Gabroveni Inn
Encyclopedia
Gabroveni Inn is a hotel in the historic part of old Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

, Romania.

History

Built in 1739 on a land plot belonging to the former Voivodal Court (which was much larger than the present-day ruins of the Old Court
Curtea Veche
Curtea Veche , built as a place or residence during the rule of Vlad III Dracula in the 15th century, now operates as a museum in the centre of Bucharest, Romania. The residence was moved under the rule of Radu cel Frumos, who moved the princely residence and the Wallachian capital to Bucharest...

——show), the inn belonged to the "Inner Town" (Romanian: Târgul Dinlǎuntru), the inside section of Bucharest's Fortress. The inn was raised by Prince Constantin Mavrocordat, who decided to have a bezesten (the word is Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

, meaning "large, square building, hosting shops all around, like in marketplaces"). These shops could only be rented by foreign merchants during the period they stayed in Bucharest doing business.

The inn was also known during the 18th century as Hanul Bezesten ("Bezesten Inn"), because it resembles a Turkish bezesten, boasting large shades covering almost the whole street on the sides. Merchants from the famous crafts town of Gabrovo
Gabrovo
Gabrovo is a city in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an international capital of humour and satire , as well as noted for its Bulgarian National...

 used to lodge at the inn when selling their products in the city. The inn was named after these merchants, as was the street on which it is located, a name that has survived into the 21st century.

It was among the seven large inns in Bucharest that did not incorporate a church (the others being Manuc's Inn, Constantin Vodǎ, Papazoglu, Golescu, Zamfir and Filipescu inns). During the 18th and 19th century, it burned several times, but it was always repaired and refurbished. The inn reached its glory between 1825 and 1850, when it ranked among the most important such settlements in the town.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the inn was renamed as "Gabroveni-Universal Hotel", as Bucharest was changing from Oriental to French influence. The structure remained in use during the communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...

, and now hosts rooms for the students of the University of Bucharest
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:...

.

Other inns still standing in Bucharest include Manuc's Inn (Romanian: Hanul lui Manuc), the Lindentree Inn (almost universally referred to by its Romanian name Hanul cu Tei
Hanul cu Tei
Hanul cu Tei is one of the few still standing old inns in downtown Bucharest, Romania.It was built in 1833 by Anastasie Hagi Gheorghe Polizu and Ştefan Popovici, on the trading street of Lipscani. It was also called the Bezesten de pe Uliţa cea mare a Marchitanilor...

) and Solacoglu Inn
Solacoglu Inn
Solacoglu Inn improperly called inn, was actually a factory for producing pasta in Bucharest. It is located along Calea Moşilor, a trading avenue that used to make the connection between Bucharest's Inner Town and the largest marketplace in the town...

(Romanian: Hanul Solacoglu or Hanul Solacolu).
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