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Romania Profiled
 Geography
Global
position of Romania
With a surface area of
238,393 km², Romania is the largest country in
southeastern Europe and the
twelfth-largest in Europe. A large part of Romania's border
with
Serbia and
Bulgaria is formed by the
Danube. The
Danube is joined by the
Prut River, which forms the
border with the
Republic of Moldova. The
Danube flows into the
Black Sea on Romanian
territory, forming the
Danube Delta, the largest
delta in Europe, which is currently a biosphere reserve and
World Heritage-listed site due to its biodiversity. The
country's most significant rivers are the
Danube, the
Siret, running north-south
through
Moldavia, the
Olt, running from the
oriental Carpathian Mountains to
Oltenia, the
Tisa, marking a part of the
border between Romania and Ukraine, the
Mureş, running through
Transylvania from East to
West, and the
Someş.
Romania's terrain is
distributed roughly equally between mountainous, hilly and
lowland territories. The
Carpathian Mountains
dominate the center of Romania, with fourteen of its peaks
reaching above the altitude of 2,000 meters. The highest
mountain in Romania is
Moldoveanu Peak (2544 m).
In south-central Romania, the Carpathians sweeten into
hills, towards the
Bărăgan Plains. Romania's
geographical diversity has led to an accompanying diversity
of flora and fauna.
Climate
Owing to its
distance from the open sea, Romania has a
continental climate.
Summers are generally very warm to hot, with
average maxima in Bucharest being around
27°C (81°F), with temperatures over 35°C
(95°F) not unknown in the lower-lying areas
of the continent. Minima in Bucharest and
other lower-lying areas are around 18°C
(64°F), but at higher altitudes both maxima
and minima decline considerably.
Winters are
famously cold, with average maxima even in
lower-lying areas being no more than 2°C
(36°F) and below -15°C (5°F) in the highest
mountains, where some areas of
permafrost
occur on the highest peaks.
Precipitation
is generally modest, averaging over 750mm
(30 inches) only on the highest western
mountains - much of it falling as
snow which
allows for an extensive skiing industry. In
the delta of the Danube rainfall is very
low, averaging only around 370mm (15 inches)
per year, whilst in the more westerly
lowland like Bucharest it is around 530mm
(21 inches).
Environment
A high
percentage of natural ecosystems (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
chamois are
best known), birds, reptiles and amphibians
in Romania.
There
are almost 10,000 sq km (almost 5% of the
total area) of protected areas in Romania.
Of these,
Danube Delta
Reserve Biosphere (DDBR) is the largest and
least damaged wetland complex in Europe,
covering a total area of 5800 sq km. 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 bed
systems in Europe. Besides the delta, there
are two more biosphera reserves:
Retezat National Park
and
Rodna
National
Demographics
According to the
2002 census, Romania has a population of
22,680,974 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.
Romanians
make up 89.5% of the population. The largest
ethnic minorities
are
Hungarians,
who make up 6.6% of the population and
Roma, who
make up 2% of the population. By the
official census 409,000 Roma live in
Romania. Hungarians, who are a sizeable
minority in
Transylvania,
constitute a majority in the counties of
Harghita
and
Covasna.
Ukrainians,
Germans,
Lipovans,
Turks,
Tatars,
Serbs,
Slovaks,
Bulgarians,
Croats,
Greeks,
Russians,
Jews,
Czechs,
Poles,
Italians,
Armenians,
as well as other ethnic groups, account for
the remaining 1.4% of the population. The
population density of the country as a whole
has doubled since 1900 although, in contrast
to other
central European
states, there is still considerable room for
further growth. The overall density figures,
however, conceal considerable regional
variation. Population densities are
naturally highest in the towns, with the
plains (up to altitudes of some 700 ft)
having the next highest density, especially
in areas with intensive agriculture or a
traditionally high birth rate (e.g.,
northern
Moldavia
and the “contact” zone with the
Subcarpathians);
areas at altitudes of 700 to 2,000 feet
(600 m), rich in mineral resources,
orchards,
vineyards,
and
pastures,
support the lowest densities. The number of
Romanians and individuals with ancestors
born in Romania living abroad is estimated
at around 12 million.
The official
language of Romania is
Romanian,
an
Eastern Romance
language related to
French,
Spanish,
Catalan,
Italian and
Portuguese.
Romanian is spoken as a first language by
91% of the population, with
Hungarian
and
Romani
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 Saxons,
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.
English and
French 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 Francophonie,
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 state,
thus having no
national religion.
The dominant religious body is the
Romanian Orthodox
Church; its members make up 86.7%
of the population according to the 2002
census. Other important religions include
Roman Catholicism
(4.7%),
Protestantism
(3.7%),
Pentecostal
denominations (1.5%) and the
Romanian
Greek-Catholic Church (0.9%).[75]
Romania also has a historically significant
Muslim
minority concentrated in
Dobrogea,
who are mostly of Turkish ethnicity and
number 67,500 people. Based on the 2002
census data, there are also 6,179
Jews,
23,105 people who are of no religion and/or
atheist,
and 11,734 who refused to answer. On
December 27, 2006, President
Traian Băsescu
approved a new Law on Religion; under the
new legislation, 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
Bucharest
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 the further increase its
metropolitan area to about 20 times the area
of the
city proper.
There are 4
more cities in Romania, with a population of
around 310,000 that are also present in
EU top 100 most
populous cities. These are:
Cluj-Napoca,
Timişoara,
Constanţa
and
Iaşi. Other
cities with a population of at least 200,000
people are
Craiova,
Galaţi,
Braşov,
Ploieşti,
Brăila and
Oradea.
There are 25 cities with a population of at
least 100,000. Until now, several of the
largest cities have a
metropolitan zone:
Constanţa
(550,000 people),
Braşov,
Iaşi (both
with around 400,000) and
Oradea
(260,000). Another 6 metropolitan zones are
being planned:
Timişoara
(400,000),
Cluj-Napoca
(400,000),
Galaţi-Braila
(600,000), Craiova (370,000), Bacau and
Ploieşti.
Education
Since the
Romanian Revolution of
1989, the Romanian education
system has been in a continuous process of
reformation
that has been both praised and criticised.
According to the Law on Education adopted in
1995, the Romanian Educational System is
regulated by the
Ministry of Education
and Research (Ministerul
Educaţiei şi Cercetării — MEC). Each
level has its own form of organization and
is subject to different legislations.
Kindergarten
is optional between 3 and 6 years old.
Schooling
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
secondary
education are divided in 12 or 13 grades.
Higher education
is aligned onto the
European higher
education area.
Aside from
the official schooling system, and the
recently-added private equivalents, there
exists a semi-legal, informal, fully
private tutoring
system (meditaţii). Tutoring is
mostly used during
secondary
as a preparation for the various
examinations, which are notoriously
difficult. Tutoring is wide-spread, and it
can be considered a part of the Education
System. It has subsisted and even prospered
during the Communist regime.
In 2004 the
Romanian adult literacy rate was 97,3% (45th
worldwide), while the combined gross
enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and
tertiary schools was 75% (52nd worldwide).
The results of the
PISA
assessement 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 Universities, up to 2006 no
Romanian university was included in the
first 500 top universities world wide. Using
a methodology similar to that of the
Academic Ranking of
World Universities, Romanian
scientists have found that the best placed
Romanian university attained the half score
of the last university in the world top 500.
Economy
With a
GDP per capita
(PPP)
of $10,661 estimated for 2007, Romania is
considered an upper-middle income economy
and has been part of the
European Union
since 1 January 2007. After the
Communist regime
was
overthrown in late
1989, 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
unemployment
and declining
inflation.
In 2006, according to the
Romanian Statistics
Office, GDP growth was recorded
at 7.7%, one of the highest rates in Europe.
Unemployment in Romania was at 4.5% in April
2007 which is very low compared to other
middle-sized or large European countries
such as
Poland,
France,
Germany and
Spain.
Foreign debt is also comparatively low, at
20.3% of GDP.[90]
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, importing 37% more
goods than it exports.
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
liberal-democrat
Tăriceanu
government replaced Romania's
progressive tax
system with a
flat tax 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
investment was valued at €8.3
billion in 2006. According to a 2006
World Bank
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
Hungary,
Poland and
the
Czech Republic.
Additionally, the same study judged it to be
the world's second-fastest economic reformer
in 2006. The average gross wage per month in
Romania is 1402 lei as of June 2007,
equating to €421.49 (US$576.07) based on
international exchange rates and $836.52
based on purchasing power parity. 88% of all
Romanian citizens have a color television
set in their household and 90% a
refrigerator.Also, the percentage of
computers connected to the internet in the
country reaches almost 70% and more than 50%
have broadband connections reaching a 4 MiB
(mega bits) average. From this aspect,
Romania is the 10th country in the world
with a bigger percentage of people connected
to the internet than the USA.
Transportation
-
The volume of
traffic in Romania, especially goods
transportation, is at a very high level due
to its central location in Europe. In the
past few decades, much of the freight
traffic shifted from rail to road.
Individual traffic increased resulting in a
traffic density very high by international
comparison. A further strong increase of
traffic is expected in the future.
Tourism
The
official logo of
Romania,
used to promote the tourist
attractions in the country
-
Tourism
focuses on the country's natural landscapes
and its rich history and is a significant
contributor to the Romania Economy. Domestic
and international
tourism
generates about 4% of gross domestic product
(GDP) and 0.8 million jobs. Following
commerce, tourism is the second largest
component of the services sector. In 2006
Romania registered 20 million overnight
stays by international tourists, an all-time
record. Two-thirds of all major trade fairs
from
Central Europe
are held in Romania,
and each year they attract 2 to 3 million
business travelers, about 20% of whom are
foreigners. The most important trade fairs
take place in
Bucharest,
Cluj-Napoca,
Iaşi,
Timişoara.
Tourism is
one of the most dynamic and fastest
developing sectors in Romania. According to
travel agencies
TUI AG and
Thomas Cook,
17 of the 100 best hotels of the world are
located in Romania. The number of foreign
tourists is growing every year and tourism
is becoming an increasingly important source
for Romania's
GDP with
6-7 million people now visiting yearly.
Romania's economy is characterized by a huge
potential for
tourism.
Tourism in Romania attracted €880 million in
investments in 2005. In the year 2006,
14,122,798
tourists
vacationed in Romania. The total revenue was
$4.2 billion and with an average expenditure
of $679 per tourist. Over the years, Romania
has emerged as a popular tourist destination
for many Europeans, often competing with
Greece,
Italy and
Spain.
Romania
destinations such as
Constanta
and
Mamaia
(sometimes called the
Romanian Riviera)
have become very popular among European
tourists and are the most popular attraction
during summer. During winter the skiing
resorts along the
Valea Prahovei
and
Poiana Braşov.
There are several cities in
Transylvania
that have become touristic attractions for
foreign tourists such as:
Sibiu,
Braşov,
Sighişoara,
Cluj-Napoca,
and several others for their
medieval castles.
Rural tourism with its folklore and
traditions has become a major part for the
authorities in order to promote such sites
as
Bran with
its
Dracula's Castle,
the
Painted churches of
Northern Moldavia, the
Wooden churches of
Maramureş and the
Merry Cemetery
in
Maramureş County.
Natural attractions include:
Danube Delta,
Iron Gates
(Danube
Gorge),
Scărişoara Cave
and several other caves in the
Apuseni Mountains.
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 Romanian identity formed
on a substratum of mixed
Roman and quite possibly
Dacian elements (although
the latter is controversial), with many other influences.
During late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the major
influences came from the
Slavic peoples who migrated
and settled in nearby
Bulgaria,
Serbia,
Ukraine and eventually
Russia; from medieval
Greeks and the
Byzantine Empire; from a
long domination by the
Ottoman Empire; from the
Hungarians; and from the
Germans living in
Transylvania. Modern Romanian culture emerged and developed
over roughly the last 250 years under a strong influence
from
Western culture,
particularly
French and
German culture.
The older classics of
Romanian literature remain very little known outside
Romania.
Mihai Eminescu, a famous
19th century Romanian poet is still very much loved in
Romania (especially his
poems), along with several
other classics like
George Coşbuc and
Ioan Slavici.
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). Other classic
Romanian writers whose works are still widely read in their
native country are playwright
Ion Luca Caragiale (the
National Theatre Bucharest
is officially named in his honor) and
Ion Creangă (best known for
his children's stories).
In the period between the two
world wars, authors like
Tudor Arghezi,
Lucian Blaga or
Ion Barbu made efforts to
synchronize Romanian literature with the European literature
of the time.
Gellu Naum was the leader
of the
surrealist movement in
Romania. In the Communist era, valuable writers like
Nichita Stănescu,
Marin Sorescu or
Marin Preda managed to
escape censorship, broke with "socialist
realism" and were the leaders of a small
"Renaissance" in Romanian literature.
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,
Emil Cioran,
Constantin Noica,
Tristan Tzara and
Mircea Cărtărescu. Other
literary figures who enjoy broad acclaim outside of the
country include poet
Paul Celan and Nobel
laureate
Elie Wiesel, both survivors
of the Holocaust.
Politics
Romania is a
semi-presidential
democratic republic where executive functions are shared
between the
president and the
prime minister. The
president is elected by popular vote, and resides at
Cotroceni Palace. Since the
constitutional amendment of 2003, the president's term is
five years (previously it was four). The
Romanian Government, which
is based at
Victoria Palace, is headed
by a
prime minister, who
appoints the other members of his or her cabinet and who is
nearly always the head of the party or coalition that holds
a majority in the parliament. If, however, none of the
parties hold 50% + 1 of the total seats in parliament, the
president will appoint the prime minister. Before beginning
its term, the government is subject to a parliamentary vote
of approval.
The legislative branch of the
government, collectively known as the
Parliament (Parlamentul
României), consists of
two chambers – the
Senate (Senat),
which has 137 members, and the
Chamber of Deputies (Camera
Deputaţilor), which has 332 members. The members of both
chambers are elected every four years under a system of
party-list proportional representation.
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 Justice,
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 law and is
inquisitorial 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 amendment was in
2003. The Romanian Constitutional Court structure is based
on the
Constitutional Council of France,
being made up of nine judges who serve nine-year,
non-renewable terms. Following the 2003 constitutional
amendment, the court's decisions cannot be overruled by any
majority of the parliament.
The country's entry into the
European Union 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. In a recent Brussels report , Romania
along with Bulgaria were described as the two most corrupt
countries in the EU.
Counties
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, who is
appointed by the central government but cannot be a member
of any political party.
Alongside the county
structure, Romania is also divided into four
NUTS-1 level divisions (Romanian:Macroregiunea)
and eight
development regions
corresponding to
NUTS-2 divisions in the
European Union. These divisions have no administrative
capacity and are instead used for co-ordinating regional
development projects and statistical purposes. The NUTS-3
level divisions reflect Romania's administrative-territorial
structure, and correspond to the 41
counties and the
Bucharest municipality.
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).
Out of these, 103 of the larger and more urbanised towns
have the status of
municipality, which gives
them greater administrative power over local affairs.
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 Union. It joined
the
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO) on
March 29,
2004, the
European Union (EU) on
January 1,
2007 and the
International Monetary Fund
and the
World Bank in 1972, and is
a member of the
World Trade Organization.
The current government has
stated its goal of strengthening ties with and helping other
Eastern European countries
(in particular
Moldova,
Ukraine and
Georgia) with the process
of integration with the West. Romania has also made clear
over the past 10 years that it supports NATO and EU
membership for the democratic former Soviet republics in
Eastern Europe and the
Caucasus. In December 2005,
President
Traian Băsescu and U.S.
Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice signed an
agreement that would allow a U.S. military presence at
several Romanian facilities primarily in the eastern part of
the country.
Romania also declared its
public support for
Turkey,
Croatia and
Moldova joining the
European Union. Romania shares a privileged economic
relation with Turkey. Romania has developed strong relations
with
Hungary, with the latter
playing a key role in supporting Romania's bid to join the
EU.
Relations with
Moldova are
rather special, considerig
that the two countries share the same language, and a fairly
common historical background. Signs in the early 1990s that
Romania and Moldova might unite after both countries
achieved emancipation from communist rule quickly faded when
a pro-russian government was formed in Moldova. Romania
remains interested in Moldovan affairs, but the two
countries have been unable even to reach agreement on a
basic bilateral treaty; Romania is insistent (against
determined Moldovan resistance) that such a treaty would
have to refer to Romania and Moldova's 'special
relationship'.
Popular
Media
Reporters Without Borders
ranks Romania 58th in its Worldwide Press Freedom Index, the
same level as 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-Caţavencu,
Ringier,
SBS Broadcasting Group,
Centrul Naţional Media and
other smaller independent companies.
Cable television is widely
available in almost all villages, and some have even adopted
Digital television.It 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 usually 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 the
1976 Summer Olympics, the
gymnast
Nadia Comăneci 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 Olympics, where
she was awarded two gold medals and two silver medals.
Football (soccer) 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. In 1986, the Romanian soccer club Steaua Bucureşti
became the first Eastern European club ever, and only one of
the two (the other boing
Red Star Belgrade) to win
the prestigious
European Champions Cup
title. In 1989, it played the final again, but lost to
AC Milan. Other important
Romanian football clubs are
Dinamo Bucureşti,
Rapid Bucureşti,
FC Progresul Bucureşti,
FCU Politehnica Timişoara,
FC Universitatea Craiova,
CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca,
FC Oţelul Galaţi,
Sportul Studenţesc,
FC Farul Constanţa, etc.
Romanian National Football Team
has taken part 7 times in the
Football World Cup, and it
had a very successful period through the 1990s, reaching the
quarter-finals in the
1994 World Cup in
USA, when the "Golden
Generation" was at its best.
Ilie Năstase, the tennis
player, is another internationally known Romanian sports
star. He won several
Grand Slam titles and
dozens of other tournaments and was the first player to be
ranked as
number 1 by
ATP from 1973 to 1974; he
also was a successful doubles player. Romania has also
reached the
Davis Cup finals three
times.
Virginia Ruzici was a
successful tennis player in the 1970s.
Though maybe not the force
they once were, the Romanian
national rugby team has
so far competed at every
Rugby World Cup.
Maybe slightly surprising for
a country of its size, Romania has been one of the most
successful countries in the history of
Summer Olympic Games (15th
overall) with a total of 283 medals won
throughout the years, 82 of which of gold medal.
Prehistory and
Antiquity (< 4th AD)
In 2002, the
oldest modern human (Homo
sapiens sapiens) remains in
Europe were discovered in the "Cave With
Bones" (Peştera
cu Oase) near
Anina in
present day Romania. The remains (the lower
jaw) are approximately 42,000 years old and
have been nicknamed "John
of Anina" (Ion din Anina).
As Europe’s oldest remains of
Homo sapiens,
they may represent the first such people to
have entered the continent. The remains are
especially interesting because they present
a mixture of archaic, early modern human and
Neanderthal morphological features,
indicating possible Neanderthal/modern human
admixture.
The earliest
written evidence of people living in the
territory of the present-day Romania comes
form Herodotus in 513 BC. In one of his
books, he writes that the tribal
confederation of the
Getae were
defeated by the
Persian
Emperor
Darius the Great
during his campaign against the
Scythians.
Over half a millennium later, the Dacians
were defeated by the
Roman Empire
under Emperor
Trajan in
two campaigns
stretching from 101 AD to 106 AD, and the
core of their kingdom was turned into the
Roman province
of
Dacia.
Because the province was rich in ores, and
especially silver and gold, the Romans
heavily colonized the province, brought with
them the
Vulgar Latin
and started a period of intense
romanization
(giving birth to proto-Romanian).
But in the 3rd century AD, with the
invasions of migratory populations such as
Goths, the
Roman Empire
was forced to pull out of
Dacia in
270 AD, thus making it the first province to
be abandoned.
The city of
Sighisoara
first attested in the 12th
century is famous for its
Medieval Festival
Dark Ages, Middle
Ages & early Modern Romania (4th BC - 18th
AD)
In either 271
or 275 the Roman army and administration
left Dacia, which was invaded by the
Goths.
The Goths lived with the local people until
the 4th century, when another nomadic
people, the
Huns,
arrived. The
Gepids and
the
Avars ruled
Transylvania
until the 8th century, and the
Bulgarians
arrive include the territory of modern
Romania in
their Empire
until around 1000. 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
around 1310, and
Moldavia by
Dragoş
around 1352.
Several
competing theories have been generated to
explain the
origin of modern
Romanians. Linguistic and
geo-historical analyses tend to indicate
that
Romanians
have coallesced as a major ethnic group both
South and North of the
Danube.
In the
Middle Ages,
Romanians lived in three distinct
principalities:
Wallachia (Romanian:
Ţara Românească - "Romanian Land"),
Moldavia (Romanian:
Moldova) and
Transylvania.
Transylvania was part of the
Kingdom of Hungary
from the 10-11th century until the 16th
century, when it became the independent
Principality of
Transylvania until 1711.
Independent
Wallachia
has been on the border of the
Ottoman Empire
since the 14th century and slowly fell under
the
suzerainty
of the
Ottoman Empire
during 15th. Among the rulers was
Vlad III the Impaler
(Vlad Ţepeş,
IPA:
['tsepeş']
in common
Romanian
reference; also known as
Vlad Dracula)
was
Prince of
Wallachia
in 1448, 1456–62, and 1476. In the
English-speaking
world, Vlad is best known for the legends of
the exceedingly cruel punishments he imposed
during his reign and for serving as the
primary inspiration for the
vampire
main character
in
Bram Stoker's
popular
Dracula (1897)
novel. As king, he maintained an independent
policy in relation to the
Ottoman Empire,
and in Romania he is viewed by many as a
prince with a deep sense of justice and a
defender of both Wallachia and European
Christianity
against
Ottoman
expansionism.
Bran
Castle built in 1212,
is commonly known as Dracula's
Castle and is situated in the
centre of present-day Romania.
In addition to its unique
architecture, the
castle
is famous because of persistent
myths that it was once the home
of
Vlad III
Dracula.
The
principality of
Moldavia
reached its most glorious period under the
rule of
Stephen the Great
between 1457 and 1504. His rule of 47 years
was unusually long, especially at that time
- only
13 rulers
were recorded to have ruled for at least 50
years until the end of 15th century. He was
a very successful military leader (winning
47 battles and losing only 2), and after
each victory, he raised a church, managing
to build 48 churches or monasteries,
some of them with unique and very
interesting painting styles. For more
information see
Painted churches of
northern Moldavia listed in
UNESCO's
list of
World Heritage Sites.
Stephen's most prestigious victory was over
the
Ottoman Empire
in 1475 at the
Battle of Vaslui
for which he raised the
Voroneţ Monastery.
For this victory,
Pope
Sixtus IV
deemed him verus christianae fidei
athleta (true Champion of Christian
Faith). However, after his death,
Moldavia
would also come under the
suzerainty
of the
Ottoman Empire
in the 16th century.
-
Michael the Brave
(Romanian: Mihai Viteazul) was the
Prince of Wallachia
(1593-1601), of
Transylvania
(1599-1600), and of
Moldavia
(1600). Briefly, during his reign the three
principalities largely inhabited by
Romanians were for the first time united
under a single rule.[48]
After his death, as vassal tributary states,
Moldova and
Wallachia
had complete internal autonomy and an
external independence, which was finally
lost in the 18th century.
National Revival,
Union, Independence & Kingdom of Romania
(1821-1916)
-
During the
period of
Austro-Hungarian
rule in
Transylvania,
and
Ottoman
suzerainty over
Wallachia
and
Moldavia,
most
Romanians
were in the situation of being
second-class citizens
(or even non-citizens) in a territory where
they were forming the majority of the
population.
[50]
[51]
In some Transylvanian cities, such as
Braşov (at
that time the
Transylvanian Saxon
citadel of Kronstadt), Romanians were
not even allowed
to reside within the city walls.
After the
failed
1848 Revolution,
the
Great Powers
did not support the Romanians' expressed
desire to officially unite in a single
state, forcing Romania to proceed alone
against the Turks. The electors in both
Moldavia
and
Wallachia
chose in 1859 the same person –
Alexandru Ioan Cuza
– as
prince (Domnitor
in
Romanian).
Thus, Romania was created as a personal
union, albeit a Romania that did not include
Transylvania, where Romanian nationalism
inevitably ran up against Hungarian
nationalism. For some time yet,
Austria-Hungary, especially under the
Dual Monarchy
of 1867, would keep the Hungarians firmly in
control, even in parts of Transylvania where
Romanians constituted a local majority.
-
Via a 1866
coup d'etat,
Cuza was
exiled and replaced by Prince Karl of
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen,
who became known as
Prince Carol of
Romania. During the
Russo-Turkish War,
Romania fought on the Russian side; in the
1878
Treaty of Berlin,
Romania was recognized as an
independent
state by the
Great Powers.
In return, Romania ceded three southern
districts of
Bessarabia
to
Russia and
acquired
Dobruja. In
1881, the
principality
was raised to a
kingdom and
Prince Carol became
King
Carol I.
The 1878-1914
period was one of
stability and progress
for Romania. During the
Second Balkan War,
Romania joined
Greece,
Serbia,
Montenegro
and
Turkey
against
Bulgaria.
In the peace
Treaty of Bucharest
(1913) Romania gained
Southern Dobrudja
- the Quadrilateral (the Durostor and
Caliacra counties).
World Wars &
Greater Romania (1916-1947)
-
In August
1914, when
World War I
broke out, Romania declared
neutrality.
Two years later, under the pressure of
Allies (especially
France
desperate to open a new front), on August
14/27 1916 it joined the Allies, for which
they were promised support for the
accomplishment of national unity, Romania
declared war on
Austria-Hungary.
The
Romanian military
campaign ended in disaster for
Romania as the
Central Powers
conquered two-thirds of the country and
captured or killed the majority of its
army within
four months. Nevertheless,
Moldova
remained in Romanian hands after the
invading forces were stopped in 1917 and
since by the war's end, Austria-Hungary and
the Russian Empire had collapsed,
Bessarabia,
Bukovina
and
Transylvania
were allowed to unite with the
Kingdom of Romania
in 1918. By the 1920
Treaty of Trianon,
Hungary
renounced in favour of Romania all the
claims of the
Austro-Hungarian
Monarchy over
Transylvania.
The union of
Bucovina
and
Bessarabia
with Romania was ratified in 1920 by the
Treaty of Versailles.
Romanian territory during the
20th century: purple indicates
the Old Kingdom before 1913,
orange indicates Greater Romania
areas that joined or were
annexed after the
Second
Balkan War and
WWI
but were lost after
WWII,
and rose indicates areas that
joined Romania after WWI and
remained so after WWII.
-
The Romanian
expression România Mare (literal translation
"Great Romania", but more commonly rendered
"Greater Romania") generally refers to the
Romanian state in the years between the
First and Second World Wars and, by
extension, to the territory Romania covered
at the time (see the map). Romania achieved
at that time its greatest territorial
extent, managing to unite all the historic
Romanian lands.
During the
Second World War, Romania tried again to
remain neutral but in 1940, it received a
Soviet ultimatum
in which it agreed to cede
Northern Bukovina
and Bessarabia to the
Soviet Union.
This, in combination with other factors,
prompted the government to join the
Axis.
Thereafter, southern
Dobruja was
awarded to Bulgaria, while Hungary received
Northern Transylvania
as result of an
Axis
arbitration. The authoritarian
King Carol II
abdicated
in 1940, succeeded by the
National Legionary
State, in which power was shared
by
Ion Antonescu
and the
Iron Guard.
Within months, Antonescu had crushed the
Iron Guard,
and the subsequent year Romania entered the
war on the side of the
Axis powers.
During the war, Romania was by far the most
important source of oil for
Nazi Germany,
which attracted multiple bombing raids by
the
Allies. By
means of the
Axis invasion of the
Soviet Union, Romania recovered
Bessarabia and northern Bukovina from the
Soviet Russia, under the leadership of
general
Ion Antonescu.
The Antonescu regime played a role in the
Holocaust,
following to a lesser extent the
Nazi policy
of oppression and massacre of the
Jews, and
Romas,
primarily in the Eastern territories Romania
recovered or occupied from the Soviet Union
(Transnistria)
and in
Moldavia.
In August
1944, Antonescu was toppled and arrested by
King
Michael I of Romania.
Romania changed sides and joined the
Allies, but
its role in the defeat of
Nazi Germany
was not recognized by the
Paris Peace Conference
of 1947. With the
Red Army
forces still stationed in the country and
exerting de facto control,
Communists
and their allied parties claimed 80% of the
vote, through a combination of vote
manipulation, elimination and forced mergers
of competing parties, establishing
themselves as the dominant force.
Communist
Era (1947-1989)
-
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.
A large number of people
were arbitrarily imprisoned for political,
economic or unknown reasons: detainees in
prisons or camps, deported, persons under
house arrest, and administrative detainees.
Political prisoners were also detained as
psychiatric patients. Estimations vary, from
60,000, 80,000, up to two million. There
were hundreds of thousands of abuses, deaths
and incidents of torture against a large
range of people, from political opponents to
ordinary citizens. Most political prisoners
were freed in a series of amnesties between
1962 and 1964.
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
Warsaw Pact
country not to take part in the invasion),
the continuation of diplomatic relations
with
Israel
after the
Six-Day War
of 1967 (again, the only
Warsaw Pact
country 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 key role in the
Israel-Egypt
and Israel-PLO peace processes
(intermediated the visit of Sadat in
Israel.) 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 organisations 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 overthrow and death in the
bloody
Romanian Revolution of
1989.
Present
Romania (after 1989)
-
After the
fall of Ceauşescu, the
National Salvation
Front (FSN), led by
Ion Iliescu,
restored civil order and took partial
democratic measures. Several major political
parties of the pre-war era, such as the
National Christian
Democrat Peasant's Party (PNŢCD),
the
National Liberal Party
(PNL) and the
Romanian Social
Democrat Party (PSDR) were
resurrected. After several major political
rallies (especially in January), 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
the FSN of being made up of former
Communists and members of the
Securitate.
The protesters did not recognize the results
of the election, which they deemed
undemocratic, and were asking 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
Golaniad).
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
produced several political parties including
the Romanian Democrat Social Party (PDSR,
later
Social Democratic
Party, PSD), the
Democratic Party
(PD) and the ApR (Alliance
for Romania). The PDSR party
governed Romania from 1990 until 1996
through several coalitions and governments
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
acceded to power; in 2000 the Social
Democrats returned to power, with
Iliescu
once again president; and in 2004
Traian Băsescu
was elected president, with an electoral
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.
Post-Cold
War Romania developed closer ties
with
Western Europe,
eventually joining
NATO in
2004. The country applied in June 1993 for
membership in the
European Union
(EU). It became an Associated State of the
EU in 1995, an Acceding Country in 2004, and
a member on
January 1,
2007.
Pentru limba Romana apasa Aici
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