Romania

Programs Available: Overseas English Tutor

Overview | Culture and History | Sightseeing | Expenses | Support | Map

Overview:

Romania is situated in southeastern Europe and it has a total surface of 237,500 square km (about the size of Oregon). The country is blessed with all the major forms of landscape. The Carpathians are in the center of the country, bordered on both sides by hills and plateaus and finally the great plains of the outer rim. Forests cover over a quarter of the country and the fauna is one of the richest in Europe. The mighty Danube River forms the southern boundary of the country.

The climate is temperate-continental, characteristic of Central Europe (very distinct seasons, hot summers, cold winters with abundant snowfalls especially in the mountains). The warmest areas are in the south.

The Romanian language is a Romance language, akin to Italian and Spanish but containing some Slavic words. The Romanians are proud of their Latin heritage, which distinguishes them from their neighbors. The folk culture is rich and varied. Each of the country's regions has its own costumes, art, and customs.

The capital is Bucharest, a metropolis with monumental buildings, interesting museums, theatres, and universities. The city is named after its legendary founder, a shepherd called Bucur, and lies on the Wallachian plains, between the Carpathian foothills and the Danube River. In the 1930s it was known as 'the Paris of the East.' Since then, earthquakes, WWII bombing and Ceausescu have combined to destroy much of its prewar beauty. Other major cities in Romania include: Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta, Craiova, Galati, Iasi, Oradea, and Timisoara.

The population of Romania is made up of Romanians (89,5%), Hungarians (7,1%), Romas (1,8%), Germans (0,5%), and a small share of Ukrainians, Russian-Lipovans, Turkish, Serbs, and Slovaks. The dominant religion in the country is Christianity. The culture and traditions reflect this unique mixture of nationalities, especially in Transylvania. The northern part of Transylvania displays the Hungarian heritage, with very specific architecture, customs, way of thinking, and costumes. Romania's German heritage is obvious in Southern Transylvania, home to hundreds of well-preserved Saxon towns and villages as well as fortified churches built between the 13th and 15th centuries. Brasov, Sibiu and Sighisoara are some of Europe's best-preserved medieval towns. Jewish heritage is preserved by the more than 800 Synagogues, most of which are still used by the small local Jewish communities scattered throughout the country.

Culture and History:

The territory of modern Romania was settled before the 7th Century BC by the Geto-Dacian peoples. From the 7th Century BC, the Greeks established trading colonies on the Black Sea coast which, along with the rest of the Greco-Dacian territory, was occupied by the Romans until 271 AD.

Until the 10th Century, the area was populated by invading Goths, Huns, Avars, Slavs, Bulgars, and Hungarians, but the indigenous Romanians survived in village communities and by the 10th Century a feudal system had been established. From the 10th Century, Hungary occupied Transylvania which, by the 13th Century, was an autonomous Hungarian region though still containing a majority Romanian population.

The regions of Moldavia and Wallachia were also targeted for Hungarian expansion but were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire by the 15th Century. In 1812, Russia seized an area of Moldavia from the Turks, but the remainder of Moldavia and Wallachia, with French assistance, united in 1859 under Alexandru Cuza, to form a national state which bore the name Romania from 1862.

Cuza abdicated in 1866 to be succeeded by King Carol I, who in 1877 declared independence from the Ottoman Empire and expanded Romanian territory by taking Dobruja in 1878. Aiming to further extend its boundaries, Romania entered the First World War on the side of the Triple Entente (UK, France, and Russia). Immediate invasion by Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria followed; however, at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919, Romania was awarded Transylvania and Bessarabia, bringing their ethnic Romanian populations within Romanian boundaries.

During the inter-war years, King Carol II and his Foreign Minister Titulescu formed alliances with France, UK, and the Little Entente (Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia) and signed a Balkan Pact with Turkey, Yugoslavia, and Greece. Relations were also established with the USSR. In 1938, however, King Carol II declared a personal dictatorship but was forced to abdicate in 1940 in favor of his son, Michael, while a Fascist dictatorship was created by Ion Antonescu. Romania supported Hitler's invasion of Yugoslavia and Russia in 1941, eventually sending two field armies to the Eastern front.

By 1943, Soviet forces had gained superiority and started their drive west. Romanian attitude shifted and, as Soviet forces were about to invade, Romania capitulated and turned on the Germans. The pro-Soviet government of Radescu was replaced in 1946 by a new administration led by Petru Groza. This was a Communist government which, in 1947, abolished the monarchy and proclaimed Romania a People's Republic.

Throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, Romania adopted a neo-Stalinist style of government, rebuilding the economy and purging religious and political opponents. Romania joined the Warsaw Pact in 1955 and Soviet troops withdrew in 1958. After Gheorgiu-Dejs death in 1965, Nicolae Ceausescu took over leadership and pursued a policy of independence from Moscow. Under Ceausescu, Romania began to cultivate relations with Western states, in particular with the U.S. and the Federal Republic of Germany (West).

In 1989, it appeared as if Romania might escape the effects of the revolutions sweeping across Eastern Europe. Ceausescu was bitterly opposed to the changes occurring in Poland, Czechland, and Slovakia, but in December 1989 anti-government struggles in Bucharest and Timisoara developed into a brief civil war, ending with the capture, trial, and immediate execution of the Ceausescus.

In the presidential vote, Ion Iliescu of the National Salvation Front (FSN), a former communist, won a majority of the vote and control of the National Assembly and Senate. This did not halt the political unrest and violence, however, as many people believed the election results had been heavily influenced by voter coercion, reminiscent of the previous Communist regime.

In 1990, the Securitate (Secret police) was disbanded and replaced by the Romanian Intelligence Service (RIS). Public religious practices were allowed to resume, but there was still a significant amount of public discontent regarding the effects of the introduction of a market economy. A treaty in cooperation and good neighborliness was signed with the USSR in April 1991 in an attempt to restore relations with the former Super Power, whose leadership had not intervened during the 1989 revolution. By September, however, the recently elected government was in turmoil as Prime Minister Petre Roman resigned following an outbreak of mass rioting. He was succeeded by Theodor Stolojan, who headed a cross-party coalition government which endorsed Romania's new constitution in December. President Iliescu was re-elected in 1992. A political crisis in August 1993 led to a government reshuffle in which four ministers and 15 State Secretaries were removed. By the end of 1993, the Democratic Convention created the current government.

In 1992 Iliescu was re-elected President and his new party, the Democratic National Salvation Front, won a plurality. With the support of nationalist and communist parties, Nicolae Vacaroiu formed a government. At the 1996 elections Emil Constantinescu (Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party) won in the Democratic Convention and became president. Victor Ciorbea was named Prime Minister. Ciorbea was succeeded in 1998 by Radu Vasile (CNPP) and in 2000 by the non-partisan Constantin Mugur Isarescu. The 2000 elections brought back Iliescu as President and his party, a year later reorganized into the Social Democrat Party, with Adrian Nastase as Prime Minister.

At the 2004 elections, the opposition candidate Traian Basescu (Democratic Party), mayor of Bucharest since 2000, was elected President of Romania. He is expected to lead the country into the European Union in 2007. The current government is led by Mr Basescu's coalition, the Justice and Truth Alliance (formed by the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Party), relying on two smaller parties, the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania and the Humanist Party of Romania.

Sightseeing:

CASTLES AND FORTRESSES

Peles Castle - Situated in Sinaia at the foot of the Bucegi Mountains, the castle is a masterpiece of German new-Renaissance architecture, commissioned by King Carol I and completed in 1883. Its 160 rooms display fine examples of European art.

Bran Castle - The medieval castle, situated on the top of a rock overlooking the picturesque village of Bran and often referred to as Dracula's Castle, was built in the 14th century as a fortress. It also served as a customs station. In 1920, it was offered as a gift to Queen Maria of Romania. Next to the castle, there is an open-air ethnographic museum.

Corvinesti Castle - The greatest Gothic style castle in Romania, it was built in the 14th Century on the site of a former Roman camp, near the town of Hunedoara. Later on, it became the residence of Transylvania's ruler, Iancu de Hunedoara.

The Royal Palace - The former official royal residence in Bucharest was built in neoclassic style, between 1927-37. It is now home to Romania's National Museum of Art.

The Palace of Parliament - Commissioned by Romania's last communist leader, Nicolae Ceausescu, this enormous building of 6,000 rooms was built in Bucharest in the 1980's by Romania's best architects and craftsmen (more than 400 architects and 20,000 workers).

Mogosoaia Palace - Built in 1698 near Bucharest, by ruler Constantin Brancoveanu, the palace reflects a special Romanian architectural style.

Bruckenthal Palace - Transylvania's finest art museum, a great example of late Baroque Viennese architecture, was commissioned by the German governor of Transylvania, Samuel Bruckenthal, during the late 1700's. The somber exterior of the palace, situated in Sibiu, bears little resemblance to its rich interior and extensive art collection.

Banffy Palace - The late Baroque palace with some Rococo Viennese elements was built in Cluj-Napoca between 1774-1785. Today it is home to the Cluj Art Museum.

The Painted Monasteries in Bucovina - They constitute picturesque treasures of Romania, many of them being protected by UNESCO as part of humankind's world heritage. The fresco art decorating these houses of worship dates back to as early as the 15th century.

OTHER SIGHTS

The Carpathian Mountains - They provide marvellous hiking and skiing possibilities. Boasting some of the least spoilt forests in Europe, with a rich flora and fauna, most of Romania's 13 national parks (e.g. the Retezat Mountains) and over 500 protected areas can be found here.

Spas - Romania is home to more than one third of Europe's mineral and thermal springs, the number of natural spas amounting to 70 (spa culture was started in the Roman times).

The Black Sea - the coast is characterized by warm climate, miles of sand beaches, ancient monuments, modern resorts, and lots of sports and entertainment facilities.

The Danube Delta - The largest and best preserved of Europe's deltas, it is home to more than 300 bird species, 160 kinds of fish, and 800 plant families. The delta covers more than 2200 square miles, with channels and canals, reed islands, lakes and marshes, oak forests intertwined with lianas, desert dunes and traditional fishermen villages. Today more than 675,000 acres of it are strictly protected zones, off limits to tourists.

Expenses:

Here are some approximate prices:

• Accommodation in youth hostels: from $7
• Accommodation in hotels: from $25
• Meals in a restaurant: from US$ 5 (wine is good and quite cheap)
• Seeing a film or play: $1 - $2
• Museums: $0.50 - $2 (international student cards are becoming increasingly accepted)

Buses are cheap, but often slow and not so frequent. The most popular way of travelling around Romania is by train. There are frequent connections to most cities, towns and larger villages within the country. The types of trains range from slow ones to Inter-City trains, and the prices vary accordingly (e.g. $3 will take you approximately 100 km by comfortable express train). Most towns within Romania have local buses, trams and trolleybuses, and Bucharest has a metro underground system. Taxis are available in all cities and towns and are cheap compared to Western standards (but can be more expensive for foreigners).

Tipping has become quite common recently, at least in cities. You are normally expected to give a tip of at least 10% in bars, restaurants, beauty salons, etc. The amount might change after July 1, 2005, when the Romanian leu will be revalued at the rate of 1 new leu (RON) for 10,000 old lei (ROL).

It's easy to cash travellers checks. Cash-dispensing ATMs accepting Visa, MasterCard etc. are widespread in cities and towns. Credit cards are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops and are essential for hiring a car.

Support During Your Placement:

We will be available to give you any support, advice, or guidance you may need with any issues. There will always be an emergency number for you to contact. Our aim is to ensure that you have a happy and successful experience during your stay in Romania.

Some of the content on this page made possible by The Lonely Planet