Buzău

If you plan a trip to Buzău, you'll travel through a county that climbs, in just a few hours by car, from the flat Bărăgan steppe to the forested mountains of the Buzău Carpathians. In between lie bubbling mud volcanoes, rock monasteries and vineyard slopes that hardly any foreign visitor knows.

Between the Steppe and the Carpathian Arc

Buzău County lies in southeastern Romania, where the Carpathians sweep in their great arc toward the south. The Buzău River cuts a long valley into the mountains, and the county seat of the same name sits at its mouth. It is about 110 kilometers to Bucharest, and Buzău has long been a railway junction on the way to Moldavia and the Black Sea. The city itself is quiet and green: Crâng Park on the edge of town is one of the largest urban forests in the country, while the Bishop's Palace and the cathedral tell of its long history as a bishop's seat. Buzău is famous across Romania for its covrigi, sturdy lye pretzels that you can buy fresh from small bakeries.

Sights in the Buzău Region

The best-known attraction is the mud volcanoes near Berca. On the bare hills of Pâclele Mari and Pâclele Mici, natural gas and water rise to the surface and form gray cones from which cold mud constantly oozes – a landscape reminiscent of the moon. Farther up the valley you'll find the rock hermitages of Aluniș, a church carved into the sandstone, as well as the Meledic Plateau with its salt karst and small lakes. In Colți, a museum displays Romanian amber found in the surrounding area, and near Lopătari the so-called living fire burns in some spots – natural gas escaping from the ground that never goes out. Historians know the county for the Pietroasele treasure, the "Hen with the Golden Chicks," which was discovered here in 1837.

Wine, Food and the Best Time to Visit

At the foot of the hills begins the Dealu Mare wine region, whose cellars produce robust red wines and Tămâioasă; Pietroasele is known for its sweet white wines. Hearty stews, sheep's cheese from the mountain villages and, of course, covrigi round out the local fare. The best time to visit is between May and October, when the mountain roads are clear and the mud volcanoes can be walked on dry. By car, you can reach Buzău from Bucharest via the A7 motorway or the DN2; trains toward Iași and Galați also stop here.