Cișmigiu Gardens
Cișmigiu Gardens (Cișmigiu Park) | |
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Grădinile Cișmigiu (Parcul Cișmigiu) | |
Location | Bucharest, Romania |
Coordinates | 44°26′12.85″N 26°05′25.83″E / 44.4369028°N 26.0905083°E |
Area | 14.6 hectares (36 acres) |
Established | 1847 |
Administered by | Administrația Lacuri, Parcuri și Agrement București |
Status | Open all year |
Public transit access | Izvor metro station Universitate metro station |
Designers | Wilhelm Friedrich Carl Meyer, Franz Hörer, and Friedrich Rebhuhn |
The Cișmigiu Gardens or Cișmigiu Park (Romanian: Grădinile Cișmigiu or Parcul Cișmigiu) are a public park in the center of Bucharest, Romania, spanning areas on all sides of an artificial lake. The gardens' creation was an important moment in the history of Bucharest. They form the oldest and, at 14.6 hectares (36 acres),[1] the largest park in city's central area.
The main entrance is from
Landmarks
The Rondul Român ("Romanian Round") or Rotonda Scriitorilor ("Writers' Rotunda") is a circular alley which has stone busts of twelve important Romanian writers: Mihai Eminescu, Alexandru Odobescu, Titu Maiorescu, Ion Luca Caragiale, George Coșbuc, Ștefan Octavian Iosif, Ion Creangă, Alexandru Vlahuță, Duiliu Zamfirescu, Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Nicolae Bălcescu and Vasile Alecsandri.
Monumentul Eroilor Francezi ("The Monument of French Heroes") commemorates
Monumentul Eroilor Americani ("The Monument of American Heroes") commemorates the 378 US soldiers who died in Romania during World War II. The granite sculpture is the work of the artist Remus Botarro; it was officially inaugurated in 2002 by the Romanian Government and the American Embassy in Bucharest.
Other statues located in Cișmigiu are the one of journalist
History
The park was built in 1847, at a time when Bucharest was the capital of
The decision to replace the lake was taken in 1846, during a period of Imperial Russian administration introduced by Regulamentul Organic. It was based on an earlier proposal made by Russian governor Pavel Kiselyov in 1830, and on various small-scale works had first been undertaken in 1837.[4] The initiative, countersigned by Prince Gheorghe Bibescu, was part of a series of major public works, and the plan dates back to 1844.[5] On 27 February 1845, the area passed into public ownership through a princely decree.[6]
In 1843, Bibescu had called on experts in
The word cișmigiu comes from Turkish: a Ceșme is a public fountain and a cișmigiu (or cișmegiu) used to be the person responsible for building and maintaining public fountains.[5] The name replaced older references to Dura, and was coined by the public because, at the time, the administrator of Bucharest fountains was living on park grounds, in a house located between the central lake and Sărindar quarter.[5]
Cișmigiu continued to be developed by Meyer long after its official inauguration: in 1870, the horticulturist laid out a plan to redesign the lanes, to introduce an
The park was clearly delimited after Bucharest became capital of the Kingdom of Romania: in 1871, Academiei Boulevard was extended to its western side,[9] and, in 1890, under Mayor Pache Protopopescu, Elisabeta Boulevard was created on its southern side.[10] During the 1860s, Bucharest was visited by the socialist activist and philosopher Ferdinand Lassalle, who argued that "Cișmigiu exceeds by far anything Germany has to offer".[11]
In 1882, the gardens were fitted with electrical lighting.
Meyer was succeeded in his office of garden administrator by other Germans: Ulrich Hoffman, Wilhelm Knechtel, and Friedrich Rebhuhn.[17] It was Rebhuhn who, after 1910, redesigned many parts of the gardens to their present-day appearance.[18]
In fiction
Cișmigiu, a traditional meeting spot for Bucharesters, is referred to in several literary works. These notably include several sketch stories by Ion Luca Caragiale, two of them involving the collective character Mitică, who has survived in common reference as a stereotype of Bucharesters. In the eponymous 1900 sketch, the voluble Mitică notably refers to a friend of his having been laid off from his job, an event which he sarcastically disguises as a promotion to "chasing flies out of Cișmigiu".[19] In another such piece, titled 1 Aprilie ("The First of April"), the gardens are the scene of a dramatic incident which involves the death of another or the same Mitică.[20] A character named Caracudi, whom Caragiale invented as a caricature of inventive journalists, is shown to elaborate his sensationalist articles while relaxing in various locations of the city, one of which is Cișmigiu.[21]
A novel by Grigore Băjenaru, titled Cișmigiu et comp., traces events in the life of high school students who spend much of their time in the park.
The novel '
Gallery
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Statue of Mihai Eminescu on Writers' Alley (Aleea Scriitorilor)
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Fountain on Cișmigiu Lake
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Statue
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Bridge
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Rowboats on the lake
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The main entrance
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A flower carpet
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Little bridge
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Black Swans
Notes
- ^ .
- ^ a b Giurescu, p.21, 128
- ^ Giurescu, p.346
- ^ a b c d e f g h Giurescu, p.392
- ^ a b c Giurescu, p.128
- ^ a b Giurescu, p.128, 392
- ^ Giurescu, p.128, 272, 391-392
- ^ Giurescu, p.395
- ^ Giurescu, p.155
- ^ Giurescu, p.158
- ^ Giurescu, p.144
- ^ Giurescu, p.159
- ^ Giurescu, p.161, 192
- ^ Giurescu, p.329
- ^ Giurescu, p.286
- ^ Giurescu, p.340
- ^ Giurescu, p.392-393
- ^ Giurescu, p.393
- ^ (in Romanian) Ion Luca Caragiale, Mitică (wikisource)
- ^ (in Romanian) Ion Luca Caragiale, 1 Aprilie (wikisource)
- OCLC 6890267
References
- OCLC 1279610
External links
- Henri Daniel, Landscape in Cișmigiu Park, watercolor Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (1935–1936)