Romania ' onMouseout='HidePop("61427")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Archaic">archaic
Archaic may refer to a period of time preceding a "classical period":*List of archaeological periods**Archaic period in Greece**Archaic period in the Americas**Early Dynastic Period of Egypt...
:
Rumania,
Roumania; ) is a country located in
SoutheasternSoutheastern Europe is a relatively recent political designation for the Balkan states. Because of the negative connotations of the term Balkan, writers such as Maria Todorova and Vesna Goldsworthy have suggested the use of the term Southeastern Europe instead...
and
Central EuropeCentral Europe is the region lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. The term and widespread interest in the region itself came back into fashion after the end of the Cold War, which, along with the Iron Curtain, had divided Europe politically into East and West,...
, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
, within and outside the
Carpathian archThe Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the largest mountain range in Europe...
, bordering on the
Black Seaur a loser!The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to...
. Almost all of the
Danube DeltaThe Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent . The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania , while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine . The approximate surface is...
is located within its territory. Romania shares a border with
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
and
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
to the west,
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
and the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, and
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
to the south.
The territory's recorded history includes periods of rule by
DaciansThe Dacians were an Indo-European people, the ancient inhabitants of Dacia , present-day Romania and Moldova, parts of Sarmatia and Scythia Minor in southeastern Europe...
, the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
, the
Bulgarian empireBulgarian Empire is a term used to describe two periods in the medieval history of Bulgaria, during which it acted as a key regional power in Europe in general and in Southeastern Europe in particular, often rivalling Byzantium...
, the
Kingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary , emerged in 1000, when the Principality of Hungary, founded in 896, was recognized as a Kingdom. The form of government was changed from Monarchy to Republic briefly in 1918 and again in 1946, ending the Kingdom and creating the Republic of Hungary...
, and the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
. As a nation-state, the country was formed by the merging of
MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
and
WallachiaWallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
in 1859 and it gained recognition of its
independenceThe Romanian War of Independence was fought in 1877 against the Ottoman Empire.On , Romania and the Russian Empire signed at Bucharest a treaty under which Russian troops were allowed to pass through Romanian territory, with the condition that Russia respects the integrity of Romania...
in 1878. Later, in 1918, they were joined by
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
,
BukovinaBukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains...
and
BessarabiaBessarabia is a historical term for the geographic entity in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west...
. At the end of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, parts of its territories (roughly the present day Republic of Moldova) were occupied by the USSR and Romania became a member of the
Warsaw PactThe Warsaw Pact is the informal name for the mutual defense Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance subscribed by eight Communist states in Eastern Europe, that was established at the USSR’s initiative and realised on 14 May 1955, in Warsaw, Poland...
.
With the fall of the
Iron CurtainThe concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991...
in
1989The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a week-long series of increasingly violent riots and fighting in late December 1989 that overthrew the Government of Nicolae Ceauşescu. After a trial, Ceauşescu and his wife Elena were executed...
, Romania started a series of political and economic reforms. After a decade of post-revolution economic problems, Romania made economic reforms such as low
flat taxA flat tax is a tax system with a constant tax rate. Usually the term flat tax would refer to household income being taxed at one marginal rate, in contrast with progressive taxes that may vary according to such parameters as income or usage levels...
rates in 2005 and joined the European Union on January 1, 2007. While Romania's income level remains one of the lowest in the European Union, reforms have increased the growth speed. Romania is now an upper-middle income country economy.
Romania has the 9th largest territory and the 7th largest population (with 21.5 million people) among the European Union member states. Its capital and largest city is
BucharestBucharest is the capital city, industrial and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River....
, the
6th largest city in the EUThis is a list of the largest cities in the European Union by population within city limits which have more than 300,000 inhabitants. It deals exclusively with the areas within city administrative boundaries as opposed to urban areas or metropolitan areas, which are generally larger in terms of...
with 1.9 million people. In 2007,
SibiuSibiu or Hermannstadt is an important city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. It straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt. It is the capital of Sibiu County and is located some 282 km NW of Bucharest...
, a city in Transylvania, was chosen as a
European Capital of CultureThe European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year during which it is given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development. A number of European cities have used the City of Culture year to transform their cultural base and,...
. Romania also joined
NATOThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
on March 29, 2004, and is also a member of the
Latin UnionThe Latin Union is an international organization of nations that use a Romance language. Its aim is to protect, project, and promote the common cultural heritage and unifying identities of the Latin, and Latin-influenced, world. It was created in 1954 in Madrid, Spain, and it has existed as a...
, of the Francophonie of the
OSCEThe Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
and an associate member of the
CPLPCommunity of Portuguese Language Countries is the intergovernmental organization for friendship among lusophone nations where Portuguese is an official language. The Portuguese-speaking countries are home to more than 223 million people located across the globe...
. Romania is a semi-presidential
unitary stateA unitary state is a sovereign state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that the central government chooses to delegate...
.
Etymology
The name of
Romania comes from which is a derivative of the (
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
). The fact that Romanians call themselves a derivative of
Romanus is mentioned as early as the 16th century by many authors, including Italian Humanists travelling in
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
,
MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
and
WallachiaWallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
. The oldest surviving document written in the
Romanian languageRomanian or Daco-Romanian is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova. It has official status in Romania, Republic of Moldova, and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in Serbia...
is a 1521 letter known as "Neacşu's Letter from
CâmpulungCâmpulung , or Câmpulung Muscel, is a city in the Argeş County, Wallachia, Romania. It is situated among the outlying hills of the Transylvanian Alps, at the head of a long well-wooded glen traversed by the river Târgului, a tributary of the Argeş.Its pure air and fine scenery render Câmpulung a...
". This document is also notable for having the first occurrence of "Rumanian" in a Romanian written text,
WallachiaWallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
being here named The Rumanian Land –
Ţeara Rumânească (
Ţeara from the land).
In the following centuries, Romanian documents use interchangeably two spelling forms:
Român and
Rumân.
["am scris aceste sfente cǎrţi de învăţături, sǎ fie popilor rumânesti... sǎ înţeleagǎ toţi oamenii cine-s rumâni creştini" "Întrebare creştineascǎ" (1559), Bibliografia româneascǎ veche, IV, 1944, p. 6. ]
"...că văzum cum toate limbile au şi înfluresc întru cuvintele slǎvite a lui Dumnezeu numai noi românii pre limbă nu avem. Pentru aceia cu mare muncǎ scoasem de limba jidoveascǎ si greceascǎ si srâbeascǎ pre limba româneascǎ 5 cărţi ale lui Moisi prorocul si patru cărţi şi le dăruim voo fraţi rumâni şi le-au scris în cheltuială multǎ... şi le-au dăruit voo fraţilor români,... şi le-au scris voo fraţilor români" Palia de la Orǎştie (1581–1582), Bucureşti, 1968.
În Ţara Ardealului nu lăcuiesc numai unguri, ce şi saşi peste seamă de mulţi şi români peste tot locul..., Grigore Ureche, Letopiseţul Ţării Moldovei, p. 133–134. Socio-linguistic evolutions in the late 17th century led to a process of semantic differentiation: the form
"rumân", presumably usual among lower classes, got the meaning of "bondsman", while the form
românRomanian or Daco-Romanian is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova. It has official status in Romania, Republic of Moldova, and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in Serbia...
kept an ethno-linguistic meaning. After the abolition of
serfdomSerfdom is the socio-economic status of unfree peasants under feudalism, and specifically relates to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe...
in 1746, the form "rumân" gradually disappears and the spelling definitively stabilises to the form
"român", "românesc".
[ In his well known literary testament Ienăchiţă Văcărescu]Ienăchiţă Văcărescu was a Wallachian Romanian poet, historian, philologist, and boyar belonging to the Văcărescu family. A polyglot, he was able to speak Ancient and Modern Greek, Old Church Slavonic, Arabic, Persian, French, German, Italian, and Ottoman Turkish.-Biography:Văcărescu wrote one of...
writes: "Urmaşilor mei Văcăreşti!/Las vouă moştenire:/Creşterea limbei româneşti/Ş-a patriei cinstire."
In the "Istoria faptelor lui Mavroghene-Vodă şi a răzmeriţei din timpul lui pe la 1790" a Pitar Hristache writes: "Încep după-a mea ideie/Cu vreo câteva condeie/Povestea mavroghenească/Dela Ţara Românească. The name "
RomâniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
" as common homeland of all Romanians is documented in the early 19th century.
[ The first known mention of the term "Romania" in its modern denotation dates from 1816, as the Greek scholar Dimitrie Daniel Philippide published in Leipzig]Leipzig is, with a population of 515,459, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany.-Origins:Leipzig's name is derived from the Slavic word Lipsk, which means "settlement where the lime trees stand"....
his work "The History of Romania", followed by "The Geography of Romania".
On the tombstoneA headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, normally carved from stone, placed over or next to the site of a burial in a cemetery or elsewhere.- Use :...
of Gheorghe LazărGheorghe Lazăr was a Transylvanian-born Romanian scholar, the founder of the first Romanian language school - in Bucharest, 1818.-Biography:...
in AvrigAvrig is a town in the Sibiu County, Romania. It has a population of 16,215 and the first documents attesting the village exists since 1346.- Geography :...
(built in 1823) there is the inscription: "Precum Hristos pe Lazăr din morţi a înviat/Aşa tu România din somn ai deşteptat." This name has been officially in use since December 11, 1861.
English-language sources still used the terms "Rumania" or "Roumania", borrowed from the French spelling "
Roumanie", as recently as
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but since then those terms have largely been replaced with the official spelling "
Romania".
Prehistory and Antiquity
The oldest modern human remains in Europe were discovered in the "
Cave With BonesPeştera cu Oase is a system of 12 karstic galleries and chambers located N. 45° 01’; E. 21° 50’ in south-western Romania, where the oldest early modern human remains in Europe have been discovered....
" in present day Romania. The remains are approximately 42,000 years old and as Europe’s oldest remains of
Homo sapiens, they may represent the first such people to have entered the continent. But the earliest written evidence of people living in the territory of the present-day Romania comes from
HerodotusHerodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
in book IV of his
Histories (Herodotus)The Histories of Herodotus is considered one of the seminal works of history in Western literature. Written from the 450s to the 420s BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that...
written 440 BCE, where he writes about the
GetaeThe Getae was the name given by the Greeks to several Thracian / Dacian tribes that occupied the regions south of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria, and north of the Lower Danube, in Romania...
tribes.
DaciansThe Dacians were an Indo-European people, the ancient inhabitants of Dacia , present-day Romania and Moldova, parts of Sarmatia and Scythia Minor in southeastern Europe...
, considered a part of these Getae, were a branch of
ThraciansThe ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes who spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
that inhabited
DaciaIn ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land in East-Central Europe inhabited by the Dacians. Ancient Greeks called the same people "Getae"...
(corresponding to modern Romania,
MoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south....
and northern
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
). The Dacian kingdom reached its maximum expansion during King
BurebistaBurebista is widely considered to be the greatest king of Dacia. He ruled between 82 BC and 44 BC. He unified the Thracian population from Hercynia in the west, to the Bug River in the east, and from the northern Carpathians to Dionysopolis...
, around 82 BC, and soon came under the scrutiny of the neighboring
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
. After an attack by the Dacians on the
Roman provinceIn Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italian peninsula...
of
MoesiaMoesia was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River...
in 87 AD, the Romans led a series of wars (Dacian Wars) which eventually led to the victory of Emperor
TrajanMarcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan , was a Roman Emperor who reigned from A. D. 98 until his death in A. D. 117...
in 106 AD, and transformed the core of the kingdom into the province of
Roman DaciaRoman Dacia, also Dacia Traiana or Dacia Felix, was a province of the Roman Empire . Its territory consisted of eastern and southeastern Transylvania, the Banat, and Oltenia . Dacia was from the very beginning organized as an imperial province and remained so throughout the Roman occupation...
.
Rich ore deposits were found in the province, and especially gold and silver were plentiful. which led to Rome heavily colonizing the province. This brought the
Vulgar LatinVulgar Latin can be defined simply as colloquial Latin.-Origin of the term:...
and started a period of intense
romanizationIn linguistics, romanization or latinization, alternately spelt as latinisation or romanisation , is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system...
, that would give birth to the proto-
RomanianRomanian or Daco-Romanian is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova. It has official status in Romania, Republic of Moldova, and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in Serbia...
. Nevertheless, in the 3rd century AD, with the invasions of migratory populations such as
GothsThe Goths were a heterogeneous East Germanic tribe. The historian Jordanes claimed that the Goths arrived from semi-legendary Scandza, believed to be somewhere in modern Götaland , and that a Gothic population had crossed the Baltic Sea before the 2nd century, lending their name to the region of...
, the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
was forced to pull out of Dacia around 271 AD, thus making it the first province to be abandoned.
Several competing theories have been generated to explain the
origin of modern RomaniansThe Romanians are a people who speak Romanian, a Romance language, and live in Central and Eastern Europe....
. Linguistic and geo-historical analysis tend to indicate that
RomaniansThe Romanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian ; they are the majority inhabitants of România.In one prominent interpretation of the census results in Moldova, Moldovans are counted as Romanians, which would...
have coalesced as a major ethnic group both South and North of the
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
.
For further discussion, see Origin of RomaniansThe Romanians are a people who speak Romanian, a Romance language, and live in Central and Eastern Europe....
.
Middle Ages
After the Roman army and administration left Dacia, the territory was invaded by the
GothsThe Goths were a heterogeneous East Germanic tribe. The historian Jordanes claimed that the Goths arrived from semi-legendary Scandza, believed to be somewhere in modern Götaland , and that a Gothic population had crossed the Baltic Sea before the 2nd century, lending their name to the region of...
, then, in the 4th century by
HunsThe Huns were a group of nomadic pastoral people who, appearing from beyond the Volga, migrated into Europe c.AD 370 and built up an enormous empire in Europe. They were possibly the descendants of the Xiongnu who had been northern neighbours of China three hundred years before and may be the first...
. They were followed by more nomads including Gepids,
AvarsThe Eurasian Avars, sometimes referred to as the European Avars, or Ancient Avars, were a highly organized and powerful confederation of a mixed ethnic background, thought to be closely related to the Mongols, Bulgars, Khazars and other Oghur Turkic peoples of the time...
,
BulgarsThe Bulgars were originally semi-nomadic people, probably of Turkic descent, originating in Central Asia, who from the 2nd century onwards conquered different parts of Europe...
,
PechenegsThe Pechenegs or Patzinaks were a semi-nomadic Turkic people of the Central Asian steppes speaking the Pecheneg language which belonged to the Turkic language family.-Origins and area:...
, and
CumansCumans were a nomadic Turkic people who inhabited a shifting area north of the Black Sea known as Cumania along the Volga River. They eventually settled to the west of the Black Sea, influencing the politics of Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Moldavia, and Wallachia...
.
In the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, Romanians lived in three distinct principalities:
WallachiaWallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
(—"Romanian Land"),
MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
and
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. By the 11th century, Transylvania became a largely autonomous part of the
Kingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary , emerged in 1000, when the Principality of Hungary, founded in 896, was recognized as a Kingdom. The form of government was changed from Monarchy to Republic briefly in 1918 and again in 1946, ending the Kingdom and creating the Republic of Hungary...
, and became independent as the
Principality of TransylvaniaThe Principality of Transylvania was a semi-independent state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire ruled by mostly Calvinist Hungarian princes...
from the 16th century, until 1711. In the other Romanian principalities, many small local states with varying degrees of independence developed, but only in the 14th century the larger principalities Wallachia (1310) and Moldavia (around 1352) emerged to fight a threat of the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
.
Vlad III the ImpalerVlad III, Prince of Wallachia, more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler , or simply Dracula , was a Wallachian voivode. His first reign as crown prince took place at age 17, during the same year of his release from Turkish captivity, in 1448...
maintained an independent policy in relation to the Ottoman Empire, and, in 1462, defeated
Mehmed IIMehmet II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446,...
's offensive during
The Night AttackThe Night Attack was a skirmish fought between forces of Vlad III the Impaler of Wallachia) and Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire on June 17, 1462. The conflict initially started with Vlad Ţepeş's refusal to pay tribute to the Sultan and intensified when Vlad Ţepeş invaded Bulgaria and impaled over...
.
By 1541, the entire Balkan peninsula and most of
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
became Ottoman provinces. In contrast, Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania, came under Ottoman
suzeraintySuzerainty is a situation in which a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary some limited domestic autonomy. The superior entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a suzerain...
, but conserved fully internal autonomy and, until the 18th century, some external independence. During this period the Romanian lands were characterised by the slow disappearance of the
feudalFeudalism is a decentralized sociopolitical structure in which a weak monarchy attempts to control the lands of the realm through reciprocal agreements with regional leaders...
system; the distinguishment of some rulers like
Stephen the GreatStephen III of Moldavia or Stephen III , also known as Stephen the Great was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent representative of the House of Muşat.During his reign, he strengthened Moldavia and maintained its independence against...
,
Vasile LupuVasile Lupu was a Moldavian Voivode between 1634 and 1653.Vasile Lupu surnamed "the wolf" who ruled as Prince of Moldavia had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and managed to hold it for twenty years. Basil was the son of an Albanian adventurer and a...
, and
Dimitrie CantemirDimitrie Cantemir was twice Prince of Moldavia . He was also a prolific man of letters – philosopher, historian, composer, musicologist, linguist, ethnographer, and geographer....
in Moldavia,
Matei BasarabMatei Basarab was a Wallachian Voivode between 1632 and 1654.-Reign:Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1637, 1639, and 1653 - see Battle of Finta...
,
Vlad III the ImpalerVlad III, Prince of Wallachia, more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler , or simply Dracula , was a Wallachian voivode. His first reign as crown prince took place at age 17, during the same year of his release from Turkish captivity, in 1448...
, and
Constantin BrâncoveanuConstantin Brâncoveanu was Prince of Wallachia between 1689 and 1714.-Ascension:A descendant of the Craioveşti boyar family and related to Matei Basarab, Brâncoveanu was born at the estate of Brâncoveni and raised in the house of his uncle, stolnic Constantin Cantacuzino...
in Wallachia,
Gabriel BethlenGabriel Bethlen was a prince of Transylvania , duke of Opole and leader of an anti-Habsburg insurrection in the Habsburg Royal Hungary. His last armed intervention in 1626 was part of the Thirty Years' War...
in
TransylvaniaThe Principality of Transylvania was a semi-independent state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire ruled by mostly Calvinist Hungarian princes...
; the Phanariot Epoch; and the appearance of the
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
as a political and military influence.
In 1600, the principalities of Wallachia, Moldova and Transylvania were simultaneously headed by the Wallachian prince Michael the Brave (
Mihai Viteazul),
BanBan is a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler"...
of
OlteniaOltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia...
, but the chance for a unity dissolved after Mihai was killed, only one year later, by the soldiers of an
AustrianThe Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The capital was mainly Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when the capital was Prague...
army general
Giorgio BastaGiorgio Basta, Count of Huszt was a general of Albanian descent, employed by the Holy Roman Emperor to command Habsburg forces in the Long War of 1591-1606 and later to administer Transylvania as an Imperial vassal...
. Mihai Viteazul, who was prince of Transylvania for less than one year, intended for the first time to unite the three principalities and to lay down foundations of a single state in a territory comparable to today's Romania.
After his death, as vassal tributary states,
MoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south....
and
WallachiaWallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
had complete internal autonomy and an external independence, which was finally lost in the 18th century. In 1699, Transylvania became a territory of the
Habsburgs'The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The capital was mainly Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when the capital was Prague...
Austrian empire, following the Austrian victory over the Turks in the
Great Turkish WarThe Great Turkish War refers to a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and contemporary European powers, then joined into a Holy League, during the second half of the 17th century.-1667-1683:...
. The Austrians, in their turn, rapidly expanded their empire: in 1718 an important part of Wallachia, called
OlteniaOltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia...
, was incorporated to the Austrian monarchy and was only returned in 1739. In 1775, the Austrian empire occupied the north-western part of Moldavia, later called
BukovinaBukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains...
, while the eastern half of the principality (called
BessarabiaBessarabia is a historical term for the geographic entity in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west...
) was occupied in 1812 by Russia.
Independence and monarchy
During the period of Austro-Hungarian rule in
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, and
OttomanThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
suzerainty over
WallachiaWallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
and
MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
, most
RomaniansThe Romanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian ; they are the majority inhabitants of România.In one prominent interpretation of the census results in Moldova, Moldovans are counted as Romanians, which would...
were in the situation of being
second-class citizensSupplex Libellus Valachorum Transsilvaniae is the name of two petitions sent by the leaders of the ethnic Romanians of Transylvania to the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, demanding equal political rights with the other ethnicities of Transylvania and a share of the Transylvanian Diet proportional...
(or even non-citizens) in a territory where they formed the majority of the population. In some Transylvanian cities, such as
BraşovBraşov is a city in Romania and the capital of Braşov County, with a population of 284,596, according to the 2002 census, is the 8th largest Romanian city....
(at that time the
Transylvanian SaxonThe Transylvanian Saxons are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania from the 12th century onwards.The colonization of Transylvania by Germans was begun by King Géza II of Hungary . For decades, the main task of the German settlers was to defend the southeastern border of the...
citadel of Kronstadt), Romanians were
not even allowedThe Transylvanian Memorandum was a petition sent in 1892 by the leaders of the Romanians of Transylvania to the Austro-Hungarian Emperor-King Franz Joseph, asking for equal ethnic rights with the Hungarians, and demanding an end to persecutions and Magyarization attempts.-Status:After the Ausgleich...
to reside within the city walls.
After the failed
1848 RevolutionThe European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout the European continent...
, the Great Powers did not support the Romanians' expressed desire to officially unite in a single state, which forced Romania to proceed alone against the
OttomansThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
. The electors in both
MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
and
WallachiaWallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
chose in 1859 the same person –
Alexandru Ioan CuzaAlexander John Cuza was a Moldavian-born Romanian politician who ruled as the first Domnitor of the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia between 1859 and 1866.-Early life:Born in Bârlad, Cuza belonged to the traditional boyar class in Moldavia, being the son of Ispravnic Ioan Cuza...
– as prince (
DomnitorDomnitor was the official title of the ruler of the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia between 1859 and 1866...
in
RomanianRomanian or Daco-Romanian is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova. It has official status in Romania, Republic of Moldova, and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in Serbia...
). Thus, Romania was created as a personal union, albeit a Romania that did not include Transylvania. There, the upper class and the aristocracy remained mainly Hungarian, and Romanian nationalism inevitably ran up against Hungarian in the late 19th century. As in the previous 900 years, Austria-Hungary, especially under the
Dual MonarchyHungary is a state in central Europe, its history under this name dating to the early Middle Ages, when the region previously known as Pannonia was colonized by the Magyar nomad people from what is now central-northern Russia. For history of the area before this period, see Pannonian basin before...
of 1867, kept the Hungarians firmly in control even in the parts of Transylvania where Romanians constituted a local majority.
In a 1866
coup d'état, Cuza was exiled and replaced by Prince Karl of
Hohenzollern-SigmaringenThe House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen is the cadet branch of the senior Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty, less known than the Franconian branch which became Burgraves of Nuremberg and later ruled Brandenburg-Prussia and the German Empire...
, who became known as Prince Carol of Romania. During the Russo-Turkish War Romania fought on the Russian side, in and in the
1878 Treaty of BerlinThe Treaty of Berlin was the final act of the Congress of Berlin , by which the United Kingdom, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Hamid revised the Treaty of San Stefano signed on March 3 of the same year. The most important task of the Congress was...
, Romania was recognized as an
independentThe Romanian War of Independence was fought in 1877 against the Ottoman Empire.On , Romania and the Russian Empire signed at Bucharest a treaty under which Russian troops were allowed to pass through Romanian territory, with the condition that Russia respects the integrity of Romania...
state by the Great Powers. In return, Romania ceded three southern districts of
BessarabiaBessarabia is a historical term for the geographic entity in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west...
to Russia and acquired
DobrujaDobruja, or Dobrudja , is a historical region shared by Bulgaria and Romania, located between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, including the Danube Delta, Romanian coast and the northernmost part of the Bulgarian coast....
. In 1881, the
principalityA principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
was raised to a
kingdomThe person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch. It was a common form of government in the world during the ancient and medieval times. A Monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or...
and Prince Carol became
KingA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
Carol I.
The 1878–1914 period was one of
stability and progressThe Kingdom of Romania was the old Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
for Romania. During the
Second Balkan WarThe Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria dissatisfied from its share after the division of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies repulsed the Bulgarian offensive and counter-attacked...
, Romania joined
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
,
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
,
MontenegroMontenegro , is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east and Albania to the south...
and
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
against
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
, and in the peace Treaty of Bucharest (1913) Romania gained Southern Dobrudja.
World Wars and Greater Romania
(1916–1945)
In August 1914, when
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
broke out, Romania declared
neutralityA neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
. Two years later, under pressure from the Allies (especially France, desperate to open a new front), on August 14/27 1916, Romania joined the Allies, declaring war on
Austria-HungaryAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
. For this action, under the terms of the secret military convention, Romania was promised support for its goal of national unity for all Romanian people.
The
Romanian military campaignThe Romanian Campaign was a campaign in the Balkan theatre of World War I, with Romania and Russia allied against the armies of the Central Powers.-Before the war:...
ended in disaster for Romania as the
Central PowersThe Central Powers was one of the two sides that participated in World War I, the other being the Entente Powers.-Member states:...
conquered two-thirds of the country and captured or killed the majority of its army within four months. Nevertheless,
MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
remained in Romanian hands after the invading forces were stopped in 1917. By the war's end, Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire had collapsed and disintegrated;
BessarabiaBessarabia is a historical term for the geographic entity in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west...
,
BukovinaBukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains...
and
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
proclaimed unions with the
Kingdom of RomaniaThe Kingdom of Romania was the old Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
in 1918. Total
deathsThe total number of casualties in World War I, both military and civilian, were about 37 million: 16 million deaths and 21 million wounded.The total number of deaths includes 9.7 million military personnel and about 6.8 million civilians...
from 1914 to 1918, military and civilian, within contemporary borders, were estimated at 748,000. By the 1920
Treaty of TrianonThe Treaty of Trianon was the peace treaty concluded in 1920 at the end of World War I by the Allies of World War I, on one side, and Hungary, seen as a successor of Austria-Hungary, on the other. The treaty established the borders of Hungary and regulated its international situation...
,
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
renounced in favour of Romania all the claims of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy over
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. The union of Romania with
BukovinaBukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains...
was ratified in 1919 in the Treaty of Saint Germain, and with
BessarabiaBessarabia is a historical term for the geographic entity in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west...
in 1920 by the
Treaty of ParisThe 1920 Treaty of Paris was an act signed by Romania and the principal Allied Powers of the time whose purpose was the recognition of Romanian sovereignty over Bessarabia...
.
The Romanian expression
România MareRomânia Mare, in precise translation from Romanian into English Great Roumania, can have the following meaning:* the Kingdom of Romania within the boundaries established in 1918 under King Ferdinand I, or...
(literal translation "Great Romania", but more commonly rendered "Greater Romania") generally refers to the Romanian state in the
interwar periodThe interwar period is understood, within recent Western culture, to be the period between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second World War. This is also called the period between the wars or interbellum....
, and by extension, to the territory Romania covered at the time (see map). Romania achieved at that time its greatest territorial extent (almost ), managing to unite all the historic Romanian lands.
During the Second World War, Romania tried again to remain neutral, but on June 28, 1940, it received a Soviet ultimatum with an implied threat of
invasionAn invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...
in the event of non-compliance. Under pressure from
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
and
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the Romanian administration and the army were forced to retreat from
BessarabiaBessarabia is a historical term for the geographic entity in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west...
as well from Northern Bukovina to avoid war. This, in combination with other factors, prompted the government to join the Axis. Thereafter, southern
DobrujaDobruja, or Dobrudja , is a historical region shared by Bulgaria and Romania, located between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, including the Danube Delta, Romanian coast and the northernmost part of the Bulgarian coast....
was awarded to Bulgaria, while Hungary received
Northern TransylvaniaNorthern Transylvania is a region of Transylvania, situated within the territory of Romania. The population is largely composed of both ethnic Romanians and Hungarians, and the region was ruled by Greater Romania and Romania from 1918 , and Kingdom of Hungary before, in the 20th century...
as result of an Axis arbitration. The authoritarian
King Carol IICarol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand I, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
abdicated in 1940, succeeded by the
National Legionary StateThe National Legionary State was the Romanian government from September 6, 1940 to January 23, 1941. It was a single-party regime dictatorship dominated by the overtly fascist Iron Guard in uneasy conjunction with the head of government and Conducător Ion Antonescu, the leader of the Romanian...
, in which power was shared by
Ion AntonescuIon Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
and the
Iron GuardThe Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II...
. Within months, Antonescu had crushed the
Iron GuardThe Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II...
, and the subsequent year Romania entered the war on the side of the Axis powers. During the war, Romania was the most important source of oil for
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
, which attracted multiple bombing raids by the
AlliesIn general, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose. In English usage, those who share a common goal and whose work toward that goal is complementary may be viewed as allies for various purposes even when...
. By means of the
Axis invasion of the Soviet UnionOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km front...
, Romania recovered Bessarabia and northern Bukovina from the Soviet Russia, under the leadership of general
Ion AntonescuIon Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
. The Antonescu regime played a major role in the Holocaust, following to a lesser extent the Nazi policy of oppression and massacre of the
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
s, and Romas, primarily in the Eastern territories Romania recovered or occupied from the Soviet Union (
TransnistriaTransnistria, during World War II, was a region of the USSR, occupied by Romania, during the maximum eastward expansion of the Axis Powers, from August 19 1941 to January 29 1944...
) and in
MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
.
In August 1944, Antonescu was toppled and arrested by King
Michael I of RomaniaMichael reigned as King of the Romanians from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930, and again from 6 September 1940, until forced to abdicate by the communists backed up by orders of Stalin to the Soviet armies of occupation on 30 December 1947...
. Romania changed sides and joined the
AlliesThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . The involvement of the Allies in World War II was either natural and inevitable they were invaded or under the direct threat of invasion by the Axis or compelled by concerns that the Axis powers...
, but its role in the defeat of
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
was not recognized by the
Paris Peace ConferenceThe Paris Peace Conference resulted in the Paris Peace Treaties signed on February 10, 1947. The victorious wartime Allied powers negotiated the details of treaties with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland .The treaties allowed Italy,...
of 1947. By the end of the war, the Romanian army had suffered about 300,000 casualties.
JewishThe history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
Holocaust victims totaled 469,000 within the 1939 borders, including 325,000 in Bessarabia and Bukovina.
Communism
(1945–1989)
With
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
forces still stationed in the country and exerting
de facto control, the
CommunistThe Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
-dominated government called
new electionsThe Romanian general election of 1946 was a general election held on November 19, 1946, in Romania. Officially, it was carried with 79.86% of the vote by the Romanian Communist Party , its allies inside the Bloc of Democratic Parties , and its associates — the Hungarian People's Union , the...
, which were won with 80% of the vote through intimidation and likely
electoral fraudElectoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about a election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
. They thus rapidly established themselves as the dominant political force.
In 1947, the
CommunistsCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
forced
King Michael IMichael reigned as King of the Romanians from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930, and again from 6 September 1940, until forced to abdicate by the communists backed up by orders of Stalin to the Soviet armies of occupation on 30 December 1947...
to abdicate and leave the country, and proclaimed Romania a
people's republicPeople's Republic, also especially in other languages Popular Republic, is a title that has often been used by Marxist-Leninist governments to describe their state...
. Romania remained under the direct
military occupationThe Soviet occupation of Romania refers to the period from 1944 to August 1958, during which the Soviet Union maintained a significant military presence in Romania...
and economic control of the
USSRThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
until the late 1950s. During this period, Romania's vast natural resources were continuously drained by mixed Soviet-Romanian companies (SovRoms) set up for exploitative purposes.
From the late 1940s to the early 1960s, the
CommunistCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
government established a reign of terror, carried out mainly through the
SecuritateThe Securitate , was the secret service of Communist Romania. Previously the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului...
(the new secret police). During this time they launched several campaigns to eliminate "
enemies of the stateAn enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the state, such as treason. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example, an authoritarian regime may purport to maintain national security by describing social or political...
", in which numerous individuals were killed or imprisoned for arbitrary political or economic reasons. Punishment included deportation, internal exile, and internment in forced labour camps and prisons; dissent was vigorously suppressed. A notorious experiment in this period took place in the
Piteşti prisonThe Piteşti prison was a penal facility in Piteşti, Romania, best remembered for the brainwashing experiment carried out by Communist authorities in 1949-1952...
, where a group of political opponents were put into a program of reeducation through torture. Historical records show hundreds of thousands of abuses, deaths and incidents of torture against a wide range of people, from political opponents to ordinary citizens.
In 1965,
Nicolae CeauşescuNicolae Andruţă Ceauşescu was a Romanian politician who was the Secretary General of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, President of the Council of State from 1967, and President of Romania from 1974 to 1989...
came to power and started to pursue independent policies such as being the only
Warsaw PactThe Warsaw Pact is the informal name for the mutual defense Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance subscribed by eight Communist states in Eastern Europe, that was established at the USSR’s initiative and realised on 14 May 1955, in Warsaw, Poland...
country to condemn the Soviet-led 1968 invasion of
CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, and to continue diplomatic relations with
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
after the
Six-Day WarThe Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967 was a war between the Israel army and the armies of the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Arab states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms. At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the...
of 1967; establishing economic (1963) and diplomatic (1967) relations with the Federal Republic of Germany. Also, close ties with the
ArabArab people or Arabs are an ethnic group whose members identify along linguistic, cultural or genealogical grounds...
countries (and the PLO) allowed Romania to play a key role in the
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
–
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
and Israel–PLO peace processes. But as Romania's foreign debt sharply increased between 1977 and 1981 (from 3 to 10 billion US dollars), the influence of international financial organisations such as the IMF or the
World BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to poorer countries for capital programs, tied to neoliberal market restructurings...
grew, conflicting with
Nicolae CeauşescuNicolae Andruţă Ceauşescu was a Romanian politician who was the Secretary General of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, President of the Council of State from 1967, and President of Romania from 1974 to 1989...
's
autarchicAutarky is the quality of being self-sufficient. Usually the term is applied to political states or their economic policies. Autarky exists whenever an entity can survive or continue its activities without external assistance. Autarky is not necessarily economic. For example, a military autarky...
policies. He eventually initiated a project of total reimbursement of the foreign debt by imposing policies that impoverished Romanians and exhausted the Romanian economy, while also greatly extending the authority of the
police stateThe Securitate , was the secret service of Communist Romania. Previously the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului...
, and imposing a
cult of personalityA cult of personality arises when a country's leader uses mass media to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are often found in dictatorships and Stalinist governments....
. These led to a dramatic decrease in Ceauşescu's popularity and culminated in his overthrow and execution in the bloody
Romanian Revolution of 1989The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a week-long series of increasingly violent riots and fighting in late December 1989 that overthrew the Government of Nicolae Ceauşescu. After a trial, Ceauşescu and his wife Elena were executed...
.
In 2006, the
Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in RomaniaThe Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania , also known as the Tismăneanu Commission , is a commission instituted in Romania by President Traian Băsescu to investigate the Communist regime and provide a comprehensive report allowing for the condemnation of...
estimated the number of direct victims of communist repression at two million people. This number does not include people who died in liberty as a result of their treatment in communist prisons, nor does it include people who died because of the dire economic circumstances in which the country found itself.
It must also be stressed that a very large
nationalizationNationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being state...
scheme had been established by the communist State as from 1948. It did not only impacted industries, factories or agriculture productions lands, but also private houses and buildings. The figure of around 400,000 buildings confiscated by the State is regularly mentioned. It is considered than between 150,000 and 250,000 owners have been deprived of their properties and some of them physically eliminated. In an attempt to compensate the owners who cannot get back theirs lands of real estates (because the State passed a law in 1995 that allowed the confiscated goods to be sold to tenants), a special fund has been created in 2005:
Fondul ProprietateaFondul Proprietatea is a joint stock company established by the Romanian state, but which is intended to become entirely private and independent of the state. Its specificity lies in the fact that its purpose and its operations are governed by special legislation...
, without any significant results until September 2009.
Present-day democracy
After the revolution, the
National Salvation FrontThe National Salvation Front was the governing body of Romania in the first weeks after the Romanian Revolution of 1989, subsequently turned into a political party...
, led by
Ion IliescuIon Iliescu served as President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. From 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 until his retirement in 2008, Iliescu was a Senator for the Social Democratic Party , whose honorary president he remains.He joined the Communist Party in 1953 and became a...
, took partial multi-party democratic and free market measures. Several major political parties of the pre-war era, such as the
Christian-Democratic National Peasants' PartyThe Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party is a Romanian Christian-Democratic party...
, the
National Liberal PartyThe Partidul Naţional Liberal is a liberal party in Romania, the third largest party in parliament, being outrun by the Democratic Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party...
and the Romanian Social Democrat Party were resurrected. After several major political rallies, in April 1990, a sit-in protest contesting the results of the recently held parliamentary elections began in
University Square, BucharestUniversity Square is located in downtown Bucharest, near the University of Bucharest.Four statues are located in the University Square, in front of the University; they depict Ion Heliade Rădulescu , Michael the Brave , Gheorghe Lazăr and Spiru Haret .The square was the site of the 1990 Golaniad,...
accusing the Front of being made up of former Communists and members of the
SecuritateThe Securitate , was the secret service of Communist Romania. Previously the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului...
. The protesters did not recognize the results of the election, deeming them undemocratic, and asked for the exclusion from the political life of the former high-ranking Communist Party members. The protest rapidly grew to become an ongoing mass demonstration (known as the
GolaniadThe Golaniad was a protest in Romania in the University Square, Bucharest. It was initiated by students and professors at the University of Bucharest....
). The peaceful demonstrations degenerated into violence, and the violent intervention of coal miners from the
Jiu ValleyThe Jiu is a river of southern Romania. It is formed near Petroşani by the junction of headwaters Jiul de Vest and Jiul de Est.It flows southward through the Romanian counties Hunedoara, Gorj and Dolj before flowing into the Danube a few kilometers upstream from the Bulgarian city of Oryahovo, 331...
led to what is remembered as the
June 1990 MineriadThe June 1990 Mineriad was the suppression of the student-led protests in 1990 Romania by the miners of Jiu Valley called in by the newly-elected power to Bucharest. Many of the miners, armed with clubs, fought with and wounded many of the protesters and bystanders...
.
The subsequent disintegration of the Front produced several political parties including the Romanian Democrat Social Party (later
Social Democratic PartyThe Social Democratic Party is a major political party of Romania. It can be loosely classified as a center-left party, although the right-left division in Romania is quite blurred...
), the Democratic Party and the (Alliance for Romania). The first governed Romania from 1990 until 1996 through several coalitions and governments and with Ion Iliescu as head of state. Since then there have been three democratic changes of government: in 1996, the democratic-liberal opposition and its leader
Emil ConstantinescuEmil Constantinescu was President of Romania from 1996 to 2000.He graduated from the law school of the University of Bucharest, and subsequently started a career as a geologist...
acceded to power; in 2000 the Social Democrats returned to power, with Iliescu once again president; and in 2004
Traian BăsescuTraian Băsescu is a Romanian politician and former Merchant Navy officer. He is the current President of Romania, after winning the office in the 2004 presidential election, and being inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
was elected president, with an electoral coalition called
Justice and Truth AllianceThe Justice and Truth Alliance was a political alliance comprising two political parties in Romania: the centre-right liberal National Liberal Party and the centrist reformist Democratic Party .As the political formation with the largest number of seats in parliament, the Justice and Truth...
. The government was formed by a larger coalition which also includes the
Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party of Romania is a political party formed in 1991, after the fall of Communism, under the name of the Romanian Humanist Party . From 2005 until December 3, 2006, the party was a junior member of the ruling coalition...
and the ethnic Hungarian party.
Post-
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
Romania developed closer ties with
Western EuropeWestern Europe is the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of Central Europe...
, eventually joining
NATOThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
in 2004, and hosting in Bucharest the
2008 summitThe 2008 Bucharest Summit or the 20th NATO Summit was a NATO summit organized in Bucharest, Romania on 2–4 April 2008. Among other business, Croatia and Albania were invited to join the alliance. Republic of Macedonia was not invited due to its ongoing naming dispute with Greece...
. The country applied in June 1993 for membership in the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
and became an Associated State of the EU in 1995, an Acceding Country in 2004, and a member on January 1, 2007.
Following the free travel agreement and politic of the post-Cold War period, as well as hardship of the life in the post 1990s economic depression, Romania has an increasingly large
diaspora"Romanian diaspora" is a term that encompasses the total ethnic Romanian population located outside Romania and Moldova. The term does not usually count those ethnic Romanians living as natives in the states surrounding Romania, chiefly those Romanians living in Ukraine and Serbia. The numbers of...
, estimated at over 2 million people. The main emigration targets are Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, UK, Canada and the USA.
Geography
With a surface area of , Romania is the largest country in southeastern Europe and the
twelfth-largest in Europe. A large part of Romania's border with
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
and
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
is formed by the
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
. The
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
is joined by the Prut River, which forms the border with the Republic of Moldova. The Danube flows into the
Black Seaur a loser!The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to...
within Romania's territory forming the
Danube DeltaThe Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent . The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania , while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine . The approximate surface is...
, the second largest and the best preserved delta in Europe, and a biosphere reserve and a biodiversity
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
. Other important rivers are the
SiretThe Siret or Sireth River is a river that rises from the Carpathians in the Northern Bukovina region of Ukraine, and flows southward into Romania for 470 km before it joins the Danube...
, running north-south through
MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
, the
OltThe Olt River is a river in Romania. It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its source is in the Hăşmaş Mountains of the eastern Carpathian Mountains, near the village Bălan. It flows through the Romanian counties Harghita, Covasna, Braşov, Sibiu, Vâlcea and Olt...
, running from the oriental Carpathian Mountains to
OlteniaOltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia...
, and the
MureşThe Mureş is an approximately 725 km long river in Eastern Europe...
, running through
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
from East to West.
Romania's terrain is distributed roughly equally between mountainous, hilly and lowland territories. The
Carpathian MountainsThe Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the largest mountain range in Europe...
dominate the center of Romania, with fourteen of its mountain ranges reaching above the altitude of 2,000 meters. The highest mountain in Romania is
Moldoveanu PeakMoldoveanu Peak . At 2544m, it is the highest mountain in Romania, being located in Argeş County, in the Făgăraş Mountains of the Southern Carpathians....
. In south-central Romania, the Carpathians sweeten into hills, towards the
Bărăgan PlainThe Bărăgan Plain is a steppe plain in south-central Romania, in the eastern part of the Wallachian Plain. It lies south of the River Călmăţui, a tributary of the Danube. It is mostly a cereal-growing area.-Climate:...
s. Romania's geographical diversity has led to an accompanying diversity of flora and fauna.
Environment
A high percentage (47% of the land area) of the country is covered with natural and semi-natural ecosystems. Since almost half of all forests in Romania (13% of the country) have been managed for watershed conservation rather than production, Romania has one of the largest areas of undisturbed forest in Europe. The integrity of Romanian forest ecosystems is indicated by the presence of the full range of European forest fauna, including 60% and 40% of all European brown bears and wolves, respectively. There are also almost 400 unique species of mammals (of which Carpathian
chamoisThe chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra, is a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Gran Sasso region of the central Italian Apennines, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has...
are best known), birds, reptiles and amphibians in Romania.
There are almost (almost 5% of the total area) of protected areas in Romania. Of these,
Danube Delta Reserve BiosphereThe Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent . The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania , while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine . The approximate surface is...
is the largest and least damaged wetland complex in Europe, covering a total area of .
The significance of the biodiversity of the Danube Delta has been internationally recognised. It was declared a Biosphere Reserve in September 1990, a Ramsar site in May 1991, and over 50% of its area was placed on the World Heritage List in December 1991. Within its boundaries is one of the most extensive
reed bedReed beds are a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions andestuaries. Reed beds are part of a succession from young reed colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground...
systems in the world. There are two other biosphera reserves:
Retezat National ParkRetezat National Park, located in Hunedoara county, Romania, was founded in 1935 and has an area of 380 km².Containing more than 60 peaks over and over 100 crystal clear deep glacier lakes, the Retezat Mountains are some of the most beautiful in the Carpathians and include Romania's first...
and
Rodna National ParkRodna Mountains are a subdivision of the Eastern Carpathians in Northern Romania. The name comes from the nearby Rodna Veche village.The Rodna Mountains have one of the longest continuous ridges in Romania, with over 50 km from west to east...
.
Flora and fauna
In Romania there have been identified 3,700 plant species from which to date 23 have been declared
natural monumentA natural monument is a natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance....
s, 74 missing, 39 are endangered, 171 vulnerable and 1,253 are considered rare. The three major vegetation areas in Romania are the alpine zone, the forest zone and the steppe zone. The vegetation is distributed in an storied manner in accordance with the characteristics of soil and climate, but according to altitude as:
oakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 400 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
,
flaskFlask may refer to:*Vacuum flask a container designed to keep warm drinks warm and refrigerated drinks cold*Hip flask, a small container used to carry a small amount of liquid...
s,
lindenLinden is one of three English names for the tree genus Tilia . Several of the common names for species within the Tilia genus have Linden in their names...
,
ash-Products of fire, incineration or combustion:* The solid remains of a fire* Incinerator bottom ash, a form of ash produced in incineration facilities* Volcanic ash, material ejected from the top of a volcano...
(in the steppe zone and low hills),
beechBeech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.The leaves of beech trees are entire or sparsely toothed, from 5–15 cm long and 4–10 cm broad...
,
oakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 400 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
(between 500 and 1200 meters),
spruceA spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from 20–60 m tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and...
,
firFirs are a genus of between 48-55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. All are trees, reaching heights of 10-80 m tall and trunk diameters of 0.5-4 m when mature...
,
pinePines are coniferous trees in the genus Pinus , in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Distribution:...
(between 1200 and 1800 m),
juniperJunipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
,
Mountain PinePines are coniferous trees in the genus Pinus , in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Distribution:...
and
dwarf treesA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
(in 1800 and 2000 meters), alpine meadows consisting of small herbs (over 2000 meters). Off the high valleys, due to persistent moisture, there is a specific vegetation of
meadowA meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . It may be cut for hay or grazed by livestock such as cattle, sheep or goats.- Agricultural meadow :...
,
reedReed can refer to:* Reed , a thin strip of cane or similar material which vibrates in wind instruments* Reed , grass-like plant growing in shallow water or on marshy ground...
, rush,
sedgeSedge may refer to:* Any of the plants in the family Cyperaceae* Sweet Flag, a species of plant in the Araceae family* Yellow flag iris , a species of plant in the Iridaceae family...
, and often with patches of willows, poplars and
AriniArini may refer to:* Arini, the tribe of Neotropical parrots* Arini, a village in Găiceana Commune, Bacău County, Romania* Arini, a village in Măieruş Commune, Braşov County, Romania* Arini, a village in the Ilia prefecture, Greece...
. In the
Danube DeltaThe Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent . The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania , while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine . The approximate surface is...
swamp vegetation is dominant.
The fauna of Romania consists of 33,792 species of animals, 33,085
invertebrateAn invertebrate is an animal without a vertebral column. The group includes 95% of all animal species — all animals except those in the Chordate subphylum Vertebrata ....
and 707
vertebrateVertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with backbones or spinal columns. About 58,000 species of vertebrates have been described. Vertebrata is the largest subphylum of chordates, and contains many familiar groups of large land animals. Vertebrates comprise cyclostomes, bony...
. The vertebrate species consist of 191
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
, 20
amphibianAmphibians , such as frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians, are ectothermic animals that metamorphose from a juvenile water-breathing form, to an adult air-breathing form. Though amphibians typically have four limbs, the Caecilians are notable for being limbless. Unlike other land...
, 30
reptileReptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, generally "cold-blooded" amniotes that generally have skin covered in scales or scutes. They are tetrapods and lay amniote eggs, whose embryos are surrounded by the amnion membrane...
, 364
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
and 102
mammalMammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose females are characterized by the possession of mammary glands while both males and females are characterized by sweat glands, hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain.Mammals are divided into three main...
species. Fauna is especially broken down by vegetation. Thus, specific floor steppe and forest steppe have the following species:
rabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit...
,
hamsterHamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 24 species, classified in six or seven genera....
,
ground squirrelThe ground squirrels are the members of the Sciuridae most closely related to the genus Marmota. They make up the tribe Marmotini in the large and mainly terrestrial squirrel subfamily Xerinae, and containing six living genera. Well-known members of this largely Holarctic group are the marmots ,...
,
pheasantPheasants is subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have longer tails. Males play no part in...
,
dropDrop may refer to:*Drop or droplet, a small volume of liquid**Eye drops, saline drops used as medication for the eyes*Drop , a type of punch used in boxing*Drop , a unit of measure of volume...
,
quailQuail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds in the pheasant family Phasianidae. New World quails and buttonquails are not closely related but named for their similar appearance and behaviour....
,
carpCarp is a common name for various species of an oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. Some consider all cyprinid fishes carp, and the family Cyprinidae itself is often known as the carp family...
,
perchPerca is the genus of fish referred to as perch or, sometimes, yellow perch, a group of freshwater fish belonging to the family Percidae...
,
pikePike may refer to:-Fish:*Pike or Esox*Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct freshwater fish*Mackerel pike or Pacific saury, a fish popular in east Asian cuisine*Northern pike, known as the "pike" in Britain-Places:In Britain:...
,
catfishCatfish are a diverse group of hairey fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores , and even to a tiny...
, the forest floor of hardwood (oak and beech):
boarWild boar is a species of pig, including at least 16 subspecies, and part of the biological family Suidae. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises. Wild boar are native across much of Central Europe, the Mediterranean Region and much of Asia as far...
, wolf,
foxFox is a common name for many species of carnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail ....
, barbel,
woodpeckerWoodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
, and for coniferous forest floor:
troutTrout are a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Salmon belong to some of the same genera as trout but, unlike most trout, most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
,
lynxA lynx is any of four big-sized wild cats. All are members of the genus Lynx, but there is considerable confusion about the best way to classify felids at present, and some authorities classify them as part of the genus Felis...
,
deerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also considered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer...
,
goatThe domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep: both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s and specific alpine fauna like
blackThe Black Eagle is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus Ictinaetus. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical Asia and hunt mammals and birds, particularly at their nests...
and
bald eagleThe Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America that is most recognizable as the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the...
s. In particular the Danube Delta is the place where hundreds of species of birds exist, including
pelicanA pelican is a large water bird with a distinctive pouch under the beak, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae.Along with the darters, cormorants, gannets, boobies, frigatebirds, and tropicbirds, pelicans make up the order Pelecaniformes. Modern pelicans are found on all continents except...
s,
swanSwans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s,
wild geeseThe Greylag Goose , Anser anser, is a bird with a wide range in the Old World. It is the type species of the genus Anser....
and
flamingoFlamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus and family Phoenicopteridae. They are found in both the Western Hemisphere and in the Eastern Hemisphere, but are more numerous in the latter. There are four species in the Americas and two species in the Old World...
s, birds that are protected by law. The delta is also a seasonal stopover for migratory birds. Some rare species of birds in the Dobrogea area are the
pelicanA pelican is a large water bird with a distinctive pouch under the beak, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae.Along with the darters, cormorants, gannets, boobies, frigatebirds, and tropicbirds, pelicans make up the order Pelecaniformes. Modern pelicans are found on all continents except...
,
cormorantThe bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...
,
little deerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also considered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer...
,
Red-breasted GooseThe Red-breasted Goose is a goose of the genus Branta. It is sometimes separated in Rufibrenta but appears close enough to the Brent Goose to make this unnecessary, despite its distinct appearance....
,
White-fronted GooseThe Greater White-fronted Goose is a goose species closely related to the smaller Lesser White-fronted Goose . In Europe it has been known as simply "White-fronted Goose"; in North America it is known as the Greater White-fronted Goose , and this name is also increasingly adopted internationally...
and the
Mute SwanThe Mute Swan is a species of swan, and hence in turn a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, and the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa...
.
Climate
Owing to its distance from the open sea and position on the southeastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate that is transitional between temperate and
continentalContinental climate is a climate that is characterized by winter temperatures cold enough to support a fixed period of snow cover each year, and relatively moderate precipitation occurring mostly in summer, although east coast areas may show an even distribution of precipitation.Regions containing...
with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is 11 °C (52 °F) in the south and in the north. The extreme recorded temperatures are in Ion Sion 1951 and in
BodBod is a commune in Romania in Braşov County with 4085 inhabitants . At Bod there is one of Romania's largest sugar factories and a broadcasting transmitter for long- and medium-wave radio, the Bod Transmitter. In Bod, the lowest ever recorded temperature in Romania, -38.5 degrees Celsius , was...
1942.
Spring is pleasant with cool mornings and nights and warm days. Summers are generally very warm to hot, with summer (June to August) average maximum temperatures in Bucharest being around , with temperatures over fairly common in the lower-lying areas of the country.
Minima in Bucharest and other lower-lying areas are around , but at higher altitudes both maxima and minima decline considerably. Autumn is dry and cool, with fields and trees producing colorful foliage. Winters can be cold, with average maxima even in lower-lying areas being no more than and below in the highest mountains, where some areas of
permafrostIn geology, permafrost or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of the ground...
occur on the highest peaks.
Precipitation is average with over per year only on the highest western mountains — much of it falling as
snowSnow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by external pressure. Snowflakes...
which allows for an extensive skiing industry. In the south-centern parts of the country (around Bucharest) the level of precipitation drops to around , while in the Danube Delta, rainfall levels are very low, and average only around 370 mm.
Demographics
According to the 2002 census, Romania has a population of 21,698,181 and, similarly to other countries in the region, is expected to gently decline in the coming years as a result of sub-replacement fertility rates.
RomaniansThe Romanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian ; they are the majority inhabitants of România.In one prominent interpretation of the census results in Moldova, Moldovans are counted as Romanians, which would...
make up 89.5% of the population. The largest
ethnic minoritiesOfficially, 10.5% of Romania's population is represented by minorities . The principal minorities in Romania are Hungarians and Roma people, with a declining German population and smaller numbers of Poles in Bucovina Officially, 10.5% of Romania's population is represented by minorities (the...
are Hungarians, who make up 6.6% of the population and
RomaThe Roma constitute one of the major minorities in Romania. According to the 2002 census, they number 535,250 people or 2.5% of the total population, being the second-largest ethnic minority in Romania after Hungarians...
, or Gypsies, who make up 2.46% of the population. By the official census 535,250 Roma live in Romania.
[2002 census data, based on Population by ethnicity, gives a total of 535,250 Roma in Romania. This figure is disputed by other sources, because at the local level, many Roma declare a different ethnicity (mostly Romanian, but also Hungarian in the West and Turkish in Dobruja) for fear of discrimination. Many are not recorded at all, since they do not have ID cards. International sources give higher figures than the official census(UNDP's Regional Bureau for Europe, World Bank, .] Hungarians, who are a sizeable minority in
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, constitute a majority in the counties of
HarghitaHarghita is a county in the center of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Miercurea-Ciuc.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 326,222 and a population density of 52/km².*Hungarians- 85%...
and
CovasnaCovasna is a county of Romania, in Transylvania, with the capital city at Sfântu Gheorghe.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 222,449 and the population density was 60/km².*Hungarians - 73.79%...
.
UkrainiansThe Ukrainians are the third-largest ethnic minority in Romania. According to the 2002 Romanian census they number 61,091 people, making up 0.3% of the total population. Ukrainians claim that the number is actually 250,000-300,000. Ukrainians mainly live in northern Romania, in areas close...
,
GermansThe Germans of Romania or Rumäniendeutsche were 760,000 strong in 1930. They are not a single group; thus, to understand their language, culture, and history, one must view them as independent groups:...
,
LipovansLipovans or Lippovans are the Old Believers, mostly of Russian ethnic origin, who settled in Moldavia, in the Danube Delta, in Tulcea county, in the Dobrogea region of eastern Romania, and in the southwestern part of Odessa Oblast , in Chernivtsi Oblast in Ukraine, as well as in two villages in...
,
TurksThe Turks are an ethnic minority in Romania, numbering 32,596 people according to the 2002 census and hence making up 0.2% of the total population.- History :...
, Tatars, Serbs,
SlovaksThe Slovaks are an ethnic minority in Romania, numbering 17,199 people according to the 2002 census and hence making up 0.1% of the total population. Slovaks mainly live in western Romania, with the largest populations found in Bihor and Arad counties, where they make up 1.22% and 1.25% of the...
,
BulgariansThe Banat Bulgarians are a distinct Bulgarian minority group which settled in the 18th century in the region of the Banat, which was then ruled by the Habsburg and after World War I was divided between Romania, Serbia, and Hungary...
,
CroatsThe Croats are an ethnic minority in Romania, numbering 6,786 people according to the 2002 census. Croats mainly live in the southwest of the country, particularly in Caraş-Severin County. Declared Croatians form a majority in two Romanian localities: the communes of Caraşova and Lupac...
, Greeks,
RussiansThe Russian people are an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
,
JewsThe history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
,
CzechsThe Czechs are an ethnic minority in Romania, numbering 3,938 people according to the 2002 census. The majority of Romanian Czechs live in the south-west of the country, with around 60% of them living in Caraş-Severin County, where they make up 0.7% of the population.As an officially-recognised...
,
PolesAccording to the 2002 census, 3,671 Poles live in Romania, mainly in the villages of the Suceava region . There are even three exclusively Polish villages: Nowy Sołoniec , Plesza and Pojana Mikuli...
,
ItaliansThe Italian Romanians are people of Italian descent who reside, or have moved to Romania. They are an ethnic minority in Romania, numbering 3,331 people according to the 2002 census...
,
ArmeniansArmenians have been present in what is now Romania and Moldova for over a millennium, and have been an important presence as traders since the 14th century...
, as well as other ethnic groups, account for the remaining 1.4% of the population. Of the 745,421 Germans in Romania in 1930, only about 60,000 remained. In 1924, there were 796,056
JewsThe history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
in the Kingdom of Romania. The number of Romanians and individuals with ancestors born in Romania living abroad is estimated at around 12 million.
Languages
The official language of Romania is
RomanianRomanian or Daco-Romanian is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova. It has official status in Romania, Republic of Moldova, and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in Serbia...
, an
Eastern Romance languageThe Eastern Romance languages, sometimes known as the Vlach languages, are a group of Romance languages that developed in Southeastern Europe from the local eastern variant of Vulgar Latin.-History:...
related to
ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
,
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
,
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
,
PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
and
CatalanCatalan is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencià , as well as in the city of Alghero on the Italian island of...
. Romanian is spoken as a first language by 91% of the population, with
HungarianHungarian is a Uralic language unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries...
and
RromaThe Roma constitute one of the major minorities in Romania. According to the 2002 census, they number 535,250 people or 2.5% of the total population, being the second-largest ethnic minority in Romania after Hungarians...
, being the most important minority languages, spoken by 6.7% and 1.1% of the population, respectively. Until the 1990s, there was also a substantial number of German-speaking
Transylvanian SaxonsThe Transylvanian Saxons are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania from the 12th century onwards.The colonization of Transylvania by Germans was begun by King Géza II of Hungary . For decades, the main task of the German settlers was to defend the southeastern border of the...
, even though many have since emigrated to Germany, leaving only 45,000 native German speakers in Romania. In localities where a given ethnic minority makes up more than 20% of the population, that minority's language can be used in the public administration and justice system, while native-language education and signage is also provided.
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
and
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
are the main foreign languages taught in schools. English is spoken by 5 million Romanians, French is spoken by 4–5 million, and German, Italian and Spanish are each spoken by 1–2 million people. Historically, French was the predominant foreign language spoken in Romania, even though English has since superseded it. Consequently, Romanian English-speakers tend to be younger than Romanian French-speakers. Romania is, however, a full member of
La FrancophonieLa Francophonie, or the Francophonie, is an international organization of polities and governments with French as the mother or customary language, wherein a significant proportion of people are francophones or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture.Formally known...
, and hosted the Francophonie Summit in 2006. German has been taught predominantly in Transylvania, due to traditions tracing back to the Austro-Hungarian rule in this province.
Religion
Romania is a
secular stateA secular state is a concept of secularism, whereby a state or country purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state also claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion, and claims to avoid preferential...
, thus having no
national religionA state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. Practically, a state without a state religion is called a secular state. The term state church is associated with Christianity, and is sometimes used to denote a specific national branch of Christianity...
. The dominant religious body is the
Romanian Orthodox ChurchThe Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...
, an
autocephalousAutocephaly, in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...
church within the
Eastern OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
communionFull communion is a term used in Christian ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential doctrines, between a Christian community and other communities or between that community and individuals....
; its members make up 86.7% of the population according to the 2002 census. Other important
Christian denominationA Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity.Worldwide, Christians are divided, often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and another are...
s include
Roman CatholicismThe Roman Catholic Church in Romania is a Latin Rite Christian church, part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Curia in Rome. Its administration is centered in Bucharest, and comprises two archdioceses and four other dioceses...
(4.7%),
ProtestantismProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
(3.7%),
PentecostalismPentecostalism is a renewal movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit which is evidenced by speaking in tongues. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, a Greek term describing the Jewish Feast of...
(1.5%) and the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church (0.9%). Romania also has a
MuslimIslam in Romania is followed by only 0.3 percent of population, but has 700 years of tradition in Northern Dobruja, a region on the Black Sea coast which was part of the Ottoman Empire for almost five centuries . In present-day Romania, most adherents to Islam belong to the Tatar and Turkish ethnic...
minority concentrated in
DobrogeaDobruja, or Dobrudja , is a historical region shared by Bulgaria and Romania, located between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, including the Danube Delta, Romanian coast and the northernmost part of the Bulgarian coast....
, mostly of Turkish ethnicity and numbering 67,500 people. Based on the 2002 census data, there are also 6,179
JewsThe history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
, 23,105 people who are of no religion and/or
atheistAtheism can be either the rejection of theism,or the position that deities do not exist.In the broadest sense, it is the absence of belief in the existence of deities....
, and 11,734 who refused to answer. On December 27, 2006, a new Law on Religion was approved under which religious denominations can only receive official registration if they have at least 20,000 members, or about 0.1 percent of Romania's total population.
Largest cities
BucharestBucharest is the capital city, industrial and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River....
is the capital and the largest city in Romania. At the census in 2002, its population was over 1.9 million. The metropolitan area of Bucharest has a population of about 2.2 million. There are several plans to increase further its metropolitan area to about 20 times the area of the city proper.
There are 5 more cities in Romania, with a population of around 300,000, that are also present in the
EU's top 100 most populous citiesThis is a list of the largest cities in the European Union by population within city limits which have more than 300,000 inhabitants. It deals exclusively with the areas within city administrative boundaries as opposed to urban areas or metropolitan areas, which are generally larger in terms of...
. These are:
IaşiIaşi , is a city and municipality in Moldavia, in north-eastern Romania...
,
Cluj-NapocaCluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
,
TimişoaraTimişoara , also known as "The City of Athletes", is a city in the Banat region of western Romania...
,
ConstanţaConstanţa is the oldest living city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast...
, and
CraiovaCraiova , Romania's 6th largest city and capital of Dolj County, is situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians and the River Danube . Craiova is the chief...
. The other cities with populations over 200,000 are
GalaţiGalaţi is a city in Moldavia, eastern Romania, the capital city of Galaţi County on the banks of the Danube, very close to Brăila forming with it the Cantemir metropolitan area...
,
BraşovBraşov is a city in Romania and the capital of Braşov County, with a population of 284,596, according to the 2002 census, is the 8th largest Romanian city....
,
PloieştiPloieşti is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia, Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest. In 2002, it had a population of 232,527, making it the ninth-largest city in Romania.-History:The town was established in 1596, during the reign of Mihai...
,
BrăilaBrăila is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of the Brăila County, in the close vicinity of Galaţi...
and
OradeaOradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in Crişana, Romania. The city proper has a population of 206,614 census; this does not include areas from the metropolitan area, outside the municipality; they bring the total urban area population to approximately 260,000...
. Another 13 cities have populations over 100,000.
At present, several of the largest cities have a
metropolitan areaThere are 10 metropolitan areas in Romania that have been constituted or are planned to be constituted in the near future.-Legislative status:The current legislation in Romania regulates the status of the 265 cities according to their population and regional importance:* Rank 0 - Bucharest, the...
:
ConstanţaThe Constanţa metropolitan area, which was established in 2007, includes the municipality of Constanţa, the 5 cities of Năvodari, Ovidiu, Eforie, Murfatlar, Techirghiol and 8 communes...
(450,000 people),
BraşovBraşov metropolitan area is a region in Braşov County, Romania, that includes the municipality of Braşov and 12 other nearby communities. It was constituted in 2007 with the aim of creating business opportunities, building and administering of living spaces and recreational areas, to attract more...
,
IaşiMetropolitan Zone of Iaşi is a region in Iaşi County, Romania, that includes the municipality of Iaşi and 13 nearby communes: Aroneanu, Bârnova, Ciurea, Holboca, Leţcani, Miroslava, Popricani, Rediu, Schitu Duca, Tomeşti, Ungheni, Valea Lupului, and Victoria....
(both with around 400,000) and
OradeaOradea metropolitan area is located in Western Romania, in the County of Bihor, Crişana, Transylvania, Romania and was founded in 2002.-Composition:The metropolitan area comprises the city of Oradea and 8 adjacent communes:*Biharia...
(260,000) and several others are planned:
TimişoaraThe Metropolitan Zone of Timişoara is an undergoing project for the creation of an administrative unit to integrate Timişoara with the nearby communes: Dumbrăviţa, Ghiroda, Moşniţa Nouă, Giroc, Sânmihaiu Român, Săcălaz, Sânandrei, Giarmata, Orţişoara, Remetea Mare, Şag and...
(365,000),
Cluj-NapocaThe Cluj-Napoca metropolitan area has a population of 379,705. Besides Cluj-Napoca, it includes 17 communes: Aiton, Apahida, Baciu, Bonţida, Borşa, Căianu, Chinteni, Ciurila, Cojocna, Feleacu, Floreşti, Gârbău, Gilău, Jucu, Petreştii de Jos, Tureni, Vultureni....
(380,000), Brăila-Galaţi (600,000),
CraiovaCraiova , Romania's 6th largest city and capital of Dolj County, is situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians and the River Danube . Craiova is the chief...
(335,000),
BacăuBacău is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. It covers a land surface of 41 km², and, as of January 1, 2009, has an estimated population of 177,087. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, and on the Bistriţa River...
and
PloieştiPloieşti is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia, Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest. In 2002, it had a population of 232,527, making it the ninth-largest city in Romania.-History:The town was established in 1596, during the reign of Mihai...
.
Education
Since the
Romanian Revolution of 1989The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a week-long series of increasingly violent riots and fighting in late December 1989 that overthrew the Government of Nicolae Ceauşescu. After a trial, Ceauşescu and his wife Elena were executed...
, the Romanian educational system has been in a continuous process of
reformReform means beneficial change, or sometimes, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state.to reform somethingReform is generally distinguished from revolution. The latter means basic or radical change; whereas reform may be no more than fine tuning, or at most redressing serious wrongs...
that has been both praised and criticized. According to the Law on Education adopted in 1995, the educational system is regulated by the
Ministry of Education and ResearchThe Ministry of Education, Research and Innovation is one of the nineteen ministries of the Government of Romania.Over the years the Ministry changed its title...
. Each level has its own form of organization and is subject to different legislation.
Kindergartenis a form of education for young children which serves as a transition from home to the commencement of more formal schooling. Children are taught to develop basic skills through creative play and social interaction. In most countries kindergarten is part of the preschool system of early childhood...
is optional for children between 3 and 6 years old.
SchoolA school , is an institution designed to allow and encourage students to learn, under the supervision of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
ing starts at age 7 (sometimes 6), and is compulsory until the 10th grade (which usually corresponds to the age of 17 or 16). Primary and
secondarySecondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of compulsory schooling, known as secondary education, takes place. It follows on from elementary or primary education....
education are divided into 12 or 13 grades.
Higher educationHigher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...
is aligned with the
European higher education areaThe European Higher Education Area is the objective of the Bologna process - to create more comparable, compatible and coherent systems of higher education in Europe. Under the Lisbon Recognition Convention of the Council of Europe, degrees and study periods are recognised mutually...
.
Aside from the official schooling system, and the recently-added private equivalents, there exists a semi-legal, informal, fully private tutoring system. Tutoring is mostly used during
secondarySecondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of compulsory schooling, known as secondary education, takes place. It follows on from elementary or primary education....
as a preparation for the various examinations, which are notoriously difficult. Tutoring is widespread, and it can be considered a part of the Education System. It has subsisted and even prospered during the Communist regime.
In 2004, some 4.4 million of the population was enrolled in school. Out of these, 650,000 in kindergarten, 3.11 million (14% of population) in primary and secondary level, and 650,000 (3% of population) in tertiary level (universities). In the same year, the adult literacy rate was 97.3% (45th worldwide), while the combined gross enrollment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary schools was 75% (52nd worldwide). The results of the
PISAPisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
assessment study in schools for the year 2000 placed Romania on the 34th rank out of 42 participant countries with a general weighted score of 432 representing 85% of the mean OECD score. According to the
Academic Ranking of World UniversitiesThe Academic Ranking of World Universities is compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The ranking compared 1200 higher education institutions worldwide according to a formula that took into account alumni winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals , staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals ,...
, in 2006 no Romanian university was included in the first 500 top universities world wide. Using similar methodology to these rankings, it was reported that the best placed Romanian university, Bucharest University, attained the half score of the last university in the world top 500.
Romanian high school curricula have recently been
censoredCensorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or media organizations as determined by a censor.-Rationale:...
and restructured, owing to a growing trend of religious conservatism. In 2006, the theory of evolution, which had been taught since the country's Communist era, was dropped from the compulsory curriculum nationwide. Philosophical writers critical of religion, such as
VoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, and philosopher known for his wit and his defense of civil liberties, including both freedom of religion and free trade.Voltaire was a prolific writer and produced works in almost every...
and
Camus-People:* Albert Camus, French author, philosopher and journalist* Charles Étienne Louis Camus, French mathematician* Jean-Pierre Camus, French bishop and writer* Louis-Auguste Camus de Richemont, French military chief and baron d'Empire...
have also been removed from the philosophy curriculum. Instead, students are taught
7-day CreationismCreation according to Genesis is the account of the creation of the world and of the first man and woman as found in the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible....
in Orthodox religion classes, which under new proposals could become compulsory.
Politics
The
Constitution of RomaniaThe 1991 Constitution of Romania is the fundamental law that establishes the structure of the government of Romania, the rights and obligations of the country's citizens, and its mode of passing laws. It stands as the basis of the legitimacy of the Romanian government.The constitution was most...
is based on the
Constitution of France's Fifth RepublicThe current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 1946. Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth...
and was approved in a national referendum on December 8, 1991. A plebiscite held in October 2003 approved 79 amendments to the Constitution, bringing it into conformity with European Union legislation. Romania is governed on the basis of multi-party democratic system and of the segregation of the legislative, executive and judicial powers. Romania is a semi-presidential democratic republic where executive functions are shared between the president and the prime minister.
The PresidentThe President of Romania is the head of state of Romania. The President is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term . He or she can serve two terms. During his term in office, the President must not be a member of any political party.The current President of Romania is Traian...
is elected by popular vote for maximum two terms, and since the amendments in 2003, the terms are five years. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who in turn appoints the Council of Ministers. While the president resides at
Cotroceni PalaceCotroceni Palace is a palace of Bucharest which is the residence of the President of Romania, located at Bulevardul Geniului, nr. 1.On Cotroceni hill, in 1679, Şerban Cantacuzino built a monastery...
, the Prime Minister with the
Romanian GovernmentThe Government of Romania is the executive branch of Romania. It is headed by the Prime-Minister, and consists of the Ministries, the institutions subordinated to it, and the 42 Prefectures ....
is based at
Victoria PalaceVictoria Palace is a palace in Victory Square, Bucharest, built in 1937, which is the headquarters of the Prime Minister of Romania and his cabinet.-See also:*Government of Romania...
.
The legislative branch of the government, collectively known as the
ParliamentThe Parliament of Romania is made up of two chambers:*The Chamber of Deputies*The SenatePrior to the modifications of the Constitution in 2003, the two houses had identical attributes. A text of a law had to be approved by both houses...
(
Parlamentul României), consists of
two chambersIn government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses. Bicameralism is an essential and defining feature of the classical notion of mixed...
– the
SenateThe Senate of Romania is the upper house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 137 seats , to which members are elected by direct popular vote, using Mixed member proportional representation in 42 electoral districts , to serve four-year terms.After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Senate...
(
Senat), which has 140 members, and the
Chamber of DeputiesThe Chamber of Deputies is the lower house in Romania's bicameral parliament. It has 315 seats, to which deputies are elected by direct popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms...
(
Camera Deputaţilor), which has 346 members. The members of both chambers are elected every four years under a system of
party-list proportional representationParty-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections returning multiple candidates...
.
The justice system is independent of the other branches of government, and is made up of a hierarchical system of courts culminating in the
High Court of Cassation and JusticeThe High Court of Cassation and Justice is Romania's supreme court, and the court of last resort. It is the equivalent of France's Cour de cassation and serves a similar function to other courts of cassation around the world...
, which is the supreme court of Romania. There are also courts of appeal, county courts and local courts. The Romanian judicial system is strongly influenced by the French model, considering that it is based on
civil lawCivil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law, the primary feature of which is that laws are written into a collection, codified, and not determined, as in common law, by judges. The principle of civil law is to provide all citizens with an accessible and written collection of the laws which...
and is
inquisitorialAn inquisitorial system is a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in determining the facts of the case, as opposed to an adversarial system where the role of the court is solely that of an impartial referee between parties. Inquisitorial systems are used in some...
in nature. The Constitutional Court (
Curtea Constituţională) is responsible for judging the compliance of laws and other state regulations to the Romanian Constitution, which is the fundamental law of the country. The constitution, which was introduced in 1991, can only be amended by a public referendum, the last one being in 2003. Since this amendment, the court's decisions cannot be overruled by any majority of the parliament.
The country's entry into the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
in 2007 has been a significant influence on its domestic policy. As part of the process, Romania has instituted reforms including judicial reform, increased judicial cooperation with other member states, and measures to combat corruption. Nevertheless, in 2006 Brussels report, Romania and
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
were described as the two most corrupt countries in the EU.
Administrative divisions
Romania is divided into forty-one
countiesThe judeţe are administrative units of Romania.The earliest organization into "judeţe" was in the 15th century and each judeţ was ruled by a "jude", a person who had administrative and judicial functions...
(sing.
judeţ, pl.
judeţe), plus the municipality of
BucharestBucharest is the capital city, industrial and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River....
(Bucureşti) – which has equal rank. Each county is administered by a county council (
consiliu judeţean), responsible for local affairs, as well as a
prefectPrefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
, who is appointed by the central government but cannot be a member of any political party, responsible for the administration of national (central) affairs at the county level. Since 2008, the president of the county council (
preşedintele consiliului judeţean) is directly elected by the people, and not by the county council as before that.
Each county is further subdivided into
citiesA city is a relatively large and permanent settlement, particularly a large urban settlement. Although there is no agreement on technical definitions distinguishing a city from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status...
(sing.
oraş, pl.
oraşe) and
communesA commune is the lowest level of administrative subdivision in Romania. There are 2686 communes in Romania. The commune is the rural subdivision of a county .There is no clear restriction upon the population of a commune, even though when a commune...
(sing.
comună, pl.
comune), the former being
urbanAn urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
, and the latter being
ruralRural areas are large and isolated areas of a country, often with low population density.About 91 percent of the rural population now earn salaried incomes, often in urban areas...
localities. There are a total of 319 cities and 2686
communesA commune is the lowest level of administrative subdivision in Romania. There are 2686 communes in Romania. The commune is the rural subdivision of a county .There is no clear restriction upon the population of a commune, even though when a commune...
in Romania. Each city and commune has its own mayor (
primar) and local council (
consiliu local). 103 of the larger and more urbanised cities have the status of
municipalityA municipality is a level of administrative subdivision in Romania. This status is given to cities that are quite large and urbanized...
, which gives them greater administrative power over local affairs. Bucharest is also reckoned as a city with municipality status, but it is unique among the other localities in that it is not part of a county. It does not have a county concil, but has a prefect. Bucharest elects a general mayor (
primar general) and a general city council (
Consiliul General Bucureşti). Each of Bucharest's six sectors also elects a mayor and a local council.
The
NUTSThe Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard is developed and regulated by the European Union, and thus only covers the member states of the EU in detail...
-3 level divisions reflect Romania's administrative-territorial structure, and correspond to the 41 counties, and the
BucharestBucharest is the capital city, industrial and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River....
municipality. Cities and communes are NUTS-5 level divisions. The country currently does not have NUTS-4 level divisions, but there are plans to make such associating neighboring localities for better coordination of local development and assimilation of national and European funds.
The 41 counties and Bucharest are grouped into eight
development regionsThe development regions of Romania refer to the eight regional divisions created in Romania in 1998 in order to better co-ordinate regional development as Romania progressed towards accession to the European Union. The development regions correspond to NUTS II-level divisions in European Union...
corresponding to NUTS-2 divisions in the European Union. Prior to Romania's accession into the European Union, these were called statistical regions, and were used exclusively for statistical purposes. Thus, albeit they formally existed for over 40 years, the regions are publicly a news. There are proposals in the future to cancel county councils (but leave the prefects) and create regional councils instead. This would not change the nomenclature of the country's territorial subdivision, but would presumably allow better coordination of policy at the local level, more autonomy, and a smaller bureaucracy.
There are also proposals to use four
NUTSThe Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard is developed and regulated by the European Union, and thus only covers the member states of the EU in detail...
-1 level divisions; they would be called macroregions (Romanian:
Macroregiune). NUTS-1 and -2 divisions have no administrative capacity and are instead used for co-ordinating regional development projects and statistical purposes.
- Macroregiunea 1:
- Nord-Vest
Nord-Vest is a development region in Romania, created in 1998. As other development regions, it does not have any administrative powers, its main function being to co-ordinate regional development projects and manage funds from the European Union.-Counties:The Nord-Vest region is made up of the...
(6 counties; roughtly northern TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
)
- Centru
Centru is a development region in Romania.-Demographics:Centru has a total population of 2,523,021. Its population density is 73.99/km², somewhat lower than the national average of 91.3/km². The region is one of the most ethnically-diverse in Romania, with ethnic Romanians making up 65.4% of the...
(6 counties; roughly southern Transylvania)
- Macroregiunea 2:
- Nord-Est
Nord-Est is a development region in Romania.-Counties:The Nord-Est region is made up of the following counties:*Bacău*Botoşani*Iaşi*Neamţ*Suceava*Vaslui-Economy:...
(6 counties; MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
except the counties of VranceaVrancea is a county in Romania, with its seat at Focşani. It is mostly in the historical region of Moldavia but the southern part, below the Milcov River, is in Muntenia.-Demographics:...
and GalaţiGalaţi is a county of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galaţi.-History:Historically Galaţi is part of Moldavia...
)
- Sud-Est
Sud-Est is a development region in Romania.- References :...
(6 counties; lower DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
, including Dobrudja)
- Macroregiunea 3:
- Sud
Sud is a development region in Romania. The Capital of South Development Region is Călăraşi.- References :...
(7 counties; the core of MunteniaMuntenia is a historical province of Romania, usually considered Wallachia-proper . It is situated between the Danube , the Carpathian Mountains and Moldavia , and the Olt River to the west...
)
- Bucureşti
The Bucharest-Ilfov development region is a development region in Romania, encompassing the national capital, Bucharest, as well as the surrounding Ilfov County. As other development regions, it does not have any administrative powers, its main function being to co-ordinate regional development...
(1 county and Bucharest)
- Macroregiunea 4:
- Sud-Vest
Sud-Vest is a development region in Romania. It is roughly coterminous with the historic region of Oltenia , and from that reason it is called sometimes Regiunea de dezvoltare Sud-Vest Oltenia.- References :...
(5 counties; roughly OlteniaOltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia...
)
- Vest
Vest is a development region in Romania created in 1998. As with the other development regions, it does not have any administrative powers. Its primary functions are coordinating regional development projects and managing funds from the European Union.- References :...
(4 counties; southwestern Transylvania, or BanatThe Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in Romania , the western part in Serbia , and a...
plus AradArad is a county of Romania, in Crişana and Banat , with the capital city at Arad .-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 461,791 and the population density was 60/km²....
and HunedoaraHunedoara is a county of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 485,712 and the population density was 69/km².*Romanians - 92%*Hungarians - 5%*Romas - 2%*Germans under 1%....
counties)
Foreign relations
Since December 1989, Romania has pursued a policy of strengthening relations with the West in general, more specifically with the United States and the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
. It joined the
North Atlantic Treaty OrganisationThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
(NATO) on March 29, 2004, the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
(EU) on January 1, 2007, and the
International Monetary FundThe International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments...
and the
World BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to poorer countries for capital programs, tied to neoliberal market restructurings...
in 1972, and is a member of the
World Trade OrganizationThe World Trade Organization is an international organization designed by its founders to supervise and liberalize international capital trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, replacing the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade , which...
.
The current government has stated its goal of strengthening ties with and helping other
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an countries (in particular
MoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south....
,
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
and
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
) with the process of integration with the West. Romania has also made clear since the late 1990s that it supports NATO and EU membership for the democratic former Soviet republics in Eastern Europe and the
CaucasusThe Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region between at the border of Europe and Asia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain ....
. Romania also declared its public support for
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
,
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
and
MoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south....
joining the European Union. With Turkey, Romania shares a privileged economic relation. Because it has a large Hungarian minority, Romania has also developed strong relations with
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
– the latter supported Romania's bid to join the EU.
In December 2005, President
Traian BăsescuTraian Băsescu is a Romanian politician and former Merchant Navy officer. He is the current President of Romania, after winning the office in the 2004 presidential election, and being inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
and
United States Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence. The current Secretary of...
Condoleezza RiceCondoleezza Rice is a professor, diplomat, author, and national security expert. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and the second to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
signed an agreement that would allow a U.S. military presence at several Romanian facilities primarily in the eastern part of the country. In May 2009, the American state secretary Hillary Clinton declared that "Romania is one of the most trustworthy and respectable partners of the USA" during a visit of the Romanian foreign minister.
Relations with The Republic of Moldova are special, considering that the two countries practically share the same language, and a fairly common historical background. A
movement for unification of Romania and MoldovaA movement for the reunification of Romania and Moldova began in both countries after the 1989 Romanian Revolution and the glasnost policy in the Soviet Union. Individuals who are advocates of this movement are usually called "Unionişti" or "Unionists"...
appeared in the early 1990s after both countries achieved emancipation from communist rule, but quickly faded away with the new Moldovan government that had an agenda to preserve a Moldovan republic independent of Romania. Romania remains interested in Moldovan affairs and has officially rejected the
Molotov-Ribbentrop PactThe Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, colloquially named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and signed in...
, but the two countries have been unable even to reach agreement on a basic bilateral treaty.
Armed Forces
The Romanian Armed Forces consist of
LandThe Romanian Land Forces is the army of Romania, and part of the overall Romanian Armed Forces. Having completely overhauled their equipment, today they are well-equipped, and one of the most important new members of NATO....
,
AirThe Romanian Air Force is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, four air bases and an air defense brigade...
, and
Naval ForcesThe Romanian Navy is the navy branch of the Romanian Armed Forces; it operates in the Black Sea.-Current Status:The Romanian Navy includes three frigates: Mărăşeşti, Regele Ferdinand and Regina Maria. Mărăşeşti used to be the flagship of the Romanian Navy since 1976 until 2004 when Regele...
, and are led by a
Commander-in-chiefA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the...
who is managed by the Ministry of Defense. The
presidentThe President of Romania is the head of state of Romania. The President is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term . He or she can serve two terms. During his term in office, the President must not be a member of any political party.The current President of Romania is Traian...
is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces during
warWar is a reciprocated, armed conflict, between two or more non-congruous entities, aimed at reorganising a subjectively designed, geo-politically desired result...
time. Of the 90,000 men and women which the Armed Forces comprise, 15,000 are civilians and 75,000 are military personnel—45,800 for land, 13,250 for air, 6,800 for naval forces, and 8,800 in other fields.
The total defence spending currently accounts for 2.05% of total national GDP, which represents approximately 2.9 billion dollars (ranked 39th). However, the Romanian Armed Forces will spend about 11 billion dollars between 2006 and 2011, for modernization and acquisition of new equipment. The Land Forces have overhauled their equipment in the past few years, and today are an
armyAn army An army An army (from Latin armata "armed (things)" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based Military of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
with multiple
NATOThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
capabilities, participating in a NATO peacekeeping mission in
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
. The Air Force currently operates modernized Soviet MiG-21LanceR fighters which are due to be replaced by new advanced
4.5 generationAircraft classified as fourth-generation jet fighters are those in service approximately from 1980 to 2010, representing the design concepts of the 1970s. Fourth-generation designs are heavily influenced by lessons learned from the previous generation of combat aircraft...
Western jet fighters, such as the
F-16 Fighting FalconThe Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. Designed as a lightweight, daytime Visual Flight Rules fighter, it evolved into a successful multirole aircraft...
,
Eurofighter TyphoonThe Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine canard-delta wing multirole aircraft. It is being designed and built by a consortium of three separate partner companies: Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, and EADS working through a holding company Eurofighter GmbH which was formed in 1986...
or
JAS 39 GripenThe Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. Gripen International acts as a prime contracting organisation and is responsible for marketing, selling and supporting the Gripen fighter around the world....
. Also, in order to replace the bulk of the old transport force, the Air Force ordered seven new C-27J Spartan tactical airlift aircraft which are to be delivered starting with late 2008. Two modernized ex-
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
Type 22 frigateThe Type 22 Broadsword class is a class of frigate built for the Royal Navy. Fourteen of the class were built in total, with production divided into three batches. Four Batch 3 ships remain in service with the Royal Navy...
s were acquired by the Naval Forces in 2004, and a further four modern missile corvettes will be commissioned until 2010.
Economy
With a
GDP of around $264 billion and a GDP per capita (
PPPThe purchasing power parity theory uses the long-term equilibrium exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their purchasing power...
) of $12,285 estimated for 2008, Romania is an upper-middle income country economy and has been part of the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
since January 1, 2007.
After the
Communist regimeCommunist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the leading role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
was
overthrown in late 1989The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a week-long series of increasingly violent riots and fighting in late December 1989 that overthrew the Government of Nicolae Ceauşescu. After a trial, Ceauşescu and his wife Elena were executed...
, the country experienced a decade of economic instability and decline, led in part by an obsolete industrial base and a lack of structural reform. From 2000 onwards, however, the Romanian economy was transformed into one of relative macroeconomic stability, characterised by high growth, low
unemploymentUnemployment occurs when a person is available to work and seeking work but currently without work. The prevalence of unemployment is usually measured using the unemployment rate, which is defined as the percentage of those in the labor force who are unemployed...
and declining
inflationIn economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation is also an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a loss of real...
. In 2006, according to the
Romanian Statistics OfficeThe National Institute of Statistics is a Romanian government agency which is responsible for collecting national statistics, in fields such as geography, the economy, demographics and society...
, GDP growth in real terms was recorded at 7.7%, one of the highest rates in Europe. Growth dampened to 6.1% in 2007, but was expected to exceed 8% in 2008 because of a high production forecast in agriculture (30–50% higher than in 2007). The GDP grew by 8.9% in the first nine months of 2008, but growth fell to 2.9% in the fourth quarter and stood at 7.1% for the whole 2008 because of the financial crisis.
According to
EurostatEurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the harmonisation of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
data, the Romanian PPS GDP per capita stood at 46% of the EU average in 2008. Unemployment in Romania was at 3.9% in September 2007, which is very low compared to other middle-sized or large European countries such as
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, France, Germany and Spain. Foreign debt is also comparatively low, at 20.3% of GDP. Exports have increased substantially in the past few years, with a 25% year-on-year rise in exports in the first quarter of 2006. Romania's main exports are clothing and textiles, industrial machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, metallurgic products, raw materials, cars, military equipment, software, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, and flowers). Trade is mostly centred on the member states of the European Union, with Germany and Italy being the country's single largest trading partners. The country, however, maintains a large trade deficit, which increased sharply during 2007 by 50%, to €15 billon.
After a series of privatisations and reforms in the late 1990s and early 2000s, government intervention in the Romanian economy is somewhat lower than in other European economies. In 2005, the government replaced Romania's
progressive taxA progressive tax is a tax by which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases. "Progressive" describes a distribution effect on income or expenditure, referring to the way the rate progresses from low to high, where the average tax rate is less than the marginal tax rate. It can be...
system with a
flat taxA flat tax is a tax system with a constant tax rate. Usually the term flat tax would refer to household income being taxed at one marginal rate, in contrast with progressive taxes that may vary according to such parameters as income or usage levels...
of 16% for both personal income and corporate profit, resulting in the country having the lowest fiscal burden in the European Union, a factor which has contributed to the growth of the private sector. The economy is predominantly based on services, which account for 55% of GDP, even though industry and agriculture also have significant contributions, making up 35% and 10% of GDP, respectively. Additionally, 32% of the Romanian population is employed in agriculture and primary production, one of the highest rates in Europe.
Since 2000, Romania has attracted increasing amounts of foreign investment, becoming the single largest investment destination in Southeastern and Central Europe.
Foreign direct investmentForeign direct investment in its classic form is defined as a company from one country making a physical investment into building a factory in another country. It is the establishment of an enterprise by a foreigner. Its definition can be extended to include investments made to acquire lasting...
was valued at €8.3 billion in 2006. According to a 2006
World BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to poorer countries for capital programs, tied to neoliberal market restructurings...
report, Romania currently ranks 49th out of 175 economies in the ease of doing business, scoring higher than other countries in the region such as
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
and the
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
. Additionally, the same study judged it to be the world's second-fastest economic reformer (after
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
) in 2006. The average gross wage per month in Romania was 1855 lei in May 2009, equating to €442.48 (US$627.70) based on international exchange rates, and $1110.31 based on purchasing power parity.
Transportation
Due to its location, Romania is a major crossroad for International economic exchange in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. However, because of insufficient investment, maintenance and repair, the transport infrastructure does not meet the current needs of a
market economyA market economy is economy based on the division of labor in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system set by supply and demand....
and lags behind
Western EuropeWestern Europe is the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of Central Europe...
. Nevertheless, these conditions are rapidly improving and catching up with the standards of
Trans-European transport networksThe Trans-European Transport Networks are a planned set road, rail, air and water transport networks designed to serve the entire continent of Europe. The TEN-T networks are part of a wider system of Trans-European Networks , including a telecommunications network and a proposed energy network...
. Several projects have been started with funding from grants from
ISPAInstrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession is one of the three financial instruments of the European Union to assist the candidate countries in the preparation for accession...
and several loans from
International Financial InstitutionsInternational financial institutions, or IFIs, refers to financial institutions that have been established by more than one country, and hence are subjects of international law. Their owners or shareholders are generally national governments, although other international institutions and other...
(
World BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to poorer countries for capital programs, tied to neoliberal market restructurings...
, IMF, etc.) guaranteed by the state, to upgrade the
main road corridorsThe ten Pan-European transport corridors were defined at the second Pan-European transport Conference in Crete, March 1994, as routes in Central and Eastern Europe that required major investment over the next ten to fifteen years. Additions were made at the third conference in Helsinki in 1997...
. Also, the Government is actively pursuing new external financing or public-private partnerships to further upgrade the main roads, and especially the country's motorway network.
The
World BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to poorer countries for capital programs, tied to neoliberal market restructurings...
estimates that the railway network in Romania comprised of track in 2004, which would make it the fourth largest railroad network in Europe. The
railway transportCăile Ferate Române is the official designation of the state railway carrier of Romania. Romania has a railway network of 11,380 km of which 3,971 km are electrified and the total track length is 22,247 km...
experienced a dramatic fall in freight and passenger volumes from the peak volumes recorded in 1989 mainly due to the decline in GDP and competition from road transport. In 2004, the railways carried 8.64 billion passenger-km in 99 million passenger journeys, and 73 million metric tonnes, or 17 billion ton-km of freight. The combined total transportation by rail constituted around 45% of all passenger and freight movement in the country.
BucharestBucharest is the capital city, industrial and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River....
is the only city in Romania which has an
undergroundA rapid transit, metro, subway, underground, or elevated railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and which is grade separated from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically either in underground tunnels or elevated above street level...
railway system. The
Bucharest MetroThe Bucharest Metro is an underground urban railway network that serves the capital of Romania, Bucharest. The network is run by Metrorex. It is one of the most accessed systems of the Bucharest public transport network with an average ridership of 600,000 passengers per day...
was only opened in 1979 and is now one of the most accessed systems of the
Bucharest public transport networkBucharest boasts the largest transport network in Romania, and one of the largest in Europe. The Bucharest transport network is made up of a metro network and a surface transport network...
with an average ridership of 600,000 passengers during the workweek.
Tourism
Tourism focuses on the country's natural landscapes and its rich history and is a significant contributor to the Romania's economy. In 2006, the domestic and international
tourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
generated about 4.8% of gross domestic product and 5.8% of the total jobs (about half a million jobs). Following commerce, tourism is the second largest component of the services sector. Tourism is one of the most dynamic and fastest developing sectors of the economy of Romania and characterized by a huge potential for development. According to the
World Travel and Tourism CouncilThe World Travel & Tourism Council was conceptualized in the early 1980s when a group of CEOs came to the realization that although Travel & Tourism was the largest service industry in the world and the biggest provider of jobs, nobody knew it...
Romania is the fourth fastest growing country in the world in terms of travel and tourism total demand with a yearly potential growth of 8% from 2007-2016. Number of tourists grew from 4.8 million in 2002 to 6.6 million in 2004. Similarly, the revenues grew from 400 million in 2002 to 607 in 2004. In 2006, Romania registered 20 million overnight stays by international tourists, an all-time record, but the number for 2007 is expected to increase even more. Tourism in Romania attracted €400 million in investments in 2005.
Over the last years, Romania has emerged as a popular tourist destination for many Europeans (more than 60% of the foreign visitors were from EU countries), thus attempting to compete with
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
, Italy and Spain. Romania destinations such as
MangaliaMangalia is a city and a port on the Romanian coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanţa County.The following resorts are administered by the Mangalia municipality:* Cap Aurora* Jupiter...
,
SaturnSaturn is a summer resort on the Romanian seacoast, on the Black Sea, 1 km north of Mangalia....
,
VenusVenus is a summer resort on the Romanian seacoast, on the Black Sea, 3 km north of Mangalia....
,
NeptunNeptun is a summer resort on the Romanian seacoast, on the Black Sea, 6 km north of Mangalia. This is where former president Nicolae Ceauşescu had his villa and private beach. The President of Romania still uses this villa as his seaside vacation location.It is part of a string of such resorts,...
, Olimp,
ConstantaConstanţa is the oldest living city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast...
and
MamaiaMamaia is a resort on the Romanian Black Sea shore, considered to be Romania's most popular resort. It is situated immediately north-east of Constanţa...
(sometimes called the
Romanian RivieraThe Romanian Black Sea Riviera stretches from Danube Delta in north down to the Bulgarian Black Sea Riviera in south, along 275 km of coastline....
) are among the most popular attraction during summer. During winter, the skiing resorts along the Valea Prahovei and
Poiana BraşovPoiana Braşov is the most popular Romanian ski resort and an important tourist center preferred by many tourists not only from Romania, but also from Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and other European states....
are popular with foreign visitors. For their medieval atmosphere and castles,
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
n cities such as
SibiuSibiu or Hermannstadt is an important city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. It straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt. It is the capital of Sibiu County and is located some 282 km NW of Bucharest...
,
BraşovBraşov is a city in Romania and the capital of Braşov County, with a population of 284,596, according to the 2002 census, is the 8th largest Romanian city....
,
SighişoaraSighişoara is a city and municipality on the Târnava Mare River in Mureş County, Romania. Located in the historic region Transylvania, Sighişoara has a population of 32,287 .- History :...
,
Cluj-NapocaCluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
, Târgu Mureş have become important touristic attractions for foreigners. Rural tourism focused on folklore and traditions, has become an important alternative recently, and is targeted to promote such sites as
BranBran is a commune in Braşov County, Romania. It lies 30 km from the city of Braşov. Medieval Bran Castle, located in Bran, is a popular tourist destination as it is purported setting for Count Dracula, in Bram Stoker's Dracula".-History:...
and its
Dracula's CastleBran Castle , situated near Bran and in the immediate vicinity of Braşov, is a national monument and landmark in Romania. The fortress is situated on the border between Transylvania and Wallachia, on DN73...
, the
Painted churches of Northern MoldaviaThe painted churches of northern Moldavia are seven Romanian Orthodox churches in Suceava County, Romania in northern Moldavia, built approximately between 1487 and 1532.Since 1993 they have been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site....
, the
Wooden churches of MaramureşThe Maramureş wooden churches in Northern Transylvania are a selection of eight examples of different architectural solutions from different periods and areas. They are Orthodox or Romanian Greek-Catholic churches. They are high timber constructions with characteristic tall, slim bell towers at the...
, or the
Merry CemeteryThe Merry Cemetery is a cemetery in the village of Săpânţa, Maramureş county, Romania. It is famous for its colourful tombstones with naïve paintings describing, in an original and poetic manner, the persons that are buried there as well as scenes from their lives...
in
Maramureş CountyMaramureş is a county of Romania, in the Maramureş region. The county seat is Baia Mare.- History :* The 10th century frontier county of Borsova was founded by Stephen I of Hungary...
. Other major natural attractions in Romania such as
Danube DeltaThe Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent . The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania , while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine . The approximate surface is...
, Iron Gates (
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
Gorge),
Scărişoara CaveScărişoara Cave is one of the biggest ice caves in the Romanian part of Carpathians, more specifically in the Apuseni Mountains.The exact date when the cave was discovered is unknown, but is mentioned in 1863 by the German Adolf Schmidl, who made some observations and the first map.Emil Racoviţă...
and several other caves in the
Apuseni MountainsThe Apuseni Mountains is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Carpathians, also called Occidentali in Romanian. Their name translates from Romanian as Mountains "of the sunset" i.e. "western". The highest peak is "Cucurbăta Mare" - 1849 metres, also called Bihor...
have yet to receive great attention.
Culture
Romania has its unique culture, which is the product of its geography and of its distinct historical evolution. Like Romanians themselves, it is fundamentally defined as the meeting point of three regions:
Central EuropeCentral Europe is the region lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. The term and widespread interest in the region itself came back into fashion after the end of the Cold War, which, along with the Iron Curtain, had divided Europe politically into East and West,...
,
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, and the
BalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, but cannot be truly included in any of them. The Romanian identity formed on a substratum of mixed
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
and quite possibly
DaciaIn ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land in East-Central Europe inhabited by the Dacians. Ancient Greeks called the same people "Getae"...
n elements, with many other influences. During late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the major influences came from the
Slavic peoplesThe Slavic Peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern and central Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans...
who migrated and settled in near Romania; from medieval
GreeksGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
, and the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
; from a long domination by the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
; from the
HungariansHungarians are an ethnic group primarily associated with Hungary. There are around 10 million Hungarians in Hungary . Hungarians were the main inhabitants of the Kingdom of Hungary that existed through most of the second millennium...
; and from the
GermansThe Transylvanian Saxons are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania from the 12th century onwards.The colonization of Transylvania by Germans was begun by King Géza II of Hungary . For decades, the main task of the German settlers was to defend the southeastern border of the...
living in Transylvania. Modern Romanian culture emerged and developed over roughly the last 250 years under a strong influence from
Western cultureWestern culture refers to cultures of European origin.The term "Western culture" is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and technologies...
, particularly French, and
GermanGerman culture may refer to:* used more narrowly, the Culture of Germany, including**culture of Bavaria, see Bavaria#Culture**culture of Saxony, see Saxony#Culture* used more widely Culture of German-speaking Europe, including**German language literature...
culture.
Arts
The Romanian literature began to truly evolve with the
revolutions of 1848The Wallachian Revolution of 1848 was a Romanian liberal and Romantic nationalist uprising in the principality of Wallachia. Part of the Revolutions of 1848, and closely connected with the unsuccessful revolt in Moldavia, it sought to overturn the administration imposed by Imperial Russian...
and the union of the two
Danubian PrincipalitiesDanubian Principalities was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg Monarchy after the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common...
in 1859. The Origin of the Romanians began to be discussed and in Transylvania and Romanian scholars began studying in France, Italy and Germany. The German philosophy and French culture were integrated into modern Romanian literature and a new elite of artists led to the appearance of some of the classics of the Romanian literature such as
Mihai EminescuMihai Eminescu was a Romantic poet, novelist and journalist, often regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and he worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul , the official newspaper of the Conservative Party...
,
George CoşbucGeorge Coşbuc was a Romanian poet, translator, teacher, and journalist, best remembered for his verses describing, praising and eulogizing rural life, its many travails but also its occasions for joy.Although his work was later coopted by Communist propagandists to embellish...
,
Ioan SlaviciIoan Slavici was a Transylvanian-born Romanian writer and journalist. He made his debut in Convorbiri literare , with the comedy Fata de birău...
. Although they remain little known outside Romania, they are very appreciated within Romania for giving birth to a true Romanian literature by creating modern lyrics with inspiration from the old folklore tales. Of them, Eminescu is considered the most important and influential Romanian poet, and is still very much loved for his creations, and especially the poem
Luceafărul. Among other writers that made large contributions around the second half of 19th century are
Mihail KogălniceanuMihail Kogălniceanu was a Moldavian-born Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania October 11, 1863, after the union of the Danubian Principalities under Domnitor Alexander John Cuza, and later served as Foreign Minister under Carol I...
(also the first prime minister of Romania),
Vasile AlecsandriVasile Alecsandri was a Romanian poet, playwright, politician, and diplomat. He collected Romanian folk songs and was one of the principal animators of the 19th century movement for Romanian cultural identity and union of Moldavia and Wallachia.-Origins and childhood:Alecsandri was born in the...
,
Nicolae BălcescuNicolae Bălcescu was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution.-Early life:...
,
Ion Luca CaragialeIon Luca Caragiale was a Wallachian-born Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist...
, and
Ion CreangăIon Creangă was a Moldavian-born Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher...
.
The first half of the 20th century is regarded by many Romanian scholars as the
Golden Age of Romanian culture and it is the period when it reached its main level of international affirmation and a strong connection to the
European culturalThe culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of West as opposed to East; Christianity as opposed to Islam; many have claimed to identify cultural fault lines across the continent. There are many cultural innovations and movements,...
trends. The most important artist who had a great influence on the world culture was the sculptor
Constantin BrâncuşiConstantin Brâncuşi was an internationally renowned Romanian sculptor whose works, which blend simplicity and sophistication, led the way for numerous modernist sculptors.-Early years:...
, a central figure of the modern movement and a pioneer of abstraction, the innovator of world sculpture by immersion in the primordial sources of folk creation. His sculptures blend simplicity and sophistication that led the way for
modernistModern art refers to artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
sculptors. As a testimony to his skill, one of his pieces,
"Bird in Space"Bird in Space" is a series of sculptures by Constantin Brancusi, a Romanian sculptor. The original work was created in 1923. It was sold in 2005 for $27.5 million, a record for a sculpture sold in an auction....
" , was sold in an auction for $27.5 million in 2005, a record for any sculpture. In the period between the two world wars, authors like
Tudor ArgheziTudor Arghezi was a major Romanian writer, noted for his contribution to poetry and children's literature. Born Ion N...
,
Lucian BlagaLucian Blaga was a Romanian philosopher, poet, and playwright.-Biography:Lucian Blaga was a commanding personality of the Romanian culture of the inter-bellum period. He was a philosopher and writer acclaimed for his originality, a university professor and a diplomat. He was born on May 9, 1895 in...
,
Eugen LovinescuEugen Lovinescu was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the Sburătorul literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the uncle of Horia Lovinescu, Vasile Lovinescu, and Anton Holban...
,
Ion BarbuIon Barbu was a distinguished Romanian mathematician and poet....
,
Liviu RebreanuLiviu Rebreanu was a Romanian novelist, playwright, short story writer, and journalist.- Life :Born in Târlişua , Transylvania, then part of Austria-Hungary, he was the second of thirteen children born to Vasile Rebreanu, a schoolteacher, and Ludovica Diuganu, descendants of peasants...
made efforts to synchronize Romanian literature with the European literature of the time. From this period comes also
George EnescuGeorge Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.- Biography :...
, probably the best known Romanian musician. He is a
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
,
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
ist,
pianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
,
conductorConducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors.-Nomenclature:...
, teacher, and one of the greatest performers of his time, in whose honor is held the annually in Bucharest, the classical music
George Enescu FestivalThe George Enescu Festival , held in honor of the celebrated Romanian composer George Enescu, is the biggest classical music festival and classical international competition held in Romania and one of the biggest in Eastern Europe...
.
After the world wars, communism brought heavy censorship and used the cultural world as a means to better control the population. The freedom of expression was constantly restricted in various ways, but the likes of
Gellu NaumGellu Naum was a prominent Romanian poet, dramatist, novelist, children's writer, and translator. He is remembered as the founder of the Romanian Surrealist group...
,
Nichita StănescuNichita Stănescu was a Romanian poet and essayist. He is the most acclaimed contemporary Romanian language poet, beloved by the public and generally held in esteem by literary critics.-Biography:Stănescu's father was Nicolae H. Stănescu...
,
Marin SorescuMarin Sorescu was a Romanian poet, playwright, and novelist.- Biography :Born to a peasant family in Bulzeşti, Dolj County, Sorescu graduated the primary school in its home village. After that he went to the Buzesti Brothers highschool in Craiova after which he was transferred to the Predeal...
or
Marin PredaMarin Preda was a Romanian novelist, often considered the best of post-WWII Romania.Preda was born in Siliştea-Gumeşti village, Teleorman county, into a family of peasants. He studied at the village school, then at Abrud and Cristur-Odorhei...
managed to escape censorship, broke with "
socialist realismSocialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style of realistic art which has as its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
" and were the leaders of a small "Renaissance" in Romanian literature. While not many of them managed to obtain international acclaim due to the censorship, some like
Constantin NoicaConstantin Noica was a Romanian philosopher, essayist and poet. His preoccupations were throughout all philosophy, from epistemology, philosophy of culture, axiology and philosophic anthropology to ontology and logics, from the history of philosophy to systematic philosophy, from ancient to...
,
Tristan TzaraTristan Tzara was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist...
and
Mircea CărtărescuMircea Cărtărescu is a Romanian poet, novelist and essayist.Born in Bucharest, he graduated from the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Romanian language and literature in 1980. Between 1980 and 1989 he worked as a Romanian language teacher, then as a civil servant at the Writers' Union and as...
had their works published abroad even though they got jailed for various political reasons.
Some artists chose to leave the country entirely, and continued to make contributions in exile. Among them Eugen Ionescu,
Mircea EliadeMircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
and
Emil CioranEmil Cioran was a Romanian philosopher and essayist.-Early life:Emil Cioran was born in Răşinari, Sibiu County, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time...
became renown worldwide for their works. Other literary figures who enjoy acclaim outside of the country include the poet
Paul CelanPaul Celan was a pseudonym of the poet and translator Paul Antschel. Born into a Jewish family in Romania, Celan became one of the major German-language poets of the post-World War II era....
and Nobel laureate
Elie WieselEliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE is a writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, the best known of which is Night, a memoir that describes his experiences during the Holocaust and his imprisonment in several concentration camps...
, both survivors of the Holocaust. Some famous Romanian artists musicians are the folk artist
Tudor GheorgheTudor Gheorghe is a Romanian singer and actor. He was listed as number 76 on the 2006 100 Greatest Romanians of All TimeBorn on August 1, 1945 in Podari, Dolj County, Tudor Gheorghe had a rough childhood as his father was arrested on political grounds and sent to prison in Aiud.Education"Nicolae...
, and the virtuoso of the
pan fluteThe pan flute or pan pipe is an ancient musical instrument based on the principle of the Closed tube, consisting usually of five or more pipes of gradually increasing length...
Gheorghe ZamfirGheorghe Zamfir is a Romanian pan flute musician who has received 90 golden and platinum disc awards, released over 200 albums and sold over 40 million recordings....
– who is reported to have sold over 120 million albums worldwide.
Romanian cinema has recently achieved worldwide acclaim with the appearance of such films as
The Death of Mr. LazarescuThe Death of Mr. Lazarescu is a Romanian comedy/drama made in 2005 by director Cristi Puiu. In the film an old man is carried by an ambulance from hospital to hospital all night long, as doctors keep refusing to treat him and send him away.The Death of Mr...
, directed by
Cristi PuiuCristi Puiu is a Romanian film director and screenwriter.-Biographic notes:Puiu's first interest in art was painting and in 1992, he was admitted as a student at the Painting Department of Ecole Superieure d'Arts Visuels in Geneva. After the first year he switched to film studies at the same...
, (
Cannes 2005The 2005 Cannes Film Festival started on May 11 and ran until May 22. Twenty movies from 13 countries were selected to compete. The awards were announced on May 21...
Prix un certain regard winner), and
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a 2007 Romanian film written and directed by Cristian Mungiu. It won the Palme d'Or and the FIPRESCI Award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival....
, directed by
Cristian MungiuCristian Mungiu is a Romanian filmmaker, winner of the Palme d'Or in 2007.After studying English literature at the University of Iaşi, he worked for a few years as a teacher and as a journalist. After that, he enrolled at the University of Film in Bucharest to study film directing. After...
(
Cannes 2007The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from May 16 to 27, 2007. Wong Kar Wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...
Palme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded to competing films at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film...
winner). The latter, according to
VarietyVariety is a weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the Daily...
, is "further proof of Romania's new prominence in the film world."
Monuments
The
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
List of World Heritage SitesA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
includes Romanian sites such as the
Saxon villages with fortified churches in TransylvaniaTransylvanian villages were often organised around a fortified church. Currently, a group of six former Saxon and one Székely villages is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site:-The list:-History:...
, the
Painted churches of northern MoldaviaThe painted churches of northern Moldavia are seven Romanian Orthodox churches in Suceava County, Romania in northern Moldavia, built approximately between 1487 and 1532.Since 1993 they have been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site....
with their fine exterior and interior frescoes, the
Wooden Churches of MaramuresThe Maramureş wooden churches in Northern Transylvania are a selection of eight examples of different architectural solutions from different periods and areas. They are Orthodox or Romanian Greek-Catholic churches. They are high timber constructions with characteristic tall, slim bell towers at the...
unique examples that combine Gothic style with traditional timber construction, the
Monastery of HorezuThe Monastery of Horezu was founded in 1690 by Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu in the town of Horezu, Wallachia, Romania. It is considered to be a masterpiece of "Brâncovenesc style", known for its architectural purity and balance, the richness of its sculpted detail, its treatment of religious...
, the citadel of
SighişoaraSighişoara is a city and municipality on the Târnava Mare River in Mureş County, Romania. Located in the historic region Transylvania, Sighişoara has a population of 32,287 .- History :...
, and the
Dacian Fortresses of the Orăştie MountainsBuilt in murus dacicus style, the six Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains, in Romania, were created in the 1st centuries BC and AD as protection against Roman conquest....
. Romania's contribution to the World Heritage List stands out because it consists of some groups of monuments scattered around the country, rather than one or two special landmarks. Also, in 2007, the city of
SibiuSibiu or Hermannstadt is an important city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. It straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt. It is the capital of Sibiu County and is located some 282 km NW of Bucharest...
famous for its
Brukenthal National MuseumThe Brukenthal National Museum is a museum in Sibiu, Romania, housed in the palace of Samuel von Brukenthal — who was Habsburg governor of Transylvania and who established its first collections around 1790...
is the
European Capital of CultureThe European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year during which it is given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development. A number of European cities have used the City of Culture year to transform their cultural base and,...
alongside the city of
LuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small, landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany...
.
National Flag
The national flag of Romania is a tricolour with vertical stripes: beginning from the flagpole, blue, yellow and red. It has a width-length ratio of 2:3. Romania's national flag is very similar to that of
ChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
.
Sports
Football (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
is by far the most popular sport in Romania. The governing body is the
Romanian Football FederationThe Romanian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Romania. It organizes the Romania national football team and most of the Romanian football competitions...
, which belongs to
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It is almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA ....
. The top division of the
Romanian Professional Football LeagueThe Romanian Professional Football League manages Liga I - the top professional division of the Romanian football league system. Its current chairman is Dumitru Dragomir and its general secretary is Valentin Alexandru...
attracted an average of 5417 spectators per game in the 2006–07 season. At international level, the
Romanian National Football TeamThe Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
has taken part 7 times in the
Football World CupThe FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, and it had the most successful period throughout the 1990s, when during the 1994 World Cup in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Romania reached the quarter-finals and was ranked by
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
on the 6th place. The core player of this "
Golden GenerationIn sports, Golden Generation is a term often used to describe an exceptionally gifted group of players who achieve a level of international success beyond what their team had previously achieved....
" and perhaps the best known Romanian player internationally is
Gheorghe HagiGheorghe Hagi , is a Romanian former football player of Aromanian origin. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s.Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he is considered a hero in...
(nicknamed
the Maradona of the Carpathians). Famous currently active players are
Adrian MutuAdrian Mutu is a Romanian striker and attacking midfielder who plays for Italian Serie A club Fiorentina and the Romanian national team.- Argeş Piteşti :...
and
Cristian ChivuCristian Eugen Chivu is a Romanian footballer. He is the captain of the Romanian national team and currently plays for Internazionale of the Italian Serie A....
. The most famous football club is
Steaua BucureştiFC Steaua Bucureşti is a Romanian professional football club from Ghencea,south-west Bucharest. They are the most successful Romanian football team in European competitions as well in the Romanian Liga I...
, who in
1986 became the first Eastern European club ever to winThe 1985–86 season of the European Cup was the 31st edition of UEFA's premier club football tournament. The European Champion Clubs' Cup was won by Steaua Bucharest on penalties in a final against Barcelona...
the prestigious
European Champions CupEuropean Champions Cup may refer to one of the following sports tournaments:*IIHF European Champions Cup, annual ice hockey tournament, featuring the champions of national IIHF competitions...
title, and who
played the final again in 1989The season 1988–89 of the European Cup football club tournament was won for the third time by AC Milan comfortably in the final against former winners Steaua Bucharest...
. Another successful Romanian team
Dinamo BucureştiFC Dinamo Bucureşti is a Romanian professional football club from Ştefan Cel Mare, Bucharest. They became the first Romanian team to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 1983-84.- Beginning :...
played a semifinal in the
European Champions CupEuropean Champions Cup may refer to one of the following sports tournaments:*IIHF European Champions Cup, annual ice hockey tournament, featuring the champions of national IIHF competitions...
in 1984 and a Cup Winners Cup semifinal in the 1990. Other important Romanian football clubs are
Rapid BucureştiFotbal Club Rapid București is a Romanian football club. It was founded in 1923 by a group of workers of the Grivița workshops under the name of "Cultural and Sporting Association CFR" . Rapid has won the Romanian championship 4 times and the Romanian Cup on thirteen occasions...
, CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca and
FC Universitatea CraiovaFC Universitatea Craiova is one of the most famous football clubs from Romania, along with Steaua Bucuresti and Dinamo Bucuresti. They became the first Romanian football team to reach the semi-finals of a European tournament, during the UEFA Cup in 1982-83....
.
Tennis is the second most popular sport in terms of registered sportsmen. Romania reached the
Davis CupThe Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. The largest annual international team competition in sports, the Davis Cup is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition...
finals three times (1969, 1971, 1972). The tennis player
Ilie NăstaseIlie Năstase is a former Romanian professional tennis player, one of the world's top players of the 1970s. Năstase was the World No. 1 in 1973 according to the Association of Tennis Professionals ranking system, which placed him first from August 23, 1973 to June 2, 1974...
won several
Grand SlamThe four Grand Slam tournaments, also called the Majors, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, and public attention. They are: Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open...
titles and dozens of other tournaments, and was the first player to be
ranked as number 1 by
ATPThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the principal worldwide tennis tour for men, the ATP Tour, which was renamed in January 2009 and is now known as the ATP World Tour...
from 1973 to 1974. The Romanian Open is held every fall in Bucharest since 1993.
Popular
team sportTeam sport refers to sports that are practiced between opposing teams, where the players interact directly and simultaneously between them to achieve an objective. The objective generally involves teammates facilitating the movement of a ball or similar item in accordance with a set of rules, in...
s are
rugby unionRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
(
national rugby teamThe Romania national rugby union team, nicknamed The Oaks , have long been one of the stronger European teams outside of the Six Nations tournament. They take part in international competitions, notably the World Cup, the European Nations Cup and the Super Cup. Rugby union in Romania is...
has
so far competed at everyThis article lists the début of national teams that have so far qualified for the Rugby World Cup and their number of appearances.-Début of national teams:24 nations have thus far qualified for the Rugby World Cup...
Rugby World CupThe Rugby World Cup is the premier international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board , and is contested by the men's national teams. The inaugural tournament was held in 1987, hosted by both Australia and New Zealand, and is...
),
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
and
handballHandball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass and bounce a ball to throw it into the goal of the opposing team...
. Some popular
individual sportAn individual sport refers to a sport which is practiced by two opposing individuals or one individual.-Examples:Examples of individual sports include:*Archery*Athletics*Bodybuilding*Badminton*Boomerang*Boxing*Chess*Croquet*Cycling*Darts*Equestrian...
s are: athletics, chess, sport dance, and martial arts and other fighting sports.
Romanian
gymnasticsGymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, balance and grace. Artistic gymnastics is the best known and most popular of the gymnastics sports governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique...
has had a large number of successes – for which the country became known worldwide. In the
1976 Summer OlympicsThe 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976...
, the gymnast
Nadia ComăneciNadia Elena Comăneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and the first ever gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10, in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 summer Olympics...
became the first gymnast ever to score a perfect ten. She also won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze, all at the age of fifteen. Her success continued in the
1980 Summer OlympicsThe 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
, where she was awarded two gold medals and two silver medals.
Romania participated in for the first time in the
Olympic GamesThe Olympic Games are a major international event of summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes compete in a wide variety of events. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in...
in 1900 and has taken part in 18 of the 24 summer games. Romania has been one of the more successful countries at the
Summer Olympic GamesThe Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
(15th overall) with a total of 283 medals won throughout the years, 82 of which are gold medals. Winter sports have received little investments and thus only a single bronze medal was won by Romanian sportsmen in the
Winter Olympic GamesThe Winter Olympic Games is a winter multi-sport event held every four years. They feature winter sports held on snow or ice, such as Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, bobsledding and ice hockey. Cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping, and...
.
See also
External links
Government
General information
- Country Profile from BBC News
BBC News, formerly BBC News and Current Affairs, is the department within the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the corporation's news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online....
- Romania information from the United States Department of State
The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, similar to foreign ministries, foreign offices, ministries of external relations, etc. in other countries...
- Portals to the World from the United States Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books. The head...
- Romania at UCB Libraries GovPubs
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