Photos and Videos of Herastrau Park in Spring

Herastrau Parc (Parcul Herăstrău in Romanian; renamed King Michael I Park in 2018) lies on what used to be marshland. The latter was drained between 1930 and 1935, and the park was opened in 1936, on the occasion of the second edition of Bucharest Month, meant to attract national and foreign visitors to the capital of Romania. The festivities included a main exhibit showcasing Bucharest, a book fair, art exhibits, sports activities, rally racing, circus shows, many public festivities, and so on.

For the 1935 edition of Bucharest Month a Zodiac Fountain was commissioned from architect Octav Doicescu and artist Mac Constantinescu for Park Carol I, where the main exhibit was held, complete with photos, slides, dioramas, and models, including a 100 sq. meter model of what Bucharest was envisioned to become. There were also theater shows.

The second, 1936, edition of Bucharest Month was centered around the park girding Herastrau Lake, a park which received the name of King Carol II, becoming Parcul Regele Carol al II-lea. Several pavilions were built in the park, including the Regal Pavilion. All of them were again coordinated by architect Octav Doicescu. There were pavilions dedicated to the Little Entente, a Municipal Pavilion, a Cultural Pavilion, and so on. Chechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, the other two members of the Little Entente, were invited to participate, and plans were made for Romania to participate in future editions of similar events (Prague Month and Belgrade Month) in those respective countries.

The 1936 edition also saw the inauguration of the Miorița Fountain, on the București-Ploiești Highroad, in the vicinity of what is now Herastrau Park. The monument was designed by arch. Octav Doicescu, and embellished with mosaics created by artist Milița Petrașcu. The imagery illustrated our folk ballad Miorița.

Bucharest Month was organized yearly until 1940, when it was discontinued. Herastrau Park, the Zodiac Fountain in Carol I Park, and the Miorița Fountain are its lasting legacies.

If you want to learn more about Parcul Herăstrău and Muzeul Satului in Bucharest, see my previous article on the topic (it will open in a new tab). It includes photos of various constructions (including some interiors) in the Village Museum, and of scenic landscapes in the park, taken in the summer of 2012.

I took this photos of Herăstrău Park on Palm Sunday, also known as Branch or Willow Sunday. More about how we celebrate it here in Romania in another recent article of mine:

Palm Sunday Crafts Fair at the Village Museum in Bucharest