The Belvedere Mansion, so named because it offered a wide visual perspective at the time of its construction, originally belonged to the scholar Dinicu Golescu. In 1814, he became the owner of the estate located on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, in the Regie area.
On the old property, there were remnants of the walls of a very old house dating back to the 1600s, believed to have belonged to Lady Stanca, the wife of the ruler Michael the Brave. Parts of these walls were used in the construction of the new building, later called the Belvedere Palace.
Set in a vast park with centuries-old trees and very old foundation walls showing characteristics of the Brâncoveanu period, the palace can be considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited buildings in Bucharest.
In 1850, Golescu’s niece married Effingham Grant, a Scottish aristocrat and engineer, and received the palace as a dowry. Between 1865 and 1870, Effingham Grant began renovation works, bringing the building closer to its current form.
Several elements attest to the building’s considerable antiquity: the thick walls, flat bricks, the observation turret, the moat surrounding the building on three sides, the sentry niches, and the century-old trees. After restoration, the palace was renamed Grant Palace.
The only underground gallery in Bucharest, listed as a historical monument
The palace was renowned not only for its exterior architecture, but also for its underground gallery, featuring cellars decorated with Italian faience and a network of refuge tunnels surrounded by many legends.
One tunnel is said to have connected the mansion to Chiajna Monastery, while another reportedly reached Cotroceni Palace. It is believed that these passages were used by the revolutionaries of Tudor Vladimirescu during the 1821 Revolution.
The refuge tunnels, classified as historical monuments, partially collapsed during the earthquakes of 1940 and 1977, as well as during the 1944 bombings. Today, only ventilation shafts and fragments of the tunnels remain visible.
Part of the National Heritage of Romania, the building currently houses the Centre for Recreation and Personal Development “Golescu Grant Mansion”.
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