Nicolae Romanescu Park
Nicolae Romanescu Park (), known over time as the Bibescu Park, the Independence Park or the People's Park, is a park in Craiova, Romania. Located on the site of the mid-19th century estate and gardens of the Bibescu family, it was designed by the French architect and constructed between 1897 and 1903. It is considered the largest natural park in Eastern Europe. The park was built in a romantic style, 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 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, 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: 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 .