Buzău's proximity to trade routes helped it develop its role as a commerce hub in older days, and as an industrial centre during the 20th century.

In turn, the river is mentioned under the name Μουσεος (Mouseos) in a document written in Greek and dated 376 AD, recounting the martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth.

Historian Vasile Pârvan thought that this name is a Greek misspelling of the Thracian word Bouzeos (by losing a π from the Μπ group, which is pronounced like a Latin B).

[16] During World War I, Buzău came under German occupation after mid-December 1916,[17] and many inhabitants took refuge in the nearby villages or in Western Moldavia.

The interbellum brought about the first sport matches (association football and boxing)[18] and the "Metalurgica" factory,[19] a private business that was to be later confiscated by the communists, and continues to this day as part of a joined venture.

After World War II, the industrialization of Buzău was forcefully accelerated, and its population tripled in less than 50 years; new inhabitants were brought to work in newly built factories mainly in the south of the city.

[20] Buzău has profoundly changed its appearance, working class quarters being built instead of the old commercial streets, some historical buildings,[21] such as the Moldavia Theatre, were demolished.

Hasdeu and Mihai Eminescu high-schools, a house where Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu lived for a few years, and some of the tombs in Dumbrava cemetery, such as one that was originally decorated with the statue "Prayer" by Constantin Brâncuși (nowadays replaced by a replica).

[25]The city is located in the center of the county, 100 km north-east of Bucharest, in the south-east of Romania, taking up a total area of 81.3 km2 (31.4 sq mi), at the outermost curvature of the Subcarpathian foothills, at the crossroads of the three main Romanian historical provinces: Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia.

[31] The local authorities consider, however, that their strategy of defense against flood does not adequately cover the city's belt road, part of DN2, which follows the river for a short stretch.

[38] 6% of the Lunca Buzăului protected area, a Natura 2000 site managed by the Ecological University of Bucharest, lies within city limits, in the north and east.

[40] During the migration season, a parliament of short-eared owls has made a habit of spending a few days in some tall fir trees located in the yard of the Forestry Inspector's Office in the city center.

[41] Experimental crops from the city's Research and Development Station for Olericulture sometimes attract wild boars from the riverside forests.

Between the two World Wars, 10% of the population of Buzău was Jewish,[52] a large percentage compared to other cities in Wallachia, but significantly smaller than those in Moldavia, which saved the community from the brunt of the repression by Antonescu's government.

[53] During these persecutions, the Jewish community was defended by captains Stroie and Ionescu, by the Scânteie and Stahu families,[54] and by Anghel Anuțoiu from Vrancea, a man who informed members of the community of upcoming Nazi raids, saving many lives, including that of Rabbi Simon Bercovich, whom he aided to leave the city and go into hiding.

The new immigrants soon started developing vegetable gardens as their houses were in the vicinity of the river that provided them with plenty of water, while local farmers were focusing more on raising livestock and growing cereals.

Of the seven deputies elected in 2016 on these lists, six (social democrats Marcel Ciolacu, Ionela Viorela Dobrică, Sorin Lazăr, Dănuț Păle, Nicolaie-Sebastian-Valentin Radu; and Adrian Mocanu from the People's Movement Party) have their office in Buzău, while only the liberal Cristinel Romanescu has his in Râmnicu Sărat.

[71] During the Middle Ages, Buzău's economy was based on trade, as the market town began as a customs and exchange point, and developed due to its position at the curvature of the Carpathians, in a place where roads that connected Wallachia to Moldavia and Transylvania met.

The old market town tradition is still preserved in the Drăgaica fair, held every June around Midsummer, bringing together small producers and merchants from diverse regions of Romania.

The agricultural reform during Alexandru Ioan Cuza led some of the Bulgarian gardeners to rent in 1897 și 1898 some land acquired by the state from the bishopric.

Towards the end of that century, the development of a Romanian railway network made Buzău one of its important hubs and pushed the small craftsmen's shops to evolve into industrial installations.

After a dramatic nationwide decrease caused by the First World War (the 1919 output was a quarter of the one in 1913[73]), the industrial development picked up steam during the interbellum.

Apcarom S.A., the only Romanian producer of railway equipments,[77] was acquired by the Austrian company VAE, and in 2008 had a capital of 7.38 million lei.

[78] Ductil S.A., one of the largest companies in the city, was privatised in 1999 and divided subsequently, during 1999–2000 by the new majority shareholder, FRO Spa, who only kept the electrodes and welding equipment facilities, and sold out the others.

[82][83] The economy is still more oriented towards industry rather than services, which, according to a 2016 survey of the World Bank, made it more attractive to the labor force of lower qualification (at best with a high school degree).

The same survey showed that most of the labor force in the city came from within the county, as Buzău is the center of a highly rural, compact and densely populated area.

The south of Buzău is also crossed by national road DN2B, which branches from DN2 în the neighboring commune of Costești, leading eastward to Galați and Brăila.

It was however closed after it was destroyed by a flash flood in 2005, and repairs kept being postponed, which had an impact on the economy of the neighboring communes in the north-east of the city, as it remains used only by pedestrians and cyclists.

The city's most important educational landmark is the Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu National College, attended by the Nobel prize winner George Emil Palade in his youth.

Thus, the inter-war coat of arms of Buzău is similar to the present one, except for the mural crown which only had five towers, and a golden border on the shield.