The Monteoru House (Casa Monteoru) is a historic monument on Victory Avenue in Bucharest.
The house was built in 1874 and was one of the houses of the wealthy people of Bucharest who began to mark the image of the city. After the house was bought by the wealthy businessman Grigore Constantinescu-Monteoru it underwent a radical renovation between 1887 and 1889. The architects were Ion Mincu and Nicolae Cutarida, who redid the interior in a French eclectic style with painted stucco ceilings and paneling and a monumental staircase.
Grigore Constantinescu-Monteoru left the house to his daughter Elena Lascăr Catargi, but when Romania became a Communist state after World War II, she was illegally expropriated. From 1945, Monteoru House was used by the Romanian Association for Strengthening Relations with the Soviet Union (Asociația Română pentru strângerea Legăturilor cu Uniunea Sovietică – ARLUS) and from 1952 until 2013 it was used as the headquarters of the Romanian Writers’ Union.
In 2013 the Romanian Writers’ Union was forced to vacate the building after a legal battle in court where a judge ruled that the building was to be returned to the rightful owner’s heir. In 2014 a restaurant with a garden terrace was opened in the Monteoru House. Under the name Grădina Monteoru (Monteoru’s Garden) the location is now used as a multicultural center for live music, exhibitions, fairs, food stalls, and other entertainment activities.
