Buzău, city, capital of Buzău județ (county), southeastern Romania, on the Buzău River, approximately 60 miles (100 km) northeast of Bucharest. Its location near the foothills of the Eastern Carpathians at the limit of the Danube Plain fostered its development as a market and trading centre. It was first documented in the records of the Brașov merchants in a reference to the Buzău Fair of 1431. The Romanian Orthodox cathedral was built around 1500 and rebuilt in 1650. The county around Buzău is rich in orchards, market gardens, and vineyards. It has metallurgical engineering and plastics industries. Pop. (2007 est.) 134,619.