The memorial house Vârvoreanu is one of the buildings included on the list of historical monument of the county Dolj, being built at the end of the XIXth century. Today within the building there functions a kindergarten.
The descendants of the ancient Greece, from the lands of Homer and Ulysses, the Vorvoreni stepped in Oltenia at the end of the XVIIIth century. In a quite short time they succeeded in rising from the ranks of the principal families from Craiova. The earnestness in work and especially the skill of managing each comer made that this aristocrat line to leave for the posterity inestimable values.
The spear tip in the genealogy of this people was, without doubt, Gogu Vorvoreanu (1840 – 1911). A prominent personality in the life of the town, Gogu successfully covered the path of more than a generous career. Doctor in law and prestigious international lawyer, fulfilled once a time the following dignities: mayor of Craiova, President of the County Council, member of the Appeal Court Craiova, Attorney General, depute, president of the Administration Council of the Bank of Commerce and Commander of the Order “The Star of Romania”, Grand Officer of the Order “The Crown of Romania” and active member of the liberal Party. Besides his incontestable qualities and the political agility which he was always showing, Gogu Vorvoreanu was also a great philanthropist. He demonstrated this quality especially during the Independence War, between the years 1877 – 1878, when, at the request at His Majesty Carol I, King of Romania, transformed one of his premises into a hospital for taking care of the injured.
He got married with the distinguished young lady Polina Vrăbiescu, descendant of a family of great land owners, well situated in the Bourgeois hierarchy of Bănia, having 9 descendants, three boys and six girls: Aurelia, Zoe, Eliza, Constantin, Polineta, Ioan, Eleonora, Angela and Gheorghe (Goguleţ). By the means of the later marriages, the Vorvoreni succeeded into dominating the entire life of the city. In the family tree there appeared new names such as: Pleşia, Geblescu, Călinescu, Brătăşianu or Prodan, with resonance because of the social position, fortune or career. Despite all these, in the family history we can also discover the sad part of the history. Four of the offspring of the Vorvoreni, Ioan, Goguleţ, Eleonora and Angela, died at short time after their birth.
The day of the 24th of January 1911 stands written in the history of Craiova with pinching letters. At the 11 and a half hours, the bell of the “Saint Archangels” Church started to sound, announcing the death of Gogu Vorvoreanu, the emblem of the most powerful aristocrat family from Oltenia.
He left behind an immense and hard to estimate fortune. A part of the properties owned were recorded within the partition deed drafted after the funeral.
The one who carried on in time the family blazon was Costinel. Balanced and intelligent, like his father, the young man tried to keep together all the assets and the ornaments of the Palace, in a critical period for the country. The presence of the German troops in Craiova between 1916 – 1918 determined the transformation of the Vorvoreanu residence within the German commandment. Despite all of these, the valuable things stood in their place. Together with his wife Margareta and the sons George and Ioan, Costinel Vorvoreanu stood besides his mother, until the year 1944, when he died.
