Easily earning the title of Bucharest's most beautiful building, the Romanian Athenaeum combines baroque and ionic architectural elements courtesy of Frenchman Albert Galleron, who built the building in 1888. The owners, however, are the Romanian public who paid for the building's completion via the famous fund-raising campaign, 'Give a penny for the Athenaeum,' when the original patrons paupered out. Today it is the finest concert hall in the country, home of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra. Even more gorgeous than the facade and garden is the building's interior which features lush frescoes, a gold leaf ceiling, pink marble columns, curving balconies and spiral staircases. Any chance to see a concert in this acoustic accomplishment is highly recommended.
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