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Romania
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Background:
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The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adopted the new name of Romania. The country gained recognition of its independence in 1878. It joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new territories - most notably Transylvania - following the conflict. In 1940, Romania allied with the Axis powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist "people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996 when they were swept from power. Romania joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007. |
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Location:
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Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine |
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Geographic coordinates:
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46 00 N, 25 00 E |
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Map references:
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Europe |
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Area:
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total: 237,500 sq km
land: 230,340 sq km
water: 7,160 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Oregon |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 2,508 km
border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km |
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Coastline:
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225 km |
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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Climate:
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temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms |
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Terrain:
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central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m |
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Natural resources:
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petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower |
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Land use:
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arable land: 39.49%
permanent crops: 1.92%
other: 58.59% (2005) |
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Irrigated land:
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30,770 sq km (2003) |
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Total renewable water resources:
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42.3 cu km (2003) |
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 6.5 cu km/yr (9%/34%/57%)
per capita: 299 cu m/yr (2003) |
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Natural hazards:
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earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides |
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Environment - current issues:
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soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Geography - note:
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controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine |
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Population:
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22,276,056 (July 2007 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 15.6% (male 1,787,334/female 1,696,270)
15-64 years: 69.6% (male 7,721,160/female 7,793,063)
65 years and over: 14.7% (male 1,344,673/female 1,933,556) (2007 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 36.9 years
male: 35.5 years
female: 38.2 years (2007 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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-0.127% (2007 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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10.67 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
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Death rate:
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11.81 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.054 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.991 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.695 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 24.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.71 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 21.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 71.91 years
male: 68.41 years
female: 75.62 years (2007 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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1.38 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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less than 0.1% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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6,500 (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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350 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Romanian(s)
adjective: Romanian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4% (2002 census) |
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Religions:
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Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 86.8%, Protestant (various denominations including Reformate and Pentecostal) 7.5%, Roman Catholic 4.7%, other (mostly Muslim) and unspecified 0.9%, none 0.1% (2002 census) |
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Languages:
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Romanian 91% (official), Hungarian 6.7%, Romany (Gypsy) 1.1%, other 1.2% |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.3%
male: 98.4%
female: 96.3% (2002 census) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Romania
local long form: none
local short form: Romania |
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Government type:
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republic |
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Capital:
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name: Bucharest
geographic coordinates: 44 26 N, 26 06 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
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Administrative divisions:
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41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti (Bucharest)*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea |
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Independence:
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9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin); 26 March 1881 (kingdom proclaimed); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed) |
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National holiday:
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Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918) |
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Constitution:
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8 December 1991; revision effective 29 October 2003 |
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Legal system:
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based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004); note - President Traian BASESCU was suspended by vote of parliament on 19 April 2007, but resumed his duties on 23 May 2007 after a popular referendum confirmed that his impeachment should not stand
head of government: Prime Minister Calin Popescu-TARICEANU (since 29 December 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 28 November 2004 with runoff between the top two candidates held 12 December 2004 (next to be held in November-December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the Parliament
election results: percent of vote - Traian BASESCU 51.23%, Adrian NASTASE 48.77% |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (137 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera Deputatilor (332 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 28 November 2004 (next expected to be held in November 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 28 November 2004 (next expected to be held November 2008)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 37.1%, PNL-PD 31.8%, PRM 13.6%, UDMR 6.2%, other 11.3%; seats by party - PSD 44, PNL 30, PD 20, PRM 20, PC 11, UDMR 10, independents 2; seats by party as of February 2008 - PSD 44, PDL 27, PNL 24, PRM 16, PC 10, UDMR 10, independents 6; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 36.8%, PNL-PD 31.5%, PRM 13%, UDMR 6.2%, other 12.5%; seats by party - PSD 111, PNL 66, PD 45, PRM 34, UDMR 22, PC 20, ex-PRM (Ciontu Group) 12, PIN (GUSA Group) 3, independent 1, ethnic minorities 18; seats by party as of February 2008 - PSD 104, PDL 73, PNL 56, PRM 25, UDMR 22, PC 16, independents 18, ethnic minorities 18 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court of Justice (comprised of 11 judges appointed for three-year terms by the president in consultation with the Superior Council of Magistrates, which is comprised of the minister of justice, the prosecutor general, two civil society representatives appointed by the Senate, and 14 judges and prosecutors elected by their peers); a separate body, the Constitutional Court, validates elections and makes decisions regarding the constitutionality of laws, treaties, ordinances, and internal rules of the Parliament; it is comprised of nine members serving nine-year terms, with three members each appointed by the president, the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Conservative Party or PC [Daniela POPA] (formerly Humanist Party or PUR); Democratic Liberal Party or PDL [Emil BOC]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Calin POPESCU-TARICEANU]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romania Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Mircea Dan GEOANA] (formerly Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR) |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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various human rights and professional associations |
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International organization participation:
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ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU (new member), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Adrian Cosmin VIERITA
chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851, 4852
FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Nicholas F. TAUBMAN
embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest
mailing address: pouch: American Embassy Bucharest, US Department of State, 5260 Bucharest Place, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch)
telephone: [40] (21) 200-3300
FAX: [40] (21) 200-3442 |
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Flag description:
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three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova |
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Economy - overview:
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Romania, which joined the European Union on 1 January 2007, began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets. Domestic consumption and investment have fueled strong GDP growth in recent years, but have led to large current account imbalances. Romania's macroeconomic gains have only recently started to spur creation of a middle class and address Romania's widespread poverty. Corruption and red tape continue to handicap its business environment. Inflation rose in 2007 for the first time in eight years, driven in part by the depreciation of the currency, rising energy costs, a nation-wide drought affecting food prices, and a relaxation of fiscal discipline. Romania hopes to adopt the Euro by 2014. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$246.7 billion (2007 est.) |
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GDP (official exchange rate):
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$158.5 billion (2007 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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5.9% (2007 est.) |
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GDP - per capita (PPP):
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$11,100 (2007 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 7.9%
industry: 35.6%
services: 56.5% (2007 est.) |
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Labor force:
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9.35 million (2007 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 31.6%
industry: 30.7%
services: 37.7% (2004) |
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Unemployment rate:
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4.5% (2007 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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25% (2005 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 24.4% (2003) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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31 (2005) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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4.6% (2007 est.) |
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Investment (gross fixed):
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26.9% of GDP (2007 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $52.96 billion
expenditures: $56.85 billion (2007 est.) |
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Public debt:
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18.7% of GDP (2007 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep |
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Industries:
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electric machinery and equipment, textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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8% (2007 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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56.91 billion kWh (2005) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 62.5%
hydro: 27.6%
nuclear: 9.9%
other: 0% (2001) |
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Electricity - consumption:
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48.17 billion kWh (2005) |
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Electricity - exports:
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5.224 billion kWh (2005) |
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Electricity - imports:
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2.321 billion kWh (2005) |
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Oil - production:
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122,700 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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236,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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92,510 bbl/day (2004) |
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Oil - imports:
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181,100 bbl/day (2004) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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955.6 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.) |
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Natural gas - production:
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11.22 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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17.46 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
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Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2005 est.) |
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Natural gas - imports:
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6.234 billion cu m (2005) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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96.41 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
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Current account balance:
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$-20.95 billion (2007 est.) |
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Exports:
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$39.62 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products |
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Exports - partners:
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Italy 17.9%, Germany 15.7%, Turkey 7.7%, France 7.5%, Hungary 4.9%, UK 4.7% (2006) |
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Imports:
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$63.16 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and products, metals, agricultural products |
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Imports - partners:
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Germany 15.2%, Italy 14.5%, Russia 7.8%, France 6.5%, Turkey 4.9%, China 4.3% (2006) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$914.3 million (2004) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$37.06 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
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Debt - external:
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$85.86 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
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$40.69 billion (2006 est.) |
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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
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$278 million (2006 est.) |
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Market value of publicly traded shares:
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$32.78 billion (2006) |
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Currency (code):
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"new" lu (RON) was introduced in 2005; "old" lu (ROL) was phased out in 2006; note - because of currency revaluation, 10,000 ROL = 1 RON |
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Currency code:
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ROL |
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Exchange rates:
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lei per US dollar - 2.43 (2007), 2.809 (2006), 3 (2005), 3 (2004), 3 (2003) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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4.231 million (2006) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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17.4 million (2006) |
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Telephone system:
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general assessment: rapidly improving domestic and international service, especially in wireless telephony
domestic: more than 90 percent of telephone network is automatic; liberalization in 2003 is transforming telecommunications; fixed-line teledensity is roughly 20 telephones per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity is approaching 80 telephones per 100 persons
international: country code - 40; the Black Sea Fiber Optic System provides connectivity to Bulgaria and Turkey; satellite earth stations - 10; digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest (2005) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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698 (frequency type NA) (2006) |
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Radios:
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7.2 million (1997) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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623 (plus 200 repeaters) (2006) |
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Televisions:
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5.25 million (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.ro |
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Internet hosts:
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1.406 million (2007) |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
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38 (2000) |
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Internet users:
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5.063 million (2006) |
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Airports:
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61 (2007) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 25
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 22 (2007) |
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Heliports:
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2 (2007) |
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Pipelines:
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gas 3,674 km; oil 2,424 km (2007) |
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Railways:
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total: 11,385 km
broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge (3,888 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2006) |
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Roadways:
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total: 198,817 km
paved: 60,043 km (includes 228 km of expressways)
unpaved: 138,774 km (2004) |
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Waterways:
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1,731 km
note: includes 1,075 km on Danube River, 524 km on secondary branches, and 132 km on canals (2006) |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 19 ships (1000 GRT or over) 146,307 GRT/165,548 DWT
by type: cargo 13, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1
registered in other countries: 50 (Cambodia 1, Georgia 15, North Korea 6, Malta 10, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 8, Sierra Leone 2, St Kitts and Nevis 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1, Syria 4, Tuvalu 1, unknown 4) (2007) |
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Ports and terminals:
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Braila, Constanta, Galati, Tulcea |
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Military branches:
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Land Forces, Naval Forces, Romanian Air Force (Fortele Aeriene Romane, FAR), Special Operations (2008) |
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Military service age and obligation:
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18 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription officially ended October 2006; all military inductees (including women) contract for an initial 5-year term of service; subsequent voluntary service contracts are for successive 3-year terms until the age of 36 (2006) |
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Manpower available for military service:
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males age 20-49: 5,061,984
females age 20-49: 4,975,427 (2005 est.) |
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Manpower fit for military service:
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males age 20-49: 3,932,579
females age 20-49: 4,076,288 (2005 est.) |
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Manpower reaching military service age annually:
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males age 18-49: 172,093
females age 20-49: 165,547 (2005 est.) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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1.9% (2007 est.) |
| Transnational Issues |
Romania |
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Disputes - international:
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the ICJ gave Ukraine until December 2006 to reply, and Romania until June 2007 to issue a rejoinder, in their dispute submitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy/Serpilor (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary delimitation; Romania also opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea |
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Illicit drugs:
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major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe; although not a significant financial center, role as a narcotics conduit leaves it vulnerable to laundering, which occurs via the banking system, currency exchange houses, and casinos |
History of Romania
Dacia, Roman Dacia
The territory of today's Romania was inhabited since at least 513 BC by the Getae or Dacians, a Thracian tribe. Under the leadership of Burebista (70-44 BC) the Dacians became a powerful state which threatened even the regional interests of the Romans. Julius Caesar intended to start a campaign against the Dacians, but was assassinated in 44 BC. A few months later, Burebista shared the same fate, assassinated by his own noblemen. His powerful state was divided in four and did not become unified again until 95, under the reign of Decebalus. The Dacian state sustained a series of conflicts with the expanding Roman Empire, and was finally conquered in 106 AD by the Roman emperor Trajan, during the reign of the Dacian king Decebalus. Faced by successive invasions of the Goths and Carpi, the Roman administration withdrew in 271.
Romania in the Dark Ages
Different parts of the territory of present-day Romania were controlled as part of the Gothic Empire (Oium) from 271 until 378, the Hunnish Empire until 435, the Avar Empire during the 6th century, and the First Bulgarian Empire during the 9th through 11th centuries. Slavs, Magyars, Pechenegs, Cumans and Tatars (Mongols) also invaded the territory.
Romania in the Middle Ages
Many small local states developed, but only in the 14th century the larger principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia emerged to fight the danger of a new threat in the form of the Ottoman Turks, who conquered Constantinople in 1453. By 1541, the entire Balkan peninsula and most of Hungary became Ottoman provinces. In contrast, Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania, came under Ottoman suzerainty, but conserved fully internal autonomy and, until 18th century, some external independence.
By the 11th century, the area of today's Transylvania became a largely autonomous part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Kings of Hungary invited to settle in Transylvania the Szecklers, the Teutonic Order and the Saxons.
In 1475, Stephen the Great of Moldavia scored a decisive victory against the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui. In the year 1600, Wallachia, Moldova and Transylvania principalities were headed by the Wallachian prince Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul), Ban of Oltenia, but the chance for a unity dissolved after Mihai was killed, only one year later, by the soldiers of an Austrian army general Giorgio Basta. There are no clear signs Mihai intended to unite the three principalities to lay down foundations of today's Romania, though we cannot know for sure, as he was prince of Transylvania for less than one year.
Early Modern Romania
In 1699 Transylvania became a territory of the Habsburg's Austrian empire, following the Austrian victory over the Turks. The Austrians, in their turn, rapidly expanded their empire: In 1718 an important part of Wallachia, called Oltenia, was incorporated to the Austrian monarchy and was only returned in 1739.
In 1775 the Austrian empire occupied the north-western part of Moldavia, later called Bukovina, while the eastern half of the principality (called Bessarabia) was occupied in 1812 by Russia.
National awakening of Romania
As in most European countries, 1848 brought revolution to Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania, announced by Tudor Vladimirescu and his Pandurs attempt in 1821. The goals of the revolutionaries - complete independence for the first two and national emancipation in third - remained unfulfilled, but were the basis of the subsequent evolutions. Also, the uprising helped the population of the three principalities recognise their unity of language and interests.
Heavily taxed and badly administered under the Ottoman Empire, in 1859, people in both Moldavia and Wallachia elected the same "Domnitor" (ruler) - Alexandru Ioan Cuza - as prince.
Kingdom of Romania
The Old Kingdom
In 1866, the German prince Carol I (Charles or Karl) of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was appointed as Domnitor of the Principality of Romania, to end the rivalry and struggle for the seat of power by the Romanian boyar factions. In 1877, Romania declared independence from the Ottoman Empire and, following a Russian-Romanian-Turkish war, its independence was recognized by the Treaty of Berlin, 1878, making it the first independent national state in the eastern half of Europe. Following the war Romania acquired Dobruja, but it was forced to cede southern Bessarabia to Russia. Domnitor Carol I was proclaimed the first King of Romania on March 26, 1881.
The new state, squeezed between the great powers of the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and Russian empires, looked to the West, particularly France, for its cultural, educational, military and administrative models. In 1916 Romania entered World War I on the Entente side, in the hope of taking Transylvania from Austria-Hungary.
Romania was beaten, its capital and two-thirds of the country occupied by Central Powers. In May of 1918, Romania surrendered to the Germans. Days before the end of WWI, Romania joined the war again, to nullify the humiliating peace treaty, and to annex Transylvania. By the end of the war, the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires were gone; governing bodies created by the Romanians of Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bukovina chose union with Romania, resulting in Greater Romania.
Greater Romania (România Mare)
The Romanian expression România Mare (literal translation "Great Romania") generally refers to the Romanian state in the years between the First and Second World Wars and, by extension, to the territory Romania covered at the time (see the map). Romania achieved at that time its greatest territorial extent, managing to unite all the historic Romanian lands (which were also inhabited by a majority of Romanians). Historically, "Great Romania" represented one of the ideals of Romanian nationalism. It is still seen by many as a "paradise lost", often by comparison with the "stunted" Communist Romania.
To exploit the nationalistic connotation of the term, a nationalist political party uses it as its name.
The Romanian term "România Mare" is sometimes translated as "Great Romania", both to refer to the historic notion, and to translate the name of the political party.
In 1918, at the end of World War I, Transylvania and Bessarabia united with the Romanian Old Kingdom, Transylvania united by a Proclamation of Union of Alba Iulia voted by the Deputies of the Romanians from Transylvania; Bessarabia, having declared its independence from Russia in 1917 by the Conference of the Country (Sfatul Țarii), called in Romanian troops to protect the province from the Bolsheviks who were spreading the Russian Revolution. The union of the regions of Transylvania, Maramureș, Crișana and Banat with the Old Kingdom of Romania was ratified in 1920 by the Treaty of Trianon which recognised the sovereignty of Romania over these regions and settled the border between the independent Republic of Hungary and the Kingdom of Romania. The union of Bucovina and Bessarabia with Romania was ratified in 1920 by the Treaty of Versailles. Romania had also recently acquired the Southern Dobrudja territory called the Quadrilateral from Bulgaria as a result of its victory in the Second Balkan War in 1913.
The Union of 1918 united most regions with clear Romanian majorities into the boundaries of a single state. However, it also led to the inclusion of various sizable minorities, including Magyars, Germans, Jews, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, etc, for a total of about 28% of the population (Magyars mostly in Transylvania, Germans in Transylvania, Bukovina, and Banat, Ukrainians in Bessarabia and Bukovina, Bulgarians in Dobrudja). Recognized by the Constitution and supported by various laws (education, electoral, etc.), national minorities were represented in Parliament, and several of them created national parties (the Magyars in 1922, the Germans in 1929, the Jews in 1931), although a unique standing of minorities with autonomy on a wide basis, provisioned at the assembly of Transylvanian Romanians on 1st December, 1918 were not fulfilled.
Two periods can be identified in Romania between the two World Wars. From 1918 to 1938, Romania was a liberal constitutional monarchy. Worth mentioning is the rise of the nationalistic, anti-semitic party Iron Guard, which earned about 15% of the votes in the general elections of 1937. From 1938 to 1944, Romania was a dictatorship. The first dictator was King Carol II himself, who abolished the parliamentary regime and ruled with his camarilla. Following the severe territorial losses of 1940, King Carol II was forced to abdicate, replaced with his son King Mihai, but the power was taken by the military dictator Ion Antonescu. In August 1944, Antonescu was arrested by King Mihai.
In 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which stipulated, amongst other things, the Soviet "interest" in Bessarabia.
Romania during World War II
As a result, in 1940, Romania lost territory in both east and west: In June 1940, after issuing an ultimatum to Romania, the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia and northern Bukovina. Two thirds of Bessarabia were combined with a small part of USSR to form the Moldavian SSR. Northern Bukovina and Budjak were apportioned to the Ukrainian SSR. In August 1940, Northern Transylvania was awarded to Hungary by Germany and Italy through the Second Vienna Arbitration.
As a result of the ratification by King Carol II of the yielding of Northern Transylvania to Hungary, southern Dobrudja to Bulgaria, and Bessarabia and northern Bukovina to USSR in 1940, general Ion Antonescu was supported by the army to seize the leadership of Romania. Romania entered World War II under the command of the German Wehrmacht in June 1941, declaring war to the Soviet Union in order to recover Bessarabia and northern Bukovina. Romania was awarded the territory between Nistru and the Southern Bug by Germany to administrate it as Transnistria.
In August 1944, a coup led by King Michael, with support from opposition politicians and the army, deposed the Antonescu dictatorship and put Romania's armies under Red Army command. Romania suffered additional heavy casualties fighting the Nazi Army in Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
The Paris Peace Treaty at the end of World War II rendered the Vienna Dictat void, Northern Transylvania returning to Romania having an autonomous status for a few years, though eventually abolished, but Bessarabia, northern Bukovina and southern Dobrogea weren't recovered. The Moldavian SSR became independent only in 1991, under the name of Republica Moldova.
Communist Romania
Soviet occupation following WWII led to the formation of a communist Peoples' Republic in 1947 and the abdication of king Michael, who went into exile.
In the early 1960s, Romania's communist government began to assert some independence from the Soviet Union. Ceaușescu became head of the Communist Party in 1965 and head of state in 1967. Ceaușescu's denunciation of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and a brief relaxation in internal repression helped give him a positive image both at home and in the West. Seduced by Ceaușescu's "independent" foreign policy, Western leaders were slow to turn against a regime that, by the late 1970s, had become increasingly harsh, arbitrary, and capricious. Rapid economic growth fueled by foreign credits gradually gave way to wrenching austerity and severe political repression.
The decades-long rule of President Nicolae Ceaușescu became increasingly draconian through the 1980s.
December 1989 marked the fall of Ceaușescu and the end of the communist regime in Romania, a violent change, which resulted in more than 1000 deaths during the key events of Timișoara and Bucharest. After a weeklong state of unrest in the city of Timișoara, Ceaușescu lost his grip on power. A mass rally summoned in support of Ceaușescu on December 21, 1989 turned hostile and the Ceaușescu couple was forced to flee Bucharest. However, they ended up in the custody of the army, and after being tried and convicted for "genocide" and other crimes by a kangaroo court, they were executed on December 25, 1989. The series of events known as the Romanian Revolution of 1989 remain to this day a matter of debate, with many conflicting theories as to the motivations and even actions of some of the main players.
Ion Iliescu, a former Communist Party official marginalized by Ceaușescu, attained national recognition as the leader of an impromptu governing coalition, the National Salvation Front (FSN) that proclaimed the restoration of democracy and civil liberties on December 22, 1989. The Communist Party was outlawed, and Ceaușescu's most unpopular measures, such as bans on abortion and contraception, were rolled back.
Romania since 1989
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held on May 20, 1990. Running against representatives of the pre-war National Peasants' Party and National Liberal Party, and taking advantage of FSN's tight control of the national radio and television, Iliescu won 85% of the vote. The FSN secured two-thirds of the seats in Parliament. A university professor with strong family roots in the Communist Party, Petre Roman, was named Prime Minister of the new government, which consisted mainly of former communist officials. The government initiated modest free market reforms.
Because the majority of ministers in the Petre Roman government were ex-communists, anti-communist protesters initiated a round-the-clock anti-government demonstration in University Square, Bucharest in April 1990. Two months later, these protesters, whom the government referred to as "hooligans", were brutally dispersed by the miners from Jiu Valley, called in by President Iliescu; this event became known as the mineriad. The miners also attacked the headquarters and private residences of opposition leaders. Petre Roman's government fell in late September 1991, when the miners returned to Bucharest to demand higher salaries. A technocrat, Theodor Stolojan, was appointed to head an interim government until new elections could be held.
In December 1991, a new constitution was drafted and subsequently adopted, after a popular referendum, which, however, attracted criticism from international observers who accused the government of manipulating the population and even of outright fraud. The constitution was most recently revised by a national referendum on October 18-19, 2003, again plagued by fraud accusations made by internal and international observers. The new constitution, which took effect October 29, 2003, follows the structure of the Constitution of 1991, but makes significant revisions among which the most significant are extension of the presidential mandate, and the guaranteed protection of private property.
March 1992 marked the split of the FSN into two groups: the Democratic National Front (FDSN), led by Ion Iliescu and the Democratic Party (PD), led by Petre Roman. Iliescu won the presidential elections in September 1992 by a clear margin, and his FDSN won the general elections held at the same time. With parliamentary support from the nationalist PUNR (National Unity Party of Romanians), PRM (Great Romania Party), and the ex-communist PSM (Socialist Workers' Party), a new government was formed in November 1992 under Prime Minister Nicolae Văcăroiu, an economist and former Communist Party official. The FDSN changed its name to Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) in July 1993.
Emil Constantinescu of the Democratic Convention (CDR) emerged as the winner of the second round of the 1996 presidential elections and replaced Iliescu as chief of state. The PDSR won the largest number of seats in Parliament, but was unable to form a viable coalition. Constituent parties of the CDR joined the Democratic Party (PD), the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) to form a centrist coalition government, holding 60% of the seats in Parliament. This coalition of sorts frequently struggled for survival, as decisions were often delayed by long periods of negotiations among the involved parties. Nevertheless, this coalition was able to implement several critical reforms. The new coalition government, under prime minister Victor Ciorbea remained in office until March 1998, when Radu Vasile (PNȚCD) took over as prime minister. The former governor of the National Bank, Mugur Isărescu, eventually replaced Radu Vasile as head of the government.
The 2000 elections, brought Iliescu's PSD (Social Democratic Party) back to power (the party, led largely by former Communist officials, had changed its name again from PDSR to PSD) and Iliescu himself won a third term as the country's president. Adrian Năstase became the prime minister of the newly formed government. His rule was shaken by recurring allegations of corruption.
Presidential and parliamentary elections took place again on November 28, 2004. No political party was able to secure a viable parliamentary majority, amidst accusations from international observers and opposition parties alike that the PSD had committed large-scale electoral fraud. There was no winner in the first round of the presidential elections. The joint PNL-PD candidate, Traian Băsescu, won the second round on December 12, 2004 with 51% of the vote and thus became the third post-revolutionary president of Romania. The PNL leader, Călin Popescu Tăriceanu was assigned the difficult task of building a coalition government without including the PSD. In December 2004, the new coalition government (PD, PNL, PUR Romanian Humanist Party - which eventually changed its name to Romanian Conservative Party and UDMR), was sworn in under Prime Minister Tăriceanu.
Romania joined NATO in 2004, and the European Union (EU), alongside Bulgaria, in 2007.
Culture of Romania
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 Poland and Russia; from medieval Greeks and the Byzantine Empire; from a long domination by the Ottoman Empire; from the Hungarians; and from the Germans living in Transylvania. Modern Romanian culture emerged and developed over roughly the last 250 years under a strong influence from Western culture, particularly French and German culture.
The Romanian language is a Romance language. Moreover, some degree of cultural descent from Ancient Rome is clear from the customs and affinities with the other Romance nations.
The Romanian (Vlach) people that appears on records from the 10th century on is already Christian, and Christianity seems to have been adopted here early on, under Latin influence. However, medieval Romanians will gradually adopt Eastern Orthodoxy, under the influence of Constantinople (but through Slavic influence).
Some customs, names and a substratum of words in the Romanian language are considered Dacian influence, although some are also disputed, as is the theory of Daco-Romanian continuity which plays a significant role in Romanian national identity.
The birth of a nation
Between the 11th century and the 14th century the medieval principalities of Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia arose in the area around the Carpathian Mountains. Most of Romanian culture unfolded in these areas, which correspond roughly to the modern nation state of Romania.
Transylvania came under Hungarian influence towards the end of the 11th century and the evolution of the Romanian culture there was therefore somewhat different from in Wallachia and Moldavia. Hungarians brought Roman Catholicism as a religion, as well as foreigners to colonise Transylvania: Saxons in the South, and Szeklers in the west. One of the most important personalities to have been born there is Nicolaus Olahus (Oláh în Hungarian comes from Vlach, an older word for Romanian), historian, politician and bishop in the Kingdom of Hungary and one of the top representatives of humanism in Europe. An important document originating from 1521 is a letter from Neacșu of Câmpulung to the mayor of Brașov about an imminent attack of the Turks written using the Cyrillic alphabet, like most early Romanian writings.
Wallachia and Moldavia were both situated on important commercial routes often crossed by Polish, Saxon, Greek, Armenian, Genovese and Venetian merchants, connecting them well to the evolving culture of medieval Europe. Grigore Ureche's chronicle Letopisețul Țărîi Moldovei (The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia), covering the period from 1359 to 1594, is a very important source of information about life, events and personalities in Moldavia. It is among the first non-religious Romanian literary texts; due to its size and the information that it contains it is, probably, the most important Romanian document from the 17th century.
At the end of the 17th and the beginning of 18th century, European humanism influenced the works of Miron Costin and Ion Neculce, the chroniclers who continued Ureche's work. Constantin Brâncoveanu, prince of Wallachia, was a great patron of the arts and was a local Renaissance figure. During Șerban Cantacuzino's reign the monks at the monastery of Snagov, near Bucharest published in 1688 the first translated and printed Romanian Bible (Biblia de la București - The Bucharest Bible). The first successful attempts at written Romanian-language poetry were made in 1673 when Dosoftei, a Moldavian metropolitan, published a Romanian metrical psalter.
Dimitrie Cantemir, a Moldavian prince, was undoubtedly the greatest personality of the medieval period in Moldavia. He was a prolific man of letters with interests in philosophy, history, music, linguistics, ethnography and geography. The most important works containing information about the Romanian regions were Descriptio Moldaviae published in 1769 and Hronicul vechimii a romano-moldo-valahilor (roughly, Chronicle of the durability of Romans-Moldavians-Wallachians), the first critical history of Romania.
Classical age
In Transylvania, although they formed a majority of the population, Romanians were merely seen as a "tolerated nation" by the Austrian leadership of the province, and were not proportionally represented in political life and the Transylvanian Diet. At the end of the 18th century an emancipation movement known as the Transylvanian School (Școala Ardeleană) formed, which emphasized the ancient Roman origins of the Romanian people and created the modern Latin-based Romanian alphabet (which eventually supplanted an earlier Cyrillic script). It also accepted the leadership of the pope over the Romanian church of Transylvania, thus forming the Romanian Greek-Catholic Uniate Church. In 1791 they issued a petition to Emperor Leopold II of Austria, named Supplex Libellus Valachorum based on the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, demanding equal political rights with the other ethnicities for the Romanians in Transylvania and thus starting the movement of national awakening.
The end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century was marked in Wallachia and Moldavia by the reigns of Phanariote Princes; thus the two principalities were heavily influenced by the Greek world. Greek schools appeared in the principalities and in 1818 the first Romanian School was founded in Bucharest by Gheorghe Lazăr and Ion Heliade Rădulescu. Anton Pann was a successful novelist, Ienăchiță Văcărescu wrote the first Romanian grammar and his nephew Iancu Văcărescu is considered to be the first important Romanian poet.
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 Mureșanu (publicist and the writer of the current Romanian National Anthem) and Nicolae Bălcescu (historian, writer and revolutionary).
The union between Wallachia and Moldavia in 1859 brought a growing consolidation of Romanian life and culture. Universities were opened in Iași and in Bucharest and the number of new cultural establishments grew significantly. The new prince from 1866 and then King of Romania Carol I was a devoted king, and he and his wife Elisabeth were among the main patrons of arts. Of great impact in Romanian literature was the literary circle Junimea, founded by a group of people around the literary critic Titu Maiorescu in 1863. It published its cultural journal Convorbiri Literare where, among others, Mihai Eminescu, Romania's greatest poet, Ion Creangă, a storyteller of genius, and Ion Luca Caragiale, novelist and the Romania's greatest playwright published most of their works. During the same period Nicolae Grigorescu and Ștefan Luchian founded modern Romanian painting; composer Ciprian Porumbescu was also from this time.
In Transylvania, the emancipation movement became better organised and in 1861 an important cultural organisation ASTRA (The Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and the Culture of the Romanian People) was founded in Sibiu under the close supervision of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan Andrei Șaguna. It helped publish a great number of Romanian language books and newspapers, and between 1898 and 1904 it published a Romanian Encyclopedia. Among the greatest personalities from this period are: the novelist and publicist Ioan Slavici, the poet and publicist George Coșbuc, the poet Ștefan Octavian Iosif, the historian and founder of Romanian press in Transylvania George Barițiu and Badea Gheorghe Cârțan, a simple peasant shepherd from Southern Transylvania who, through his actions became a symbol of the emancipation movement.
Golden age
The first half of the 20th century is regarded by many as the golden age of Romanian culture and it is the period when it reached its main level of international affirmation and a strong connection to the European cultural trends. The most important artist who had a great influence on the world culture was the sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, a central figure of the modern movement and a pioneer of abstraction.
The relationship between traditional and Western European trends was a subject of heated polemics and outstanding personalities sustained the debates. The playwright, expressionist poet and philosopher Lucian Blaga can be cited as a member of the traditionalist group and the literary critic founder of the literary circle and cultural journal Sburătorul, Eugen Lovinescu, represents the so-called Westernizing group, which sought to bring Romanian culture closer to Western European culture. Also, George Călinescu was a more complex writer who, among different literary creations, produced the monumental "History of the Romanian literature, from its origins till present day".
The beginning of the 20th century was also a prolific period for Romanian prose, with personalities such as the novelist Liviu Rebreanu, who described the struggles in the traditional society and the horrors of war, Mihail Sadoveanu, a writer of novels of epic proportions with inspiration in the medieval history of Moldavia, and Camil Petrescu was a more modern writer distinguishing himself through the analytical prose writing. In dramaturgy, Mihail Sebastian was an influential writer and as the number of theaters grew also did the number of actors, Lucia Sturdza Bulandra being an actress representative of this period.
Alongside Lucian Blaga, a poet of an equal importance was Tudor Arghezi who was the first to revolutionize the poetry in the last 50 years. One should not neglect the poems of George Bacovia a symbolist poet of neurosis and despair and those of Ion Barbu a brilliant mathematician who wrote a series of very successful cryptic poems. Tristan Tzara and Marcel Janco, founders of the Dadaist movement, were also of Romanian origin.
The period was dominated by the overwhelming personality of the historian and politician Nicolae Iorga who, during his lifetime published over 1,250 books and wrote more than 25,000 articles. In music, the composer George Enescu and pianist Dinu Lipatti became world famous. The number of important Romanian painters also grew, and the most significant ones were: Nicolae Tonitza, Camil Ressu, Lucian Grigorescu and Theodor Pallady. In medicine a great contribution to human society was the discovery of insulin by the romanian scientist Nicolae Paulescu. Also Gheorghe Marinescu was an important neurologist and Victor Babeș was one of the earliest bacteriologists. In mathematics Gheorghe Țițeica was one of romania's greatest mathematicians, and also an important personality was the mathematician/poet Dan Barbilian.
Post-war period
Romanians in exile
After World War II, due to the occupation by the Red Army and the establishment of a communist regime in Romania, a great number of Romanian cultural personalities left the country, some of them managing to make a mark on the international cultural scene. Three individuals emerged as the most important Romanians abroad: playwright Eugen Ionescu (who became known in France as Eugène Ionesco), creator of the theatre of the absurd and eventual member of the Académie française; religious historian and writer Mircea Eliade; and the essayist and philosopher Emil Cioran. Fellow Romanian Ioan Petre Culianu continued Eliade's work with great success, in the United States.
Well-known Romanian musicians outside of Romania during this period include conductors Sergiu Celibidache—the main conductor at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and later of Munich Philharmonic Orchestra—and Constantin Silvestri, main conductor at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Gheorghe Zamfir was a virtuoso of the pan pipes and made this instrument known to a modern worldwide audience, and was also also a composer or interpreter for a great number of movies. Composer and architect Iannis Xenakis was born in Romania and spent his childhood there.
George Emil Palade a cell biologist and a teacher became the first Romanian to receive the Nobel Prize, winning the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for describing the structure and function of organelles in cells. Elie Wiesel, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, was born in the Romanian town of Sighetu Marmației.
Culture inside communist Romania
In Romania, the communist regime imposed heavy censorship an almost all elements of life and they used the cultural world as a mean to better control the population. Two currents appeared: one that glorified the regime and another that tried to avoid censorship. The first is of almost no lasting cultural value, but the second managed to create valuable works, successfully avoiding censorship and being very well received by the general public. From this period the most outstanding personalities are those of: the writer Marin Preda, the poets Nichita Stănescu and Marin Sorescu, and the literary critics Nicolae Manolescu and Eugen Simion. Most dissidents who chose not to emigrate lived a life closely watched by the regime, either in "house arrest" or in "forced domicile"; some chose to retreat to remote monasteries. Most of their work was published after the 1989 Revolution. Among the most notable examples are the philosophers Constantin Noica, Petre Țuțea and Nicolae Steinhardt.
A strong editorial activity took place during the Communist regime. With the purpose of educating the "large masses" of peoples, a huge number of books were published. Large-scale editing houses such as Cartea Românească, Editura Eminescu and others appeared, which published huge collections of books, such as the Biblioteca pentru Toți ("The Library for Everyone") with over 5,000 titles. Generally, a book was never published in an edition of less than 50,000 copies. Libraries appeared in every village and almost all were kept up to date with the newest books published. Also, due to low prices, almost everyone could afford to have their own collection of books at home. The negative part was that all the books were heavily censored, and usually sought to promote Communist ideals. Also, due to rationing in every aspect of life, the quality of the printing and the paper also was very low, and the books therefore degraded easily.
During this period, there was a significant increase in the number of theatres, as they appeared even in the smallest towns. Many new establishments were built and in the big cities they became important landmarks, such as the building of the National Theatre of Bucharest, situated right in the middle of the city, immediately adjacent to Romania's kilometre zero. In the smaller towns, there existed the so-called "Worker's Theatre", a semi-professional institution. Partly due to the lack of other entertainment venues, theatre was highly popular and the number of actors increased. All of the theatres had a stable, state-funded budget. Again, however, the drawback was the heavy control imposed on them by the regime: censorship was very present and only ideologically-accepted plays were allowed. More progressive theatres managed to survive in some remote cities that became favorite destinations for young actors, but they generally had only a local audience.
Cinemas evolved the same way as the theatres; sometimes the same establishment served both purposes. Movies were very popular, and from the 1960s, foreign films started becoming quite widespread. Western films, when shown, were heavily censored: entire sections were cut, and dialogue was translated only using ideologicaly accepted words. Domestic or "friendly" foreign productions constituted the bulk of films in cinemas. During this period, cinematography started to develop in Romania and the first successful short films were made based on Caragiale's plays. Financed by the government, during the 1960s, a whole industry developed at Buftea, a town close to Bucharest, and some films, especially gangster, Western-genre and historical movies were very well received by the public. The most prolific director was Sergiu Nicolaescu, and probably the most-acclaimed actor from that period was Amza Pellea.
Romanian folklore
The most striking thing about Romanian culture is the strong folk traditions which have survived to this day due to the rural character of the Romanian communities, which has resulted in an exceptionally vital and creative traditional culture. Romania's rich folk traditions have been nourished by many sources, some of which predate the Roman occupation. Traditional folk arts include wood carving, ceramics, weaving and embroidery of costumes, household decorations, dance, and richly varied folk music. Ethnographers have tried to collect in the last two centuries as many elements as possible: the Museum of the Romanian Peasant and the Romanian Academy are currently the main institutions which systematically organise the data and continue the research.
Wood used to be the main construction material, and heavily ornamented wooden objects were common in old houses. In Maramureș wood was used to create impressive structures such as churches or gates, in Dobruja windmills were made of wood, and in mountainous regions hardwood was used even for covering the roof. To preserve traditional houses many village museums have been created in the last century throughout Romania, such as the Village Museum in Bucharest, the Traditional Popular Civilisation ASTRA Museum in Sibiu or the Oltenian Village Museum in Râmnicu Vâlcea.
Linen was the most common material for clothing, combined with wool during the winter or colder periods. These are embroidered with traditional motifs that vary from region to region. Black is the most common colour used, but red and blue are predominant in certain areas. Traditionally, men wore a white shirt and pants (if made of wool they are called ițari) with wide a leather belt, usually over the shirt, and a vest sometimes made of leather and embroidered. They wore either boots or a simple shoe made of leather and tied around the foot called opincă and they wore a hat which differs in design from region to region. Women also wore a white skirt and a shirt with a vest. They wore an apron called șorț or cătrință which is also embroidered and a headscarf called basma;on special occasions they wore more elaborate outfits.
Music and dance represent a lively part of the Romanian folklore and there are a great variety of musical genres and dances. Party music is very lively and shows both Balkan and Hungarian influences. Sentimental music, however, is the most valued, and Romanians consider their doina (a sad song either about one's home or about love, composed like an epic ballad) unique in the world. Maria Tănase is considered to be one of the greatest Romanian folk singers and today Grigore Leșe and Taraful Haiducilor are two of the most famous musicians. The dances are lively and are practiced throughout Romania by a large number of professional and amateur groups, thus keeping the tradition alive; Hora is one of the most famous group dances but men's folk dances such as călușari are extremely complex and have been declared by UNESCO to be "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritages of Humanity".
Romanians have had, from time immemorial, a myriad of customs, tales and poems about love, faith, kings, princesses, and witches. Ethnologists, poets, writers and historians have tried in recent centuries to collect and to preserve tales, poems, ballads and have tried to describe as well as possible the customs and habits related to different events and times of year. Customs related to certain times of year are the colinde - Romanian Christmas carols, sorcova on New Year's Eve or the Mărțișor custom on the 1st of March marking the spring. Other customs are presumably of pre-Christian pagan origin, like the Paparuda rain enchanting custom in the summer, or the masked folk theatre or Ursul (the bear) and Capra (the goat) in winter.
Perhaps the most successful collector of folk tales was the novelist and storyteller Ion Creangă, who, in very picturesque language, shaped into their now-classic form stories like Harap Alb (roughly, "The White Prince") or Fata babei și fata moșului (roughly, "The old woman's girl and the old man's girl"). Also, the poet Vasile Alecsandri published the most successful version of the ballad Miorița (The Little Ewe), a sad, philosophical poem, centered around a simple action: the plot by two shepherds to kill a third shepherd because they envied his wealth. Another prolific editor of folk tales was Petre Ispirescu, who, in the 19th century published an impressive number of volumes containing a large number of short novels and tales from popular mythology. They are centered around popular characters like the prince Făt-Frumos (the Romanian "Prince Charming"), the princess Ileana Cosânzeana, the villain or monster Zmeu or Căpcăun, the dragon Balaur or fantastic superbeings like the good Zână and the evil Muma Pădurii.
Spirituality and religion
Romanian spirituality is greatly influenced by its strong connections with the Eastern Christian world. Romanians have thus obtained an unique sense of identity and two clichés can simply express this: An island of Latinity in a Slavic sea and The only Orthodox Christian Latin people. There are only a few Romanian Catholics (of both the Roman and Greek rites) and a small number of Protestants, the vast majority of Romanians being Romanian Orthodox (over 90%). Despite the diminishing the importance of church in recent generations, it remains the most trusted institution in Romania. Church attendance is high in rural communities and among the elders in the cities. Also, despite accusations of collaborationism with the communist regime which continue to plague the Romanian Church, outstanding personalities have kept their verticality and became widely respected like the priest Dumitru Stăniloae who is considered one of the greatest world theologians in the recent period.
Romanian Orthodox monasteries and churches exist throughout Romania but, traditionally, few are constructed on a monumental scale. A great number of wooden churches are still intact in the Carpathian Mountains villages, but by far the most impressive are the Wooden Churches of Maramureș which push wood building technique to its limits. Byzantine influences can be found in most Romanian church buildings but domestic styles have evolved in different periods of time and in different regions. In Northern Moldavia a particular style was used in the construction of the monasteries, of which the most important are the painted monasteries of Bucovina - UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as those of Moldovița, Putna, Sucevița, and Voroneț. In Wallachia Curtea de Argeș Cathedral is built in a Byzantine style with Moorish influences, and a great number of churches show Greek influences, especially those built in the 18th century, such as Stavropoleos Church in central Bucharest. Romania also evolved the distincive Brâncovenesc style: the monasteries of Snagov and of Sâmbăta de Sus in Transylvania are classical examples.
Romanian cuisine
Romanians like to eat, and they eat a lot with a great diversity. An existential Romanian question is: Do we live to eat, or eat to live?. A great number of proverbs and sayings have developed around the activity of eating. From the innocent child's thank you: Sărut-mâna pentru masă, c-a fost bună și gustoasă, și bucătăreasa grasă ("Thank you for the meal, it was good and tasty, and the cook was fat"), to the more philosophical Mulțumescu-ți ție Doamne, c-am mâncat și iar mi-e foame ("Thank you Lord, for I have eaten, but I am hungry again"), Dragostea trece prin stomac ("Love passes through the stomach"), or the simple Pofta vine mâncănd ("Appetite comes while eating") or the sarcastic Porcul mănâncă orice, dar se-ngrașă pentru alții ("The pig would eat anything but it gets fat for others") or the expression of total fulfillment, Mâncat bine, băut bine, dimineața sculat mort ("Ate well, drank well, in the morning woke up dead").
Recipes bear the same influences as the rest of Romanian culture: from Roman times there still exists the simple pie called, in Romanian, plăcintă and keeping the initial meaning of the Latin word placenta. The Turks brought meatballs (fried mititei or perișoare in a soup called a ciorba); from the Greeks there is the musaca (moussaka); from the Bulgarians, a wide variety of vegetable dishes like zacuscă; from the Austrians there is the șnițel (schnitzel) and covrigi (hot pretzels); from the Hungarians, their ornate pastries; and the list could go on.
One of the most common meals is the mămăliga, a cornmeal mush, for a long time considered the poor man's meal (N-are nici o mămăligă pe masă - "He hasn't even a mămăliga on the table"), but it has became very appreciated in recent times. Pork is the main meat used in Romanian cuisine (Peștele cel mai bun, tot porcul rămâne - "The best fish is always the pork"), but also beef is consumed and a good lamb or fish dish is never to be refused. In conjunction with special events or periods, different recipes are prepared. During Christmas, traditionally every family slaughters a pig and cooks it using a wide variety of traditional recipes like cărnați - a kind of long sausages with meat; cartaboși - sausages made with liver and other intestines; piftie a jelly made from parts like the feet, the head and ears; and also tochitură (a kind of stew) is served along with mămăligă and wine ("so that the pork can swim") and of course sweetened with the traditional cozonac (sweet bread with nuts or lokum - rahat in Romanian, known in English as Turkish delight). Lamb is traditional for Easter: the main dishes are roast lamb and drob - a cooked mix of intestines, meat and fresh vegetables, mainly green onion, seved with pască (pie made with cottage cheese) as a sweetener.
Wine is the main drink and has a tradition of over two millennia. Romania is currently the world's ninth largest wine producer, and recently the exports have started to grow. A wide variety of domestic (Fetească, Grasă, Tamâioasa) and worldwide (Italian Riesling, Merlot, Sauvignon blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Muscat Ottonel) varieties are produced. Also Romania is the world's second largest grower of plums, and almost all of those plums becomes either the famous țuică (a once-refined plum brandy) or palincă (twice-or-more-refined plum brandy). Also beer is highly appreciated, generally blonde pilsener beer, after the German style.
See Romanian Recipes:Last update on 14 March 2008
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