Historic Center of Craiova

Mărăscu House

The Grigore Puiu Pleşa (Pleşia) House (Palace) was built between 1905 and 1910 on the site of the former Buzeşti boyars' houses, after the plans of architect Petre Antonescu. The building, called the Pleşa House, had various destinations, including the headquarters of the Trade Unions and the Court of Accounts of Dolj. Foto: Monumentalistul

Is located on General Dragalina Street, at no. 1, and is built in the 1900s.  It is included in the list of historical monuments of Dolj County. Photo: https://ro.pinterest.com/pin/321585229660576192/

It is a monumental building, located close to the very center of Craiova. Over time, it hosted the headquarters of the Union of Students' Associations from the University of Craiova in the 1960s, or the Children's Palace, somewhat later, but the youngest know it as the site of the Court of Appeal after the' 90s. In the List of Historic Monuments in Dolj County, the house is named Matei Băileşteanu and dated from the end of the 19th century. It is supposed that Matei Băileşteanu might actually be this Gogu Matei, recorded somewhere, in any act, with this name. The house has a built-up area of 400 sqm and bears the imprint of architect Paul Smărăndescu, the author of several neo-Romanian style buildings. It was built in the years 1914-1915 on Smârdan Street, at no. 18, on the land on which there were some old houses with a single floor, that used to belong to Ghiţă Urdăreanu, the grandfather of Nicolae Titulescu. The new houses of Gogu Matei were among the largest in Craiova, as shown by a painting of the 27 buildings in the city that had heating facilities, on August 16, 1918. Gogu Matei, who used to call himself Mateescu, had an estate in Predeşti and was one of the founding members of the Banat Bank in Craiova. By 1937 it is recorded that the property was in the possession of the Naiculescu family. Source: craiovadeieri.wordpress.com, monumenteoltenia.ro

The current emplacement situated in a monumental building it was assigned to the Court of Craiova in the years after 1960. During the inter-war period and immediately after, the city courts from Oltenia had the headquarters in the building of the current University. The building, constructed in the year 1890, by the architect Ion Socolescu, in a Neo-Classical style, and assigned to the Palace of Justice, was adequate for judging the cases from all the counties in Oltenia. The fact that justice was a real power was emphasized at the middle of the XIXth century in the court seals engraved with an oval shield, the blazon of the district (the crusaded golden eagle) and the balance, the symbol of justice. The years 1990 – 2004 bring important changes in the structure of the court. Between 1990-1993, there were 13 formations of the Court, functioning with a number of 26 judges. In 2012, the total number of judges is 46. It is the first court in the county and in the area of the Court of Appeal of Craiova, judging by the volume of work. Having taken into account the functional requests, Craiova Court of Justice was completely renovated in 1998. At the Craiova Court of Justice functions only one current archive, which serves both the criminal and the civil department. The archive has a room where lawyers, experts and other law specialists can study the files. Also, here is located the record office common to both departments. Since 2006 has been implemented the computer network and the ECRIS application for electronic file registration and random assignment. There are 46 formations of the court working in 6 court rooms, with an average of 10 sessions per day. Source: audiotravelguide.ro

Casa Vrăbiescu is a historical architectural monument from the middle of the 19th century, located near Craiova`s downtown. The house is located on Calea Unirii, no. 100, and is right next to another local architectural monument, Casa Caleteanu. The house belonged to the Vrăbiescu family, its most representative owner being Iulian Vrăbiescu, jurist and politician, prefect of Dolj, deputy and chairman of the Senate in 1931. House Vrăbiescu has three levels (basement, ground floor and floor). On the northern side it is bordered by Casa Caleteanu, the eastern façade is on Calea Unirii, and the western one on Str. Gheorghe Doja. The main entrance is through a covered gang, closed with tin gates, leading to the interior yard. Above the entrance is a closed balcony with windows fixed in metal structure. From an ornamental point of view, the eastern façade of the building is distinguished by a rich ornamentation and delicate, artistic details such as those above the upstairs windows and the cornice. The windows carpentry is made of wood, while the ornament above the entrance gate, the balcony structure and the balcony-style fences from the upstair windows are made of metal. The exterior façades (eastern and southern) are extremely degraded (fallen plaster, pierced by bars of iron concrete reinforcement, broken windows). Source: www.monumenteoltenia.ro

Constantin Vălimărescu House is a historical monument of local interest architecture, located in downtown Craiova, on Calea Unirii, no. 4. The building is surrounded by other significant historical monuments in Craiova, including the Stoilov-Bolintineanu House, the National Bank of Romania - the Dolj headquarters and the All Saints Catholic Church. The building dates back from the end of the 19th century (1892-1893) and was built by the entrepreneurs Costa and Nedelcu, according to the plans of the French architect Albert Galleron. The building has four levels (basement, ground floor, floor and attic), a monumental entrance and a spacious courtyard with several access ways (pedestrian and car). The main gate leads to the main entrance to the building, crossing the courtyard through a paved alley. Source: www.monumenteoltenia.ro

The Bengescu House seems to have been built in 1880 by Gheorghe Bengescu (diplomat, historian and publicist of Romanian and French languages, a full member of the Romanian Academy) and sold to the Orthodox Society of Romanian Women, around the year 1915. In the building, the Orthodox School for Girls used to function. Also, the first cinema in Craiova, "Popular Cinema", was operating in Bengescu House. After the revolution, it was returned to the National Orthodox Society of Christian Women, which donated it to the Archdiocese of Craiova. Source: www.facebook.com/Monumentalistul/

The N.D. Popescu apartment building is built in Neo-Romanian style in the 1920s by architect State Baloşin.