A house with memory
Former residence of Prime Minister Gheorghe Tătărescu (1886–1957), the Villa on Strada Polonă is one of the most discreet interwar gems of Bucharest. The Prime Minister lived here with his wife, Arethia — the woman who commissioned Brâncuși's ensemble in Târgu Jiu.
The house was authorised in 1935 for the family of Gheorghe Tătărescu, twice Prime Minister of Romania. His wife, Arethia Tătărescu — the Great Lady of Gorj — led the League that commissioned Constantin Brâncuși's monumental ensemble in Târgu Jiu.
The interiors preserve works by the sculptor Milița Petrașcu, Brâncuși's pupil: the salon fireplace, set in an apse, and the door frames. In the summers, at the Poiana estate in Gorj, the family received King Carol II, Nicolae Titulescu, Martha Bibescu and Elena Văcărescu, as their daughter, Sanda Tătărescu-Negropontes, recalled.
Architects: Alexandru Zaharia and Ion Giurgea · Building permit: 1935 · Style: Mediterranean with neo-Romanian elements · Historic monument (LMI B-II-m-B-19435).
From 1935 to today
- 1935
The birth of a Mediterranean villa
Arethia Tătărescu's house at 19 Polonă Street receives its building permit in 1935, designed by architects Alexandru Zaharia and Ion Giurgea in a Mediterranean style with neo-Romanian elements. Milița Petrașcu, Brâncuși's pupil, creates the salon fireplace and the door frames.
- 1937–1938
From Polonă Street to Târgu Jiu
The League led by Arethia Tătărescu donates Constantin Brâncuși's column and gate to the town of Târgu Jiu, by the letter registered on 20 October 1937. The ensemble is inaugurated on 27 October 1938.
- 1950
A turn towards darkness
The house is nationalised. Gheorghe Tătărescu is arrested on the night of 5 to 6 May 1950 and the family is evicted. A silent chapter of the villa's history begins.
- After 1990
The house returns to the family
Sanda Tătărescu-Negropontes, the Prime Minister's daughter, recovers the house after the fall of communism.
- 2024
EKO GROUP transforms history into experience
On 6 June 2024, EKO GROUP takes over the villa and opens it to the public, through the guided tour, and to events that deserve an exceptional setting.
Further into the story
- Biography · in Romanian Arethia Tătărescu The Great Lady of Gorj: the Gorj Women’s League, the commission to Brâncuși and the house on Polonă Street.
- Document · in Romanian Arethia Tătărescu’s letter to the Târgu Jiu town hall (1937) The 1937 letter in which the Gorj Women’s League gave the town Brâncuși’s column and gate. Full transcription.
- Art · in Romanian Constantin Brâncuși and the Tătărescu family Arethia’s invitation, Milița Petrașcu’s role, the summers at Poiana and the letters lost in 1950.
- Art · in Romanian Milița Petrașcu The sculptor who worked in Brâncuși’s studio and made the fireplace in the house’s salon.
- Architecture · in Romanian The architects Alexandru Zaharia and Ion Giurgea The two architects of the house, which received its building permit in 1935, and the Mediterranean style of interwar Bucharest.
- Biography · in Romanian Gheorghe Tătărescu Twice Prime Minister of Romania, King Carol II’s trusted man, arrested in 1950.
- The era · in Romanian Carol II and interwar Bucharest Carol II’s reign, the Tătărescu government and the buildings that changed the capital in the 1930s.
- Mysteries · in Romanian The unopened safe of the Tătărescu house The Fichet safe in the Prime Minister’s study, closed for decades: what is known, what is legend, how to date it.
Step into the story
Guided tour through the signature rooms. Mon–Fri 12:00–17:00 · Sat–Sun 12:00–19:00.