Romania brief

⇔ Some facts about Romania

Romania is a country situated in South Eastern Europe.

Neighbours:

- Hungary and Serbia to the west
- Moldova and Ukraine to the east and northeast
- Bulgaria to the south – the Danube River marks most of the southern border and the Danube Delta is on the Romanian Black Sea coast

Romania has a stretch of the sea coast along the Black Sea. The eastern and southern Carpathian Mountains run though its centre from the north to the southwest.

Romania is a republic where executive functions are shared between the president and the prime minister.

Official Language: Romanian

Capital: Bucharest

Government: Republic 

- President: Traian Basescu
- Prime Minister: Calin Popescu Tariceanu

Romania joined - NATO on March 29, 2004,                                                                     - the European Union (EU) on January 1, 2007.

Area: 238,391 km2 – the ninth largest territory in the EU

Population: 22,302,552 (July 2006 estimate) – seventh largest population in the EU

GDP (2007 estimate):
- Total: $218.9 billion
- Per capita $ 10,152

Monetary unit: 1 new leu

Internet domain: .ro

International dialling code: +40 

⇔ Main Cities:

» Bucharest
» Iasi
» Cluj Napoca 
» Brasov
» Alba Iulia
» Craiova
» Sibiu
» Timisoara
» Constanza
» Sighisoara
» Tulcea

⇔ Some tourist attractions:

Bucharest: is the capital city and industrial and commercial centre of Romania. It is located in the south east part of the country and lies on the banks of Dambovita River. It was founded (first attested in 1459) by the Wlachian prince, Vlad Tepes, the real-life Dracula known as Vlad the Impalor. In the period of the two World Wars, the Bucharest was called the “Little Paris” because of the sophistication of its elite, life style and fine architecture. In recent years, Bucharest has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom.

Population: 2,082,000 (census 2002), its inhabitants, counting for about 9% of the population of Romania. Additionally, there are about 50,000 people who commute to the city every

Area: The city has a total area of 226 km2

Administratively, Bucharest is known as the Municipality of Bucharest and has the same administrative level as a county.

Bucharest is situated on the banks of the Dambovita River, in the south eastern part of the Romanian Plain and surrounded by several big lakes, Floreasca, Colentina, Tei. In the north of the city there is Herastrau Park, the largest public park with a picharesque and large natural lake, open for boats in the warm season. The beautiful park Cismigiu Gardens, in the centre of the city, with its artificial Lake Cismigiu, offers a place of recreation and entertainment. The Park, opened in 1847, its design based on the plans of the German architect Carl F.W. Meyer, was a place of retreat and meditation for famous poets and writers of Bucharest.

Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania and most developed and idustrilised area. Bucharest contribution to the country’s GDP is around 21%, and the unemployment rate of 2,6% is significantly lower than the national rate of 5.7% (National Institute of Statistics of Romania).

The economy of Bucharest is mainly based on idustry, covering a wide range of industrial sectors, commerce and services. The service sector has known a steady increase in importance for the last years.

The costruction sector has been one of the most significant in growth, due to the increasing demand for office building, supermarkets, properties, mainly in the outskirts of the city, and more urban consolidation is expected to take place around Bucharest in the following years.

Bucharest is the largest centre for information technology and communications, well known international company being present in this sector.

In Bucharest there is and operates the Romania's largest stock exchange, the The Bucharest Stock Exchange.
 
A number of well-known supermakets chains, Cora, Carrefour, Metro, have open their stores and function along with the traditional markets.

Transports: Bucharest is served by two airports: Henry Coanda International airport (Otopeni), the largest airport in the country, and Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (Baneasa) manily used for charter flights and low cost carriers.

The main railway station is Gara de Nord which links the Bucharest to all major cities in Romania as well as to european capitals like Sofia, Budapest, Viena, Prague.

Culture: Bucharest has a reach cultural life including elements of the Romanian culture and equally open to European and international culture.

Art collections and hystorical museums, clasical art galleries, Romanian and International contemporary art exhibitions are part of the cultural life of he city. Bucharest has a number of world-renowned facilities for performing arts, including the famous Romanian Atheneum, The Romanian national Opera, Radio TV Hall, hosting perfomences of romanian and international artists. And let’s not forget the architactural beauty of the buildings that ones gained the name of The little Paris for Bucharest, and have survived the 1977 earthquaqe and later on, the comunist demolition and the urban plans for the city.


Iasi (Jassy) – is the capital City of Iasi County. The city lies on the Bahlui river and is surrounded by hills well known for vineyards and gardens.

Population: 320,888 (census 2002)
 
Area: 93.9 km²
Tlephone code: (+40) ( 0) 32
Population: 342,112 (estimated in 2006) – mixed population - romanians and hungarians and ranked as the third city in Romania

Iasi is the most important city of the historical region of Moldovia and it’s been its capital since the 16th century. Before Iasi the capital of Moldavia from where

 

 

Alba Iulia - is the capital of Alba County located on the banks of Mures River.

Population: 66,369 (census 2002)

Area: 1003.65 Km²

Telephone code: (+40) (0) 58

The town is well known for its light manufacturing industry as well as ceramics, equipment and mechanical, and coper products.

Alba Iulia is one of the most beautiful cities in the county. Traces of ancient history, with magnificent churches and its Cathedral in Gothic style are attraction points for the treveller. The upper city with its fortress and seven bastions is the main historical area of this attractive town.