The House with Lions (Casa cu Lei) is a historic residence in the old center of Constanța, built between 1898 and 1902 for wealthy Armenian merchant Dicran Emirzian.
Designed by architect Ion D. Berindey, the house has an eclectic style combining Italian Neo-Renaissance and neoclassical elements. Its most distinctive feature is the row of four monumental columns on the main façade, each crowned by a stone lion that gave the building its name. Balconies, carved acanthus leaves, volutes and palmettes add further decoration, while the two upper floors and attic give the relatively narrow building a strongly vertical appearance.
After Constanța was occupied during the First World War, the house was requisitioned by Austro-Hungarian authorities and used by their administration in Dobogea. It later became a bank headquarters in the early 1920s, before being nationalized during the communist period. Following restoration in the 1970s, the building was converted into the well-known Casa cu Lei restaurant, which operated here for many years.
