Lipscani

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.

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 region was scheduled to be demolished. Many of the buildings became neglected, and even nowadays many of them have not been restored for a long time. In the early 21st century, much of the district has been pedestrianized.