$437,200

In the long history of the Leordeni, a village which was first documented in 18th of May 1526 by the voievode (local prince) Radu de la Afumaţi, we can find extraordinary specificities from the evolution of the Romanian society along the great noble families which shaped it. Leordeni, cornerstone of important dynasties – Leurdenii, Băleanu, Golescu, Lahovary or Kretzulescu – was home to imposing residences and domains corresponding to the great power and reputation of their owners. One of the last great lords in Leordeni was Nicolae Kretzulescu (Crețulescu) (1812-1900) founding father of the Romanian Academy and a stated liberal appointed Prime Minister three times. Nicolae Kretzulescu, Constantin Brâncoveanu and Iordache Kretzulescu’s heir of Leordeni, built an impressive estate which later has been inherited by his daughter, Anna, who married Lahovary. At the same time Kretzulescu was managing his estates, Nicolae (Nae) Gussi (1830-1901), appeared on the scenery as administrator of the Golescu family’s fortune – another great family in Leordeni. After 1880, Gussi becomes the owner of the Golescu estates which were neighbouring those belonging to the Prime Minister. The hostility between Kretzulescu and Gussi was notorious, and the economic struggles between them both culminated in a series of lawsuits at the end of the nineteenth century. The variety of lands (arable, vineyards, forests) defining the estates of the Leordeni would evolve over time through various agrarian reforms, landing or expropriation laws, inheritances, or successions. And in the interwar period these testified the last two great families. The Gussi family (Alexandru, Traian, Paul and Elena) and the Lahovary family (through Anna) held together approximately 550 ha, plus another 100 ha of vineyards. They were in fact the descendants of Nicholas Kretzulescu and Nae Gussi. The Golescu-Gussi estate evolved notably through the two centuries of history. The first version of the manor was built by the Golescu family, probably during the life of Iordache Golescu, who also built the Golescu Church in the proximity of the estate. Subsequently, after Nicolae Gussi’s ownership, the property changed, so that after 1900, Alexandru Gussi (1864-1947) revolutionized the manor and the entire estate. In fact, Alexandru, a magistrate and a politician with an important activity in the Muscel Bar and Prefecture, would devote much of his career and life to the modernization of his native lands. Owning the old house of the Golesti, Alexander rebuilt it between 1938-1939, making it a truly monumental construction. After 1949, the entire domain was nationalized and had different functionalities serving the communist institutions (the office of "Sovrom Petrol", IAS and the City Hall).