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

Year 2019, Issue: 2, 123 - 139, 30.06.2019

Mihai Sorin Rădulescu

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

• Bibliographie
• Minarete pe cerul Dobrogei. Geamii [Minarets sur le ciel de la Dobroudja. Mosquées], éditeur et coordonateur du volume: Bruno Andreșoiu (Bucarest, Editions Igloo Media, 2012).
• Nestorescu – Bălcești, Horia, Enciclopedia ilustrată a francmasoneriei din România [Encyclopédie illustrée de la francmaçonnerie de Roumanie], vol.3 (Bucarest, Editions Phoebus, 2005).
• Rădulescu, Mihai Sorin, Elita liberală românească 1866 – 1900 [L’élite libérale roumaine 1866 – 1900] (Bucarest, Editions All, 1998).
• Rădulescu, Mihai Sorin, Genealogia românească. Istoric și bibliografie [La généalogie roumaine. Historique et bibliographie] (Brăïla, Editions Istros du Musée de Brăïla, 2000).
• Stoianov, Carmen – Antoaneta, George Ștephănescu, (Bucarest, Editura Muzicală, 1981).
• Parmi les écrits de Mihail G. Ștephănescu:
• Ștephănescu, Mihail G., O familie de revoluționari și un pahar de frăție [Une famille de révolutionnaires et un verre de fraternité], Studia et Acta Musei Nicolae Bălcescu (Bălcești – pe – Topolog, 1969): 185 – 191 (sur la famille Crețescu).
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.