Scientific Papers Series B Horticulture

Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture. Vol. LVII, 2013Print ISSN 2285-5653, CD-ROM ISSN 2285-5661, Online ISSN 2286-1580, ISSN-L 2285-5653AbstractRESTAURATION OF THE ROMANIAN WRITER’SROTUNDA – CISMIGIU GARDENAlexandru MEXI, Maria BRATU, Violeta RDUCANUniversity of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest,59 Mrti Blvd., District 1, 011464, Bucharest, RomaniaCorresponding author email: gomealx@yahoo.comCismigiu Garden is a part of our national heritage and it is almost lost in favour of kitsch and ugliness. As aconsequence of the lack of experience and professionalism of interest and as well of public income, this garden becomesa shadow of its old glory.One of the most important architectural and landscaping compositions in Cismigiu HistoricalGarden is the Writers’ Rotunda. Focusing only on the Rotunda, the study was based on “in situ” research and onhistorical documents research. The study revealed a series of inconsistencies and discrepancies between historical textdescription and historical images as well. Also, our paper lead to showing different patterns on which the Rotunda wasdesigned and it also reveals patrimony objects that seemed to be lost.The aim of this case study is to emphasise theRotunda image created by FriedrichRebhun and how should it look like after a much-needed restoration. In order for acity that lost most of its history and patrimony, attention should be accorded to the built heritage including historicalgardens and parks and especially to their most important features. One of them is the Writer’s Rotunda.Key words: heritage, history, patterns, patrimony, restoration.INTRODUCTIONA city’s patrimony consists in buildings andmonuments, as well as in gardens and parks.One such part of Bucharest’s patrimony is theCismigiu Garden. Designed by Karl FriedrichWilhelm Meyer in 1845, the garden wasdesigned over an old puddle flooded frequentlyby the Dambovita River crossing Bucharest(Panoiu A., 2011). Cismigiu was a romanticgarden, designed according to the 19 th century’scitizens of Bucharest personal desires and wayof life. The garden went through a series ofsuccessive changes that brought new zones ofinterest in the garden. One such newly createdzone of interest is the Writer’s Rotunda. Thisrotunda is part of this garden’s history and alsoit is part of Bucharest patrimony. The actualstate of preservation of this part of history isvery low and special assistance is needed inorder for the Rotunda to be conserved in thefuture.MATERIALS AND METHODSThe research was led in the Romanian’sWriter’s Rotunda during a period of severalmonths, in seasons of autumn and winter.363Special attention was accorded to details,planning sequences, and to the grade ofdeterioration. Our study was based on historicaldescriptions, images and plans. Most of ourwork was to compare text descriptions withimages and plans because there were a lot ofinconsistencies and discrepancies betweenthem. The study reveals how the Rotunda wasmainly designed and how it should be restored.- Cismigiu Garden – Short HistoryCismigiu garden respresents, chronologically,the second public garden of Romania. Designedafter Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Meyer’s plans,Cismigiu garden was designed as a romanticgreen space, but it was also designed accordingto the desires and to the way of life of thecitizens of Bucharest of the XIXth century.The garden went through a series of successivechanges, the last of them being the mostimportant. This way, Cismigiu was redesignedby Wilhelm Knetchel in 1882-1883 and byFriedrich Rebhun in 1910-1943.Along with the new transformations, newlyadded zones contributed to the improvement ofthe garden, and, despite its low surface, itbecame a complex garden, all of the threestages of design bringing new valuable elementsto the garden.