Bucharest in 1935, narrated by an James Wallington. Do you have videos showcasing your city/country from the interwar era or earlier?
Posted by SoulEkko@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 20 comments
GWahazar@reddit
Warsaw, Poland, 1939 (colorized): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjps5GHWEgE
SoulEkko@reddit (OP)
Absolutely gorgeous! What a shame for the wars and communism to happen to both of our countries.
AmelKralj@reddit
Yes, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT1LJPvnDsQ
but the narration is in German
SoulEkko@reddit (OP)
Great stuff, thanks!
Decebalus_Bombadil@reddit
Bucharest was nice at that time but the rest of the country was backwards as hell. People forget that around that time 85-90% of the population were peasants with no education. One good thing the commies did was give them access to education.
Comrade_sensai_09@reddit
What a loss… it truly lived up to its nickname as Little Paris of the East….
SoulEkko@reddit (OP)
Not exactly a complete loss. There's still plenty left. But yeah, it has seen better days.
Comrade_sensai_09@reddit
I know… a lot of the buildings are still there, but the communists did their best to get rid of many of them and replace them with their own architecture. Still, quite a few can be restored, and some of the lost ones could even be rebuilt. Here’s hoping for a better future.
SoulEkko@reddit (OP)
🍻
Emyhatsich@reddit
Man, Bucharest was such a beautiful city back in the day. Actually, all of Romania was beautiful. Then communism and Ceaușescu happened 🤮. Bucharest was a rich city, resembling western european cities
SoulEkko@reddit (OP)
Ceausescu's where he belongs. Bucharest still has charm, it just needs better care, more pedestrian areas/squares and higher quality restorations.
KestrelVO@reddit
And some people say he didn't deserve to get shot. My man, he deserved all the bullets in the world.
brickne3@reddit
It took fifteen hours to fly from Paris to Bucharest in 1935?! I know planes were slower but that seems crazy slow for that late.
SoulEkko@reddit (OP)
Passenger airliners were flying between 240-300 km/h back then. There's roughly 2400 km between Paris and Bucharest, so at 240 km/h it seems plausible to fly for 10 hours. Add to that whatever check-in processes they had back then, maybe a refueling stop (?), and 15 hours doesn't sound so improbable.
Ujemegaz@reddit
Yes. Luce Institute has some footage. If it were for us, we would have none.
SoulEkko@reddit (OP)
Scrolling through their archives now, had no clue about them, thanks!
CorvidaeOccitanicus@reddit
So interesting ! Bucharest is still beautiful in some extent. It only lacks some investment in the historical heritage in order to feel the same as in the video. Lots of building are somptuous but quite left abandoned. Such as the gara de nord which I fould gorgeous but a little bit left on itself.
SoulEkko@reddit (OP)
We have a decent general mayor now who's already started doing work around the city. Simple cleanup stuff (like bollards to prevent cars from parking on the sidewalks, implementation of rules for facades in cooperation with the government, separate bus lanes and the likes).
Bucharest needs at least a decade of constant work to be brought up to Western European standards, but at least there is a mass of history to work with. With a bit of luck, it will regain its past shine.
BWC_Python@reddit
you can see some photos here r/AsaCumEraOdata
SoulEkko@reddit (OP)
I know about the sub, it's a goldmine of nostalgia.