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Romania - General Information
Location
Romania is situated in the southeastern part of Central Europe
and shares borders with Hungary to the northwest, Yugoslavia
to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, the Black Sea and
Ukraine to the southeast and to the north and the Republic
of Moldova to the east. Roughly the size of Oregon, Romania
is the second largest country in the area, after Poland.
Traditionally Romania is divided into several historic regions
that no longer perform any administrative function: Dobrogea
is the easternmost region, extending from the northward course
of the Danube to the shores of the Black Sea. Moldavia stretches
from the Eastern Carpathians to the Prut River on the Moldavian
and Ukrainian border. Wallachia reaches south from the Transylvanian
Alps to the Bulgarian border and is divided by the Olt River
into Oltenia on the west and Muntenia on the east. The Danube
forms a natural border between Muntenia and Dobrogea. The west-central
region, known as Transylvania, is delimited by the arc of
the Carpathians, which separates it from the Maramures region
in the northwest; by the Crisana area, which borders Hungary
in the west; and by the Banat region of the southwest, which
adjoins both Hungary and Serbia. It is these areas west of
the Carpathians that contain the highest concentrations of
the nation's largest ethnic minorities--Hungarians, Germans
and Serbs.
Physical features
• Mountains: 31% of Romania's territory
• Hills and orchards: 36%
• Plains: 33%
• Areas covered by rivers and lakes: 3.7 %
• Total number of lakes: 3,500
• Lakes greater than 250 acres: 300
• Highest mountain peak: Moldoveanu Mt. — 8,349
ft. (2544 m.)
Romania's natural landscape is almost evenly divided among
mountains (31 percent), hills (33 percent), and plains (36
percent). These varied relief forms spread rather symmetrically
from the Carpathian Mountains, which reach elevations of more
than 2,400 meters, to the Danube Delta, which is just a few
meters above sea level.
The arc of the Carpathians extends over 1,000 kilometers
through the center of the country, covering an area of 70,000
square kilometers. These mountains are of low to medium altitude
and are no wider than 100 kilometers. They are deeply fragmented
by longitudinal and transverse valleys and crossed by several
major rivers. These features and the fact that there are many
summit passes, some at altitudes up to 2,256 meters, have
made the Carpathians less of a barrier to movement than have
other European ranges.
Enclosed within the great arc of the Carpathians lie the
undulating plains and low hills of the Transylvanian Plateau,
an important agricultural region. To the south and east of
the Carpathians, the Sub-Carpathians form a fringe of rolling
terrain ranging from 396 to 1,006 meters in elevation. This
terrain is matched to the west by the slightly lower Western
Hills. The symmetry of Romania's relief continues with the
Getic Tableland to the south of the SubCarpathians, the Moldavian
Tableland in the east between the SubCarpathians and the Prut
River, and the Dobrujan Tableland in the southeast between
the Danube and the Black Sea. The Sub-Carpathians and the
tableland areas provide good conditions for human settlement.
Beyond the Carpathian foothills and tablelands, the plains
spread south and west.
Romania's lowest land is found on the northern edge of the
Dobrogea region in the Danube Delta. The delta is a triangular
swampy area of marshes, floating reed islands, and sandbanks,
where the Danube ends its trek of almost 3,000 kilometers
and divides into three frayed branches before emptying into
the Black Sea. The Danube Delta provides a large part of the
country's fish production. The region also serves as a nature
preserve for rare species of plant and animal life including
migratory birds.
The Danube travels some 1,000 kilometers through or along
Romanian territory, forming the southern frontier with Yugoslavia
and Bulgaria. Virtually all of the country's rivers are tributaries
of the Danube, either directly or indirectly, and by the time
the Danube's course ends in the Black Sea.
Climate
Romania has a temperate climate, similar to the northeastern
United States, with four distinct seasons. Spring is pleasant
with cool mornings and nights and warm days. Summer is quite
warm, with extended sunny days. The hottest areas in summer
are the lowlands in southern and eastern Romania where 100
F is often reached in July and August. Temperatures are always
cooler in the mountains.
Autumn is dry and cool, with fields and trees producing colorful
foliage, much like New England.
Winters can be cold, especially in the mountains. While not
the rule, abundant snowfalls may occur throughout the country,
from December to mid-March.
People
Foreign visitors consider Romanians among the friendliest
and most hospitable people on earth. Romanians are by nature
fun loving, warm, hospitable, playful, with an innate sense
of humor.
About 21,700,000 people live in Romania.
Ethnic breakdown is 89% Romanian 7.5% Hungarian, 1.9% Gypsy,
German, Ukrainian, Armenian, Croatian, Serbian and Turkish.
More than 55% of Romania's population lives in towns and cities.
There are 263 towns in Romania out of which 25 have a population
of more than 100,000 while 8 cities count more than 300,000
inhabitants. 45 % of Romanians live in rural areas: 2,868
communes and 13,285 villages. The administrative divisions
are called "judete" (counties). There are 41 counties
in Romania. The capital city, Bucharest, has the status of
a county.
Bucharest — the capital of Romania has a population
of more than 2,200,000.
History
2000 years ago, the territory of present day Romania belonged
to the Dacians, a population of Thracian origin who had established
on the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic space. In 70-77 BC, king
Burebista united all the Dacians in a powerful state, much
bigger than today’s Romania. In 101–106 A.D.,
after two bloody wars, emperor Traian conquered the kingdom
of Dacia, led by Decebal during that period. From the mingling
of the Dacians with the Roman colonists a new people appeared:
the Romanian.
Later, 3 provinces were formed on this territory: Wallachia
(in the south), Moldavia (in the East) and Transylvania (in
the North-West). Throughout the time, there have been numerous
influences on the Romanian culture and civilization. Transylvania
was under Austrian-Hungarian occupation for hundreds of years,
and to consolidate its authority in this part of the empire,
the Austrian kings colonized the region with German population,
known under the name of Saxons. Wallachia opposed to the attacks
of the Ottoman Empire, and was never conquered. Moldavia shared
the same cruel fate, being forced to face numerous invasions.
The first union of the three Romanian principalities took
place in 1600, under the rule of a brave ruler, also a skilful
politician - Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave). But this
union didn’t last. Only in 1859, Wallachia and Moldavia
reunited under the name of Romania, founding of the Romanian
state of today. In 1877, the young state wins its independence,
and in 1881 prince Carol I de Hohenzollern of German origin
accepts becoming king of Romania. His coronation marks the
birth of the Kingdom of Romania. After World War I, on December
1st 1918, all provinces inhabited by the Romanians unite themselves
with the kingdom and this day becomes Romania’s national
holiday.
After World War II in Romania the Communist regime is established
lasting until 1989. On 22 December 1989, after bloody demonstrations
in Timisoara, Bucharest, Sibiu, Brasov, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu
was banished from power. Today Romania is a democratic country
with a functional market economy and starting with January
2007 is also member with full rights in the European Union.
Economy
Regarding economic development, Romania has a distinct potential:
agricultural fields proper for bread grains, vineyards and
orchards, and numerous native energy resources (coal, oil,
hydro energy and nuclear energy). In addition, the country’s
industry comprises almost the entire range of production activity,
and manpower is well–educated and well-trained. Another
strong feature of Romanian economy is represented in tourist
development opportunities, especially among rural and cultural
locations, and at the Black Sea.
After 1989, when there took place the removal of the communist
regime from the rule of the country, Romania’s economy
underwent a difficult change. But, for the last years, things
significantly stabilized, thus there was a rise in exports,
especially for textiles, industrial machines, electric and
electronic equipment, metallurgic products, raw materials,
software, agricultural products, just to enumerate only a
part. The greatest weight has the public services, representing
55% from PIB.
Sources:
www.romaniatourism.com
www.romaniatravel.com
www.brasovtravelguide.ro
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