Vremea Publishing House has launched the volume “A Wanderer in Bucharest – The Dictionary of Bucharest Streets”, a unique editorial project in both scale and cultural importance, published with the support of CPI Romania. The book brings together the history, memory, and topography of the Capital, explaining the origin, evolution, and meanings of the names of thousands of Bucharest streets. The endeavor of its author, Sorin Bordușanu, goes far beyond a simple inventory – it is a working tool for historians, urban planners, and researchers, as well as an invitation to Bucharest residents to rediscover their city and reconnect with it.
The launch event, organized by CPI Romania, Vremea Publishing House, and Forbes Romania, highlighted author Sorin Bordușanu, Silvia Colfescu – Director of Vremea Publishing House, literary critic Carmen Mușat, Fulga Dinu, Country Manager of CPI Romania, and Raluca Michailov, Owner & General Manager of Forbes Romania.
“Publishing such a complex and extensive work, vital for preserving the historical and cultural identity of the Capital and of the country, is proof that people can overcome any obstacle when they understand the importance of a project for the community and collaborate in bringing it to life, seeing it as a duty toward the place in which they live. In today’s publishing landscape, only the determined and efficient cooperation of two teams made such a project possible: the efforts of Vremea Publishing House would not have achieved their goal without the support of a strong entrepreneurial entity such as CPI Romania,” stated Silvia Colfescu, Director of Vremea Publishing House.
“Sorin Bordușanu’s work, the first of its kind in Romania, is a true Larousse of Bucharest streets, an extensive, rigorous guide with explanations about location, history, and the origin of names. I hope this unique and thoroughly documented project will inspire readers and Bucharest residents to look at their city differently, perhaps even to fall (again) in love with it. In the pages of the Dictionary, you will discover people who changed history, as well as places and moments that shaped Romania’s destiny. I am proud and, at the same time, overwhelmed to have been able to contribute to a project of such magnitude,” said Fulga Dinu, Country Manager of CPI Romania.
“I fell in love with Bucharest when I was a child and used to walk with my grandmother in Cișmigiu, by Capșa, and around Bellu Cemetery. I adored the city center, the buildings, the neighborhoods. It is a love I still feel, although Bucharest is, I believe, a city that is used, not loved, and the consequences are visible. Even more a reason why a work such as ‘A Wanderer in Bucharest – The Dictionary of Bucharest Streets’ was necessary. Beyond my desire to learn as much as possible about the places where I grew up, loved, lived, and worked, I hope these extensive volumes will help teach and re-teach us to love Bucharest again,” stated Raluca Michailov, Owner & General Manager of Forbes Romania.
A powerful and emotional moment was the live dialogue between actors Victor Rebengiuc and Tudor Istodor, who brought before the audience two facets of Bucharest: “the city with an old-world charm,” evoked by Rebengiuc through the words of Romanian classics, and the fast-paced pulse of the contemporary Capital, captured by Istodor.
“A Wanderer in Bucharest – The Dictionary of Bucharest Streets” functions as a bridge between academic research, local history, and urban planning. It is a living map of the city, an essential journey through Bucharest’s memory, revealing historical routes, administrative reorganizations, successive names, and the origins and meanings of each street. All are meticulously documented by author Sorin Bordușanu, an expert in the evolution of urban names and a member of the Bucharest Municipality Naming Commission.
