Lipscani

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Lipscani rooftops; looking north on Str. Smârdan toward the Romanian National Bank

Lipscani is a street and a district of Bucharest, Romania, which in the Middle Ages was the most important commercial center of Bucharest and the whole Wallachia. It is located near the ruins of the old Princely Court built by Vlad III the Impaler.

[edit] History

Main article: History of Bucharest

It was named after Leipzig (Lipsca in 17th century Romanian), as that was the origin of many of the wares that could be found on the main street. The word lipscan (singular of lipscani) came to mean trader who brought his wares from Western Europe.

All trades were found in the area, including goldsmiths, hatters, shoemakers, tanners, saddlemakers, etc., many guilds (or isnafuri) having their own street: even nowadays, the nearby streets bear the name of a trade (Blănari = Furriers street, Şelari = Saddlemakers street, etc).

During the Communist period, the whole area was scheduled to be demolished, but this never came to fruition. The district became neglected, and nowadays many buildings are in a deplorable state. However, as of 2008 most of these buildings are being restored. In the early 21st century, much of the district has been pedestrianized.