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In 1890, on the occasion of the World Fair in Bucharest, HM King Carol I of Romania, asked his close friend, an architect by the name of Suter, to build a park and the facilities necessary to accommodate the first and only ever World Fair in Romania. Originally from Germany, Suter fell in love with the wine hill next to the swamps which would later became one of the largest and most extravagant parks of Bucharest, with panoramic views over the entire city, adjacent to Filaret hill. He purchased a large plot of land on top of Filaret hill, built himself a small palace on the top-most point at the end of a beautiful tree-lined alley. Later he added eight more houses on the alley and sold them to other wealthy expats of his times.
Bought by a banker, Suter Palace was given to his mistress as a present some time round 1940. The wife of a Romanian Finance Minister, she was not able to enjoy the tremendous gift for very long. As the second world war came to an end and the communists took over power in Romania, the romance came to a quick end as she was forced to flee to Paris along with her young child. Due to its strategic location and perhaps also due to the symbolic significance of moving into a predominantly bourjois and upper-class area, starting in 1946 a large part of the neighborhood was taken over by various structures of the communist party. Suter Palace is rumored to have served as one of their first headquarters, some even say that the Palace itself hosted the highest ranking officials of the Soviet NKVD. The building later hosted a number of other government institutions.
In 2002, the building was once again returned to the heirs of its former, rightful and private owners. Having suffered serious damage after the 1970's, the palace was carefully restoredand became a top five star hotel. Other information would be that it is for sale currently, in case any wealthy geocacher intends to buy it.
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