page_title: Rahova
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Rahova / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Podul Calicilor (today Calea Rahovei), Bucharest. 'Podul Calicilor literally means "Bridge of Greedy", but Podul (especially at that time) can mean a well-built road, as well as a bridge. Podul Calicilor was the old name of Calea Rahovei ("Rahovei Street") leading from Bucharest to Rahova, then a suburb, now a city neighborhood.
context_page_description: Rahova is a neighbourhood of southwest Bucharest, Romania, situated in Sector 5, west of Dâmboviţa River. It is named after the Bulgarian town Rahovo, site of a battle in the Romanian War of Independence.
  The neighborhood stretches from between Antiaeriană and Drumul Sării Avenues to Panduri Square, Panduri and 13 Septembrie Streets in the north, George Cosbuc Avenue, Viilor and Sălaj Streets in the east and Bucharest City Limits in the South. Roughly, the neighbourhood is organized alongside two important arterial streets. It neighbors Drumul Taberei, Centrul Civic, and Ferentari. Roughly, Rahova is situated on the Uranus and Viilor hills.
  The inhabitants of the neighbourhood split it further in "zones", partially based on the naming and numbering of the block of flats. As such, there are seven zones: Drumul Sǎrii, Petre Ispirescu, Mārgeanului, Panduri, 13 Septembrie/Sebastian, Rahova and Alexandriei.
  According to the Local Tax Direction of The 5th District, the population of this area is around 180,000.
context_section_description: One of the main roads crossing the neighborhood, and bearing today its name (Calea Rahovei, Rahova Road) was previously known as Podul Calicilor (Bridge of the Poor), with the first document mentioning it dating from 1639. The term "bridge" came from the material used to pave it: long wooden bridge beams, which were cheaper than stone pavement. Living near this road were beggars and poor people, gathered together like those from La Cour des Miracles in Paris. Later, the authorities scattered them away, and the road was renamed Calea Craiovei to remove the association with poverty. The modern name dates from the end of the Independence War.
  Since the 1950s, Rahova entered a period of long urban decay, because it was, until the 1960s, the furthest district from the city centre, had a lack of infrastructure and contained the Rahova Penitentiary, the largest jail in Bucharest. In the early 1970s the area was also the headquarters of the infamous Barbugiu clan, the first organized crime gang to be recognized by the authorities. Calea Rahovei was also known as The Florists' Way (Drumul Florăreselor), because it was (and to some amount still is) the location of Bucharest's flower markets and flower gardens. Beginning with 1979, much of the old neighborhood was demolished to allow for construction of apartment blocks (the oldest in the area are 3-4 storey apartment buildings, from the early 1960s, and more recent ones from the mid 1970s).
  Starting in 1997, various efforts were made to renew the area.  Rahova is currently undergoing modernization. Rahova is now linked to city center by a light metro line, upgraded from the existing tram line, with trains running as frequently as every minute. New façades have been built for the apartment buildings along Calea Rahovei (renovation using thermical insulation techniques), as well as significant improvements in the neighborhood high school (including a new swimming pool) and a complete overhaul of the parks, the Flower Market (Piața de Flori) and Rahova Market. This was done with the support of both the Bucharest City Hall and Sector 5 Mayor (where Rahova is located) and has resulted in the gentrification of the district.
caption: Calicilor Bridge in 1856
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