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37-582: The park has officially been listed as a historical monument since 2004. Administration of the park is undertaken mostly by the Bucharest City Hall , whereas monuments are in the care of the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs . The park was designed by French landscape artist Édouard Redont  [ fr ] in 1900 on Filaret Hill, under the supervision of Constantin Istrati , then president of

74-658: The General Mayor , is the head of the Bucharest City Hall in Bucharest , Romania , which is responsible for citywide affairs, such as the water system, the transport system and the main boulevards. The title of General Mayor is sometimes used to distinguish the office from that of the mayors that lead each of Bucharest's six administrative sectors , and which are responsible for local area affairs, such as secondary streets, parks, schools and cleaning services. All decisions of

111-776: 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. World first technical interactive museum. Concrete bridge in Carol Park, Bucharest, designed by George Constantinescu and erected in 1906. The two Giants' Statues ( Statuile Giganții  [ ro ] ) flank

148-687: The National Theatre . As soon as the columns of workers reached the square in front of the National Theatre, they were met by forces of public order, specifically the 9th Vânători de Munte Regiment, the police and the gendarmerie , commanded by police prefect General Ștefănescu and by the head of the Bucharest garrison, General Mărgineanu. These forces had gathered on Ion Câmpineanu Street, in Pasajul Român , with their commanders being located in

185-635: The typhus bacteria. As a result of beating and torture by police during his arrest, Frimu's liver and kidneys were heavily damaged, as reportedly indicated by the physician Cristodulo, who was the last to consult him. Under heavy guard, Frimu, in agony, was transported to the hospital, as a large group of socialist detainees, Cristescu included, sang The Internationale . Cristodulo himself contracted typhus and died two weeks after his patient. Thousands of workers took part in Frimu's funeral, asking that those responsible for his death be punished. Ion G. Duca , who

222-717: The "shoemaker poet" Dumitru Theodor Neculuță (by Emil Mereanu  [ ro ] ), which remain today. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier , inaugurated in 1923 in memory of Romanian soldiers fallen in World War I , was dismantled and moved in 1958 to Mărășești , 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. Aside from its beautiful vegetation and panoramic views,

259-589: The Bucharest Carpenters' Union (being elected its president), and, in 1907, joined the leadership of the Socialist Union of Romania — the embryo of the post-1910 PSDR. The Socialist Union's creation came at the same time as the Romanian Peasants' Revolt — the government's suspicion of the socialist camp resulted in the expulsion of many România Muncitoare contributors, Rakovsky among them;

296-869: The Frimus maintained contact with the exiled (including the brothers Hoppe, who had settled in Vienna ). In 1909, I. C. Frimu and the future novelist Panait Istrati were imprisoned at Văcărești Prison , after taking part in riots asking the National Liberal cabinet of Ion I. C. Brătianu to receive Rakovsky back into Romania. On January 31, 1910, when the PSDR was founded, Frimu, Rakovsky (who had been allowed to return), Gheorghiu Bujor, Dimitrie Marinescu , and Constantin Vasilescu were elected among its leaders. With Rakovsky, Gheorghiu Bujor, and Ecaterina Arbore , Frimu gave lectures at

333-595: 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 Horia Maicu  [ ro ] and Nicolae Cucu  [ ro ] , it was inaugurated on 30 December 1963, the 16th anniversary of the Romanian People's Republic . The base is circular and plated with black granite . Above rise five narrow arches covered with red granite. Inside

370-580: The PSDR's propaganda school. After the outbreak of World War I , Frimu and the PSDR stood among the socialist internationalist opponents of the war, and Rakovsky played a major part in the Zimmerwald movement . As Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente Powers , the PSDR was banned and Rakovsky jailed. When the Central Powers occupied southern Romania ( see Romanian Campaign ), Frimu, who

407-829: The Romanian Academy . 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

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444-758: The Romanian Academy. It was inaugurated in 1906, on the 40th anniversary of the coronation of King Carol I . The park had an initial surface area of 36 ha (89 acres), including the 20,000 m (220,000 sq ft) 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 Constantin Istrati , but these were replaced after 1948 with busts of George Coșbuc , Alexandru Sahia , Nicolae Bălcescu (these three by Constantin Baraschi  [ ro ] ), and

481-600: The Romanian government agreed to allot 52,700 m (567,000 sq ft) to the Romanian Orthodox Church for the People's Salvation Cathedral 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

518-1348: The base there is a rotunda covered in red granite plates; the ceiling is decorated with a golden mosaic . Prior to the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the rotunda contained the crypts of Communist leaders Petru Groza , Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej , and Constantin Ion Parhon . In the semicircle around the monument were crypts containing the remains of a number of socialist militants, such as Ștefan Gheorghiu , Ion C. Frimu , Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor , Leontin Sălăjan , Dumitru Petrescu, Alexandru Moghioroș , Gheorghe Cristescu , Gheorghe Stoica  [ ro ] , Petre Constantinescu-Iași , Ștefan Voitec , Gheorghe Petrescu, Teohari Georgescu , Chivu Stoica , Gheorghe Vasilichi , Ion Pas , Constantin Doncea , Petre Borilă , Athanase Joja  [ ro ] , Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu (after his rehabilitation), Ioan Gheorghe Olteanu, Grigore Preoteasa , Lothar Rădăceanu , Iosif Rangheț , Alecu Constantinescu , Gheorghe Petre, Ilie Pintilie , Bela Breiner  [ ro ] , Leonte Filipescu , and Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea . To

555-564: The capital's nearly 600 typesetters went on strike and moved toward the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, accompanying the delegation which they had designated to present their grievances. Workers from other Bucharest factories and plants joined the typographers in solidarity. The protesters shouted slogans such as "Down with the army! Down with the King! Long live the Republic!", and expected to end up before

592-459: The exception of the Bucharest club, where individuals like Frimu, C. Z. Buzdugan and Rakovsky continued their activity. Around that time, he met the tailor and socialist sympathiser Rozalia (also known as Rozica), a Transylvanian -born orphan who had settled in Bucharest during her late teens, and whom he married in 1901. He founded and took part in the leadership of the newspaper România Muncitoare . In March 1905, I. C. Frimu helped establish

629-544: The former, claimed that Frimu disapproved of the October Revolution ("[...] Frimu, who had seen the Russian Revolution [for] a year and a half of its activity, never did completely agree with its methods"), and, making reference to the communist activist Alecu Constantinescu , argued that Frimu "could not stand" the latter's "demagogy". After the Communist regime was established, Frimu gained official status as

666-464: The giants. The former was done in marble ; the latter are in Rousse stone. The Roman Arena, an open-air theater built by architect Leonida Negrescu and engineer Elie Radu , were originally intended for sporting as well as cultural events. After renovation in 1968, they can host c. 5,000 spectators, and are currently used as a venue for occasional concerts. The park drew national attention in 2003 when

703-597: The government's repressive action. Hundreds of workers and members of the trade union movement and the Social Democratic Party were arrested and tortured. The socialist lawyers Constantin Titel Petrescu , Constantin Mille , Radu D. Rosetti , Toma Dragu , and N. D. Cocea defended the arrested workers at trial. During the trial, the royal commissioner could not produce proof to back up his opening statement and thus

740-572: The indictments, except against the Communist agitators, whom the Martial Court sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. The other workers were acquitted in February 1919. Frimu, who had been accused of instigation, died in a prison hospital. His last days at Văcărești Prison were recounted by the writer A. de Herz , with whom he shared a cell; according to Herz, the prison was infested with lice that carried

777-514: The mausoleum was built, an eternal flame burned on an upper terrace near the monument, in a granite amphora . This was intended to preserve the memory of those who had fought on behalf of the working class . 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

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814-568: The mayor have to be approved by the 55-seat General Council of Bucharest . The office was created on 7 August 1864, when a new French-style local administration law was adopted. The two before last elections saw Sorin Oprescu elected as Mayor of Bucharest, for the first time in June 2008 and afterwards for a second term in June 2012 . On 6 September 2015, Sorin Oprescu was detained on suspicion of corruption and bribery charges. On 15 September 2015, he

851-407: 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

888-658: 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

925-413: The park's main walkway near the 11 June Square ( Piața 11 iunie ) entrance. 3.5 m (11 ft) tall and 50 m (160 ft) 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

962-572: The police station inside the passage. From inside the passage, General Mărgineanu placed a telephone call to Prime Minister Ion I. C. Brătianu , asking for his authorization to intervene against the demonstrators. The forces of public order fired into the crowd; in the National Theatre Square 16 were killed and tens were wounded among the workers. Important figures from the cultural, artistic and political realms, such as Ioan Slavici , Nicolae Tonitza , and Gala Galaction , harshly condemned

999-575: 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 . Mayor of Bucharest The Mayor of Bucharest ( Romanian : Primarul General al Municipiului București ), sometimes known as

1036-458: The right of the monument was a hemicycle containing the funeral urns of Communist leaders, such as Vasile Luca , Ștefan Foriș , Iosif Chișinevschi , Ana Pauker , Mihail Roller , and Remus Koffler , and Communist militants, including Gheorghe Vasilescu-Vasia  [ ro ] , Constantin David , Ada Marinescu , Panait Mușoiu , Barbu Lăzăreanu , Simion Stoilow , and Mihail Macavei . When

1073-552: The traffic problems of Bucharest, while renewing public transport still remains one of his priorities. Ion C. Frimu Ion Costache Frimu (October 16 [ O.S. October 4] 1871 – February 19 [ O.S. February 6] 1919) was a Romanian socialist militant and politician, a leading member of the Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSDR) and labor activist . He died after being beaten and contracting an illness in prison, where he

1110-499: 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. Filip Marin  [ ro ] sculpted Sleeping beauty ; Dimitrie Paciurea and Frederic Storck were responsible for

1147-412: The typographers in Bucharest announced that they would strike a week later. On December 13, 1918 ( NS December 26), a large socialist demonstration of Bucharest workers took place. Its principal organisers were Rakovsky, the typographers Iancu Luchwig and Sami Steinberg, the bootmaker Marcus Iancu, the proofreader Marcel Blumenfeld, Ilie Moscovici, Frimu, Gheorghe Cristescu , D. Pop and others. That day,

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1184-549: Was being held for his participation in the typographic workers' demonstration of December 1918. Frimu, born in Bârzești , Vaslui County , was a carpenter by trade. He was active in various trade unions after being appointed cashier of a fraternal society , and worked his way up through the hierarchy. On March 31, 1893, the Romanian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (PSDMR) was founded in Bucharest . Frimu

1221-481: Was himself distressed by the news; in spring 1919, his wife Ileana Pralea wrote to Rozalia Frimu a letter of condolence, in which she said "I am in a position to add that one of my companion's greatest hopes has extinguished with Frimu." As the Socialist Party was split into the moderate groups and the newly formed Romanian Communist Party , Frimu's legacy became the topic of dispute — Moscovici, who sided with

1258-724: Was himself jailed for his anti-war propaganda, followed the authorities to Moldavia . In September 1917, I. C. Frimu and Alecu Constantinescu were the Romanian delegates to the third internationalists' conference against war in Stockholm . In late December 1918, he joined the Socialist Party of Romania , created around the PSDR. On December 6, 1918, typesetters from the Sfetea and Minerva graphic design studios went on strike demanding better working and living conditions (a pay raise, an eight-hour day , etc.). As their demands were not met, all

1295-668: Was part of the leadership, as were Ioan Nădejde , Vasile Morțun , Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea , Alexandru Ionescu , Christian Rakovsky , Dimitrie Marinescu and Ilie Moscovici . In December 1896, the Union of Guild Syndicates (USB) was founded, marking a crucial step in the centralization of workers' syndicate organisations. Frimu was elected president of the USB in 1898. In 1899 the PSDMR disbanded when various factions broke away (among them, that led by Morțun). The workers' clubs were also dissolved, with

1332-510: Was replaced by a general council elected deputy-mayor for the remainder of his term which ended the following year. On 5 June 2016, Gabriela Firea was elected Mayor with 246,553 votes (42.97%) and she was sworn in on 23 June. On 27 September 2020, Nicușor Dan was elected Mayor and he was sworn in on 29 October. On 9 June 2024, Dan was re-elected as Mayor of Bucharest and is expected to begin his new term in October, planning to focus more on

1369-657: Was then in government, wrote that "the police arrested all the [strike] movement's leaders and beat them so severely that one of the most important socialists, Frimu, died a few days later due to the wounds he received". I. C. Frimu was among the last PSDR figures of his age to be respected by both the reformist socialists and their communist adversaries. The moderate Constantin Titel Petrescu praised Frimu as "that admirable human example of honesty, goodness and kindliness". Rakovsky — who had since affiliated with Leninism and had taken refuge in Bolshevist Russia —

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