Carol I Park ( ro, Parcul Carol) is a public park in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, named after

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Carol I of Romania Carol I or Charles I of Romania (20 April 1839 – ), born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He w ...

. A

French garden The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the ...

located in the southern-central area of Bucharest, partly on Filaret hill, originally capable of hosting various exhibitions, it suffered considerable modifications during the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

, including a name change to ''Parcul Libertății'' (Liberty Park). The park has officially been listed as a historical monument since 2004. Administration of the park is undertaken mostly by the Bucharest

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, whereas monuments are in the care of the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.

History

The park was designed by French

landscape art Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compos ...

ist in 1900 on Filaret Hill, under the supervision of

Constantin Istrati Constantin I. Istrati (7 September 1850 – 17 January 1919) was a Romanian chemist and physician. He was president of the Romanian Academy between 1913 and 1916. He was born in 1850 in Roman, Moldavia (now in Neamț County, Romania). He studied ...

, then president of the Romanian Academy. It was inaugurated in 1906, on the 40th anniversary of the coronation of King

Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (20 April 1839 – ), born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He w ...

. The park had an initial surface area of 36 hectares, including the lake Filaret. It hosted the 1906 Bucharest Exhibition, and included many pavilions and buildings, of which only the Technical Museum and the open air ''Roman Arenas'' survive. The park once contained busts of Ioan Lahovary and

, but these were replaced after 1948 with busts of

George Coșbuc George Coșbuc (; 20 September 1866 – 9 May 1918) was a Romanian poet, translator, teacher, and journalist, best remembered for his verses describing, praising and eulogizing rural life, its many travails but also its occasions for joy. In 19 ...

, Alexandru Sahia,

Nicolae Bălcescu Nicolae Bălcescu () (29 June 181929 November 1852) was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. Early life Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility, he used his mother' ...

(these three by ) and the "shoemaker poet"

Dumitru Theodor Neculuță Dumitru Theodor Neculuță (also known as Neculiță and Dumitru a Ciubotăriții; – October 17, 1904) was a Romanian poet, socialist activist, and artisan shoemaker. Born to a poor family in Western Moldavia, he was not allowed to pursue his pa ...

(by ), which remain today. The

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-prof ...

, inaugurated in 1923 in memory of Romanian soldiers fallen in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, was dismantled and moved in 1958 to

Mărășești Mărășești () is a small town in Vrancea County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It administers six villages: Călimănești, Haret, Modruzeni, Pădureni, Siretu and Tișița. Geography The town is located in the eastern part of the county, on th ...

, being replaced by the Mausoleum of the Communist Heroes (see below). In 1991 it was returned to the park, to be moved again in 2007, closer to its original location.

Sites of interest

Aside from its beautiful vegetation and panoramic views, the park also includes several monuments, such as a Mausoleum, the Cantacuzino Fountain (built in 1870), another fountain, ''Fântâna Minelor și Carierelor'' (1906), the Giants' Statues, the Zodiac Fountain (1934), the Technical Museum (first opened in 1909), a monument in the shape of a small mosque built in 1923 as a sign of reconciliation. Also in the park are the open-air Roman Arena, and the Astronomical Institute of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

Mausoleum

The Carol Park Mausoleum (''Mausoleul din Parcul Carol''), known during the Communist régime as the "Monument of the Heroes for the Freedom of the People and of the Motherland, for Socialism" (''Monumentul eroilor luptei pentru libertatea poporului și a patriei, pentru socialism''), is located on a plateau. Formerly, it was the site of the Arts Palace (''Palatul Artelor'') and later of the Military Museum (''Muzeul Militar''), with the fountain in front of the latter museum. The mausoleum was built in honour of revolutionary socialist militants. Designed by architects and , it was inaugurated on 30 December 1963, the 16th anniversary of the

Romanian People's Republic The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peopl ...

. The base is circular and plated with black

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. Above rise five narrow arches covered with red granite. Inside the base there is a rotunda covered in red granite plates; the ceiling is decorated with a golden

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

. Prior to the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the rotunda contained the

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

s of Communist leaders

Petru Groza Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Commu ...

Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian communist politician and electrician. He was the first Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ...

, and

Constantin Ion Parhon Constantin Ion Parhon (; 15 October 1874 – 9 August 1969) was a Romanian neuropsychiatrist, endocrinologist and politician. He was the first head of state of the Romanian People's Republic from 1947 to 1952. Parhon was President of the Physic ...

. In the semicircle around the monument were crypts containing the remains of a number of socialist militants, such as Ion C. Frimu,

Leontin Sălăjan Leontin Sălăjan ( hu, Szilágyi Ignác; 19 June 1913 – 28 August 1966) was a Romanian communist military and political leader. Born in Santău Commune, Satu Mare County (then in Szilágy County, Austria-Hungary),Alexandru Moghioroș,

Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu (; November 4, 1900 – April 17, 1954) was a Romanian communist politician and leading member of the Communist Party of Romania (PCR), also noted for his activities as a lawyer, sociologist and economist. For a while, he ...

(after his rehabilitation),

Grigore Preoteasa Grigore Preoteasa (August 25, 1915 – November 4, 1957) was a Romanian communist activist, journalist and politician, who served as Communist Romania's Minister of Foreign Affairs between October 4, 1955, and the time of his death. Biogra ...

Ilie Pintilie Ilie Pintilie (1903, Iași – 10 November 1940, Doftana) was a Romanian communist railroad worker and activist of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR). Pintilie joined the labour movement as an apprentice at the CFR workrooms in Nicolina-Iaș ...

, and

Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea (born Solomon Katz; 1855, village of Slavyanka near Yekaterinoslav (modern Dnipro), then in Imperial Russia – 1920, Bucharest) was a Romanian Marxist theorist, politician, sociologist, literary critic, and j ...

. To the right of the monument was a hemicycle containing the funeral urns of Communist militants, including , Constantin David, Ada Marinescu, Panait Mușoiu, Barbu Lăzăreanu,

Simion Stoilow Simion Stoilow or Stoilov ( – 4 April 1961) was a Romanian mathematician, creator of the Romanian school of complex analysis, and author of over 100 publications. Biography He was born in Bucharest, and grew up in Craiova. His father, Colonel ...

, and Mihail Macavei. When the mausoleum was built, an

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...

burned on an upper terrace near the monument, in a granite

amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

. This was intended to preserve the memory of those who had fought on behalf of the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

. In 1991, the mausoleum acquired a new purpose when the Communists were exhumed and interred in other cemeteries. They were replaced by the remains of soldiers fallen in World War I, brought from the Mausoleum of Mărășești. The mausoleum and the monument in front of it were dedicated to the Unknown Soldier. The rotunda remains closed to the public, and guards are stationed to prevent the approach of visitors. In 2005, 1.97 billion old lei from the state budget were allocated to refurbish the monument, even though it was removed from the list of historic monuments in 2004.Loredana Georgescu
"Mausoleul din Parcul Carol reabilitat pe banii Guvernului"
''

Curierul Național ''Curierul Naţional'' (''The National Courier'' in Romanian) is a Romanian daily newspaper published in Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financia ...

'', December 16, 2005

Dimitrie Leonida Technical Museum

World first technical interactive museum.

Gogu Constantinescu bridge

Concrete bridge in Carol Park, Bucharest, designed by G. Constantinescu and erected in 1906.

Giants' Statues

The two Giants' Statues (') flank the park's main walkway near the 11 June Square (''Piața 11 iunie'') entrance. tall and from one another, they form a line perpendicular to the walkway and depict two nude youths. One of them shows a young man with a strained look. His head is bowed, his right shoulder twisted, he leans on his left hand, the right he keeps behind his back, and the legs are bent. In the other statue, a young man leans his head toward his left shoulder, his torso is twisted and he supports himself on his left hand, while the right is behind his back. At first the statues were located before the Arts Palace and of the artificial cave in front of it. The grotto was called "The Giants' Grotto" (''Grota cu Giganți'') or "The Enchanted Grotto" (''Grota fermecată'') as it was watched over by the two giants and a Sleeping beauty (''Frumoasa adormită''). The three statues showed the characters of a legend where twins, in love with the same woman, were turned into stone due to their unrequited love, while the object of their love became a waterfall. At that time, the giants were displayed one before the other, with the sleeping beauty lying down in the middle. sculpted ''Sleeping beauty'';

Dimitrie Paciurea Dimitrie Paciurea (; 2 November (1873 or 1875) – 14 July 1932) was a Romanian sculptor. His representational and symbolic style contrasts strongly to the more abstract style of his contemporary and co-national Constantin Brâncuși. Born in ...

and

Frederic Storck Frederic Storck (19 January 1872, Bucharest – 26 December 1942, Bucharest) was a Romanian sculptor. His father was the sculptor Karl Storck. His brother, Carol Storck, was also a sculptor and his wife, Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck was a painter. ...

were responsible for the giants. The former was done in

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

; the latter are in

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...

stone. File:RO B - Statuia Gigantul 2 din Parcul Carol.jpg, "A Giant", statue by

File:Gigant Frederic Storck.jpg, "A Giant", statue by

Arenele Romane

The Roman Arena, an open-air theater built by architect Leonida Negrescu and engineer

Elie Radu Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven. The burgh comprised the linked ...

, were originally intended for sporting as well as cultural events. After renovation in 1968, they can host 5,000 spectators, and are currently used as a venue for occasional concerts.

Gallery

File:RO B Carol Park monument 2.jpg, The Mausoleum File:Fântâna George Grigorie Cantacuzino - imagine fără bazin.JPG, Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino Fountain File:2017 Zodiac Fountain, Bucharest.jpg, The Zodiac Fountain guards the parc entrance File:Castelul Ţepeş.JPG, Țepeș Castle in Carol Park File:DJ Sasha (Arenele Romane, Bucharest, 2006).jpg, The Arenele Romane File:Parcul Carol - toamna.jpg, Carol Park's central alley in late autumn

Controversy

The park drew national attention in 2003 when the Romanian government agreed to allot to the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of ...

for the

People's Salvation Cathedral The People's Salvation Cathedral ( ro, Catedrala Mântuirii Neamului), also known as the National Cathedral ( ro, Catedrala Națională, link=no), is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral under construction in Bucharest to serve as the patriarchal cathe ...

project. The cathedral, although popular among the citizenry and supported by the government, drew criticism because it was to be placed on the site of the mausoleum. Symbolically, replacing the mausoleum with a church was seen by some as a removal of painful memories, similar to the removal of other communist statues and symbols. On the other hand, it was argued that it served as a reminder of Romania's fight for democracy. In addition, the building was seen as an architectural monument and drew the protests of Romanian architects. The cathedral site has since been moved next to the

Palace of the Parliament The Palace of the Parliament ( ro, Palatul Parlamentului), also known as the Republic's House () or People's House/People's Palace (), is the seat of the Parliament of Romania, located atop Dealul Spirii in Bucharest, the national capital. The P ...

Notes

Bibliography

* Florian Georgescu, Paul Cernovodeanu, Alexandru Cebuc – ''Monumente din București'' (Editura Meridiane, București, 1966) *

Dan Berindei Dan Berindei (3 November 1923 – 23 December 2021) was a Romanian historian. He was a titular member of the Romanian Academy from 1992 until his death. Biography A descendant of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, he was born in Bucharest on 3 Nov ...

, Sebastian Bonifaciu – ''București. Ghid turistic'' (Editura Sport-Turism, București, 1978)
Revista Societății de Studii Istorice Erasmus, nr 12 of 2001

External links

The Carol Parc Hotel
{{Parks in Bucharest Parks in Bucharest Historic monuments in Bucharest 1906 establishments in Romania Protected areas established in 1906