On the occasion of the commemoration of two decades from the destruction of the Brancovenesc Hospital, Civic Academy Foundation and International Center for Studies about Communism within the Sighet Memorial organized Sunday, 28 March 2004, at 11 hrs., a debate-evocation. At the discussion moderated by Ana Blandiana, President of the Civic Academy Foundation, participated eyewitnesses to the hospital history.
Academician Constantin Balaceanu-Stolnici (president of the Brancovenesti Establishments) spoke about the glorious tradition of the foundation. Prof. Dr. Dinu Antonescu evoked the medical schools developed under the brilliant umbrellas of the hospital. Prof. Dr. Dinu Antonescu, the former director of the hospital and prof. As. Dr. Mariana Florian, who worked within the National Institute of Physical Medicine and Medical Recovery, evoked the moment of demolition and its ill-fated significance. Prof. Eng. Nicolae Noica described the research he made on the resistance structure of what can be considered not only a historical and scientific monument, but also a technical monument. Finally, prof. Arch. Aurelian Triscu evoked the human and ambient architectural atmosphere of the district fallen in the ’80 under the blade of bull-dozers. Images with the establishments were projected during the debate.
The Brancovenesti Establishments, situated at the heart of Bucharest’s historical center, were founded in 1835-1838 by Safta Brancoveanu. In the hospital, initially created for the poor, the physicians of that time were also laying the foundations of a scientifical school. Destroyed by a fire, the buildings were re-built during 1880-1890, and in the process of modernization that continued at the beginning of the XX century, the wooden floors were replaced with concrete floors –whose use was just at the beginning in the world. During the XX century, the Hospital became a pilot medical institution, within which medical schools on different profiles were developed. Three generations of doctors transformed the century old hospital in a modern one, coherent with European medicine. Unfortunately, everything was swept away in one day – 29 March 1984 – when, in order to accomplish the ill-fated plan of creating a new civical area built to measure Nicolae Ceausescu’s paranoid megalomania, the buildings loaded with history were demolished and the top-notch medical personnel, as well as the equipments, were spread in all parts of Bucharest.
