3. Geography and Climate
Romania’s territory is almost
evenly divided between
mountains, hills and
plains.
The Danube Delta is a
UNESCO Biosphere
Reservation and the natural
habitat for rare species of
plants and animals.
The Black Sea Coast
stretches over about 245 km.
Romania has a temperate
climate with four distinctive
seasons.
4. Cities, Ethnic and Religious Groups
Main Cities: București (about
1 million and a half
inhabitants), Cluj-Napoca
(almost 310.000), Timișoara
(about 303.000), Iași (about
260.000), Constanța (about
250.000).
Ethnic Groups: Romanian
89%, Hungarian 6.5%,
Gypsy 3,2%, Ukrainian,
German and Other 1,3%
Religious Groups: Christian
Orthodox 78%, Greek-
Catholic 10%, Roman
Catholic 5%, Protestant 5%,
Jewish, Unitarian 2%
5. History
The territory of Romania has been inhabited
since the Paleolithic Age as evidenced by
carved stone tools discovered here.
101-106 AD Romans conquer Dacia (today’s
Romania).
In the 13th century the Principalities of
Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania are
established.
1600 Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania
are briefly united under Michael the Brave.
1862 Wallachia and Moldavia unite again to
form a national state , Romania.
1918 Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bucovina
declare their union with Romania.
1947 Romania enters the sphere of influence
of the Soviet Union.
1989 a national uprising leads to the end of
the communist rule in Romania.
2004 Romania joins NATO.
2007 Romania becomes member of the
European Union.
6. Some Attractions
Castles and Fortresses
Medieval Towns
The Painted Monasteries of Bucovina
The Wooden Churches of Maramureș
7. Biertan Fortified Church
A 15th century fortified
church placed on a hill in
the middle of Biertan
village in Transylvania.
The Biertan village was
first mentioned in an
official dosument in
1283.
The Biertan Fortified
Church is an UNECO
World Heritage Site.
8. Bran Castle
The Bran Castle is
situated in Transylvania
and first documented in
1377.
From 1920 to 1957 the
castle served as a
residence for the
Romania royal family.
Today, the Bran Castle is
a museum.
9. Peleș Castle
The Peleș Castle is situated in
Sinaia at the foot of the Bucegi
Mountains.
It is considered a masterpiece of
the new-Renaissance
architecture.
Commissioned by King Carol I in
1873 and completed in 1883, the
castle served as the summer
residence of the royal family until
1947.
The Peleș Castle was the first
European castle entirely lit by
electrical current. The electricity
was produced by the castle’s own
plant.
The first movie projection in
Romania took place in 1906 in
the castle’s Theater Hall.
10. Sighișoara Medieval Town
Sighișoara is considered an intact
15th century gem with nine towers,
narrow passageways and cobbled
streets, burgher houses and ornate
churches.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site,
Sighișoara is also the birthplace of
Vlad Draculea, nicknamed Vlad the
Impaler (Vlad Tepes), ruler of
Walachia from 1456 to 1462.
It was Vlad who inspired Bram
Stoker’s fictional creation, Count
Dracula. His house is just one of
many attractions here.
11. Painted Monasteries
These exterior walls of these
monasteries are decorated
with elaborate 15th and 16th
century frescoes featuring
portraits of saints and
prophets, scenes from the life
of Jesus, images of angels and
demons, and heaven and hell.
The purpose of the frescoes
was to make the story of the
Bible and the lives of the most
important Orthodox saints
known to villagers by the use
of images.
12. Painted Monasteries
Visitors to the Painted
Monasteries will often witness
a nun or a monk beating a
long beam with a mallet,
tapping out a call to prayer.
The tradition started during
the siege of Moldova by the
Ottoman Empire when the
ringing of bells was forbidden.
The striking of wooden or
metal bars, known as toaca,
replaced the ringing of bells
and thus, became a tradition,
reinforced by the fact that in
times of war, bells were often
melted down to make
cannons.
13. Wooden Churches
There is a strong tradition
of building wooden
churches across Eastern
Europe, but the Wooden
Churches of Maramureș
are unique in shape and
ornamentation.
Most of these churches
date back from the 16th and
17th century.
Eight of these churches
have been recognized by
UNESCO as World
Heritage Sites.
14. Did You Know that…
The Palace of
Parliament, located
in Bucharest, ranks
as the biggest office
building in Europe
and second-largest
in the world, after
the U.S. Pentagon?
15. Did You Know that…
Romania has the
second largest
underground
glacier in Europe in
terms of volume
(the 3500-year old
Scărișoara glacier)?
16. Did You Know that…
The city of Brasov
(Transylvania) is
home to the largest
gothic church
between Vienna
and Istanbul?
17. Did You Know that…
Romania has the
second-largest
outdoor museum
in the world (the
Astra Museum in
Sibiu)?
18. Did You Know that…
The Romanian city
of Timișoara was
the first European
city to introduce
horse-drawn trams
(in 1869) and
electrical street
lighting (in 1889)?
19. Did You Know that…
Insulin was
discovered by a
Romanian
physiologist
(Nicolae
Paulescu)?
20. Did You Know that…
The jet engine
used by modern
airplanes was
invented by
Bucharest-born
inventor Henri
Coandă?
21. Did You Know that…
Nadia
Camăneci got
the first 10 in
the history of
gymnastics in
Montreal in
1976?
