Romania is a wonderful country
1. Romania is located in the southeastern part of Europe.
Romania is considered to be quite young, very unusual and even to some extent exotic country in Europe.
2. Its appearance on the political map of the world dates back to the second half of the 19th century.
3. Romania is the 9th largest country in Europe by territory and the 7th largest by population.
4. The area of the country is 238,391 km2 and the population density of Romania is more than 90 people/km2
5. Along with the Romanian language, Hungarian and German are very popular. Slightly more than 90% of the population (19 million people) speak their native language, 7% speak Hungarian (mostly Transylvania) and German is the native language for more than 2% of the population.
Bucharest is the capital of Romania
6.Bucharest is the capital of Romania. It is the main cultural and economic center of the country. The area of the capital is 228 km2. Bucharest is also the most populous city in Southeast Europe.
7. The population of Bucharest is 1.9 million people. It is the 6th most populous city in Europe.
Pelesh Palace in Romania
8. The capital of Romania is often called the “Little Paris of the East” because it is famous for its sights and its culture.
9.There are 21 universities in Bucharest with more than 100 thousand students.
10. The country has many major historical regions with their own specifics, as each of them for quite a long time was part of different states. These include Transylvania, Dobrogea, Oltenia, Muntenia, Banat, Crisana and Maramures.
11. Romania is famous for its unique balneological and climatic resorts located on the Black Sea and the cradle of Romania, Transylvania, as well as ski resorts.
The Scarisoara Glacier, located in the Bihor (90 miles south-west of Cluj-Napoca) has a surface area of 75,000 cubic meters. Its age is approximately 3,500 years. In terms of size among underground glaciers in Europe, it is second only to the underground ice cave “Eisriesenwelt” in Austria.
13. Transylvania was first mentioned in a medieval Latin document dated 1075 and called “Ultra Silvam”. “Ultra” means “beyond” or “on the far side,” and “Silvam” means “tree” or “forest,” i.e., “Land beyond the forest.”
14. Romania has been an official member of the United Nations since 1955, NATO since 2004, and the EU since 2007.
15. The main religion in Romania is Orthodox Christianity, which is practiced by 87% of the population. More than 7% are Protestants, 4.5% are Roman Catholic, and the remaining 1.5% are Muslims and atheists.
Humor Monastery in Romania
16. There are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Romania. Among them there is only one natural one – the Danube Delta (a large area where the Danube River meets the ocean). This site is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Romania and is deservedly recognized as one of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe.
17. The Bridge of Liars, which is located in Sibiu, the favorite city of Vlad Tepes, carries an element of mysticism. One legend says that liars do not belong on this bridge, because it can collapse under them. However, it is believed that there is no confirmation of this legend, as the bridge has existed for more than a century or there are no liars at all.
18. The town of Târgu-Okâna is famous for the largest sanatorium not only in Europe, but perhaps in the whole world, located in the oldest underground salt mine.
Voronet Monastery in Romania
19. The Voronet Monastery, located in northeastern Romania, is also known as the “Sistine Chapel of the East.”
20. The most famous novels written under the impression of what we saw in Romania belong to Jules Verne (“Castle in the Carpathians”) and Bram Stoker (“Dracula”).
Parliament Palace in Bucharest
21. The Palace of Parliament, located in Bucharest, is the largest building of its kind in all of Europe. It is the second largest in the world and second only to the Pentagon in the United States.
22. Romania celebrates Independence Day on May 9, 1877 from the Ottoman Empire.
Sibiu is the cultural center of Romania
23. The city of Sibiu, along with Luxembourg, was chosen as the European Capital of Culture in 2007.
24. Romania is an industrial-agrarian country, and its leading industry is metallurgy, both ferrous and non-ferrous.
25.Also, the chemical industry is considered a promising area, with a fairly solid raw material base.
The “Black Church” in Romania
26. In the city of Brasov (in Transylvania), is the largest church in the Gothic style. It has no equal from Vienna to Istanbul. It is the most famous Gothic church in Romania. It was built between 1385 and 1477 and was called the Black Church in 1689 after the Great Fire when its walls were blackened with soot.
27. In 1694 the Academy of St. Sava, the first institution of higher learning, was opened in Romania.
28. In the Southern Carpathian Mountains there is a mountain range Buchedzhi, on the surface of which there are numerous very bizarre sculptures. Their authors are the heavenly elements: wind and rain. The most famous sculptures are those resembling a sphinx, a harp, and an old man.
29. There are a huge number of folk festivals in Romania. Among them, especially stands out the holiday with the rite “plugoshor”, which the Romanian people celebrate on the first day after the New Year. This rite is dedicated to the future harvest and is performed by young men dressed in goat skins.
30. Timisoara was the first European city to introduce horse-drawn streetcars in 1869 and street lighting in 1889.
31. The Astra museum complex in Sibiu includes more than 300 buildings, windmills, giant wine and oil presses, hydraulic forges, and more. They all represent different architectural styles from different parts of Romania.
32. Because of its uniqueness, Romania is very popular with tourists. However, tourists should remember that Romania is very poor in sanitary and epidemiological plan. Here occur such diseases as viral meningitis, rabies, and even typhus.
33. According to the European Commission, the Romanian economy is growing steadily. The largest sector of the economy is agriculture, which employs over 30% of the Romanian population.
34. The cemetery located in the county of the historic region of Maramures is perhaps the most unusual European cemetery, which is also called unusually – cheerful. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that each tombstone is inscribed with a wittiest funny poem.
35. This area is also famous for its very beautiful wooden churches, built in the 17th and 18th century in the Gothic style, and for the wooden gates that almost all the inhabitants of this area have.
Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci
36. Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast in the history of gymnastics to receive 10 out of 10 points at a competition in Montreal in 1976.
37. Soccer is the most popular sport in Romania. Throughout its history, the national team has made it to the finals of the World Cup 7 times.
38.Their greatest achievement was the quarterfinals of the 1994 tournament.
39.Romanian club Steaua in 1986 became the first winner of the Champions League (European Cup) in Eastern Europe. In the same season Steaua won the UEFA Super Cup against Dynamo Kiev.
40. The oldest city in Romania, Cluj-Napaka, which once housed a settlement of the Dacians, is mentioned in the works of the scientist of Ancient Greece Claudius Ptolemy.
Romanian inventor Henry Coanda
41. Romanian inventor and founder of aerodynamics, Henry Coanda, in 1910 designed and built the world’s first jet-powered aircraft, known as “Coanda-1910”. His creation was demonstrated to the general public at the second International Aviation Salon in Paris.
42.This aircraft lasted until November 25, 1972, when it was dismantled in Bucharest in its 86th year. The main Romanian International Airport still bears the name of the great inventor – Henry Coanda.
43. Romania is famous for its scientists. Gheorghe Marinescu, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Bucharest, was the first in the world to see nerve cells under a microscope. It was a great breakthrough in the history of mankind!
44. In this country, pancrein was discovered, which was later called insulin. Its discovery belongs to the eminent scientist and politician, Paunescu.
45.Romania’s outstanding psychologist, Odobleža, was the forerunner of such a science as cybernetics.
Danube Delta
46. The great Danube, 1,788 miles long, carries its waters into the Black Sea. The power of this river is so great that over tens of thousands of years it has formed a delta that is the second largest in all of Europe. The delta includes 2,200 square miles of rivers, canals, swamps, forested leaches, and reed islands.
47.The Danube Delta is just a wildlife lover’s paradise (especially for bird watchers). But most importantly, the Danube Delta continues to grow every year thanks to about 67 tons of sedimentation.
48. Romania is a country with well-developed arts and crafts. For example, leather and pottery or weaving from straw and twigs are well developed, as well as decorative sewing and embroidery, especially multicolor and carpet weaving, in which the ancient geometric ornaments mostly prevail.
49. Bread is replaced by corn grits for the Romanians, and the favorite national dish is considered similar to lula kebab – mittitii and sarma, in other words, stuffed cabbage rolls made with pork. The stuffing is wrapped in vine leaves or in sauerkraut leaves, which are prepared beforehand by pickling.
50. Among strong drinks common is plum vodka-zuika and wine made of grapes. At that vodka in cold winter time is accepted to drink with spices and heated.
11 most surprising and incredible facts about Romania that you did not know!
Romania is a country full of surprises, amazing folklore and fascinating places that leave a pleasant impression in the hearts of its visitors. Do not believe it? Convince yourself on your next visit to this land full of surprises!
Romania has the most beautiful and fun cemetery in the world
The Cimitirul Vesel (literally translated from Romanian as “Merry Cemetery”) in the village of Maramures County is a unique place and is open to any visitor. There are many majestic and beautiful wooden crosses and monuments. In addition, each tombstone contains a witty poem that depicts the funniest side of the people buried in the cemetery and the episodes of their lives. This kind of witty performance and at the same time ironic epitaph exists only here.
Romanian Inventors Changed the World
Romania is home to some extraordinary scientists and engineers, most of whom have actually changed our world. For example: Nicolae Polescu was the actual discoverer of insulin; Eugen Pavel was the inventor of the CD-ROM; Aurel Persu was a famous automotive engineer who built the first car with wheels in its aerodynamic line; Petras Poynaru invented the auto pen; Emil Rakovica created the first underground biological laboratory and organized work on biospheleology; Anastas Dragomir was the inventor of an early version of today’s ejection seat.
Romanian is the only Romance language in Eastern Europe
Most people think that Romanian is similar to Slavic languages, but in reality, Romanian is closely related to Italian, French, Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese.
There are 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Romania
They include: the churches of the historic region of Moldova; the Dacian fortresses in the mountains of Orastie; the historic center of Sigishoara; the monastery in Horezu; the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania; the wooden churches of the historic region of Maramures and the famous Danube delta.
Romania is Europe’s richest country in resources
Oil, timber, natural gas, coal, gold, iron ore, salt, arable land and hydroelectric power make Romania one of the most resource-rich countries in Europe.
The largest civilian administration building in the world is in Romania
Built by the former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest (also known as the People’s House) is the largest and most expensive civil administration building on the planet.
Romania has the best preserved delta in Europe
Although it’s only Europe’s second largest river delta (after the Volga Delta), Romania’s Danube Delta is the best preserved on the continent. There are as many as 23 natural ecosystems with their amazing, diverse and unique flora and fauna.
The largest brown bear population in Europe
Brown bears are more common here than anywhere else in Europe.
The largest mountain sculpture in Europe
Along the Dumai, near the small town of Orsova in southwestern Romania, is a 55-meter high mountain sculpture. It depicts Decebal – the last king of Dacia. But you can see the monument only from a boat, which makes it an even more unique place.
The only gold museum in Europe
Also known as the Brada Mineralogical Collection (or Gold Museum) in the small Romanian town of Brada is the only one of its kind in Europe. Founded about 100 years ago, the museum contains more than 2,000 exhibits of gold.
Here was the first city illuminated by electricity
Timisoara is one of the most beautiful and colorful Romanian cities and was the first mainland European city which was illuminated by electric street lamps.
