On visit to Bucharest, Romania, upon the invitation of Their Royal Highnesses Crown Princess Margarita and Prince Radu of Romania, today’s afternoon, this Monday April 27, 2009 at 04:00pm local time, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Nicolas Petrovitch Njegosh attended in the Kings Hall of the Elisabeth Palace — the official residence of the Royal Family of Romania — a promotional event for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bucharest (CCIB), which has gathered around the Romanian Royal couple and CCIB representatives, members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Bucharest and Romanian businessmen.

The event, in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Jean of Luxembourg, guest of honour, was organised to mark officially the start of a campaign, initiated by the CCIB and supported by the Romanian Royal Family, of which first aim is to restore one of the symbolic buildings of the Romanian capital, located in the heart of the city, the Palace of the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce (and of the Stock Exchange).
Erected in the years 1907-1911 after a design by architect Stefan Burcus (º1871, †1928) and inaugurated in 1911 by King Carol I (º1839, †1914) [1], this true architectural jewel in a French neoclassic style, rich in ornaments made by sculptor Emil W. Becker (º1881), has been recently returned to its original owner, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bucharest, by a decision of the High Court of Cassation and Justice — the Romania’s Supreme Court — on October 31, 2008.

As a Paris-based architect, involved for a long time now in heritage protection in Montenegro, Crown Prince Nicolas was particularly sensitive to this wide-spreading restoration project of the Romanian architectural patrimony.

To carry out this restoration project, initiated in November 2008, a foundation named after King Carol I was established to collect the funds needed to launch the rehabilitation and the modernisation of the historic headquarters of the CCIB, Str. Ion Ghica 4. Headed by the President of the CCIB, Mr. Sorin Dimitriu, with Prince Jean of Luxembourg as Honorary President, the “Foundation Carol I” plans to organise in the country and abroad, meetings, symposiums, seminars and other events in order to promote the purpose for which it was founded, as well as cultural events for collecting funds to achieve its objectives.
On completion of the project, the business community will have in the center of Bucharest, next to the National Bank of Romania, a modern business centre, able to host congresses and international conferences, courses and seminars, as well as cultural events.

In the evening the same day, at a live-broadcast ceremony to be held in the building of the Romanian Television TVR, Crown Prince Nicolas will award the Award for “Best Romanian Play of the Year 2008” at the XVIIth edition of the UNITER Awards Gala, one of the most important events of the Romanian theatrical world.