About Romania

The Romanian territory is a classical geographical example of unity in diversity. The Carpathians, the Danube and
the Black ea are the three elements !hose mixture leads to the unity and originality of the Romanian territory
called the Carpathian"Danubian"#ontic space. $f the Carpathians have al!ays been the backbone of the Romanian
land and the Danube has connected the Romanians to the sea and the rest of the !orld, then the Black ea has
al!ays been a crossing place of international traffic offering the Romanians the opportunity to participate in this
commercial circuit.
Born in the Carpathian"Danubian"#ontic space, the Romanian people, descending from the Dacians and the Romans,
represents in the ethno"cultural space of %urope one of the oldest people, having according to the historian &icolae
lorga, 'roots !hich are four times millenial'.
(orced to suffer the !ild attacks of migratory people for a long time, the Romanians constituted themselves into
independent states in the )*th century by uniting the existent pre"state territories. Although historic circumstances
prevented the forming of a uni+ue Romanian state for a long time there have al!ays existed common origins,
traditions and customs, a unitary geographic frame and community of language.
$n ),-., as a result of an immense internal effort and a favourable external context, the /nion of 0oldavia and
1allachia !as achieved by the election of Alexandru loan Cu2a as #rince of both states. 'The mall /nion' !as
consolidated by a reforming !ork !hich %uropeani2ed the ne! state and enabled it to make itselfkno!n in external
affairs.
The decisive step to!ards the constituting of the Romanian /nitary &ational tate !as taken during the year ).),.
By uniting all the Romanian territories some of !hich had been under foreign rule3 Basarabia, Bucovina, Banat and
Transilvania, the 4reat /nion !as accomplished in Alba lulia on December )st, ).),.
The anti"communist revolution of December ).,. sho!ed the Romanians5 option for democracy and liberty. But it
looks like this democracy turned into a kind of chaos the people are massivelly still influenced by the communists.
Thoroughly %uropean, Romania has given the !orld cultural patrimony great personalities3 the scholar Dimitrie
Cantemir, the sculptor Constantin Brancusi, the musician 4eorge %nescu, the inventor 6enri Coand7, the diplomat
&icolae Titulescu, the historian &icolae lorga, the dramatist %ugen lonescu, the historian 0ircea %liade, the
mathematician 4rigore 0oisil.
Representing an oasis of 8atinity in this part of the !orld, the Romanians confirm the statement made by the
Romanian historian &icolae lorga3 '1e have remained Romanians because !e could not part from the memory of
Rome'.
09 6:0%T:1& $A$
$a;i or <assy, city in eastern Romania and capital of $a;i County, on the Bahlui River =a tributary of the #rut River>.
The city is an important communications and commercial center. Chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and plastics rank
among the chief products. $a;i is the seat of the :rthodox metropolitan region of 0oldavia and of a Roman Catholic
archbishopric. #laces of interest include a cathedral, t!o )-th"century churches, a library housing the chief records
of Romanian history, and the first Romanian university, the Al. $. Cu2a /niversity of $a;i =founded in ),?@>.
(ounded before the )*th century, $a;i !as the capital of the principality of 0oldavia from )-?- to about ),?@. $t
!as burned repeatedly3 by the Tatars in )-)A, by the Turks in )-A,, and by the Russians in )?,?. The Treaty of
<assy =)B.C> concluded the Russo"Turkish 1ar of )B,B =see Russo"Turkish 1ars>. During 1orld 1ar $ =).)*"
).),>, $a;i temporarily replaced Bucharest as the capital of Romania. #opulation =)..C> A*C,..*.
B8ACD %A R%:RT
""The coastal regions to the south of Constanta and in 0amaia have been developed into an extended resort area
!ith the usual !ater"sport activities and some health"spa facilities. 4enerally speaking, the resorts aren5t as nice as
those in Bulgaria, and the !ater on the Romanian coast is also less clear.
The hotels in the resort area of 0amaia =* miE? km north of Constanta> tend to look like giant replicas of the
concrete blocks of !hich they5re constructed. The hotels are on a narro! strip of land separating the sea from the
fresh !ater of 8ake iutghiol =the resorts face the sea, but to rinse off in the lake, you merely have to cross the road
in front of your hotel>. Tennis, bo!ling and a miniature golf course are near the hotels. Club 0ed has recently
reopened and is the best property in the region. The next best, in our opinion, is the Fega. 4enerally speaking,
0amaia is all right, but is really only recommended if you !ant to be near Constanta dur ing your stay. =ee also
Constanta.>
There5s more room bet!een properties south of to!n. The first maGor resort in that direction is %forie &ord, !hich
speciali2es in therapeutic mud and !ater treatments =see also pas>. $ts sister resort, %forie ud, is south of it. %forie
ud is the oldest resort in the area""the current property !as founded in ),.C, and there !as a Roman spa in the area
C,*@@ years earlier. &either of the %forie complexes are directly on the beach, and the !alk from the properties to
the !ater ent ails !alking do!n steps along the face of a cliff =the %forie &ord beach has almost completely eroded
a!ay, and once you reach the !ater, you have a 'lovely' vie! of the area5s industrial complexes>.
The best resorts""though their beaches aren5t particularly !ide, and they5re very cro!ded in the summer""are farther
south yet3 &eptune, <upiter, Fenus and aturn =one indication of their desirability is that former dictator Ceausescu
had his private vacation villa built in the area>. &eptune is the best of the bunch. The spaEresort farthest south is
0angaliaH it, too, makes therapeutic claims.
$t5s possible to camp at various points along the sea, and you5ll find that the beaches at the campgrounds are,
generally speaking, much less cro!ded. The grounds are not very developed, ho!ever, so take your o!n food.
There5s a nudist campground north of Constanta at #ortit2a.
BRA&
""/sually seen either as a day trip from Brasov =)B miEC, km north""see separate paragraph> or en route bet!een
Brasov and Bucharest =B@ miE))A km north by north!est of Bucharest>, this Transylvanian village is kno!n for its
)*th"century castle perched atop a ).B"ftE?@"m peak. Dno!n as Bran castle, it !as built in )AB@ as a fortress against
marauding Turks !ho s!ept across the 1allachian plain on their !ay to con+uer Transylvania. #erched deep in the
Carpathian 0ountains in the heart of rural Romania, the fortress, kno!n as Dracula5s Castle, attracts as many as
*,@@@ visitors a day from around the !orld. #lan to vie! its displays of feudal art, arms, statuary, furniture and
hunting trophies. Also Bran !as the summer home of Romanian royalty.
Flad the $mpaler, the )-th century prince of 1allachia !ho !as infamous for impaling his enemies on spikes, often
stayed at the castle. 6e also is believed to have been imprisoned there for a short period. The prince5s lust for blood
and his cruelty inspired fear and enduring legends among the local axon settlers, !ho built the Bran fortress on a
rocky hilltop surrounded by thick !oods and tall mountain gorges.
Flad the $mpeler is believed to be the inspiration for %nglish !riter Bram toker5s ).th century 'Dracula,55 a novel
that has been the basis for numerous vampire films. Flad the $mpeller5s father !as called Flad Dracul. Dracul means
IIthe devil55 in Romanian. The castle has undergone extensive restoration and is in good shape. $s easiest to see by
rental car, as only one %nglish" language tour goes there from Brasov each !eek.
#easants in the nearby Bran village thrive on the tourist spin"offs of the Dracula myth, selling coarse !ool s!eaters
depicting medieval Romanian #rince Flad Tepes, role model for ).th century novelist Bram toker5s vampire
Count. They spin yarns of #rince Tepes =The $mpaler>, said to have spent a fortnight at the castle some -@@ years
ago.
T6% DA&/B% A&D T6% DA&/B% D%8TA
Danube =ancient Danubius, and in the lo!er part of its course, $sterH 4erman DonauH lovak DunaGH 6ungarian
DunaH erbo"Croatian and Bulgarian DunavH Romanian Dun7reaH /krainian Dunay>, second longest river in %urope,
and one of the principal transportation arteries on the continent. $t is the only maGor %uropean river to flo! from
!est to east. $t rises in the Black (orest region of 4ermany and flo!s in a generally easterly direction for a distance
of about C,-@ km =)BB@ mi>, emptying, on the Romanian coast, into the Black ea. The delta of the Danube is a
region of desolate marshes and s!amps, broken by tree"covered elevations. The Danube is navigable by ocean
vessels to Br7ila, Romania, and by river craft as far as /lm in 4ermany, a distance of about C?@@ km =)?@@ mi>.
About ?@ of the approximately A@@ tributaries of the Danube are navigable. The principal ones, in the order in !hich
they merge !ith the Danube, include the 8ech, $sar, $nn, 0orava, FJh, Raab =RJba>, Drava =Drau>, Tis2a, ava,
iret, and #rut. The Danube basin, more than BBB,@@@ s+ km =more than A@@,@@@ s+ mi> in area, includes parts of
4ermany, Austria, lovakia, 6ungary, the (ederal Republic of 9ugoslavia =erbia and 0ontenegro>, Croatia,
Bosnia and 6er2egovina, lovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, and /kraine. $mportant cities on the river include /lm,
Regensburg, and #assau, in 4ermanyH 8in2 and Fienna, in AustriaH Bratislava, lovakiaH Budapest, 6ungaryH
Belgrade, erbiaH and 4alaKi and Br7ila, in Romania. Canals link the Danube to the 0ain, Rhine, and :dra =:der>
rivers, providing a commercial route bet!een the Black and &orth seas. The Danube Falley bet!een 8in2 and
Fienna, Austria, is noted for its beautiful scenery.
everal countries have built dams and hydroelectric po!er plants on the Danube. $n the early ).B@s the $ron 4ate
hydroelectric proGect !as completed as a Goint effort bet!een the governments of Romania and the former
9ugoslavia. 8ocated at the $ron 4ate gorge on the border of Romania and erbia =!hich inherited 9ugoslavia5s
portion of the proGect !hen that country dissolved in )..) and )..C>, the proGect includes a dam and t!o po!er
plants. The construction of the 4abLMkovo dam, located in southern lovakia, began in the ).,@s and !as completed
in late )..C.
The Danube has al!ays been an important route bet!een !estern %urope and the Black ea. $t formed, in the Ard
century AD, the northern boundary of the Roman %mpire in southeastern %urope. %arly in the 0iddle Ages 4oths,
6uns, Avars, lavs, 0agyars, and other migratory peoples crossed the Danube on their !ay to invade the Roman,
and later the By2antine, %mpire. $t served as an artery for the Crusaders into By2antium =Constantinople> and from
there to the 6oly 8andH later it eased the advancement =beginning at the end of the )*th century> of the :ttomans
into !estern and central %urope. $n the ).th century it became an essential link bet!een the gro!ing industrial
centers of 4ermany and the agricultural areas of the Balkan #eninsula. At that time, most of the river5s middle and
upper course lay !ithin the Austrian %mpireH the lo!er part belonged to the decaying :ttoman %mpire. As :ttoman
control over the Balkans !eakened, Austria and the other %uropean po!ers moved to prevent Russia from ac+uiring
the strategic Danube delta.
By the terms of the Treaty of #aris =),-?>, !hich ended the Crimean 1ar, a %uropean commission !as established
to control the delta. The commission made a number of changes in the delta and in the lo!er reaches of the river
beneficial to navigation. The Treaty of Fersailles =).).>, concluding 1orld 1ar $, confirmed the %uropean
commission, and set up another one to control the Danube above the delta. During 1orld 1ar $$ =).A.").*-> the
commissions !ere abolished by &a2i 4ermany, !hich controlled all of the river from ).*@ to ).**. After the !ar
the Communist"bloc nations bordering the river formed a ne! Danube Commission, head+uartered at Budapest.
Austria !as admitted in ).?@ and 1est 4ermany in ).?A.
$n the late ).B@s the C2echoslovak and 6ungarian governments launched the 4abLMkovo"&agymaros hydroelectric
proGect on the section of the Danube that formed the boundary bet!een the t!o countries. The proGect called for the
construction of t!o maGor dams, one at &agymaros in 6ungary, and the other at 4abLMkovo in eastern
C2echoslovakia =no! lovakia>. 6o!ever, in ).,. 6ungary abandoned the proGect, claiming that the dams and the
net!ork of canals and reservoirs surrounding them !ould change the flo! of the river and thus damage the
surrounding environment. C2echoslovakia proceeded !ith the construction of the 4abLMkovo dam, despite angry
protests from the 6ungarian government, !hich demanded that the international boundary bet!een the t!o
countries be redra!n to reflect the Danube5s north!ard shift. lovakia inherited the dispute !hen it became an
independent country in <anuary )..A. That year, the lovak and 6ungarian governments referred the dispute to the
$nternational Court of <ustice at The 6ague, &etherlands, for mediation. $n )..B the court ruled that both countries
had violated the original hydroelectric proGect agreement and ordered them to compensate one another and continue
negotiations.