Bucharest’s famous cemetery Bellu, where many of Romania’s cultural and historical personalities are buried, will take center stage in 2015, when representatives of the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe will meet in the Romanian capital.

This will not only put the spotlight on Romania’s famous cemetery, one of the 179 such cemeteries in Europe, but also on the Romanian capital as well.  Over a hundred historians, architects, professors, and local administrations from member cities will meet in Bucharest next year for the association’s annual meeting. They recently met in Barcelona for the 2014 gathering.

“Bucharest is rich in history, architectural and culture, and today’s presentation strengthens our conviction that its funeral patrimony needs to be known to the world. The Association will support in this sense,” said Lidija Pliberšek, president of the Association of Significant Cemeteries. The Association plans to support Bucharest in getting EU funds to modernize the Bellu cemetery.

The Bellu cemetery in Bucharest, which lays on some 220,000 sqm, is part of the European cemeteries route. It features valuable funeral monuments, including the famous occult monument dedicated to the genius child of a Romanian writer Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, who died at 17th years old in Paris.

The cemetery’s architectural patrimony consists in decorated sepulchers in Neogothic, Art Deco style. For example, the three mausoleums were made by the architect Ion Mincu, the promoter of the Neo Romanian style, whose name was borrowed by the University of Architecture of Bucharest.

The Bellu Cemetery was recently included in the Night of the Museums, and theater shows were organized during the night in the cemetery. More about the Bellu Cemetery, here (in English).

editor@romania-insider.com