments with history, right in the cultural centre. Quality supply is rare and fiercely contested.

History

Piața Victoriei got its current name in 1878, at the junction of six boulevards: Calea Victoriei, Bd. Lascăr Catargiu, Bd. Iancu de Hunedoara, Str. Paris, Bd. Aviatorilor and Șoseaua Kiseleff. The space itself had existed for almost 50 years, since Șoseaua Kiseleff was laid out in 1832. On one side, the Grigore Antipa Museum was built between 1903 and 1906, in neoclassical style, designed by the architect Grigore Cerkez. Victoria Palace, today the seat of the Government, was built between 1937 and 1947 to the plans of Duiliu Marcu; the bombing raids of 1944 damaged it seriously, and restoration was completed in 1952, with marble reliefs by the sculptor Mac Constantinescu. The square doubled in size after the war, and the late 1980s brought the surrounding apartment blocks and Pasajul Victoriei, put into service between 1987 and 1989.

Amenities and access

Piața Victoriei is served by its own metro station, an interchange between lines M1 and M3, with platforms on two levels (Victoriei 1 and Victoriei 2); line M1 was inaugurated on 16 November 1979. Car traffic runs through Pasajul Victoriei, an underpass put into service between 1987 and 1989. Direct links run from the square to:

Calea Victoriei, towards the historic centre
Șoseaua Kiseleff / Bd. Regele Mihai I, towards Arcul de Triumf and Herăstrău-Băneasa
Bd. Aviatorilor, towards Piața Charles de Gaulle and Primăverii
Bd. Iancu de Hunedoara and Bd. Lascăr Catargiu, towards Ștefan cel Mare

On the Kiseleff side, Kiseleff Park provides immediate green space, and the route continues on foot to Herăstrău Park. The area also has the Izvorul Tămăduirii Church, the Romanian Infantry Monument (architect J. Bolborea) and the Triumf restaurant-hotel.