Știrbey: reședințe, moșii, ctitorii

Abstract

Forgotten, plundered, transformed, or demolished, the residences and buildings associated with the members of the Știrbey family have left a significant mark on the history of Romanian architecture. Many of these constructions are linked to important architects and builders of their time or once stood as architectural and cultural landmarks of their era.

Reconstructing their history after more than sixty-five years of oblivion is no easy task. Forcibly removed from the family’s ownership between 1945 and 1950 and subsequently converted into hospitals, agricultural cooperative headquarters, pioneer houses, or state holiday villas, these residences and manor houses were altered, stripped of their defining features, and often deprived of their original identity in an attempt to erase their historical memory.

The second volume dedicated to the Știrbey family, their properties, and foundations brings together a wide range of buildings and estates: the Girls’ School “Princess Elisabeta Știrbey,” the Holy Trinity Church in Craiova, the National Theatre, the Girls’ Boarding School, the School of Arts and Crafts at Mavrogheni, the Brâncovenesc and Brătianu Foundations, the public gardens of Bucharest, Craiova, and Râmnicu Vâlcea, the Ceremonial Palace (former Golescu houses), the project of the princely summer palace in Kiseleff Garden, the summer residence at Cotroceni, Villa Orestis in Nice, Château de Bécon in Courbevoie, as well as the Știrbey estates in Stribeyu, Pătule, Dănceu and Gruia, Băilești, Voila, Câmpina and Șotrile, Pietroșani, Oprișoru–Drincea, Dalbanu–Crețu, Dărmănești, Brusturoasa and Mândrești, the vineyards of Drăgășani, the houses of Eliza, Alina, Adina, Maria and Ioana Știrbey, and the family villas of Barbu Știrbey in Brașov and Mamaia.