Casa de Economii și Consemnațiuni

The CEC Palace is one of the most spectacular buildings on Calea Victoriei and a visual symbol of Bucharest around 1900. Built between 1897 and 1900 to the designs of the French architect Paul Gottereau, as the headquarters of the national savings bank, it impresses with its monumental eclectic facade crowned by a glass-and-metal dome resting on columns and statues, with four small turrets at the corners. This is architecture designed to inspire confidence in a young banking institution, at a time when the Romanian state wished to display its prosperity, and the effect is just as powerful today.

The building stands directly across from the former Post Office Palace, now the National History Museum, in the heart of the historic centre, where Calea Victoriei meets the Lipscani district. The site has deep roots: the monastery of Saint John the Great once stood here, demolished to make way for the palace. For most visitors it is primarily an exterior landmark to admire and photograph, since it remains in use by the bank, with no standard tourist circuit inside.

Good to know

• Treat it as an architectural landmark: public access inside is limited, as it is a working bank headquarters; the best vantage point is from the front, on the pavement of Calea Victoriei.
• It sits in the heart of the old city, beside other attractions and within steps of the Old Town, the Post Office Palace and the streets of Lipscani.
• The nearest metro is around Universitate or Piața Unirii, a few minutes' walk away.

Even seen only from outside, the dome of the CEC Palace remains one of the defining images of Bucharest, photographed from countless angles, especially at sunset, when the light brings out its ornamentation.