Romania (România) is located in between Central and Eastern Europe. Regarded as a relatively backward tourist destination until the 1990s, Romania has recently begun to reinvent itself as a diverse and unique European destination, boasting stunning mountain scenery, historical cultural sites such as the Painted Monasteries, beach resorts, and medieval towns.
Regions
Cities
Besides Bucharest, other cities attract a good deal of travelers to Romania:
A few smaller cities are important entry points for tourist areas:
Other destinations
Itineraries
The following are some possible itineraries for Romanian traveling:
Understand
With a Black Sea coast to the east, it is surrounded by Bulgaria to the south, Serbia to the southwest, Hungary to the northwest, Moldova to the northeast and Ukraine in both the north and the east. While its southern regions are usually seen as part of Southeastern Europe (Balkans), Transylvania, its largest region is in Central Europe.
The country - which joined the European Union in January 2007 - is currently enjoying its highest living standards since Communist times, with foreign investment on the rise and one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. This has given way to a series of technological developments. Therefore, we can see a fast-changing, booming Romania, and you will be amazed at how civilized, advanced, clean and of quality it is. Of course, along the way, you will be met with experiences that you are sure to remember for a long, long time.
History
In ancient times the territory of present day Romania was inhabited mainly by :wikipedia: Dacians|Dacian tribes, which were a remarkable, although not very well known, culture. The Dacian kingdom reached the height of its power in the 1st century BC, when their king Burebista ruled from his power base in the Carpathian Mountains over a vast territory stretching from Central Europe to the Black Sea. The intriguing network of fortifications and shrines built around the Dacian capital :wikipedia: Sarmisegetuza|Sarmisegetuza, in today's south-western Transylvania, has been relatively well preserved through the ages and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site .
In 106 AD the Dacians were defeated by the Romans and most of their homeland became part of the Roman Empire. Being very rich in natural resources (especially gold), the region prospered under the Roman administration: cities developed rapidly, important roads were built and people from all over the Empire settled here. That's why, despite the fact that Roman rule lasted less than 200 years, a population with a distinctive Latin character and language emerged, which was however very strongly influenced by the Slavic peoples to whom it later came in contact.
In the Early Middle Ages Hungarians began to settle in the area today known as Transylvania, which would eventually become part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Germans also settled in that area (in several waves), some coming as early as the 12th century. In order to protect themselves from the frequent Tartar and Turkish invasions they set about building fortified cities and castles, many of which remain to this day. South and east of the Carpathians the principalities of :wikipedia:Wallachia|Wallachia and :wikipedia:Moldavia|Moldavia were created in the 14th century. Starting with the 15th century, both of them (and for a while Transylvania too) fell under the domination of the :wikipedia:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire.
A Romanian national revival movement started in Transylvania in the late 1700's and swept across the Carpathians, inspiring the 1859 union of Moldavia and Wallachia, thus creating modern Romania. In 1917-1919 Transylvania and Eastern Moldavia (present day Moldova) were united with Romania.
Soviet occupation following World War II led to the formation of a Communist "peoples republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator :wikipedia:Nicolae Ceausescu|Nicolae Ceausescu, who took power in 1965 and his Securitate secret police became increasingly oppressive and draconian throughout the 1980s. The dictator was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996, when they were swept from power by a fractious coalition of centrist parties but after failed reforms were replaced by the Social Democratic Party. The 2004 elections brought to power an alliance formed by the National Liberal and Democratic parties. They currently govern with the support of most minority parties in Romania. Compared to other countries in its region, Romania might seem to be quite well, with low unemployment and a higher standard of living than Ukraine,Bulgaria or Serbia. However compared to Western Europe, Romania is still fairly poor.
Get in
Getting to Romania is easy from nearly all parts of the world, due to its position, as well as the fact that it is served by an array of transport types and companies.
Entry requirements to Romania in the past few years have been liberalized, and consequently, citizens of the European Union, United States of America, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand can stay up to 90 days with no visa. Nationals from Turkey can stay up to 60 days in Romania, while those of most former-Communist Eastern European countries can stay up to 30 days.
To make sure, check the official visa information provided by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs mae.ro before you travel.
If you do need to obtain a visa from outside your own country, try obtaining it from somewhere else beside Budapest, where it can take 3 to 4 days. From Ljubljana the process can sometimes be done in a day because they are not so busy.
By plane
Romania has 17 civilian airports, out of which currently 9 are served by scheduled international flights. Bucharest's Henri Coanda (Otopeni) Airport is the largest and busiest, but its Aurel Vlaicu Airport also fields some flights, and there is also direct service to Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca, Oradea, Satu Mare, Sibiu (Transylvania), Constanta, Bacau, Iasi, Suceava, Targu-Mures and Baia Mare.
There are two important Romanian airlines:
# Tarom , the Romanian flag carrier, based in Bucharest Otopeni
# Carpatair , based in Timisoara, connects this city with eight Italian and three German destinations, and also has collector/distributor flights to the following Romanian airports: Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest, Constanta, Oradea, Sibiu, Iasi, Suceava, Satu Mare and Bacau
There are several flights a day from Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna and Zurich offered by Austrian, Carpatair, Lufthansa, Swiss and Tarom.
In recent times Romania became increasingly attractive for low cost carriers. A Romanian low-fare airline Blue Air is serving various destinations in Europe from Bucharest (Aurel Vlaicu Airport), Arad, Targu Mures and Bacau airports. A Hungarian budget airline,Wizz, introduced direct flights from London Luton to Bucharest in January 2007. Several others ( Wind Jet, MyAir, Sky Europe, AlpiEagles are already operating flights in Romania or starting spring 2007.
By train
Romania is relatively well connected with the European rail network. There are daily international trains to Munchen, Prague, Venice, Vienna, Budapest, Zagreb, Belgrade, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Chişinău, Kiev and Moscow. But due to the poor quality of rail infrastructure in the region train travel on long distances takes a considerable time.
Nonetheless, trains are the ideal way of reaching cities in western and central Romania such as Brasov, Sighisoara, Oradea or Cluj-Napoca coming from Central Europe.
International trains to Romania include EuroCity trains which are of a relatively high standard and night trains. Romania is part of the Eurailpass offer.
By bus
Even though Romania has not been traditionally seen as a 'bus country', buses are becoming a more and more popular way to reach the country from overseas, especially from the Balkans and the former USSR, but also from Western Europe, e.g. Germany and Switzerland. Even though trains are still the most popular way of getting to Romania from Central Europe, due to good service, train services to the Balkans and former USSR are of a considerably poorer quality and are less frequent (mainly because railway infrastructure in these countries is a lot poorer than Romania's infrastructure). For this reason, a slew of private bus operators now provide quicker and arguably more comfortable coach services to and from cities such as Chişinău, Kiev, Odessa, Sofia and Istanbul.
A general rule of the thumb on whether you should use bus or train is this: if trains are available just as frequently, and at around the same price, and take around the same amount of time, then definitely use them. Otherwise, consider the buses.
By boat
Cruises on Danube are available, very expensive though, starting from Passau or Vienna and having a final destination in Danube Delta. These cruises will stop in every major port along the road, in Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Romania. There you can travel by rapid boats, fisherman's boats on endless channels to watch huge colonies of pelicans, cranes or small migratory birds. You can enjoy a local dish, fishermen's borsch, prepared using different species of fish, but take care, they use the Danube's river water!
It is the only way to travel around the Danube Delta, and the only way to get to the city of Sulina.
By car
You can easily drive into Romania coming from the other EU countries in the West, but when coming from the East you will have to drive through Moldova and you will positively experience troubles there. You may find information there is a direct border crossing between Ukraine and Romania in the south-eastern corner of Romanian Moldavia (Reni/Galati), but this is NOT true - you have to go via Giurgiulesti, which is in Moldova ( a small stretch of about 500 meters). Moldovan border control officers will ask several times for money (ecological tax, road tax ... up to 20 € in July 2007). Coming from the north (Ukraine), can also be time-consuming, times can vary from one to more than 5 hours.
Get around
Getting around Romania is relatively quick and efficient for the great distances that have to be covered in this country (this is after all, the second-largest country in Central Europe, after Poland). The transport infrastructure has been improving quite significantly recently, even though roads remain a weak point. The national roads have been upgraded but is far way till the highways that are still in project will be completed. Train travel, however, has improved dramatically.
By train
The easiest, most comfortable and most rewarding way of traveling between cities is by train. Romania's railway network is one of the largest (the 4th in Europe) and most dense in Europe, with trains servicing every town and city in the country, and the many villages. Usually a train station is no more than 10km from a village, in the vast majority of cases.
Most trains are run by the state carrier, Caile Ferate Romane, abbreviated as CFR . You can get tickets at the railway station or at a CFR agency, which can usually be found in the city center. For trains which require reservations (e.g. InterCity, Rapid) you can get the ticket for the same day only at the railway station and not earlier than 1/0.5 hour before the departure of the train. Tickets for train services on a future day are only available at the CFR agency, not at a railway station.
In recent years CFR has been leasing an ever increasing number of secondary lines to smaller private railway companies. So far they have the same tariffs as CFR and use mainly second-hand Western European :wikipedia:Diesel multiple unit|DMU's.
CFR offers four main types on trains in its route network.
"P" Personal:
slow trains, stopping in every stop on the rail line (including some in the middle of nowhere); extremely cheap. (Bucuresti-Brasov, 166km, 13.2 RON (4 EUR), app. 4 hours, no less than 33 stops)
"A" Accelerat:
semi-slow trains, often cross-country routes, stopping in all towns, but not villages; cheap, but twice as expensive as Personal; same conditions as P in most cases. (Bucuresti-Brasov, 166km, 2nd class: 24.7 RON (7.5 EUR), approx 2 hours 45 minutes, stops in Bucureşti, Ploieşti, Câmpina, Breaza, Sinaia, Buşteni, Azuga, Predeal and Braşov)
"R" Rapid:
better, more comfortable, faster trains used on trunk routes from Bucharest (few interregional services); more expensive, almost the same speed as Accelerat, but sometimes stops in less stations. (Bucuresti-Brasov, 166km, 2nd class: 30.4 RON (9 EUR), approx 2 hours 20 minutes, stops in Bucureşti, Ploieşti, Sinaia and Predeal)
"IC" Intercity:
the best of CFR's network; very comfortable, although cheap for Western standards; very clean almost all of the time; same speed as Rapid and Accelerat. (Bucuresti-Brasov, 166km, 2nd class: 33.7 RON (10 EUR), approx 2 hours 20 minutes)
Other Information about trains
All CFR train services, except the "Personal" trains, which stop at every station and are awfully slow, are of a relatively high quality.
The "Personal" trains stop at every station and are the only option when traveling to small villages. Even though they do make for very original and memorable experiences, they're usually not so comfortable and very slow, albeit very cheap. The other train types, which are, in order of speed, "Accelerat", "Rapid" and "InterCity".
Accelerat is quite uncomfortable (sharing some rolling stock with Personal), with old, unmodernized cars, albeit somewhat faster than personal. Some personal trains can be dirty, and heating may not work. Do not expect air conditioning in either Accelerat or Personal trains.
Rapid and Intercity are usually of a high standard - however, some Rapid trains should be avoided because of bad rolling stock (usually Mangalia - Oradea and Mangalia - Baia Mare, both using Accelerat-type stock). If you can, use InterCity trains, which connect the hubs in Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara and Bucharest to other major cities. These trains are of a Western European standard and are incredibly clean and modern, with automatic doors, futuristic ecological toilets, air conditioning, ergonomic seats, free newspapers and all the other amenities. Also, they are reasonably cheap and are increasingly used by Romanians (and tourists) on most trips. They are only marginally more expensive than Rapid trains (usually only a few euro cents more expensive). The "Rapid" trains should be your second choice - they stop at more stations, but serve more destinations, and, although being a little bit more traditional, are still comfortable. "Accelerat" is a third choice, with little comfort in second class.
Only train type where a 1st class ticket is worth it (considering CFR's decision of very limited 1st class on Personal-10th Dec) If presented with a choice of Intercity trains (Classic or "Sageata Albastra" - The blue arrow) it is advisable to choose Classic, as these are faster, more comfortable trains. Sageata Albastra are small 2-car diesel trains with slower service (120 km/h top speed in regards to 160km/h). The difference in price between 1st and 2nd class can be as much as the price of a 2nd class ticket, if not more. However, the difference in comfort is not huge, and it is even possible to get worse seats in 1st class than in 2nd class (this is very common on Rapid trains heading for Iaşi, Botoşani and Suceava).
Sleepers and Couchettes are usually clean, and quite modern, even on accelerat trains. In winter due to harsh climatic conditions(snow storms) huge delays are possible so avoid traveling by train or at least watch the weather forecast (note that during the snow storms, trains are usually the only way of transport, with roads becoming blocked and airports closing down). In summer the trains and cars can run slower because the rails can be deformed by heat but delays are rather insignificant. The country is investing in upgrading its railways and railway stations.
In some mountain cities the rail fans can travel by a small gauge rail train, but these trips are only available for small groups and not for individual tourists (an exception is Valea Vaserului in Maramureş, a scenic mountain railway, which offers trips with a narrow gauge steam train to individual tourists during weekends - note that you may be able to get a ride during the weekdays, but you will either ride in the steam-engine itself, or on the logs in the open carriages, as the line is still in industrial use). Groups can also rent the former Romanian king's personal train or Ceauşescu's private train but these trips are rather expensive. Trains are usually on time, with delays only caused by weather or heavy modernization involving serious infrastructure work such as the one currently in progress on the Bucharest - Constanţa line.
Since the 10th of December 2007, CFR has introduced a new service, Business Class, with two subdivisions: standard and exclusive.
If traveling by rail with a rail pass in Romania, it is mandatory to purchase a reservation on all "InterCity", "Rapid" and "Accelerat". While cheap, they are only available starting 60 minutes prior to the departure time.
For up-to-date timetable information on CFR operated lines see CFR's timetable site infofer.ro.
For timetables on lines operated by other companies check this.
By car
Traveling by car or coach is the easiest way and a vast majority, over 60 percent of foreign tourists use this way of transportation. The steering wheel is on the left and European driver's licenses are recognized by police. For Americans, a passport and valid US driver's license are sufficient for car rental. If you drive your own car, you must purchase a road tax sticker (the "Rovinieta") either from the border or from the nearest gas station. Driving without one will incur a severe fine.
Rentals are quite expensive. In Bucharest, for example, renting a car in Bucharest is about 75 Euros per day without fuel. 75 Euros will suffice for about 75 km by taxi (which, in a city where the biggest distance is less then 15 km, is more than enough). You may be denied renting unless you are 25 or older.
Some Romanian drivers are very temperamental; they break many rules of driving in order to get to their destination faster. On the highways, there are often 3 cars per lane of traffic - one in the left side of the first lane, one in the middle of the first lane and one in the right side of the first lane. Essentially, many drivers find it necessary to behave aggressively because it can be the only way to pass semi-trucks (lorries) on the 2-lane highways. City traffic is also typically chaotic because faded paint makes it nearly impossible to determine street lanes and local residents tend to drive aggressively. First time visitors who drive cautiously may initially find it difficult to adjust to either highway or city driving - the driving style is quite similar to that of Italy, just by worse drivers on far worse roads. Speeding is very common, angry drivers are the norm, the accident rates are amongst the highest in the European Union.
The traffic in Bucharest can be infernal and you may find it easy to waste time in traffic jams. Bucharest is a very dense and crowded city, with narrow, twisting roads, built mainly in the 19th century, with little traffic in mind. Those roads are suffocated by over 1 million cars - it is possible to take 2 hours to drive a distance that could be walked in 20-25 minutes. While in Bucharest, seasoned travelers recommend walking, taxis, or the subway which has recently started a process of upgrading. The subway fare is still very cheap. Honking (tooting) is usual in Bucharest and other cities. Direction signs are rare and confusing (except for signs saying what road you are currently on), and a map (or GPS) is needed for navigating.
If you have a good car and you also like speeding be aware that Romanian police have recently bought very modern radars to catch speeding motorists. Speed limits are generally 100 km/h outside of a city and 50 km/h within a village. Some police cars are modern, while others are old Dacia cars. Although rare, some highway patrols have BMW bikes. On major roads, motorists in the opposite direction will sometimes flash their headlights to warn they recently passed a radar trap which may be just ahead of you. Highways and national roads can also be discreetly watched by Police Puma helicopters, produced also in Romania. (Note: Americans will notice Romania has substantially less highway patrol than the US.) Since December 2006, even small offences are downed by heavy fines by the traffic police (Poliţia Rutieră), they may even take one's driver's licence for an irregular passing. Both hidden and visible speed cameras are becoming common on major roads and highways. Policemen sometimes seem to be more lenient with locals, than with foreigners - however, fines are stricter for locals than for foreigners (for locals, as few as two or three minor offenses will get their licence suspended for six months). Bribing is a very common way of dealing with the police, but it can be risky especially to a foreigner. The Romanian police is very tough on drunk driving - controls are very frequent - and basically any alcohol counts as drunk driving.
Many important roads were once wagon trails which go straight through the center of many villages. Passing while driving is the norm rather than the exception as slow moving trucks, slower moving horse drawn carts, and non-moving herds of cows often frequent the major roads. Travelers joke that if you haven't experienced a possible head-on collision then you haven't been driving in Romania. Road closures and traffic delays occur frequently due to construction, rock slides, car accidents and the return of the cows from pasture to the villages.
Types of roads
Motorways (autostrada)
Although no segment is yet completed the main motorway will be:
The speed limit on motorways is 130 km/h.
Expressways (drum expres)
The only completed expressway is the 60 km long Bucharest - Giurgiu road. It is in the process of upgrading to motorway standard.
The speed limit on expressways is 100 km/h.
National roads (drum national)
In the absence of motorways the national roads remain the most important element of the Romanian transport system, as they connect the main cities in the country. They sometimes have 4 non-separate lanes, but many have only two lanes (a notable example is DN1 Câmpina-Braşov - the 100 km mountain stretch can take 6-7 hours to navigate during weekends. Thanks to recent investments most of them are in reasonable condition, but they are frequently overcrowded and (as they pass through villages and cities) rather slow.
The speed limit on national roads is 100 km/h
Other roads
County (drum judetean) and rural (drum comunal) roads are generally in a poor condition compared with national roads (lack of signs, abundant potholes etc.). Some rural roads are covered with gravel.
The speed limit on these roads is 90 km/h.
Note that for ALL roads, when in a city, town or village, the speed limit is 50 km/h. As such, driving a National Road becomes a constant accelerate-and-brake adventure, one having to be constantly spotting speed limit signs, city limit markers and the behavior of other drivers.
By bus
Bus can be the least expensive method to travel between towns. In the Romanian towns and cities, you can usually find one or several bus bus terminals (autogara). From there, buses and minibuses depart for the the towns and villages in the nearby area as well as to other cities in the country. You can find timetables on autogari.ro.
Minibuses are usually very uncomfortable; some buses are old and slow. Schedules are not tightly followed, and delays of over an hour are not uncommon, especially for inter-city buses. Romanian roads are in a rather bad shape, with most of the trunk network being made of one lane per way roads (fairly similar with British rural roads), and only about 250 km of expressway. Most minibuses employed are small, crowded, 14-seat vans (some converted from freight vans), with some longer routes employing 20-seat mini-buses. For commuter and suburban routes, expect an overcrowded van (25 passengers riding a 14 seat van is quite common, with 40 passenger loads not being unheard of), with no air-conditioning, which stops several times in every village. Inter-city bus travel is only slightly better - most vehicles used are also converted vans, or, at best purpose-build minibuses, with only some being air-conditioned. Seating is generally crowded, and in most cases, there is no separate compartment for luggage. Most have no toilets on-board, calling for 30 minutes stops every 2-3h. All in all, the experience of traveling by minibus is quite similar to that of traveling in a Russian or Ukrainian marshrutka.
However, buses are the best solution for a number of routes badly served by the railway network, namely Bucharest - Piteşti - Râmnicu Vâlcea, Bucharest - Alexandria, Bucharest - Giurgiu and Piteşti - Slatina.
The comfort of vehicles is steadily improving, at least in Transylvania along the longer routes serving larger cities. You will find buses from respected companies (such as Normandia or Dacos) which offer punctual and reasonable, though not always sparkling, conditions, and on which a luggage compartment will always be available. Toilet stops still need to be made, but they happen usually in places where you can also buy food or drinks. Be aware though that on Fridays, Sundays, and close to national holidays such buses tend to be overcrowded, so a reservation by phone might be necessary.
Buses inside the cities are often crowded. This gives pickpockets good opportunities. The pickpocket problem seems to be not essentially worse than in any other European city. Please, pay attention.
By taxicab
Taxis are relatively inexpensive in Romania. It costs about 40 Euro-Cent (1,4 leu/RON) per km or slightly more, with about 1,1 leu/RON starting! The very low prices make taxis a popular way to travel with both locals and travelers (it can be cheaper than driving your own car) - so during rush hours it may be hard to find a cab (despite Bucharest having almost 10000 cabs).
Be careful to look at the cost posted on the outside of the taxi, and then to look at the meter to see that you are being charged the same fare. Be especially careful in Bucharest, where some taxis post 7.4 instead of 1.4, but the 7 looks very like a 1. Ask if you're not certain - they are obliged to post and clearly state the tariff out front. All taxis MUST have a license - a large, oval metal sign bolted on the sides of the car, featuring the city markings, and a serial number inscribed, usually using large numbers. Do not use any taxi without those markings.
The driver may try to cheat you if he sees you are a foreigner. Insist that he will use the meter, or have a Romanian guide with you. Don't negotiate the ride fee in advance, as it may be 2-4 times higher (even more) than the real fee (even if it would seem cheap to you). Check whether it is going in the right direction, follow the way on a map (if you have any!). Do NOT take cabs from the cab stand in railway stations, unless they are from a reputable company and DO NOT take any of the services of those offering you a cab ride in the train station. They may end up being amazingly expensive (up to 50 € for a cab ride that would normally be around 3 €). If you need a taxi from the train station (or airport), order it by phone from a reputable company (see the city pages for the cities you want to visit) - most dispatchers speak some English as do many taxi drivers.
By plane
Air travel is still not very common in Romania even though the national carrier Tarom has dramatically lowered its tariffs on internal flights in late 2006 fearing competition from the newly arrived low-cost airlines.
Tarom serves major cities from Bucharest at least once a day: Timisoara and Cluj-Napoca 4 times daily and Iasi thrice daily, while smaller cities are served less frequently: Sibiu twice daily, Bacau and Suceava 6 times weekly and Oradea, Targu Mures and Baia Mare five times weekly. Normally fares range between about €60 Economy class and €170 Business class, although seats are the same, with few exceptions (the 737's have different Business Class seats, while the ATR's only have different service). But if you book in advance the prices are significantly lower: around €32 (all taxes included) for flights to Bacau, Baia Mare, Iasi, Targu Mures, Oradea, Sibiu, Suceava and around €37 for flights to Timisoara and Cluj. On line booking through the official website, or pay at the airport.
Carpatair also flies internally from Timisoara to Bucharest and Iasi daily except Sunday, and every second day to Suceava, Craiova and Constanta. As of May 7th 2007, Constanta to Craiova is also operated by Carpatair . Note that the booking system of Carpatair is extremely antiquated. No on-line reservations are possible, and you may be asked to pay in cash (and sent to the closest ATM machine) or through money transfer.
Note that airports tend to be fairly distant from the cities (for instance Bucharest's Henri Coandă Airport is about 20 km from the city center), so getting from the airports to the cities might be costly if there's no public transport available. Transfer to airports is usually very limited. For example Bucharest Henri Coanda is served by a single express bus line operating from 5:30 AM to 23:30 and taxicabs (around 15-20 €).
Talk
The official language of Romania is Romanian, limba română, which is a Romance language and the closest contemporary spoken language to Latin. Italian is the closest relative of Romanian, so speaking Italian would be of great help. Minority languages spoken in Romania are Hungarian, German, Turkish and Romany (the language of the Roma, or Gypsies). English is fast growing in Romania, and most people, especially the younger generation, use it with a considerable deal of fluency, both in speaking and writing. A well-educated Romanian who graduated from an average university can speak English and another European language. Prior to 1990, French was the most common foreign language known in Romania, so someone over 40 will most likely understand French. If you go out from the common touristic routes, you will hardly find somebody that can speak English, and the only way to ask some information is in Romanian. For example, in Bucovina where the painted monasteries are, foreign languages are very rare, in the train stations as well, so if you want to ask what time the train or bus are leaving, you have to do in Romanian. That won't be such a problem: learn some basic words and ask them to write the answers. Although some might speak Russian due to its past as a part of the Eastern Bloc, you should not count on it. The chance that you will find anyone doing so is very small. Romania is the Eastern European country with least Russian speakers.
If you want to find out some common phrases/words in Romanian, see the Romanian phrasebook.
Buy
The national currency of Romania is the leu (plural lei), which, literally translated, also means lion in Romanian. On July 1st 2005, the new leu (code RON) replaced the old leu (code ROL) at a rate of 10000 old lei for one new leu. Old banknotes and coins are no longer legal tender (since 01-01-2007). Old banknotes can still be exchanged at the National Bank and their affiliated offices National Bank of Romania's site
Romania is relatively cheap by Western standards - one US dollar buys about 2.4 lei and one euro buys about 3.25 lei (exchange rate 22-05-2007) With this, you can buy more in Romania then you can in Western Europe and North America, especially local products. However, be warned that although you can expect food and transport to be inexpensive in Romania, buying import products such as a French perfume, an American pair of sport shoes or a Japanese computer is as expensive as in other parts of the EU. Clothing, wool suits produced in Romanian, shirts, cotton socks, white and red wine bottles, chocolates, salami, a wide range of local cheese, inexpensive leather jackets or expensive and fancy fur coats are possible good buys for foreigners.
Romanian transactions generally take place in cash. Although some places will accept Euro or USD you will generally be charged an additional 20% paying by this method and it is not advisable, although this is changing. The best method is to pay by local currency - lei (RON). Most Romanians have either a charge card or a credit card - however, they are generally used at ATM machines - on-line payments are still somewhat new, and many companies and people still look at them with suspicion - so much so, that even on-line shops will bring make you pay on delivery. You can however pay by card in many shops and in most supermarkets. Accepted credit/debit cards are: Mastercard, Visa , American Express (in some places - although this is rapidly expanding because of a very aggressive campaign by American Express) and Diners Club (usually only in hotels, and even then expect stares and incredulity that such a card even exists). Almost all transactions at POS machines (supermarkets, shops etc.) will ask you to enter your PIN code as well.
Most small towns have at least one or two ATMs and a bank office, with large cities having hundreds of ATMs and bank offices. (It is not uncommon to see three bank agencies one next to another in residential neighborhoods of Bucharest). ATM machines are also available in many villages (at the post-office or the local bank-office). Romanian for ATM is bancomat. Credit cards are accepted in large cities, in most shops, hotels, restaurants, hypermarkets, malls. Do not expect to use a credit card at a small railway station or at the subway (the subway and RATB of Bucharest, for example, are cash-only because they consider that card transactions would slow down the queues at the ticket booths). Gas stations and a great number of other stores accept Visa and Mastercard. It is advisable to always have a small sum of money in cash (about 50 RON), even in large cities.
When changing money, it is extremely advisable to change at change bureaus or to use cash machines (which will provide ready access to most foreign bank accounts). Absolutely avoid black market transactions with strangers: in the absolute best of cases, you might come out ahead by a few percentage points, but that rarely happens. Most apparent black marketeers are actually con men of one sort or another, who will either leave you with a bankroll that turns out to be full of worthless Polish zlotys or will simply engage you in conversation for a few minutes, awaiting the arrival of their confederates who will pretend to be the police and try to con you into handing over your wallet and papers. (This con game is known as a maradonist.). Exchanging money in the street is also illegal and in the worst case scenario, you might spend a night in jail as well. It is not recommended to exchange money in the airport either - they tend to overcharge on transactions and have very disadvantageous rates - you should use a card and the ATM machine for immediate needs (taxi/bus) and exchange money while in the city.
You should shop around a bit for good exchange rates, some exchange offices in obvious places such as the airport may try to take advantage of the average tourist's lack of information when setting the exchange rate. Also, prior to leaving for Romania take a look at the official exchange rate on the National Bank of Romania's site for a rough estimate of what exchange rates you should expect. (Typical exchange offices should not list differences larger than 2-3% from the official exchange rate). Also, when picking an exchange office, make sure it has a visible sign saying "COMMISSION 0%"; Romanian exchange offices typically don't charge an extra commission apart from the difference between the buy and sell rates, and they are also required by law to display a large visible sign stating their commission, so if you don't see such a sign or if they charge something extra, keep going. Choosing a reasonable exchange office, which is not hard to do with the data in this paragraph, can save you as much as 10%, so this is worth observing. It is not advisable to use the airport exchange offices, as they have quite unrealistic exchange rates.
Inflation has struck Romania in many places, and some prices are as high or higher than those in Western Europe, but this is often reserved to luxuries, accommodation, technology, and, to an extent, restaurants. Salaries for Romanians have increased faster than inflation, resulting in an increased standard of living for them, but, for tourists, Romania is becoming increasingly pricey (luckily, with this comes higher quality as well). However, food and transport remain relatively cheap, as do general shopping, especially in markets or outside the capital Bucharest. Bucharest, as every capital in the world, is more expensive than the national norm, especially the city centre. In the past 2-3 years, Bucharest has become increasingly expensive, and it is expected to do so for some years.
Supermarkets & convenience stores
The best places to shop for food are farmers' markets. Food sold here is brought fresh from the country, and, by buying it, you are both supporting local farmers and consuming something that it fresh and in the overwhelming majority of the cases natural and organic - in many cases, what you are buying today has been picked freshly yesterday from the countryside. Recently, the food in the markets is sold by intermediaries, who buy cheaply from farmers and sell products, tripling the price. However, this is illegal, and, in many cases, farmers' markets now require that farmers show a specially designed certificate in order to rent a booth.
However, some tourists can't resist Romania's hypermarket temptation, especially in Bucharest. Hypermarkets are a relatively new thing in Romania, but this ensures that nearly all of them are so modern and sparkling clean, with brightly lit aisles, neat shelves and smooth-gliding carts, that you may find it hard to look away and head for the markets! Common hypermarkets are Carrefour , Cora , Kaufland and Real . There are also cash & carry stores like Metro , Selgros , etc.
However, shopping in supermarkets is usually expensive, and not half as fun, as you don't have the chance to haggle. Despite this, all Romanian supermarkets sell products of European quality, and usually make for a very quiet, clean and white shopping experience that can best be likened to duty free shopping in airports at night.
Remember, however, to not confuse supermarkets with ancient food-stores called 'alimentară' - nowadays, 'alimentară' also refers to supermarkets, but there is a difference - supermarkets are usually large and brightly lit, with electronic checkouts and trolleys, while 'alimentara' are dim, old Communist-era shops that are a bit cheaper but a lot less fun to use. These shops, which can best be compared to cornershops, may be your best hope if living in the suburbs or in smaller towns. But, despite their seemingly poorer appearance, they sell good-quality food, and besides, most of them have been renovated anyway to the point that they are still not as aesthetically-pleasing as supermarkets but just as wide-ranging, modern and functional. In 'alimentara', expect strange systems of payment or selection: you may not be able to take items off of the shelf yourself, or one person may tally up your total before another handles the cash, etc. Many locals however actually prefer these establishments, since they offer a personal touch, with many salespeople remembering the preferences of each buyer, and catering specifically for their needs.
Opening hours are extremely predictable and amazingly long. Many shops will have a "non-stop" sign - meaning they are open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Shops that are not open 24 hours are usually open 8 AM - 10/11 PM, with some keeping open in summer until 2 or 3 AM. Supermarkets and Hypermarkets are open 8 AM - 10/11 PM as well, except during some days before Easter and Christmas, when they remain open through the night. Pharmacies and specialized shops are usually open 9 AM - 8/9 PM, sometimes even later while farmers' markets usually open their doors at 7 AM and close at 5 or 6 PM.
The countryside fair
A traditional countryside shopping is the weekly fair (târg, bâlci or obor). Usually held on Sunday, everything that can be sold or bought is available - from live animals being traded amongst farmers (they were the original reason why fairs were opened centuries ago) to clothes, vegetables, and sometimes even second hand cars or tractors. Such fairs are hectic, with haggling going on, with music and dancing events, amusement rides and fast food stalls offering sausages, "mititei" and charcoal-grilled steaks amongst the many buyers and sellers. In certain regions, it is tradition to attend after some important religious event (for example after St. Mary's Day in Oltenia), making them huge community events bringing together thousands of people from nearby villages. Such fairs are amazingly colorful - and for many a taste of how life was centuries ago. One such countryside fair (although definitely NOT in the countryside) is the Obor fair in Bucharest - in an empty space right in the middle of the city, this fair has been going on daily for more than three centuries.
Eat
Romanian food is distinct yet familiar to most people, being a mixture of Oriental, Austrian and French flavours, but it has some unique elements. The local dishes are the delicious sarmale, mamaliga (polenta), bulz (traditional roasted polenta, filled with at least two kinds of cheeses, bacon and sour cream), friptura (steak), and cozonac (a special cake bread baked for Christmas or Easter), as well as tocana (a kind of stew), tochitura (an assortment of fried meats, and traditional sausages, in a special sauce, served with polenta and fried eggs), mici (a kind of spicy sausage, but only the meat, without the casings, always cooked on a barbecue). Other dishes include a burger bun with a slice of ham, a slice of cheese and a layer of French fries, cow brains, ciorba de burta (white sour tripe soup), ciorba taraneasca (a red sour soup, akin to borscht without the beet root and using instead fermented wheat bran, with lots of vegetables), Dobrudjan or Bulgarian salads (a mix of onions, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, white sauce and ham), onion salad - diced onion served in a dish, tomato salad - diced tomato with cheese, pig skin - boiled and sometimes in stew, and drob (haggies) - a casserole made from lamb or pork liver and kidneys. Bread comes with almost every meal and dill is as or more common than salt as a flavoring. Garlic is omnipresent, both raw, and in special sauces (mujdei is the traditional sauce, made of garlic, olive oil and spices), as are onions.
Generally, there is good street food, including covrigi (hot pretzels), langoşi (hot dough filled with cheese), gogoşi (donut-like dough, coated with fine sugar), mici (spicy meat patties in the shape of sausages), and excellent pastries (many with names such as merdenele, dobrogene, poale-n brau, ardelenesti), thin pancakes filled with anything from chocolate and jam to bananas and ice-cream. Very popular are kebab and shawarma (şaorma), served in many small shops and restaurants (to some extent şaorma is somewhat of a cult-food, especially in southern Romania, with some people traveling long distances to their favorite take-away or şaorma-restaurant - for example the "Şaorma din Dristor" is renowned throughout Bucharest).
Most restaurants in Romania, especially in more regional areas, only serve Romanian food, even though it is similar to Western European food. Especially in Bucharest, there is a wide variety of international food, especially mediterranean, Chinese or French. There are also fairly plentiful international fast food chains. The interesting truth about these is that they are just nominally cheaper than restaurants, with the quality of the food being of an international standard but quite much lower than that served in restaurants. Therefore, go for the restaurants when you can - they provide a much more authentic and quality experience at prices that aren't too much higher.
Drink
Wine
Romania has a long tradition of making wine (more than 2000 years of wine-making are recorded), in fact Romania is the 12th (2005) world producer of wine, the best wineries being Murfatlar, Cotnari, Dragasani, Bohotin, etc. Its quality is very good and the price is reasonably cheap: expect to pay 10-30 RON for a bottle of Romanian wine (about €3 - €8.5). Several people in touristic areas make their own wine and sell it directly. Anywhere you want to buy it, it is sold only in bottles of about 75 cl, so if you want to try it you have to buy the whole bottle.
Beer
Like all the countries with a strong Latin background, Romania has a long and diffused tradition of brewing beer, but nowadays beer is very widespread (even more so than wine) and rather cheap compared to other countries. Avoid beers in plastic PET containers, and go for beers in glass bottles or cans. Most of the international brands are brewed in Romania under a license, so they taste quite different than in Western Europe. You can easily realize whether a beer has been brewed in Romania or abroad and then imported simply looking at the price: imported beers are much more expensive than the Romanian ones (A Corona, for example, may be 12 RON while a Timisoreana, Ursus or Bergen Bier of a full 1/2 litre size will be 2-4 RON. Some of the common lagers you may find around are quite tasteless, but there are some good brewers. Ursus produces two tasteful beers, its lager is quite good and its dark beer (bere neagra), Ursus Black, is a strong fruity sweet beer, similar to a dark Czech beer. Silva produces bitter beers, both its Silva original pils and its Silva dark leave a bitter aftertaste in your mouth. Bergen Bier and Timisoreana have been around for hundreds of years and are quite good. All the other lager beers you may find such as Ciuc, Skol and Postavaru are tasteless.
Expect to pay around 2-3 RON (€0.6-€0.8) for a bottle of beer in the supermarket and sightly more in a pub.
Spirits
The strongest alcohol is palinca, with roughly 60 percent pure alcohol and is traditional to Transylvania, the next is ţuica (a type of brandy made from plums, apricots, wine-making leftovers, or basically anything else - an urban legend even claims you can brew a certain kind of winter jackets (pufoaică) to ţuică), but this is sooner a proof of Romanian humour. Strength of tuica is approximately 40-50 percent. The best ţuică is made from plums, and is traditional to the Piteşti area. Strong alcohol is also cheap, with a bottle of vodka starting off between 5 RON and 50 RON. A Transylvanian speciality is the 75 percent blueberry and sweet cherry palinca (palincă întoarsă de cireşe negre) - but is usually kept by locals for celebrations, and may be hard to find.
Sleep
Finding an accommodation in Romania is very easy, for any price. In all the touristic places, as soon as you get to the train station several people will come to you asking whether you need an accommodation. Those people welcoming you at the station often speak English, French and Italian. Moreover, while walking on the street, you will often find cazare on the houses, that means they will rent you a room in their own house. You'd better book an accommodation in the big cities (Bucharest and Iasi), since it'll be quite hard to wander around looking for a place to sleep, but anywhere else you won't find any problem at all.
Rural tourism is relatively well developed in Romania. There is a national association of rural guesthouses owners, ANTREC , who offer accommodations in over 900 localities throughout the country.
Accommodation is available throughout the country in five star hotels in Bucharest and Mamaia or Predeal from famous chains like Intercontinental, Marriot, Accor (Sofitel, Novotel, Ibis), Hilton, Crown Plaza, Best Western, Ramada, Howard Johnson or Golden Tulip, to 3 star hotel rooms well furnished and with rather poor service.
Learn
The oldest Romanian university is the University of Bucharest, founded in 1694 under the name Saint Sava the Goth Academy. The University of Iasi was founded in 1860.
Bucharest, Iasi and Cluj are considered to be the largest and most prestigious university centres, with newer centres of education like Timisoara, Craiova and Galati emerging as cities with an increasingly larger student popultion. If coming with a mobility grant (Erasmus/Socrates or similar), it is very important to go to the International Office of the Romanian University as soon as possible, as Romanian paperwork tends to be quite impressive and may take some time to be processed. Also, if planning to study in Romania, it is highly recommended to find your own accommodation - most universities do not provide any accommodation, and if they do provide accommodation, the conditions offered are downright terrible (5-6 persons sharing a room, with a corridor of 50 or more sharing the showers and toilets is not unheard of - this happens since university-offered accommodation is typically next to free (15-20 € per month) for Romanians, and you usually get what you pay for).
The education system is mediocre at best (Romania did not do good in either of the PISA evaluations, being in the bottom third of European countries), however reform attempts have been done in the past decade. Attendance is compulsory for 10 years. Universities have started to reduce the number of subsidies so students will, increasingly, have to pay the tuition (tuition is however very low - 500 € per year is the norm). With some exceptions teaching methods in universities are antiquated, with formalism, dictation and memorization as the main tools employed - leading to low quality of many establishments (no Romanian university made it in the Shanghai Index). However, there were very serious reform attempts, with some universities (notably the University of Bucharest, the Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj and the University of Timişoara) imposing better teaching standards and interactivity between students and teachers - however much progress is to be done even there. For most subjects, programs are available in Romanian and Hungarian, depending on the university. Some programs are available in English, French and German. Elementary and middle schools are supported by local authorities budget. As with most nations, teachers complain about small salaries. Literacy is nearly universal. According to an EU commission study, about 30% of Romanians speak English (50% in urban environments) and 25% French (40% in urban environments). German is also spoken by about 3-5% of the population (1% having it as their mother tongue).
Stay safe
Emergency phone numbers
Romania uses the pan-European standard number 112 for all emergency calls since December 2004. Therefore, this is the only number you will need to remember for police, ambulance and the fire department.
Corruption
Corruption is a relatively big problem in Romania in comparison to other European countries (though not in comparison to the world). Many visitors can possibly experience corrupt policemen and customs officials (Ofiţeri de vamă) first hand, even though this seems to be a declining problem. While it may be tempting to pay a bribe (mită) to smooth things along on your visit, you should avoid doing so as it only contributes to an already terrible problem. Also, corruption does not mean you can commit crimes, small as they be, in Romania, since not ALL people or policemen are corrupt, and you may be caught.
A piece of good advice for when you find yourself in the situation to be asked to pay a bribe (or just suggested) is to vehemently reject the proposal, stating clearly that you would never do that. Don't adopt a defensive attitude trying to explain the offender why you won't pay or trying to be too polite. Don't look or act embarrassed! A swift, determined and inflexible attitude, combined with the threat that you will immediately call the police, will almost surely make whoever is asking for the bribe stop and leave you alone.
Bribing is very common in trains, as well (it is referred to as "naşul" (the godfather) or "blat"), and is usually practiced by groups, usually in cheaper trains (personal and accelerat) - but also sometimes on faster trains. It is advisable NOT to try it by yourself (few ticket controllers understand foreign languages), and you may end up paying an extremely hefty fine (three to five times the price of the ticket). If in a group with Romanians, however, follow their directions.
Stay healthy
Healthcare
Conditions in Romanian hospitals may vary from the very clean and sparkling, with all the latest technological utilities, to the downright drab, dark and cold. They are usually not worse than public hospitals in other parts of Eastern Europe, the USA or Australia. Some hospitals, however, may be, as aforementioned, uncomfortable, with dimness, temperature problems (hot in summer, cold in winter) and outdated equipment, although medical staff is usually experienced. You won't usually face problems such as significant lack of cleanliness.
Remember that your travel health insurance might prove to be insufficient if the medical condition is severe. In this cases, you will be asked to pay for the medical services, and prices are not very low compared to Western Europe.
Dental procedures in Romania, especially those in private clinics, are of an excellent quality. In fact, many Western Europeans come to Romania to have their teeth done for the quarter of the price they pay in their home country. Quality is particularly high in clinics in Transylvania and Bucharest.
Beauty Parlors
Although Romanian is known for its beauty parlors, be careful to ensure that items used are sterilized between clients. Many salons have a practice of sterilizing manicure tools, etc, once a day. Also, many salons re-use depilatory wax for multiple clients, straining the hair between clients. When in doubt, ask, and if you're concerned, bring your own manicure set and tweezers.
Respect
Romanians are quite hospitable. In the countryside and small towns, they welcome foreign tourists and, occasionally, they might even invite you for a lunch. As common in Balkans, Romanians will insist when offering something, as no doesn't always mean no, they just think it's polite for you to refuse, and polite for them to insist. Don't worry unnecessarily but still you should take some normal precautions to study your host first. It is common for friends and family to kiss both cheeks upon greeting or parting. Respect towards elderly is highly appreciated and is a good representation of your character. The phrases used to greet friends and strangers alike is "Bună ziua" (Boo-nah Zee-wah) which means "Good afternoon" or "Good day."
Communicate
Mobile phones are ubiquitous in Romania, about three quarters of Romanians own at least one mobile phone. There are four networks - three GSM/3G (Orange Romania, Vodafone and Cosmote) and one CDMA (Zapp). Orange and Vodafone have full national coverage (98-99% of the surface of the country), while Cosmote and Zapp are expanding quickly. Fares are average for the European Union (8-30 Eurocent per minute, 4 Eurocent/SMS). Both pre-payed cards and subscriptions are available, and special options for discounted international calls exist with some pricing plans. Roaming is available, but is, like in most of the EU, rather expensive. Pre-payed cards can be bought in almost every shop, either rural or urban.
Internet access is widely available in urban environments, and growing in rural environments. In December 2006 there were about 3.500.000 internet connections, with around 7.000.000-9.000.000 people having internet access. Broadband internet is widely available in cities and towns, through cable, DSL and home-grown, grass-roots small or medium size ISPs offering UTP connections. Speeds are mostly like Western Europe or the US, with 1-4 Mbps downstream for non-metropolitan access being the norm - with prices being around 9-25 € for 1-4 Mbps, with local access significantly faster (10-50 or even 100 Mbps). The speeds are increasing, home access for 4 Mbps being available at around 15€ per month.
Internet cafes are available in most towns and cities, and in some villages - but in big cities, their numbers are dropping because of the cheap availability of home access. In rural areas, public Internet access is currently available in 150 villages (in so-called "telecenters"), and it is supposed to increase to at least 500 villages by the end of 2008. In these "telecenters", access is subsidized by the state, and therefore limited. Computers are usually not available in libraries, or in public places such as train stations.
Wireless access is growing, especially in Bucharest, Sibiu, Bistriţa, Timişoara and Cluj (the centers are mostly covered), but is still limited, and mainly available in University areas, airports, big public squares, cafes, hotels and restaurants. Payed-for wireless internet access is also available in other areas.
Mobile internet is available cheaply by all the mobile phone companies. The standard rate for mobile data connections is about 25-50 cents per MB using GPRS.
Cable TV is also very widely available, with about 85% of all households being connected. All hotels providing you with a TV set will provide you with cable TV, since broadcast television is very limited .
Romania (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.
The modern state of Romania was formed by the merging of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859.The state united with Transylvania in 1918. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest (Bucureşti ), the sixth largest city in the EU. Romania joined NATO on March 29, 2004, and the European Union (EU) on January 1 2007. Romania has 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 call themselves a derivative of Romanus (Rom.: Român/Rumân) is scholarly mentioned as late as the 16th century by many authors among whom Italian Humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia and Walachia.
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). In the following centuries, Romanian documents use interchangeably two spelling forms: Român and Rumân. Socio-linguistic evolutions in the late 17th century lead to a process of semantic differentiation: the form "rumân", presumably usual among lower classes, got the meaning of "bondsman", while the form "român" kept an ethno-linguistic meaning. After the abolition of the serfage in 1746, the form "rumân" gradually disappears and the spelling definitively stabilises to the form "român", "românesc". The name "România" as common homeland of all Romanians is documented in the early 19th century. Many Romanians take pride in being the most eastern Romance people, completely surrounded by non-Latin peoples ("a Latin island in a Slavic sea").
History
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 one of the oldest fossils found to date of modern humans in Europe. 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). 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 AD to 106 AD, 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 AD(from the beginning of the period of military anarchy 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.
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, after which the Bulgarians included the territory of modern Romania in 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. 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. 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 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 temporary victory over the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui. However, Wallachia and Moldavia would 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 they had 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), who reigned from 1458-1490, was born in Transylvania. He 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. Later, in 1541, Transylvania became a multi-ethnic principality under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire following the Battle of Mohács. Michael the Brave (Romanian: Mihai Viteazul) (1558-9 August 1601) was the Prince of Wallachia (1593-1601), of Transylvania (1599-1600), and of Moldavia (1600). During his reign the three principalities largely inhabited by Romanians were for the first time united under a single rule.
In 1775, the Habsburg Monarchy annexed the northern part of Moldova, Bukovina, and the Ottoman Empire its south-eastern part, Budjak. In 1812 the Russian Empire annexed its eastern half, Bessarabia, which was partially returned by the 1856 Treaty of Paris after the Crimean War. At the end of the 19th century, the Habsburg Monarchy incorporated Transylvania into what later became the Austrian Empire. During the period of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary (1867-1918), Romanians in Transylvania experienced a period of severe oppression under the Magyarization policies of the Hungarian government.
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, 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 for ceding to Russia the three southern districts of Bessarabia that 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 became King Carol I.
Romania entered World War I on the side of the Allies 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. By the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, Hungary was forced by the Entente powers to renounce in favour of Romania all of claims of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy over rights and titles to historically multi-ethnic Transylvania. During World War II, in 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia, Hungary occupied Northern Transylvania, and Bulgaria occupied southern Dobruja. 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 Guard, and the subsequent year Romania entered the war on the side of the Axis powers. 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. Germany awarded the territory Transnistria to Romania. The Antonescu regime played a role in the Holocaust, following the Nazi 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.
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 90% of the vote, 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, 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 Romanian Revolution of 1989.
After the fall of Ceauşescu, the National Salvation Front (FSN), led by Ion Iliescu and lacking a clear political platform, 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 Democratic Party (PD), the Romanian Democrat Social Party (PDSR, later Social Democratic Party, PSD), and the ApR (Alliance for Romania). The Socialist parties that emerged from the FSN 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.
Government and 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.
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. 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.
Geography
With a surface area of 238,391 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, which marks part of the border between Romania and Bulgaria, the Siret, running vertically through Moldavia, the Olt, running from the oriental Carpathian Mountains to Oltenia, the Tisa, marking a part of the border between Romania and Hungary, 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 centre of Romania, with fourteen of its peaks reaching above the altitude of 2,000 metres. 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. The country has the largest brown bear population in Europe, while chamois are also known to live in the Carpathian Mountains, which dominate the centre of Romania.
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. 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, as it imports 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 one of the lowest fiscal burdens in Europe, 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. 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 1367 lei as of March 2007, equating to €405.11 (US$535.80) based on international exchange rates and $846.06 based on purchasing power parity. 88% of all Romanian citizens have a color television set in their household and 90% a refrigerator.
Demographics
According to the 2002 census, Romania has a population of 21,680,974 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 2.5% of the population. 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, Jews, Czechs, Poles, Italians, Chinese, 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 feet) 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, rich in mineral resources, orchards, vineyards, and pastures, support the lowest densities.
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. 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 especially in Transylvania, due to traditions tracing back to the Austro-Hungarian rule in this province.
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%).
The largest Romanian cities are: Bucharest (Bucureşti) with 2,082,334 inhabitants, Iaşi with 320,888, Cluj-Napoca with 318,027, Timişoara with 317,660, and Constanţa with 310,471.
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, Dragobete (February 24), day of lovers, 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 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.
Literature
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 "true classics" like George Coşbuc and Tudor Arghezi. 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). The works of composer 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, Emil Cioran, Tristan Tzara and Mircea Cărtărescu.
Architecture
The UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites includes Romanian sites such 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
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 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 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 Romania
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. 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. Virginia Ruzici was a successful tennis player in the 1970s. 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 to win the prestigious European Champions Cup title. Other Romanian clubs are Dinamo Bucureşti, Rapid Bucureşti, Naţional Bucureşti, Universitatea Cluj, UTA Arad, FCU Politehnica Timişoara, Universitatea Craiova, Petrolul Ploieşti, CFR Cluj, Poli Iaşi, FC Braşov, Galaţi, Bacău, Sportul, Bistriţa, Piteşti, Farul Constanţa, etc. Though maybe not the force they once were, the Romanian national rugby team has so far competed at every Rugby World Cup.
Image gallery
image:BucharestParliament2007_03_10b.JPG|Palace of the Parliament, 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:University of Medicine&Farmacy.IASI-ROMANIA.JPG | Gr. T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iaşi
image:BCU.Iasi.Romania.JPG|The University's Central Library Mihai Eminescu, Iaşi
image:CJROcatholic.jpg|Roman Catholic Church, Cluj-Napoca
Image:Brasov casa sfatului at night.jpg|Braşov Old Council Building at night
Image:Borzesti Side view.jpg|Borzeşti Church, Borzeşti
Image:Sighisoara_IMG_5624.jpg|Medieval Town Sighişoara
Image:Romania Voronet Monestry.JPG|Voroneţ Monastery
Image:Timisoara cathedral.jpg|Timişoara Orthodox Cathedral
Image:Cretzulescu palace.JPG|The Creţulescu Palace in Bucharest
Image:Office1.jpg|Charles de Gaulle square in Bucharest
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