Elevate april 2016

skih dizajnera. Čak će i oni koje

ne zanima rumunsko izdavaštvo

među knjigama Karusela pronaći

toliko toga o Bukureštu i Rumuniji

na engleskom i drugim jezicima,

da je odlazak u Karusel postao za

mnoge sofisticirane turiste prva

tačka u upoznavanju glavnog gra-

da Rumunije.

Osim toga, obilazak zaslu-

žuje već i sama divna arhitektu-

ra ovog zdanja što rečito pokazu-

je koliko je Bukurešt bio raskošan

grad. Besprekorna obnova, zna-

lačka, u svakom detalju usmere-

na da istakne ar nuvo lepotu zgra-

de, ali istovremeno i savreme-

na, minimalistička, vredna je odla-

ska u knjižaru. Obnovu je majstor-

ski vodila bukureštanska arhitek-

tonska firma Square One, koja po-

nosno ističe da je baš sve što vidi-

mo u Karuselu svetlosti – rumun-

sko. Lampe, police za knjige, ge-

lenderi, ništa u zgradi nije kuplje-

no gotovo, već je isključivo rađeno

za Karusel u rumunskim majstor-

skim radionicama. Karusel svetlo-

sti, znalački adaptirana zgrada ko-

joj su dodata dva sprata, tako je u

potpunosti postao rumunski brend,

koji pokazuje koliko dizajn, arhitek-

tura i majstorski rad ponovo cveta-

ju u Bukureštu.

Zasigurno jedna od najudob-

nijih knjižara na svetu ima ukup-

no šest spratova i hiljadu kva-

dratnih metara prostora. Na vrhu

Karusela smešten je restoran s je-

lovnikom koji nudi lagana, „mo-

derna“ jela s mnogo salata, povr-

ća i pomodnih žitarica poput kvi-

noje ili amaranta. Tu je i veliki iz-

bor kafa, dobrih čajeva i sveže isce-

đenih sokova u kojima svako može

polako da uživa ispod staklenog

krova. Taj stakleni krov još je jed-

na arhitektonska spojnica sa starim

Bukureštom s kraja 19. veka, kad je

taj bogati grad dobio nekoliko le-

pih, staklom nadsvođenih pasa-

ža, među kojima se naročito ističe

Maka Vilakros (Macca-Vilacrosse)

koji povezuje Ulicu Viktoriej, bu-

kureštanska Jelisejska polja, s

Lipskanom. Knjižara Karusel sve-

tlosti je odličan uvod u postkomu-

nistički Bukurešt koji se svim sila-

ma trudi – iako ga očekuje još mno-

go rada – da ponovno postane ‘mali

Pariz’.

a neighbourhood that suffers from a chronic shortage

of light. According to the Romanian media, Jean

Chrissoveloni, the great-grandson of a banker, invested

almost a million euros in the renovation of his palace,

and then leased it out to a bookstore chain for ten years.

The bookshop was opened last year with great fanfare.

The Carturesti Carusel is actually a kind of concept

store directed towards books, music, movies and desig-

ner stationery material, and slightly towards promoting

young Romanian designers. Even those who are not

interested in Romanian publishing will find among the

books of the carousel so much about Bucharest and Ro-

mania in English and other languages that going to the

Carousel has become the first step in getting to know

the Romanian capital for many sophisticated tourists.

Apart from that, just the stunningly beautiful arc-

hitecture of this building, which instantly shows how

sumptuous a city Bucharest was, makes it worthy of

a tour. Impeccable renovation, masterful, directed in

every detail towards highlighting the art nouveau be-

auty of the building, but at the same time also modern

and minimalist, make this bookshop worth a visit. The

reconstruction was led masterfully by Bucharest-ba-

sed architectural firm Square One, which notes with

pride that everything we see in the Carousel of lights

is Romanian. Lamps, bookshelves, handrails… nothing

in the building was bought readymade, but was rather

exclusively made for the Carousel in the workshops of

Romanian maestros. The Carousel of lights, a skilfully

adapted building which even had two floors added,

became a fully Romanian brand that shows how

design, architecture and masterful craftsmanship are

again flourishing in Bucharest.

This bookshop, which is certainly one of the most

comfortable in the world, has a total of six floors and

a thousand square metres of space. At the top of the

Carousel is situated a restaurant with a menu offering

light, ‘modern’ dishes with lots of salad, vegetables

and ‘fashionable grains’, such as quinoa or amaranth.

There is also a wide selection of coffees, good teas

and freshly squeezed juices that everyone can enjoy

slowly beneath the glass roof. That glass roof is anot-

her architectural link with the old Bucharest of the

late 19

century, when the then wealthy city gained

some beautiful glass-vaulted passages, the stand out

among which is the Macca-Vilacrosse, which con-

nects Victoriei Street, Bucharest’s Champs Elysees,

with the neighbourhood of Lipscani. The Carousel of

Lights bookshop is an excellent introduction to the

post-communist Bucharest that is exerting all efforts

– though it still expects a lot of work – to once again

become ‘little Paris’.

Jasnih jednostavnih linija, sa mnogo

prostora, knjižara Karusel svetlosti spada

među najudobnije na svetu

With clear,

simple lines and plenty of space, the

Carousel of Lights Bookshop ranks among

the most comfortable in the world