Nicolae Romanescu Park ( ro, Parcul Nicolae Romanescu), known over time as the Bibescu Park, the Independence Park or the People's Park, is a park in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

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 ...

. Located on the site of the mid-19th century estate and gardens of the Bibescu family, it was designed by the French architect Édouard Redont and constructed between 1897 and 1903. It is considered the largest natural park in Eastern Europe. The park was built in a

romantic style Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, a synthesis of landscape architecture and painting.

The park

In 1898, after the election of Nicolae Romanescu as mayor, a project for the modernization of the city was voted for. One of the objectives of the program being to establish parks and gardens. The architect appointed to carry out this project was Édouard Redont, who also designed the National Exhibition from the

Carol Park Carol I Park ( ro, Parcul Carol) is a public park in Bucharest, Romania, named after King Carol I of Romania. A French garden located in the southern-central area of Bucharest, partly on Filaret hill, originally capable of hosting various exhibit ...

in Bucharest. Redont took the project of the future Romanescu Park to the 1900 Paris Exposition, the project being awarded the Gold Medal. At the time of drafting the project, he came up with very bold ideas: hundreds of species of trees were

acclimatized Acclimatization or acclimatisation ( also called acclimation or acclimatation) is the process in which an individual organism In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms ar ...

, trees that normally do not grow in the climatic conditions of Romania, he redesigned the lake, designed the suspension bridge, designed the castle, improvised hills and valleys, roads, alleys and paths that total over 35 km in length, everything being worked in the smallest detail. It was inaugurated in 1903 in the presence of King Carol. This park features: # The Suspended Bridge – a suspended bridge built in 1901–1902. # The "Enchanted Castle" – a castle on one of the hills, near the bridge, built in 1905 to mask the

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

of the park. During the communist regime, it was converted to a restaurant. # The Craiova Hippodrome – inaugurated in 1903, used for trotting and galloping horse races and is now used for athletics competitions. # The lake – a lake with a fountain in the middle of the park. The surface covered by water in the park is over 4 ha. # Glorieta (the belvedere dome) – is on a hill at the entrance to the park behind the bust of Nicolae P. Romanescu. # The zoo – one of the oldest zoological gardens in Romania. Initially hosting

bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

peacocks Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are refe ...

as well as other local fauna, it now hosts a large number of exotic animals such as

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There are ...

emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

capuchin monkey The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the " organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some tropical fores ...

llama The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...

s and others. It is located close to the lake. In 1943, as a tribute to the person who worked closely on the construction of the park, a bust of N. Romanescu was built at the main entrance. Over time, numerous works have been carried out that have enhanced the beauty of the park. Between 1954-1956, the existing portal was built at the main entrance, the fencing with pillars and concrete base and wire mesh was made, the pier was rebuilt and enlarged. In 1964, the public lighting was modernized and a greenhouse was built. It is the third largest natural park in Europe. The total area of the park close to and the area of the lake within the park is about .

Gallery

File:Nicolae Romanescu Park in Craiova, Romania.jpg, Park entrance File:Craiova - Parcul Nicolae Romanescu - Rotonda.jpg , Rotonda File:Parcul Nicolae Romanescu - pod de piatra.jpg , Stone Bridge File:Parcul Nicolae Romanescu din Craiova.jpg , The Suspended Bridge File:Craiova - Parcul Nicolae Romanescu - Podul suspendat02.JPG , Suspended Bridge Entrance File:Craiova - Parcul Nicolae Romanescu03.JPG , Lake Fountain

References

External links

Parcul Nicolae Romanescu

13 octombrie 2007, Gabriela Zanfir, ''Evenimentul zilei'' {{coord, 44.298, 23.808, type:landmark_region:RO_dim:3000, display=title Geography of Craiova Parks in Romania Tourist attractions in Craiova Historic monuments in Dolj County