Romania

8
 Romania
Basic information

Official Name: România

Capital city: Bucharest (Bucureşti)
Area: 238 391 sq.km
Population: 22 225 421 habitants (July 2009)
Density: 98 hab/sq.km (July 2009)
Currency: Lei
Official language: Romanian
Government type: Parliamentary Democracy
State anthem: “Deşteaptă-te Române!” –
“Awaken, Romanian!”
National day: December 1st

9
 History
At the intersection of the Balkans, the Orient, left some marks in the current Romanian
Romania

the Occident and the Slavic Region, Romania language and the Hungarians are the only
owns a turbulent past but got nevertheless ones who settled for a longer time, in
its own identity in spite of the invasions and Transylvania.
occupations.
During medieval times, the Romanians lived
In the 1st century B.C. Dacia was created on in three provinces: Wallachia, Moldavia and
today’s Romanian territory. Later, between Transylvania. The provinces got united for
101 and 106 A.D., the Romans invaded this good in 1918, to form the present Romanian
land and settled here. Marks are still easy to state. Every year on the 1st of December
notice in nowadays architecture, language Romania celebrates the Great Union Day
(which is considered a “latin rooted” one), which became the National Holiday.
proverbs and popular tales.
As decades pasted, and after the Second World
From the 3rd to the 12th century, the War, Romania experienced a communist
territory came across many other invasions regime, the totalitarian regime of Nicolae
from the Slaves, Huns, Hungarians, Turks Ceauşescu. He undertook giant building
and Mongols. The Slaves (in the 6th century) projects, constraining the population to live
at a rather low standard of life, without any
degree of freedom. In 1989, the dictatorship
was pushed down and a democratic political
system was re-established. A new constitution
was adopted in 1991.
Today Romania is part of important
international organisations like NATO (2004)
and the European Union (2007).

10
Geography
Location and boundaries

Romania
Located in Southeastern Europe, Romania is surrounded by Ukraine and Moldova in the Northeast,
Hungary in the Northwest, Serbia in the West and Bulgaria in the South. With a coast of 225 km
the country has access to the Black Sea on its East side.
Romania is the 13th biggest country in Europe with 238.391 sq.km. It stretches 514km from North
to South and 720 km from East to West.

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 Relief
The Carpathian Mountains (the highest peak
Romania

is Mt. Moldoveanu at 2544 m) cross Romania

from the North to the Southwest. They
were glaciated and in Fagaras and Retezat
Mountains glacial lakes and mass of rock can
be found. These were created when the ice
melted around 10,000 years ago.
In the Northeast of Transylvania, the
mountains form Europe’s longest volcanic
chain. The Carpathian Mountains account for
about a third (31%) of the country’s area.
Another third of Romania (33%) is covered
by hills and plateaus full of orchards and
vineyards.
The final third is a fertile plain of dark
chernozem soil, where cereals, vegetables,
herbs and other crops grow. The lowest point
is the Black Sea at 0 meter.

Water
With a lenght of 2857 km through nine
countries, including 1075 km in Romania,
the Danube River completes its course in
the Danube Delta. The river has become an
important source of hydroelectric power and
of irrigation water for farming. Romania’s
rivers are mainly tributaries of the Danube.
Romania also counts around 2300 lakes and
over 1150 ponds.

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Fauna
The animal world is also very rich in Romania

Romania
with various species, such as lichamois, hares,
marten, lynxes, foxes, deer, wolves, badgers,
bears and many others. Among the bird life
also a lot of species are found in the various
corners of the country, especially in the
Danube Delta.

Flora
Since Romania is surrounded by mountains,
the country is rich with various kind of trees
and plants. The different regions of the
country offer different types of plants. In the
Moldavian and Walachian regions you will
find a lot of species of grass. Some of these
are tall and deep-rooted; some are shallow-
rooted etc.
Romanian’s flora gathers approximatively
3,700 species of plants. Among them
only 23 have been acknowledged as
natural monuments, 74 are extinct, 39 are
endangered, 171 are vulnerable and 1,253 are
rare occurrences.
The species that are characteristic of pastures
represent approximately 37% from the total
of species living in Romania. Moreover, there
are 600 species of algae and more than 700
species of marine and coastal plants.

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 Climate
Romania enjoys a temperate-continental climate, which ranges between hot summers and very cold
Romania

winters with a lot of snow from mid-December until the end of March. Romania’s average annual
temperature is 11°C in the south and on the coast, and 2°C in the mountains.
In June, July and August, the hottest places in Romania are in the South Plain, where average
temperatures reach 24-30°C. In summer, there are frequent showers and thunderstorms in the
mountains.
The mild and sunny days of autumn last from early September until late October. Spring starts in
mid-March in most of Romania’s regions, but only in April in the mountains and in the north part
of the country.
Annual rainfall is from 600 mm to 700 mm, especially in the spring. Precipitations are the heaviest
in Transylvania and in the Carpathian Mountains, where an average of 134 centimeters of rain and
snow fall can be observed each year. Dobrogea is Romania’s warmest and driest region, with less
than 38 cm of annual rainfall.

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Distance between cities
From Bucharest to ...

Romania
Amsterdam 2292
Athens 1224
Berlin 1786
Berne 1966
Brussels 2242
Budapest 824
Copenhague 2710
Helsinki 2681
Istanbul 733
Kiev 1291
Chisinau 650
Lisbon 4246
London 2560
Luxemburg 2138
Madrid 3489
Moscow 1899
Paris 2379
Prague 1406
Rome 2039
Sofia 389
Stockohlm 3278
Vienna 1079

Bianca Galiano, LicART

Warsaw 1210
Brasov 161
Cluj Napoca 426
Constanta 225
Craiova 248
Iasi 406
Sibiu 282
Timisoara 538

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 UNESCO sites Villages with fortified Churches in
Transylvania (1993)
Since 1991, Romania has inscribed seven of
Romania

its properties on the World Heritage List. Six These seven Transylvanian villages were
are registered as cultural properties and one, founded by Transylvanian Saxons. They
the Danube Delta, as a natural property. characterize a specific land-use system,
settlement pattern and organization of the
Wooden Churches of Maramureş (1999) family farmstead that have been preserved
These eight churches are interesting since the late Middle Ages. These villages are
examples of architectural solutions from dominated by their fortified churches, which
different periods and regions. They show illustrate building styles from the 13th to the
various designs and craftsmanship adopted 16th century.
in these high timber constructions with their Monastery of Horezu (1993)
characteristic tall and slim clock towers at the
western end of the building. Prince Constantine Brancoveanu founded
the Monastery of Horezu, in Walachia,
Churches of Moldovia (1993) in 1690. The Monastery is known for its
Unique in Europe, these seven churches architectural purity and balance, the richness
located in northen Moldavia are considered of its sculptural details, the treatment of its
as masterpieces of Byzantine art thanks to religious compositions, its votive portraits
their 15th- 16th century frescoes painted on and its painted decorative works.
their exterior walls. Historic Centre of Sighişoara (1999)
Dacian Forteresses of the Orastie Mountains Founded by craftsmen and merchants Saxons
(1999) of Transylvania, Sighişoara is a fine example
Built during the 1st century BC the Dacian of a small and fortified medieval town which
Forteresses are born from an unusual had been playing an important strategic and
union of military and religious architectural commercial role with central Europe for
techniques and concepts from the classical several centuries.
world and the late European Iron Age.
Danube Delta (1991)
The waters of the Danube, which flow into @: www.patrimoniuromanesc.ro : The
the Black Sea, form the largest and best photograph Danila Cosmin will take you
preserved of Europe’s deltas. The Danube over the Romanian UNESCO sites.
Delta hosts over 300 species of birds as well @: whc.unesco.org > Romania : Official
as 45 freshwater fish species in its numerous UNESCO website.
lakes and marshes.
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 Romania
Cosmin Danila

17
 Enjoy your meal!
Romanian traditional food is influenced
Romania

by both neighbors and invadors. Turkish,

Hungarian and Austrian cuisines played an
important role. For example the popular main
dishes are meat, cabbage rolls, sausages and
stews. Romanian food is also influenced by
Latin cuisine. Thus you can frequently find
Italian and French dishes.
A good example of these influences is
Mamaliga, kind of Italian polenta. This
corn porridge was traditionaly the basic dish
of the Romanians. Muschi poiana consists
of mushroom- and bacon-stuffed beef in
a puree of vegetables and tomato sauce.
Thanks to its access to the sea, fish is also
part of the traditional Romanian cuisine,
with for example Saramura, the salty, grilled
carp.

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At the beginning of your meal you will
traditionally start by drinking Tuică, a plum
spirit. Then you will follow with red or white

Romania
wines, such as Recaş, Jidvei, Cotnari, and
Drăgăşani. Noroc! is the Romanian for
“Cheers!”
To have a real overview of the Romanian
cuisine and culture, you should start your
meal with a soup. Soups can be made with
meat (Ciorba de Perişoare) or fish (Ciorba
de Peşte) and are usually offered on menus
at the restaurant. Among others, Zama is a
green bean soup with chicken, parsley, and
dill.
Besides you can not leave Romania without
testing the Mici or Mititei, grilled, grinded
or minced meat in the shape of sausages;
Sarmale, minced meat, half beef - half pork,
rolled like a sausage and wrapped in cabbage
leaves; or also Tocană, spiced stew along
with Mamaligă.
The traditional Romanian desserts are close
to Baklava, a traditional dessert from the
formor Ottoman Empire, a rich, sweet pastry
made of layers of phyllo dough filled with
chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or
honey. To conclude a delicious traditional
Romanian meal, you may eat Clătite, Crepes,
with various filling and toppings. Poftă
bună, the Romanian way of saying “Enjoy
your meal!”

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 Meet and Talk!
In July 2009, Romania counted 22 225 421
Romania

inhabitants. 54% of them live in towns and

cities.
The main ethnic group is Romanians with
89%. The other 11% correspond to approxi-
matively 2.500.000 habitants belonging to
18 minorities, such as Hungarians (6,6%),
Romas (2,5%), Germans (0,3%), Ukrainians
(0,3%), Russians, Serbs, Armenians, Turks,
Slovaks, Bulgarians, Tatars, Croats...
The national official language in Romania is
Romanian and is talked by about 90% of the
population.
In 2007, the country signed the European
Charter for Regional or Minority languages,
which recognizes 20 languages. These ones
can be used in the administrations or can be
taught at school.
Around 7% of the population speaks
Hungarian, especially in Transylvania. The
University of Cluj-Napoca for example made
the linguistic diversity the motor of its Higher
Education system, by providing curriculums
in Hungarian or German. If you plan to learn Romanian before leaving
A majority of the population, especially home, you should visit the Romanian Cultural
among the youth, speaks English. Most Institut (ICR) of your country. Besides in
of the film and TV shows are broadcast in your home country you should find a “teach
original version with Romanian subtitles. yourself book” to learn Romanian in your
In addition around 25% of the population mother tongue. But if you wait to be in
can speak French as a foreign language. Romania, the Romanian bookstores (Diverta,
By the way, Romania has been a member Humanitas, etc.) will offer you a wider choice
of the “Organisation Internationale de la of books, in Romanian, English or French.
Francophonie” since 1991. @: www.icr.ro/bucharest
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Culture and traditions
Few traditions among others: Ignatul. Everybody helps, from family to

Romania
neighbors. This tradition remains in the
Strigare peste sat is an old tradition, which villages and small towns.
still exists in some villages. A day before the
Lent begins, young men of the village meet During the Christmas period, Christmas
on a hill in the evening, talk about the news carols, called Colinde are sung everywhere by
of the village, and criticize the non-married young and old, both in the cities and in the
girls, who did not distinguish themselves country side. They sing from door to door
among the community last year. They shout and receive small gifts, such as nuts, dried
the names of these girls so that the villagers fruits, cakes, cookies, hotwine, etc.
hear them. Theoretically, these girls can not
get married during the coming year.
A bit later, on the first of March, Romanians
celebrate the coming of Spring and this very
dear celebration is called Mărţişor when
small amulets are given by men to women to
be worn over the first spring days.
Then follows the Romanian Easter. 85% of
the Romanian population is orthodox, and
Easter is a significant celebration. Romanians
paint eggs to decorate the table or to offer.
On the first of May, which is the Labour
day and a day off, people usually go to the
seaside or to a picnic in the park with friends
or family. Public holidays:

1st of December is the National Day, - January 1st and 2nd: New Year
which celebrates the union of the provinces - April/May: Orthodox Easter
in 1918. Commemoration ceremonies are - May 1st : Labour Day
followed by military marches. Then various - May/June: Rusalii (Pentecost and White
events happen all day long, such as concerts, Monday): 50 and 51 days after Easter
outdoor shows, etc. - August 15th: Adormirea Maicii Domnului
(Dormition of the Theotokos)
At the end of the year, around the 20th - December 1st, National Day: Celebration
December, a pig is sacrificed in a traditional of the union of the provinces in 1918.
way for the coming winter celebrations, it is - December 25th and 26th: Christmas
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Keep it in your pocket, dictionnary!
Basis Time

What else?
hello Bună ziua today astăzi
good morning Bună dimineaţa yesterday ieri
good evening Bună seara tomorrow mâine
good night Noapte bună morning dimineaţă
good bye La revedere evening seară
thank you Mulţumesc night noapte
Yes / No Da / Nu day ziuă
Please Vă rog Monday luni
Excuse me Scuzaţi-mă Tuesday marţi
Where ? Unde ? Wednesday miercuri
When ? Când ? Thursday joi
How much ? Cât ? Friday vineri
Why ? De ce ? Saturday sâmbătă
How are you ? Ce mai faceţi ? Sunday duminică
I don’t understand Nu înţeleg public holiday zi de sărbătoare
I don’t speak Romanian Nu vorbesc
româneşte In the city
Could you write it ? Puteţi să notaţi ? street stradă
What does … mean? Ce înseamnă …? square piaţă
My pleasure Cu plăcere park parc
bus stop staţie de autobuz
Daily life train station gară
Mrs. Doamna market piaţă
Mr. Domnul post office poştă
schedule orar stamp timbru
open deschis embassy ambasada
close închis ATM bancomat
WC toaletă
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 public WC WC public / the bill nota
toaletă publică beer bere
What else?

taxi taxi café cafea

tramway tramvai tea ceai
subway metrou wine vin
still water apă plată
Emergencies mineral water apă minerală
cheese brânză /
hospital spital caşcaval
doctor doctor salty cheese telemea
pharmacy farmacie desert desert
police poliţie fruits fructe
Could you help me? M-aţi putea ajuta? milk lapte
vegetables legume
Accommodation bread pâine
hotel hotel fish peşte
pension pensiune meat carne
double bedroom o cameră dublă pepper piper / ardei
simple bedroom o cameră de o salt sare
persoană / simplă soup supă
with bathroom cu baie sour soup ciorbă
without bathroom fără baie salad salată
Is the breakfast Este inclus micul (without) sugar (fără) zahăr
included? dejun?
Visits
At the restaurant lake lac
restaurant restaurant sea mare
breakfast mic dejun beach plajă
lunch prânz mountain munte
dinner cină
menu menu
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monastery mânăstire At what time arrives / leaves …?
church biserică La ce oră soseşte / pleacă …?

What else?
(outside) museum muzeu (în aer liber)
I would like a ticket for a one way (round-
trip) for...
Direction and transport
Aş dori un bilet dus (dus-întors) până la …
Where is … ? Unde este …?
I am looking for … Caut … Figures
Is it far? E departe?
0 zero
left Stânga
1 unu
right Dreapta
2 doi
straight ahead Drept înainte
3 trei
arrival / departure Sosire / Plecare
4 patru
entrance / exit Intrare / Ieşire
5 cinci
north nord
6 şase
south sud
7 şapte
east est
8 opt
west vest
9 nouă
petrol station benzinărie
10 zece
road drum
11 unsprezece
highway autostradă
12 doiprezece
bridge pod
20 douăzeci
train tren
21 douăzeci şi unu
ticket bilet
..... .....
ticket office ghişeu
100 o sută
platform peron
101 o sută unu
airport aeroport
200 două sute
1 000 o mie

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Cosmin Danila