|
Romania (Romanian: România ) is a country in Southeastern Europe. Romania borders Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south. Romania has a stretch of sea coast along the Black Sea, and the eastern and southern Carpathian mountains run through its center. Historic Bucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti ) is the country's capital and largest city. Romania has been an active member of NATO since 2004, and is also an acceding country to the European Union. The EU Accession Treaty was signed in early 2005, and Romania is due to join the European Union on January 1, 2007. Starting on January 1, 2007, Romania will have the seventh largest population and the ninth largest territory in the EU.
Name The name of Romania (România) comes from Român ("Romanian"), which is a derivative of the word Romanus ("Roman") from Latin. The fact that Romanians called themselves with a derivative of Romanus (Romanian: Român/Rumân) is mentioned in scholarly works as early as the 16th century by many authors, among them Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia. The oldest surviving document written in the Romanian language is a 1521 letter (known as "Neacşu's Letter from Câmpulung") which notifies the mayor of Braşov about the imminent attack of the Ottoman Turks. This document is also notable for having the first occurrence of "Rumanian" in a Romanian written text, Wallachia being here named "the Rumanian land" - Ţeara Rumânească (Ţeara < Latin Terra = "land"). History Prehistory The territory of Romania has been inhabited by different groups of people since prehistory. One of the fossils found - a male, adult jawbone - has been dated to be between 34,000 and 36,000 years old which would make it the oldest fossil found to date of modern humans in Europe. Dacia In 513 BC, south of the Danube, the tribal confederation of the Getae were defeated by the Persian emperor Darius the Great during his campaign against the Scythians (Herodotus IV.93). Over half a millennium later, the Getae (also named Daci by Romans) were defeated by the Roman Empire under Emperor Trajan in two campaigns stretching from 101 to 106, and the core of their kingdom was turned into the Roman province of Dacia. The Gothic and Carpic campaigns in the Balkans during 238–269 (from the beginning of the military anarchy period to the battle of Naissus) forced the Roman Empire to reorganize a new Roman province of Dacia south of the Danube, inside former Moesia Superior. Romania in the Middle Ages In 271 or 275 the Roman army and administration left Dacia, which was invaded by the Goths, who lived with the local people until the fourth century, when another nomadic people arrived, the Huns. The Gepids and the Avars ruled Transylvania until the 8th century, after which the Bulgarians included the territory of modern Romania to their Empire until 1018. Transylvania was part of the Kingdom of Hungary from the 10-11th century until the 16th century when the independent Principality of Transylvania was formed. But from the destructions and the financial burdens, the local people were not influenced by the migrators in their culture and way of life. The Pechenegs, the Cumans and Uzes were also mentioned by historic chronicles on the territory of Romania, until the founding of the Romanian principalities of Wallachia by Basarab I, and Moldavia by Dragoş during the 13th and 14th centuries respectively. In the Middle Ages, Romanians lived in two distinct independent Romanian principalities: Wallachia (Romanian: Ţara Românească - "Romanian Land"), Moldavia (Romanian: Moldova) as well as in the Hungarian-ruled principality of Transylvania. In 1475, Stephen the Great of Moldavia scored a decisive victory over the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui. Wallachia and Moldavia would later come gradually under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire during the 15th and 16th centuries (1476 for Wallachia, 1514 for Moldavia), as vassal tributary states with complete internal autonomy and an external independence which was finally lost in the 18th century. One of the greatest Hungarian kings, Matthias Corvinus (known in Romanian as Matei Corvin - with Romanian origin, ruled 1458–1490)— was born in Transylvania, and is claimed by the Romanians because of his Romanian father, Iancu de Hunedoara (Hunyadi János in Hungarian), and by the Hungarians because of his Hungarian mother, (ruled 1458–1490) — was born in Transylvania. Later, in 1541, Transylvania became a multi-ethnic principality under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire following the Battle of Mohács. Early modern Romania
Kingdom of Romania The modern state of Romania was formed by the merging of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 under the Moldavian domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza. He was replaced by Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1866. During the Russo-Turkish War, Romania fought on the Russian side; in the Treaty of Berlin in 1878 Romania was recognized as an independent state by the Great Powers. In return for ceding to Russia the three southern districts of Bessarabia which had been regained by Moldavia after the Crimean War in 1852, the Kingdom of Romania acquired Dobruja. In 1881 the principality was raised to a kingdom and Prince Carol I became King Carol I. Romania entered World War I on the side of the Triple Entente. The Romanian military campaign ended in disaster for Romania as the Central Powers conquered most of the country and captured or killed the majority of its army within four months. By war's end Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire had collapsed, allowing Bessarabia, Bukovina and Transylvania to unite with the Kingdom of Romania in 1918. Restored Hungary renounced in favour of Romania to any claims over the rights and titles of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. Romania during World War II In 1940 during World War II, Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia, Northern Transylvania and southern Dobruja were occupied by the Soviet Union, Hungary and Bulgaria respectively. The authoritarian King Carol II abdicated in 1940 and the subsequent year Romania entered the war joining the Axis powers. After the invasion of the Soviet Union, Romania recovered Bessarabia and northern Bukovina from the Soviet Russia, under the leadership of general Ion Antonescu. It was awarded the territory Transnistria by Germany. During the Second World War, the Antonescu regime, allied with Nazi Germany, played a role in the Holocaust, following its policy of oppression and massacre of the Jews, and, to a lesser extent, Romas. According to a report released in 2004 by a commission appointed by former Romanian president Ion Iliescu and chaired by Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, the Romanian authorities were the main perpetrators in the planning and implementation of the killing of between 280,000 to 380,000 Jews, primarily in the Eastern territories Romania recovered or occupied from the Soviet Union and in Moldavia, though some estimates are even higher. In August 1944 the Antonescu regime was toppled, and Romania joined the Allies against Nazi Germany, but its role in the defeat of Germany was not recognized by the Paris Peace Conference of 1947. Communist Romania With the Red Army forces still stationed in the country and exerting defacto control, communists and their allied parties claimed 80% of the vote in the 1946 Romanian elections, through a combination of vote manipulation, elimination and forced mergers of competing parties, establishing themselves as the dominant force. In 1947, King Michael I was forced by the communists to abdicate and leave the country. Romania was proclaimed a republic, and remained under direct military and economic control of the USSR until the late 1950s. During this period, Romania's resources were drained by the "SovRom" agreements: mixed Soviet-Romanian companies established to mask the looting of Romania by the Soviet Union, in addition to excessive war reparations paid to the USSR. A large number of people were arbitrarily imprisoned for political, economical or unknown reasons: detainees in prisons or camps, deported, persons under house arrest, administrative detainees, psychiatric internees for political reasons. Estimations vary, from 60,000, 80,000, up to two millions. There were hundreds of thousands of abuses, deaths and incidents of torture against a large range of people, from political opponents to ordinary citizens, bringing gloom over Romania. Most political prisoners were freed in a series of amnesties between 1962 and 1964. One positive achievement during that period was the spread of near-universal literacy. However, this educational transformation was not coupled with appropriate industrial development and urbanization policies, so that almost half of Romania's population is still rural (47.3%; see Demography of Romania). After the negotiated retreat of Soviet troops, in 1958, Romania started to pursue independent policies, including the condemnation of the Soviet-led 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia (Romania was the only country of the Warsaw pact not to take part in the invasion), the continuation of diplomatic relations with Israel after the Six-Day War of 1967 (Romania was the only country in the Warsaw pact to do so), the establishment of economic (1963) and diplomatic (1967) relations with the Federal Republic of Germany, and so forth. Also close ties with the Arab countries (and the PLO) allowed Romania to play a role in the Israel-Egypt and Israel-PLO peace processes. A short-lived period of relative economic well-being and openness followed in the late 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. As Romania's foreign debt sharply increased between 1977 and 1981 (from 3 to 10 billion US dollars), the influence of international financial organisms such as the IMF or the World Bank grew, conflicting with Nicolae Ceauşescu's autarchic policies. Ceauşescu eventually initiated a project of total reimbursement of the foreign debt (completed in 1989, shortly before his overthrow). To achieve this goal, he imposed policies that impoverished Romanians and exhausted the Romanian economy. He profoundly deepened Romania's police state and imposed a cult of personality which led to his overthrown in the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Romania since 1989 Following the end of the Cold War in 1989, Romania developed closer ties with Western Europe, the country quickly applied for membership in the EU in June 1993, becoming in 1995 Associated State of EU, joined NATO in 2004 and became an Acceding Country to the European Union, being at an advanced stage to join on January 1, 2007. The Treaty of Accession of Romania has been signed by EU member states' representatives in Luxembourg, Abbaye de Neumünster, on April 25 2005. Ratification of the Romanian and Bulgarian Accession Treaty is ongoing in the parliaments of all member states. After the fall of Ceauşescu, the National Salvation Front (FSN) restored civil order and took partial democratic measures. Thus, political parties of the pre-war era, such as the National Christian Democrat Peasant's Party (PNTCD), the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Romanian Social Democrat Party (PSDR) were resurrected. In April 1990 a sit-in protest contesting the results of the recently held parliamentary elections began in the University Square, Bucharest. The protesters accused FSN of being made up of former Communists and members of the Securitate, protesters did not recognize the results of the election which they deemed undemocratic and they were asking for the exclusion from the political life of the former high-rank members of the Communist Party. The protest rapidly grew to become an on-going mass demonstration. The peaceful demonstrations degenerated into violence. After the police failed to bring the demonstrators to order, Ion Iliescu called on the "men of good will" to come and defend the Bucharest and State institutions. Coal miners of the Jiu Valley answered the call and arrived in Bucharest on June 14. Their violent intervention is remembered as the June 1990 Mineriad. The subsequent disintegration of the FSN, which did not have a clear political platform, produced several political parties including the Democratic Party (PD), the Social Democratic Party (PSD) formerly known as the PDSR (Romanian Democrat Social Party), and the APR (Alliance for Romania). Throughout several coalitions, and governments, the Socialist parties emerged from the FSN have governed Romania from 1990 until 1996 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 Constantinescu acceeded to power, in 2000 the Social Democrats returned to power, with Ion Iliescu once again president and in 2004 Traian Băsescu was elected president of Romania, supported during elections by a coalition called Justice and Truth Alliance (DA). The government was formed by a larger coalition which also includes the Conservative Party and the ethnic Hungarian party. Government and politics
Administrative divisions Romania is divided into forty-one counties (judeţe), as well as the municipality of Bucharest(Bucureşti), which is its own administrative unit. Each county is administered by a county council (consiliu judeţean), responsible for local affairs, as well as a prefect, which is appointed by the central government but cannot be a member of any political party. In alphabetical order, the counties are: Alongside the county structure, Romania is also divided into eight development regions, which correspond to NUTS-II divisions in the European Union, but which have no administrative capacity and are instead used for co-ordinating regional development projects and statistical purposes. The country is further subdivided into 2686 communes, which are rural localities, and 265 towns. Communes and towns have their own local councils and are headed by a mayor (primar). Larger and more urbanised towns gain the status of municipality, which gives them greater administrative power over local affairs. Based on the 2002 census, the ten largest cities (all of which also have municipality status) are: Geography
Economy
Demographics
National holidays The Christian holidays of Christmas and (Orthodox) Easter are celebrated (they are official, non-working, holidays). Unlike some other Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on 25 December; however, they follow the usual Eastern Orthodox practice for the date of Easter. Other official holidays (non-working) are New Year's Day (January 1), Labour Day (May 1), and the National Day of Romania (December 1, the Union Day). For Christmas and for Labour Day, it is common for businesses to shut down more than a single day. Minor, but widely observed, holidays include Mărţişor (March 1), marking the start of spring, and International Women's Day (March 8). Many businesses give women employees the day off for International Women's Day. Some holidays celebrated in the United States or in other parts of Europe have recently been gaining some currency in Romania, for example Valentine's Day (February 14). Culture The culture of Romania is rich and varied. Like Romanians themselves, it is fundamentally defined as the meeting point of three regions: Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, but cannot be fully included in any of them. The older classics of Romanian literature and Romanian poetry remained very known outside Romania. Traditionally Romanians appreciate poetry more than Romanian prose. Mihai Eminescu, a famous 19th century Romanian poet is still very much loved in Romania (especially his collection of Poems), among several other "true classics" like George Coşbuc. The revolutionary year 1848 had its echoes in the Romanian principalities and in Transylvania, and a new elite from the middle of the 19th century emerged from the revolutions: Mihail Kogălniceanu (writer, politician and the first prime minister of Romania), Vasile Alecsandri (politician, playwright and poet), Andrei Mureşanu (publicist and the writer of the current Romanian National Anthem) and Nicolae Bălcescu (historian, writer and revolutionary). The works of George Enescu are well-known to Romanians, many of whom consider him their national musician. The symphony orchestra of Bucharest is named in Enescu's honor. Romanian literature has recently gained some renown outside the borders of Romania (mostly through translations into German, French and English). Some modern Romanian authors became increasingly popular in Germany, France and Italy especially Eugen Ionescu, Mircea Eliade and Mircea Cărtărescu. Tourism Romanian tourism focuses on the country's natural landscapes from the heights of the Carpathian Mountains to the Danube Delta and the hot Black Sea shores. On the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites there are some of Romania's most unique places shuch as the Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, the Painted churches of northern Moldavia with their fine exterior and interior frescoes, the Wooden Churches of Maramures unique examples that combine Gothic style with traditional timber construction, the citadel of Sighişoara and the Dacian Fortresses of the Orăştie Mountains. Also, in 2007, the city of Sibiu will be the European Capital of Culture alongside the city of Luxembourg. Media and Television According to Reporters Without Borders, the media in Romania is ranked 58th, at the same level as that in Poland and Hong-Kong . The public television company Televiziunea Română and the public radio Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune cover all the country and have also international programs. The state also owns a public news agency ROMPRES. The private media is grouped in media companies such as Intact Media Group, Media Pro, Realitatea Media, Ringier, SBS Broadcasting Group, Centrul Naţional Media and other smaller independent companies. Cable television is widely available even in some villages and offers besides the national channels a great number of international and specialized channels. FM stations cover most cities and most of them belong to national radio networks. Overall readership of most newspapers is slowly declining due to increasing competition from television and the internet. Tabloids and sport newspapers are among the most read national newspapers. In every large city there is at least one local newspaper, which usualy covers the rest of the county. An Audit Bureau of Circulations exists since 1998 and a large number of publications are its members. Sports in Romania The gymnast Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a perfect "ten" in the 1976 Summer Olympics. She also won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze, all at the age of fifteen. Her success continued in the 1980 Summer Olympics, where she was awarded two gold medals and two silver medals. Ilie Năstase, the tennis player, is another internationally known Romanian sports star. He won several Grand Slam titles and dozens of other tournaments; he also was a successful doubles player. Romania has also reached the Davis Cup finals three times. Football is popular in Romania, the most internationally known player being Gheorghe Hagi who played for Steaua Bucureşti (Romania), Real Madrid, FC Barcelona (Spain) and Galatasaray (Turkey) among others. The Romanian soccer club Steaua Bucureşti was the first Eastern European club to ever win the prestigious European Champions Cup title (1986). Gallery image:palaceofpeopleromania.jpg|Palatul Parlamentului, Bucharest image:Ateneul_Roman.jpg|Romanian Athenaeum, Bucharest image:The_University.JPG|University of Bucharest Image:Bucharest modern building 2.jpg|Headquarters of the Romanian Development Bank Image:MitropoliaMoldovei siBucovinei.Iasi.Romania.JPG| image:CJROcatholic.jpg|Roman Catholic Church, Cluj-Napoca image:CJROtheatre.jpg|National Theatre, Cluj-Napoca Image:Brasov casa sfatului at night.jpg|Braşov Old Council Building at night Image:Constanta-cazino.jpg|Casino, Constanţa Image:Borzesti Side view.jpg|Borzeşti Church, Borzeşti Image:Sighisoara_IMG_5624.jpg|Sighişoara Image:Romania Voronet Monestry.JPG|Voroneţ Monastery International rankings See also Official links Overviews Travel guides Economy links Timelines links mg:Roumanie rmy:Rumuniya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| |