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Palatul Crețulescu (also known as Palatul Kretzulescu) is a historical Neo-Gothic palace located near Cișmigiu Park in Bucharest, sector 1, located on the side facing Știrbei Vodă Street, at number 39.
Elena Kretulescu (1857-1930), descendant of two great boyar families, the daughter of Maria Filipescu and the nobleman Constantin Kretzulescu, born in 1857 in Paris, inherited the land and houses in Bucharest of her father, built in 1718. At the beginning of the 20th century th, in 1902, she hired the architect Petre Antonescu (1873-1965), to realize the plans for the construction of a larger building, in the style of the French Renaissance with baroque influences. The construction of the palace took place over a period of two years.
Lover of nature and flowers, Elena Kretzulescu built a greenhouse in the right wing of the palace. The monumental staircase of the palace led to a large park, arranged according to the tastes of Elena Kretzulescu. “Around the palace, Elena Kretzulescu laid out a park with an area of almost two hectares, with terraces, artesian fountains, pools, springs and bridges.”[1] (current Cișmigiu Park) The stables were located in the western part of the palace, where there were also the laundry room and rooms for the service staff.
In 1927, the Capital City Hall bought the palace from Elena Kretzulescu, aged 70, who could no longer maintain it. In the following years, the space housed the Museum of Religious Art. No details are known about what happened to the Palace in the period 1948-1972, apart from the mention that it housed “various institutions”.
Since 21 September 1972, it has been the seat of UNESCO-CEPES, UNESCO’s European Center for Higher Education (known as CEPES after its French abbreviation, Center Européen pour l’enseignement supérieur). The palace was renovated in 2003. Today the building belongs to the Ministry of Education and is not open to the public.
