ROMANIA NATIONAL BANK IS A HIGHLIGHT IN OLD CITY

The National Bank of Romania in Bucharest is an elegant building right in the Old City. You can see it when you walk from Victoria Avenue. Actually, from the National Bank headquarters you enter the pubs area in the Old Town. Since we have been living in Bucharest for more than 24 years, we can say that the building hasn’t changed at all.

HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL BANK OF ROMANIA

So, this is the area or the University of Bucharest and also of Bucharest Museum. As an institution, the National Bank of Romania started to function in 1880. Its first manager was Eugeniu Carada. The state built the first palace to serve as its headquarters between 1884 and 1890. It was on a land near Lipscani Street. The new building appeared behind the initial construction in 1939. That because the initial national bank was a smaller building than it is today.

SEE THE NATIONAL BANK AND THE AREA IN BUCHAREST

The National Bank of Romania in Bucharest has been a public-private institution. That was until the Communist Party took the entire power in 1948. In that moment it changed it into The State Bank. The architects followed the French Renaissance style. Thus the building is perfectly symmetrical. Inside there is a great hall at the ground floor. Around it there are offices, meeting rooms and conferences halls. On the first floor, one can find the Hall of Honor, Council Hall and the Governor’s office. Here they take most decisions about Romania’s finances. Great artists like Nicolae Grigorescu and G.D. Mirea painted the walls of the national bank. At the entrance you will see two statues and a Greek column. Other four statues are at the corners of the building. They symbolize Agriculture, Justice, Industry and Trade.

There is also a National Bank Museum to be visited. It is in the same building. Here you can  see a great collection of ancient coins, golden coins. You can also learn about the Romanian and also European financial system from their very beginning.
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