The Assan House (Casa Assan) is a historic monument on Alexandru Lahovari Square, near Roman Square in central Bucharest.
History And Description Of The Assan House
The Assan House was built between 1906 and 1914 for the industrialist Bazil G. Assan and was designed in a French Neo-Classical style by the famous architect Ion D. Berindey who also designed the Cantacuzino Palace. The house is richly decorated and has a beautiful monumental staircase facing the courtyard in the back, making the rear side of the building actually more appealing than the side facing the street.
Each room in the house was named according to the way it was furnished and used. The most notable rooms are the Chess Room, the Hall of Mirrors and Chandeliers, the Council Room, the Edison Room, and the Zodiac Hall, which has a large stained glass window with the zodiac signs.
Under the post-war communist regime, the building was nationalized and came under the administration of the Romanian Academy, which used it as the House of Scientists (Casa Oamenilor de Știință). After 1989, the Assan House became a restaurant and event space.
History Of The Assan Family
The initial owner of the house, Bazil G. Assan, was the eldest son of Gheorghe Assan, a succesful self-made businessman from a poor family. After arriving in Bucharest in 1849, Gheorghe Assan opened a grocery store which mainly sold imported luxury products.
After a few years of success, in 1853 he used the money he made to build a mill on the shore of Lake Colentina, which became the first steam-powered industrial installation in the country. By many, this is considered a turning point which marks the start of the urban industrialization of Bucharest. The bread factory, which operated in the mill for almost 150 years is thought to have once produced bread for a third of the capital’s population.
Gheorghe’s eldest son Bazil had a similar entrepreneurial spirit and continued the business after his father’s death. He expanded the mill business, but also opened a paint factory, a soap factory, and the country’s first edible corn oil factory. Bazil Assan also liked adventures and became the first Romanian to circumnavigate the world, and was the first civilian to own a car in Bucharest.
