Buzău, Romania

History | Historical buildings | Geography | Waterways | Economic history | Present economy | Rail | Road | Air | Public transportation

🇷🇴 The city of Buzău (formerly Buzeu or Buzĕu) is the county seat of Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carpathian Mountains and the lowlands of Bărăgan Plain.

Buzău is a railway hub in south-eastern Romania, where railways that link Bucharest to Moldavia and Transylvania to the Black Sea coast meet. DN2, a segment of European route E85 crosses the city. Buzău's proximity to trade routes helped it develop its role as a commerce hub in older days, and as an industrial centre during the 20th century.

During the Middle Ages, Buzău was a market town and Eastern Orthodox episcopal see in Wallachia. It faced a period of repeated destruction during the 17th and 18th centuries, nowadays symbolized on the city seal by the Phoenix bird. In the 19th century, after the end of that era, the city began to recover. The economy underwent industrialization, Buzău became a railway hub, and public education became available. At this time, the Communal Palace, the city's landmark building, and Crâng Park, the main recreational area, were built. The communist regime after World War II brought forced industrialization and the tripling of the city's population. Some of the factories open at the time are still functioning within the framework of market economy.

There are no universities based in Buzău, and only a few universities from other cities have remote learning facilities here. The main educational institutions here are B.P. Hasdeu high-school (where Nobel laureate George Emil Palade studied) and Mihai Eminescu high-school. The city has a number of other secondary schools, in addition to elementary schools. The Vasile Voiculescu County Library and Buzău County Museum are based in the city. The latter also manages an ethnography exhibit in the city, as well as the Vasile Voiculescu memorial house in Pârscov and the amber exhibit at Colți.

History The written history of the city begins with that of Wallachia. It was certified as a market town and customs point during the reign of Dan II. Archeological sites belonging to Gumelnița and Monteoru cultures prove the presence of human inhabitants before the Christian era. During the Middle Ages, there was also a fortress of Buzău, but only a few passing mentions in foreign documents are kept. The market that was already flourishing in 1431, has also become an Orthodox episcopal see in the early 16th century.

In the 17th century, an era of war and foreign invasions began, that affected the town and its surroundings. They began with Michael the Brave's participation in the Long Turkish War and ended with the Wallachian uprising of 1821. Natural disasters (epidemics, earthquakes) also took their toll, leading to destruction and depopulation of Buzău. However, the inhabitants always returned and rebuilt the city, which led early 18th century local authorities to use the Phoenix bird on the city seal, as a symbol of rebirth.

The 19th century brought a time of cultural and economical development. The Communal Palace, the city's main landmark, was built at the time, after the city developed its industry and became a railway hub in the 1870s. Schools were open, such as the Theological Seminary în 1836, and the B. P. Hasdeu high school in 1867, and theatre plays were produced (starting 1852): the "Moldavia" theatre house was built in 1898 and used throughout the first half of the 20th century as the main concert and theatre hall, where artists such as George Enescu, C. I. Nottara and Nicolae Leonard performed. For short periods of time, Ion Luca Caragiale and Constantin Brâncuși have lived and worked here.

During World War I, Buzău came under German occupation after mid-December 1916, and many inhabitants took refuge in the nearby villages or in Western Moldavia. The city resumed its development after the war. The interbellum brought about the first sport matches (association football and boxing) and the "Metalurgica" factory, a private business that was to be later confiscated by the communists, and continues to this day as part of a joined venture.

After World War II, the industrialization of Buzău was forcefully accelerated, and its population tripled in less than 50 years; new inhabitants were brought to work in newly built factories mainly in the south of the city. Buzău has profoundly changed its appearance, working class quarters being built instead of the old commercial streets, some historical buildings, such as the Moldavia Theatre, were demolished. Their cultural role was taken over by the Labor Unions' Cultural Center and then by "Dacia" Cinema.

In 2021, there was a project, known as "Buzău Mare 2021" ("Greater Buzău 2021"), that aimed to unite Buzău with the commune of Țintești. On 26 September 2021, a referendum was done to decide this, but as only 10.03% of the population of Buzău voted, which is below the legal threshold requiring a voter turnout of 30%, the results were considered null and Țintești and Buzău were left separate.

Historical buildings Eight historical monuments classified as having national importance exist in Buzău: the church of the Birth of Christ (1649, also known colloquially as the "Greeks' church" or the "Merchants' church") along with its belfry; the courthouse (20th century); the church of the Annunciation from the former Banu monastery (16th century); the church of the Dormition in Broșteni district, (1709, along with the belfry erected in 1914); the headquarters of the orthodox bishopric with the church of the Dormition (1649), the chapel (1841), the episcopal palace (17th century), the old seminary (1838), the chancellery (19th century), gate belfry and the compound wall (18th century); the Vergu-Mănăilă mansion (18th century, which currently hosts the ethnography exhibit of the County Museum); Vasile Voiculescu County Library (1914); and the Communal Palace (city hall, 1899–1903).

One public forum monument and twelve memorial monuments are included in the list of historical monuments in Buzău County with local importance, including the urban area of Cuza Vodă street (19th century) in the old town, Crâng park, the Albatros Villa (that used to belong to Alexandru Marghiloman) and the park, the Jewish temple, the buildings of B.P. Hasdeu and Mihai Eminescu high-schools, a house where Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu lived for a few years, and some of the tombs in Dumbrava cemetery, such as one that was originally decorated with the statue "Prayer" by Constantin Brâncuși (nowadays replaced by a replica).

Geography The city is located in the centre of the county, 100 km north-east of Bucharest, in the South-East of Romania, taking up a total area of 81,3 km2, at the outermost curvature of the Subcarpathian foothills, at the crossroads of the three main Romanian historical provinces: Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia. It is entirely placed on the right bank of Buzău river, which forms its northern limit. The shape of the city is oblong, longer along the river and shorter across. It reaches altitudes of 101 meters in the North-West, near the foothills, going down to 88 meters on the river bank, while the average altitude of 95 meters is the same as the altitude of Dacia square, in the city center. Thus, Buzău is placed in a flat area, with a height difference of just 10 meters along a 4 kilometer line.

Waterways Buzău river is the northern limit of the city. This river has created an underground basin that it permanently fuels with water. These underground waters are a main source of drinking water, and their excess overflows to a marshy wetland south of the city, in the neighboring communes Costești, Stâlpu, and Țintești, with small but steady springs, that ultimately form the Călmățui river.

Economic history During the Middle Ages, Buzău's economy was based on trade, as the market town began as a customs and exchange point, and developed due to its position at the curvature of the Carpathians, in a place where roads that connected Wallachia to Moldavia and Transylvania met. The old market town tradition is still preserved in the Drăgaica fair, held every June around Midsummer, bringing together small producers and merchants from diverse regions of Romania.

The agricultural reform during Alexandru Ioan Cuza led some of the Bulgarian gardeners to rent in 1897 și 1898 some land acquired by the state from the bishopric. The developed a distribution network for their produce both in Buzău, and in other nearby cities such as Brașov, Ploiești, or Râmnicu Sărat. Their activity became even more lucrative after the land reform of 1921.

After the period of repeated invasions and destruction ended in the 19th century, the economy began to industrialize as well. Towards the end of that century, the development of a Romanian railway network made Buzău one of its important hubs and pushed the small craftsmen's shops to evolve into industrial installations. The first such facility was the Garoflid mill, open in 1883, that worked also as a cloth factory. În 1894, an oil refinery of the Saturn society was built; this refinery was to function for 50 years. After a dramatic nationwide decrease caused by the First World War (the 1919 output was a quarter of the one in 1913), the industrial development picked up steam during the interbellum. One of the main components of the local industry was milling. The first industrial mill in the city, Garoflid, renamed Zangopol after its new owner, had reached a capital of 5 million lei in 1928 and, 30 de million in 1938, while the company that operated it had around 100 employees. Another business started at this time was Metalurgica și Turnătorie – S.A. (Metallurgy and Foundry), founded in 1928 with a capital of over 9 million lei. Although it had an initially difficult period, as it was closed during the Great Depression, it was reopened in 1933, only to be closed again in 1940 and 1944, during World War II.

After World War II, on 11 June 1948 all factories were requisitioned by the Communist government, who also began a program of forced industrialization, even though some of the industries that were being developed were unfit to the region. In 1965, the 318 ha Buzău South industrial platform began to be built around the old location of the Saturn refinery, blown up during the war. It was the location of the city's most important factories that were developed at the time: the Steel Wire and Steel Wire Products Enterprise (after 1990, Ductil), the Railway Machinery Enterprise (after 1990, Apcarom), Metalurgica (the one founded in 1928), the Glass and Windows Factory (after 1991, Gerom S.A.).

Other facilities were located in other parts of the city, such as the Contactors Enterprise, in the North-East, and the Plastic Works (after 1990, Romcarbon S.A.) in the North.

Despite the forced industrialization, Buzău was spared from becoming dependent on a single industry, and there was no single point of failure for the city's economy. According to the new law of commerce of 1990, that came after the fall of Communism, these factories were organised as state-owned companies, and were privatised. Most of them survived the transition to a market economy, as many of them thus became viable.

Present economy Currently, the largest Buzău-based company is Romet, a holding company made up of multiple firms that produse isolation materials for water and gas pipes, water filters, fire extinguishers and other related products. It was successful in the 1990s, with the Aquator home water purifier. In 1999, it also acquired Aromet S.A., the company that operated the 1928 Metalurgica factory.

Other Buzău-based companies were privatised by programs supervised by the World Bank. Apcarom S.A., the only Romanian producer of railway equipments, was acquired by the Austrian company VAE, and in 2008 had a capital of 7.38 million lei. Ductil S.A., one of the largest companies in the city, was privatised in 1999 and divided subsequently, during 1999–2000 by the new majority shareholder, FRO Spa, who only kept the electrodes and welding equipment facilities, and sold out the others. The steel wire, welded metal net, concrete and iron works became Ductil Steel S.A. and passed to the Italian company Sidersipe. The iron powder works became Ductil Iron Powder. In 2007, FRO Spa sold Ductil S.A. to the Russian company Mechel, for 90 million euro. Zahărul S.A., the town's sugar producer, was acquired by Agrana România, an Austrian-based group that also owned other sugar factories in Roman, a starch factory in Țăndărei and a juice facility in Vaslui.

Milling is still present on the local market: the largest local producer is Boromir Prod, controlled by businessman Constantin Boromiz, owner of the Boromir group, who also owns Boromir Ind Vâlcea, Panmed Mediaș and Comcereal Sibiu.

The economy is still more oriented towards industry rather than services, which, according to a 2016 survey of the World Bank, made it more attractive to the labor force of lower qualification (at best with a high school degree). The same survey showed that most of the labor force in the city came from within the county, as Buzău is the centre of a highly rural, compact and densely populated area. The city was found to be in competition with larger cities for the labor force from other counties, a feature it shares with Alexandria. The proximity of Bucharest makes Buzău itself a source of internal migration, thus orbiting the capital city. Buzău is the second city (closely after Ploiești, a city with almost double the population), by the number of employees in Bucharest coming from other cities between 1991 and 2011; the survey points out that this has been a disadvantage, but might become an opportunity in the future.

Rail Buzău is one of the main hubs of Romanian Railways, as it connects Bucharest and Ploiești with Focșani, Galați and Constanța. The city railway station was open in 1872, along with the Bucharest-Galați railway. A branch of this railway, from Buzău to Mărășești was opened a few years later, on 13 June 1881, and it was the first railway designed by Romanian engineers.

The Buzău-Nehoiașu line, open in 1908, connects Buzău to the smaller towns and villages along the Buzău River valley, including Nehoiu and Pătârlagele.

Road Buzău is crossed by national road DN2 (part of European route E85), which connects the city to Bucharest to the South and to Râmnicu Sărat and the main cities of Western Moldavia to the North. National road DN1B (European Route E577) branches out of DN2 in Buzău. This road connects the city to Ploiești. In the North of the city, DN10 also branches from DN2. It crosses the Carpathians at their South-Eastern curvature through Buzău Pass towards Brașov. The South of Buzău is also crossed by national road DN2B, which branches from DN2 în the neighboring commune of Costești, leading eastward to Galați and Brăila. In Buzău, county road DJ203D branches from DN2B. It leads South to Țintești and Smeeni, where it ends in DN2C, a road along which it helps connect Buzău to Slobozia.

In the Buzău city area, the only functional road bridge over Buzău River is the one crossing with DN2 to Mărăcineni. There is another road bridge, connecting the city to Vadu Pașii, near the railway bridge. It was however closed after it was destroyed by a flash flood in 2005, and repairs kept being postponed, which had an impact on the economy of the neighboring communes in the North-East of the city, as it remains used only by pedestrians and cyclists. Works began in the fall of 2017.

Two main bust stations, one in the North and one in the South next to the railway station, as well a few other secondary bus stops, are used by private transportation companies that operate services to other cities or nearby villages.

Air Buzău has no civil airport. The only air transport infrastructure present in the city is the military airport and heliport South-West of the city, but it is used only by emergency sanitary flights. Civil air traffic for Buzău is performed through Henri Coandă International Airport in Otopeni, 110 km away, the main air hub for Wallachia.

Public transportation 10 bus lines connect residential areas to industrial areas (including Buzău South industrial platform), the city centre and the railway station. There are a few taxi companies licensed by the city also operating in the surrounding villages.

Europe/Bucharest/Buzau/Buzau 
<b>Europe/Bucharest/Buzau/Buzau</b>
Image: Ymblanter

Buzău has a population of over 115,494 people. Buzău also forms the centre of the wider Buzau District which has a population of over 432,054 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Buzău see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Buzău has links with:

🇬🇷 Agios Dimitrios, Greece 🇧🇪 Oudenaarde, Belgium 🇲🇩 Soroca, Moldova
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Buzău is: -153.183,-45.151

Locations Near: Buzău 26.8167,45.151

🇷🇴 Focşani 27.167,45.7 d: 66.9  

🇷🇴 Ploieşti 26.013,44.947 d: 67.1  

🇷🇴 Ilfov 26.12,44.61 d: 81.4  

🇷🇴 Covasna 26.169,45.845 d: 92.2  

🇷🇴 Sector 1 26.103,44.435 d: 97.5  

🇷🇴 Bucharest 26.103,44.434 d: 97.6  

🇷🇴 Sector 3 (Bucharest) 26.1,44.433 d: 97.8  

🇷🇴 Sector 2 26.1,44.433 d: 97.8  

🇷🇴 Bucureşti 26.035,44.429 d: 101.3  

🇷🇴 Călărași 27.333,44.2 d: 113.4  

Antipodal to: Buzău -153.183,-45.151

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 16926.2  

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 16671.3  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 16207  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 16117.3  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 12798.6  

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 12683.1  

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 12665.9  

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 12664  

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 12663.5  

🇺🇸 Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 12610.9  

Bing Map

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