The bust of mayor Nicu I. Constantinescu

THE BUST OF NICU I. CONSTANTINESCU Nicu I. Constantinescu (1840-1905) was mayor of Buzău five times: 1883-1888, 1889-1890, 1890-1892, 1895-1899 and 1901-1905. He carried out complex urban planning projects through which he modernized the city, and his name is linked, among other things, to the construction of the Communal Palace ("the most beautiful town hall in the country", as Nicolae Iorga appreciated at the time), the construction of several schools, including the building of "Alexandru Hâjdeu" High School, today "Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu" National High School, the support of the public library, the transformation of Crâng forest into a public garden, the widening of boulevards (Park Boulevard, now "Nicolae Bălcescu" Boulevard), the introduction of public lighting, the supply of drinking water, the construction of the Obor Bazaar and the sanitation of the city. He was decorated with "Star of Romania" and "Crown of Romania" Orders. In 2018 he was declared posthumously Honorary Citizen of Buzău. His bust, the work of sculptor Dumitru Mățăoanu, a pupil of the great artist Dimitrie Paciurea, was made in 1928 and installed in 1931 in front of the Communal Palace (Town Hall). In 1952 the communist authorities dismantled this bust and stored it in the basement of the Communal Palace. In 1977 it was relocated in front of General School No. 1, one of his foundations of Buzău, today the "Airman Captain Mircea T. Bădulescu" Secondary School.