17 things you need to

know about Romania

 1.
Romania has the most
beautiful waterfall in the
world: Bigăr Waterfall.
According to The World
Geography site, it is
worthy of this title
because of the unique
way the water falls.
 2.
Since we’re talking about the
natural beauty of our country, it
wouldn’t be fair not to talk about
Transfăgărășan. It is a paved
mountain road crossing the
southern section of the Carpathian
Mountains. It stretches between the
highest peaks in the country,
Moldoveanu and Negoiu. The road
was built in 1970 as a strategic
military route, connecting the
historic regions of Transylvania and
Wallachia.
 3.
Timișoara was the first
city in Europe to be lit by
electric street lights, in
1889. As per
international standards,
it was second only to
New York City.
 4.

Insulin was discovered by Romanian

physiologist and professor of
medicine Nicolae Paulescu. Still, two
Canadian scientists were awarded
with a Nobel for their research of
Insulin.
 5.
The world’s first
fountain pen was
invented by Petrache
Poenaru, a Romanian
inventor of the
Enlightenment era
who had in mind the
idea of the pen that
refills itself.
 7.
The statue of
Decebalus, the last
king of Dacia, is the
largest rock sculpture
in Europe. It is sculpted
on the Danube shore
and can be reached
only by boat.
 8.
Romania is also the
homeland of Traian
Vuia, a pioneer of
international aviation.
He was the first person
to ever make a self-
propelled flight with a
machine heavier than
air.
 9.
The Palace of the Parliament in
Bucharest is the second largest
building in the world, after the
Pantheon. Built by former
Romanian dictator, Nicolae
Ceaușescu, the Palace of the
Parliament, also known as the
People’s House, it is the largest,
heaviest and most expensive
civil administration building on
the planet. It can also be seen
from space.
 10.

Romania is Europe’s richest

country in gold resources.
 11.
Romania has the most
unique cemetery in the
world: the Merry
Cemetery, in Săpânța.
What makes it different
are the brightly colored
crosses and naive
descriptions of the
passed-away’s lives.
 12.
Romania is the
ninth wine
producer in the
world.
 13.

Romania’s national currency is Leu,

which means lion in English. It can also
be called RON.
1 euro= 4,45 lei/ron.
 14.

The Danube Delta is the second

largest river delta in Europe, after
the Volga Delta, and is the best
preserved on the continent. It
features no less than 23 natural
ecosystems, boasting an amazing
variety of unique flora and fauna.
The Danube Delta is the largest
home for over 300 resident and
migratory species of birds, mainly
because of its crossroad location
(parallel 45) between the Equator
and the North Pole.
 15.
Romania is
responsible for
Dracula. Bram
Stocker’s inspiration
for his notorious novel
is the frightening
Wallachian ruler,
Vlad Țepes.
 16.
The country gave the world
Nadia Comăneci. The first
Olympic gymnast ever to
achieve a perfect score. In
1976, the 14 year old Romanian
made history at the Montreal
games by scoring a maximum
of 10 on the uneven bars. This
had previously been thought
impossible, so much so that the
score board could not show the
actual score.
 17.
The forests in Romania
are the last place in
Europe where the
brown bear can be
found. There are
approximately 6,000
bears living in the
country’s Carpathian
region.