Dunărea Hotel

More than half a century ago, the Dunărea Hotel situated next to the Bucharest North railway station was a perfect place for many travellers to spend the night. On the go, they would stay in the city for a day, settling in a hotel, after which they would take the train to the next destination. Today, when you leave the Bucharest North Station, you are greeted with a colossal and heavily decayed building that foretells a miserable collapse, to the horror of those who chance upon it.

Dunărea Hotel was built in the interwar period between 1935 and 1940 in an Art Deco style that was popular at the time. Its history tells of a very rich yet varying history of use. Dunărea translates to "the Danube river" in Romanian. When inaugurated, the building had 70 rooms spread over 7 floors with a total area of ​​2,758 square meters, with grounds amounting to ​​493 square meters. For over 35 years, the Dunărea Hotel represented the optimal accommodation solution for many travellers who arrived in Bucharest on various errands and who needed overnight accommodation as close as possible to the train station. After Communists came into power after the Second World War, the Dunărea Hotel became an important landmark even for locals, as a shop called Sora was set up on the building's ground floor, famous during that period for selling good quality clothes.

Unfortunately, the earthquake of March 4, 1977 - which affected the entire city - significantly damaged the Dunărea Hotel. It was never rehabilitated. Furthermore, after the damages to industry and economy that came with the fall of Communism in 1989, the building was left in complete disrepair and has remained that way ever since. Typical of many symbolic buildings in Romania, the Dunărea Hotel was taken over by another owner with its most recent being the Hong Kong-residing Israeli businessman Avi Zamir. Following the global economic crisis in 2008, the owner tried to sell the Dunărea Hotel building for 2.7 million euros, but could not find a buyer. Zamir then decided to invest around 3 million euros to transform the Dunărea Hotel into a premium apartment building to be renamed Dunărea Boutique. The rehabilitation work however never started due to the fact that the central authorities did not issue the necessary authorization for such a project. This is due to the fact that Romania considers this a historically significant building, which is why it needs a specific agreement from the Ministry of Culture as well as to follow strict regulation. As in the case of another Atlas Obscura place - the Solacolu Inn - the local authorities decided to expropriate the Dunărea Hotel and take responsibility for the rehabilitation works.

Today, the Dunărea Hotel is a miserable sight, especially for those who have soaked up Romanian history in their visit to Bucharest. Whilst the city is dotted with abandoned but stunning examples of architecture, this hotel is an absolute must-see due to its importance throughout history as well as its colossal size. To imagine how many travellers had once slept within its walls is sure enough to evoke an emotional reaction. Nonetheless, it is vital in understanding the influence of international artistic elements that had an impact on the building design in Bucharest, the City of Joy.