About Romanian City - presentation for project GL

1. Buzau
Erasmus team
Teacher: Carmen Sin

2. Buzau
BUZAU IS A COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN ROMANIA. IT BORDERS TO THE NORTHWEST
THE COUNTIES OF BRASOV AND COVASNA, TO THE WEST WITH PRAHOVA, TO THE SOUTH
WITH IALOMIȚA, TO THE EAST WITH BRAILA, AND TO THE NORTHEAST WITH VRANCEA.
BUZĂU IS THE MUNICIPALITY OF RESIDENCE OF THE COUNTY OF THE SAME NAME.
WITH 115,494 INHABITANTS AT THE 2011 CENSUS, IT IS THE EIGHTEENTH LARGEST CITY IN
ROMANIA.
THE TOWN IS LOCATED ON THE RIGHT BANK OF THE BUZAU RIVER, NEXT TO ITS EXIT
FROM THE SUBCARPATHIAN HILLS OF CURVATURE, IN A REGION WITH TEMPERATE
CLIMATES.

3. Buzau was an important fair in the Middle Ages. At the beginning of
the 16th century, the Bishopric of Buzău was established.
The main economic activities in the city were trade and agriculture.
After the end of a period of successive destruction in the 17th and
18th centuries, the economy of Buza also acquired an important industrial
component, in parallel with the development of an education system.
The name of the city comes from that of the river on
which it lies. In turn, it is mentioned as Mouseos in a
document in Greek from 376 B.C., referring to the
martyrdom of Sava Gotul.
Based on this name, the historian Vasile Pârvan
considered that the name of Buzău comes from the Thracian
form Bouzeos, misspelled in Greek.
He hypothesized that the name derives from the
Thracian radical Buzes, to which was added the suffix -eu,
form of the old -aios (Greek-Latin).

4. The written history of the city begins with that of the
Romanian Country, its status as a fair and customs point
being certified by a document from the time of the voivod
Dan II.
Archaeological discoveries from the Gumelnitsa and
Monteoru cultures show the presence of man in the region
before the Christian era.
During the medieval period there was also a fortress of
Buza, of which only a few mentions were kept in foreign
documents, and the fair, mentioned as already existing in
1431, also became an Orthodox episcopal seat in the 16th
century.
Beginning in the 17th century, a period began with numerous battles and invasions taking place in and
around the city, beginning with those caused by Michael the Brave's participation in the Long War and ending
with those suffered during the Revolution of 1821.
Natural disasters also occurred and all this led to the destruction and depopulation of the Buza. But the city
has always been rebuilt, with locals putting the image of the Phoenix bird on the city's coat of arms as a symbol of
rebirth.

5. The 19th century brought a period of cultural and
economic flowering of the Buza.
The Comunal Palace was also built, the building–symbol
of the city, at the end of a period when an industry appeared
and developed, and the city became a railway hub in 1870–
1880.
Schools appeared (Theological Seminary in 1836, B. P.
Hasdeu College in 1867), theatre performances were
performed (since 1852), the Moldavia Theatre was built in
1898 and used in the first half of the following century as the
main performance hall, where artists such as George Enescu,
C.I. Nottara and Nae Leonard evolved.
Ion Luca Caragiale and Constantin Brâncuși lived and
activated in the city for short periods.

6. During World War I, Buzăul was occupied by German troops after mid-December 1916, with many
inhabitants taking refuge from occupying forces in nearby villages or in Western Moldova. The
development of the city was temporarily braked, but resumed after the war.
The interwar period brought the first sports competitions (football and boxing)[ and the emergence
of the company "Metalurgica", a private business that was later nationalised by the Communists and
continues to this day as part of a group of private companies.
After the Second World War, the industrialization of the Buza was forcibly accelerated, with its
population tripred in less than 50 years; the new inhabitants were brought in by the authorities to work in
factories built on the southern industrial platform, but also in the north of the city.
The city has profoundly changed its appearance, building working-class districts on the site of old
shopping streets, and some historic buildings disappearing, as was the case with the Moldavia Theatre,
whose cultural role was taken over by the "House of Culture of Trade Unions" and then by the Dacia
Cinema.

7. In the municipality of Buzau there are eight historical
architectural monuments of national interest:
• The "Good News" Church of the former "Ban" monastery (16th
century);
• The whole church "The Falling of Our Lady" in the Broșteni
district, dating back to 1709 (with the church and bell tower
erected in 1914);
• The ensemble of the Bishopric of Buzău, comprising the
Cathedral "The Falling of Our Lady" (1649), the paraclus (1841), the
Episcopal Palace (17th century), the old seminary (1838), the
chancellery (19th century), the bell tower and the enclosure wall
(18th century);

8. • Casa Vergu-Manăile (18th century, today the Collection of Ethnography and
Folk Art of the Buzău County Museum);
• "Vasile Voiculescu" County Library (1914); and the Comunal Palace (1899–
1903, the seat of the City Hall).

9. • The Synagogue of Buzau and twelve other monuments are included in the
list of historical monuments in Buzau County as monuments of local interest.
Among them is the ensemble of Cuza Voda Street (19th century) in the
historic center of the city;
• Crâng Park and Marghiloman Manor

10. Crown Hotel
• The building of the National College B.P. Hasdeu and that of the National
College Mihai Eminescu, the house where Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu lived
and several memorials in the Dumbrava cemetery, including the replica of the
statue "Prayer" made by Constantin Brâncuși.

11. Geography
Buzau is located in the central area of the county, 100 km from Bucharest, in
southeastern Romania, and occupies a total area of 81.3 km2. The municipality is located at
the bend of the Curve Subcarpathians, at the confluence of the roads between three major
Romanian provinces: Muntenia, Transylvania and Moldova. The Buzau River, on whose
right bank lies, forms the northern boundary of the city.
The shape of the city is elongated, the city being larger along the river. The buzău
occupies altitudes from 101 meters in the northwest, near the hills up to 88 meters near the
river, the average being 95 meters (as is the altitude in the center of the city, in Dacia
square).
Thus, Buzau is a city in a flat relief, with an altitude difference of 10 meters along a 4
km line.

12. Hydrography
The Buzau River is the northern boundary of the city. The river has also formed
an underground basin that it supplies permanently with water. Groundwater is a
source of drinking water for the city, but their surplus leads to the formation south
of the city, in the administrative territory of the municipality, but also of the
neighbouring communes of Costeşti, Stâlpu and Tistemeşti, of small springs that
wet some marshes, from which the Calmățui springs.
Climate
The climate is mainly continental, with an average of 92 frost days per
year (16 days with temperatures below -10 °C), but also with 92 hot and dry
summer days.
Local winds include The Crivat, which blows from the northeast to the
southwest (or sometimes from the east to the west) and The Austre, which
blows from the southwest and brings dry and warm summer air and in
winter leads to a temperature rise.

13. Floranda and fauna
Flora Buzăului is the most diverse in a forest in the west of the city, the
rest of Codrii Vlăsia, an oak forest of 189 hectares.
The Crâng Park occupies 10 hectares of this forest which is the main
green area of Buzău. It is not designated as a protected natural area, but
several species of plants are protected in its territory, such as mottled tall,
grove-like, and puddle snow.
In the neighbouring communes of Tinteşti and Costeşti there are other
remnants of codrii Vlăsiei- the forests of Frasinu and Spataru respectively.
In the courtyard at the intersection of Chrysanthemum Street and Tudor
Vladimirescu Street, next to the park in front of B. P
. Hasdeu College, there is
a secular oak tree, a tree declared a monument of nature at the local level.

14. Most of the streets of Buzau have trees planted on the edge, chestnut trees on
Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevard and lime trees on Unirii Boulevard.
Plants grown by locals in the gardens include roses, hyacinths, talls, peonies,
and petunias, as well as vines and ivy for shade. The wildfauna of Buzau is
composed of animals adapted to life in the city.
The most common birds are the sparrow, and the gugusticuus, and the
rodents are represented by the ferret and the gray rat.
The lakes are populated with small fish, such as the boar and the eel, and by
goiters and snails.
During the migration periods, a group of field mushrooms made a habit of
stopping for a few days in the courtyard of the Forest Inspectorate building in the
city centre, where there are several tall trees.
Experimental harvests at the Vegetable Research and Development Station
sometimes attract wild boars from the forests on the banks of the Buzau River.

15. Demography
Ethnic composition of Buzau municipality:
Romanians (88.42%)
Roma (4.73%)
Unknown (6.69%)
Other ethnicity (0.14%)
According to the 2011 census, the population of Buzau is 115,494, down from
134,227 in 2002.
The majority of the inhabitants are Romanians (88.43%), with a minority of
Roma (4.73%).
For 6.69% of the population, ethnicity is unknown. From a confessional
point of view, the majority of the inhabitants are Orthodox (91.98%).
For 6.75% of the population, confessional membership is not known.

16. Education and training
In Buzău there are distance learning centers of higher education institutions from
university centers in the region. In pre-university education there are two national colleges:
the National College „B. P
. Hasdeu ”, where he studied the Nobel Prize winner - George Emil
Palade, and the“ Mihai Eminescu ”National College.
The “Vasile Voiculescu” county library and the Buzău County Museum operate in the
city, which also manages an amber collection in Colți, the Vasile Voiculescu memorial house
in Pârscov and a collection of ethnography and folk art specific to the region.
In the field of sports, in Buzău there is the Ice Magic skating rink, the "Romeo Iamandi"
Sports Hall (where the local women's handball team SCM plays, but also other teams
engaged in international competitions) with an Olympic pool, and the Municipal Stadium
where she worked in the past. FC Gloria football team.

17. Historical evolution of the economy
In the medieval period, Buzău's economy was based on trade, the fair being a
customs and exchange point, and flourishing as a result of its position at the curvature of
the Carpathians at the crossing of the roads linking Wallachia with Moldova and
Transylvania.
The old tradition of fair trade of Buzău is still preserved, the Fair Drăgaica being held
in June, near the summer solstice and bringing together small producers and traders from
various regions of Romania.
The agricultural reform during the reign of Alexandru Ioan Cuza led to the lease, in
1897 and 1898, by Bulgarian gardeners of land purchased by the state from the ward.
They developed distribution systems for both Buzău and nearby towns such as
Brașov, Ploiești or Râmnicu Sărat, their activity becoming even more prosperous after the
1921 ownership.
Following the end of the period of destruction of the city, economic development also
gained an industrial component.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the development of the railway network in
Romania, where the city of Buzau was an important hub, gave a strong impetus to the
evolution from small craft workshops to industrial installations.

18. The first such industrial plant was the Garoflid mill, opened in 1883, which
also functioned as a postage and dimie factory.
In 1894, a Saturn oil refinery was built, a refinery that operated for 50 years.
After a drastic national decline in industrial production caused by the First
World War (production in 1919 was only a quarter of that of 1913), industrial
development gained speed during the interwar period.
An important component of the local industry was the milling industry. The
city's first industrial mill, Garoflid, named Zangopol after its new owner. Another
important business that started during this period was the Metalurgica and
Foundry – S.A. factory, founded in 1928.
Although it initially had a difficult time, being closed during the Great
Depression, it reopened its doors in 1933, being closed again between 1940 and
1944, during the Second World War.

19. Prefabricated Factory in Concrete, 1972
After the Second World War, following the nationalisation decision of 11 June 1948, all
enterprises were passed into state ownership.
The communist regime also moved on to the implementation of forced industrialization
policies, some of the industries implemented here not suitable for the region.
In 1965, the project of the Buzau Sud industrial zone, an industrial zone of 318 ha, was
started in the area where the Saturn refinery was located, which was blown up during the
Second World War.
The most important companies in Buzau, newly established or upgraded during this period,
are located on the Buzău Sud platform: The wire and wire products company (named after 1990
Ductil),

20. Track appliances enterprise (after 1990, Apcarom), Metalurgica enterprise (the one
founded in 1928), Glazing enterprise (since 1991, Gerom S.A.).
Buzău ContactCompany Buzău Geam company

21. Current situation
Currently, the largest company based in Buzau is the Romanian-owned Romet holding
company, composed of several companies that produce insulation for water and gas pipes,
water filters, fire extinguishers and other products.
The company was successful in the 1990s, selling the Aquator water filter. In 1999, this group
of companies also acquired Aromet S.A., the successor to Metalurgica, founded in 1928.
Other companies in Buzau have been privatized through programmes targeted by the
World Bank. Apcarom S.A., the only manufacturer in Romania of railway appliances, was
acquired by the Austrian company VAE, Ductil S.A., one of the largest economic companies
in Buzau, was privatized in 1999 and divided between 1999 and 2000 by the new majority
shareholder, FRO Spa, which retained only the section of electrodes and welding equipment
and sold the other sections.
The section that produces wire, wire products, welded mesh, concrete and hardware
became Ductil Steel S.A. and passed into the portfolio of the Italian company Sidersipe. The
ferrous powder section became Ductil Iron Powder.
In 2007, FRO Spa also sold the majority stake of Ductil S.A. to the Russian company
Mechel, Sugar S.A., the city's sugar producer, was acquired by the Austrian-owned Agrana
Romania group.

22. Transport
Buzău is an important railway hub, linking Bucharest and Ploiești with Focşani, Galați
and Constanta. The city's railway station was opened in 1872, along with the Bucharest-
Galati railway.
A branch of this railway, from Buzău to Mărășești, was opened a few years later, on
13 June 1881, becoming the first railway designed by Romanian engineers.
The Buzău-Nehoiușu line, opened in 1908, connects Buzău with many of the towns
of Buzăului Valley, including the towns of Nehoiu and Pătărlagele.

23. Roads
Through the municipality of Buzau passes the national road DN2 (part of the European
road E85), which connects the city to the south with Bucharest and to the north with the
major cities of Western Moldova.
Near Buzău, from it branch the national road DN1B (European road E577), which
connects it to Ploiești, and in the north of the city, from DN2 branch DN10, which crosses the
Carpathian Mountains on their southeastern curvature through the Buzau Pass to Brasov.
Also, through the south of the city passes the county road DN2B, which branches from
DN2 to the neighboring commune of Costeşti and leads east to Galați and Brăila.
From this road, the county road DJ203D, which leads south to Targeteşti and Smeeni,
ends in DN2C, ends in Buzău, with the two roads jointly connecting the city with Slobozia.

24. Carrier
The buzaul does not have a civilian airport, the only component of the city's air
infrastructure being the airport and the military heliport in the southwest, used only
by the sanitary aviation.
Buza's civil air traffic is served by Henri Coandă International Airport in
Otopeni, a city 110 km away, regional airport for the region of Muntenia.
Public transport
There are 11 regular bus lines in Buzau connecting residential areas to the main industrial
areas and rural areas (including the Buzau Sud industrial platform), the city centre and the
train station.
There are several taxi companies licensed by the city and operating in the city and
nearby towns.

25. Cultural contributions of The Buzoans
In the medieval and early-modern period, the Buzoians who stood out in Romanian culture
came from church circles, one example being Bishop Mitrofan, who brought the first printing press
to the Buzău ward and printed the Bible from Buzău in 1691, during Constantin Brâncoveanu.
Mitrofan, himself a master printer, had a prolific activity in the field of church publications. In
addition to the Buzăului ward, a school of icon painters and muralists for churches operated, where
the painter Gheorghe Tattarescu studied in his apprenticeship with his uncle, Nicolae Teodorescu.
The 19th century was one of the revival of cultural life in Wallachia, but also in Buzau.
The first Nationally Noted Buzoian poet was the young officer Vasile Cârlova, son of the former
Buza steward, Ionita Cârlova. Cârlova died at the age of 22 after publishing five poems. In 1868, Al.
Georgescu opened the first bookstore in Buzau, and in 1873 the new printing press "Alexandru
Georgescu" was created, the first laic printing press, paving the way for Buzoan publishing. Also in
1873, Basil Iorgulescu established the Library of the Gymnasium "Tudor Vladimirescu", and in 1893
the Public Library Carol I in the new gymnasium.
In 1895, the first public collection of archaeological, anthropological and historical pieces was
established in a hall of the "Tudor Vladimirescu" Gymnasium.

26. In Buzau he lived towards the end of the 19th century Ion Luca Caragiale, who rented a
restaurant near the train station in 1894, where he spent a year, between November 1894 and
November 1895.
At the "Alexandru Hâjdeu" high school in the city, George Emil Palade studied high
school, who would then become a renowned biologist and Nobel laureate after his departure
to the United States immediately after the Second World War.
Constantin Brâncuși also lived in the city in the summer of 1914, after Eliza Seceleanu,
the widow of a young local boyar, hired him to make two sculptures: Prayer and the bust of
Petre Stănescu, her late husband, which he placed in the cemetery Of Dumbrava.
Originally from the Buzăului region, the doctor and writer Vasile Voiculescu became
known for his fantastic prose, but also for his Shakespearean-inspired sonnets.
After starting his secondary studies in high school, Voiculescu went to Bucharest, where
he studied at Saint Sava school, where he befriended another of his fellow son, George
Ciprian, a future playwright and author of absurd plays.
In the same year as Voiculescu, Pamfil Şeicaru was born in Buzau, who became an
influential interwar journalist.

27. Bibliography:
https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buz%C4%83u
https://buzau.insse.ro/despre-noi/despre-judetul-buzau/