L’Architecte de la plus grande mosquee de Roumanie : Victor G. Ștephănescu

Abstract

The biggest and most representative mosque in Romania has been for over a century the “Carol I” Mosque of Constanța (Küstendge), built in 1910 after the project of the architect Victor G.Ștephănescu (1876 – 1950), of Bucharest. Son of composer George Ștephănescu (1843 – 1925), founder of the Romanian National Opera, and of his first wife, Caliopi Petrescu, sister of the father of the diplomat Nicolae Petrescu – Comnen, Victor G.Ștephănescu was one of Romania’s most prolific architects before the First World War and during the Interwar Period. He was a member of the second generation of architects – after that of great architect Ion MIncu - of the “Neo-Romanian”  current, a sort of Revival style of the medieval architecture of the Danubian Principalities.

Among the numerous buildings he planned in Bucharest and in other towns of the kingdom of Romania, there should be mentioned some buildings in the Carol Park in Bucharest (1906), the Geological Institute also in the capital city, the Coronation Cathedral in Alba Iulia, the Anglican Church in Bucharest and many others. The “Carol I” Mosque in Constanța, situated in the center of the town, the capital of the Dobrudja, is a genuine architectural accomplishment and a proof of Romania’s openness, at that time, to all religions and ethnical groups.

Keywords

• Romanian composer George Ștephănescu,diplomat Nicolae Petrescu – Comnen,Romanian National Opera,„Carol I” Mosque in Constanța (Küstendge,Romania),„Neo-Romanian” style,Carol park in Bucharest,Cathedral of the Coronation in Alba Iulia (Romania)

References

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9. Ștephănescu, Mihail G., “O piatră de mormânt uitată și o pecetie necunoscută. Mărturii vechi și noi despre marele spătar Zottu Tzigara” [Une pierre tombale oubliée et un sceau inconnu. Témoignages anciens et nouveaux sur le grand spathaire / porte – glaive Zottu Tzigara], Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice, XI, no.4 (Bucarest, 1971): 58 – 62 + 7 illustr.
10. Ștephănescu, Mihail G., “Etendards princiers roumains de l’époque phanariote”, communication scientifique au Xe Congrès International des Sciences Généalogiques et Héraldiques, Vienne, 14 – 19 septembre 1970, Heraldica et Genealogica ( Vienne, 1972): 639 – 644 + 3 illustr.
11. Ștephănescu, Mihail G., “Drapeaux militaires roumains du XIXe siècle aux armoiries des districts et des villes”, Recueil du XIe Congrès International des Sciences Généalogiques et Héraldiques, Liège, 29 mai – 2 juin, (Braga [Portugal], 1973): 467 – 475 + 2 illustr.
12. Ștephănescu, Mihail G., “Les armoiries de la Valachie dans un blason de 1600”, communication scientifique présentée au XIIIe Congrès International des Sciences Généalogiques et Héraldiques, Londres, 31 août - 7 septembre 1976.