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Romania is a South East European nation with a mutual coexistence of the past heritage by the side of the high-paced present. A walk through the country streets gives the rare feel of contrast where the horse-drawn carriages trod past the super fast modern vehicles. Breaking away from tight grips of Communist rule in last decades of twentieth century, Romania fast developed into one of the most promising economies of Europe. The Black Sea, Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, Serbia and Monte Negro and Ukraine surround it from different sides. Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania.
Romania’s terrain is a balanced composition of all natural features. The soil is drained by the last half of the Danube River, which eventually ends in the Black Sea. Though the country is not very rich in mineral resources but then it cashes well on its scenic beauty and tranquil countryside that has helped in building up the tourism sector. It offers an intricate tapestry of historic attractions and vacation experiences amidst medieval towns in Transylvania, the world-famous Painted Monasteries in Bucovina, traditional villages in Maramures and the magnificent architecture of Bucharest.
The population of the country is chiefly dominated by native Romanians that exist by the minority communities of Ukrainians, Serbs, Croats, Gypsies, Russians, and Turks. Romanian is the official language, although there are also sizeable minorities speaking Hungarian (8%) and German (2%). By far the largest religious body is the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Ceahlau Mountains
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Geography
Romania is the land where the ever-winding and brimming Danube River completes it multi-nationwide journey to the shores of Black Sea. The compelling vastness of the river is evident from the fact that it forms part of the border with Serbia and Monte Negro and almost the entire frontier with Bulgaria. It then flows on to meet on its tributaries of the Prut and together they constitute most of the border with Moldova and Ukraine. The Wetlands of the Danube Delta were included in the 1990 Man and Biosphere Programme.
Romania shares its borders with Hungary on the northwest, Serbia and Monte Negro in the southwest, Bulgaria in the south, the Black Sea in the southeast, Moldova in the northeast, and Ukraine in the north. Keeping in account its topographical diversity, the country is divided into six regions of Banat, Bukovina, Dobruja, Moldavia, Transylvania and Walachia. The landscape of the country is a good example of ecological balance with equal share of mountain, plain and forest area. The Carpathian Mountains roll down Romania from north to southwest and connect with the Transylvanian Alps that run from east and west over the terrains. The highest peaks in Romania are Moldoveanu (8,343 ft/2,543 m) and Negoiu (8,317 ft/2,535 m). Romania is also home to some exotic lakes that add beauty to the landscape and also serve as sources of fresh water. But the overall environment of Romania is under threat due to air and water pollution that has occurred due to errant industrialisation process.
View of Deva
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Climate
Romania’s climatic conditions match the continental features. It is hot and dry in summers with occasional spurts of severe droughts in different parts of the country. Heavy showers and thunderstorms follow the scorching summers. The winter months are cold with some fog and snow. The southern parts of the country frequently experience earthquakes.
History
Romania possesses such an elaborate and fascinating history of invasions and subsequent revolts that one tends to loose count of its rulers and conquerors. Starting from the first human inhabitation since the Stone Age, Romania has been controlled by various empires. But a recorded and precise form of information is available from the time when the present-day Romania was known as Dacia after its inhabitants, the Dacians or the Getae. The community suffered the first major invasion bid from the Greeks who settled in Dacia between the seventh and sixth centuries. Centuries later, most of Romania became the Roman province of Dacia on about A.D. 100. After a successful reign spanning decades, the Roman power coiled up in face of barbaric invasions and left the soil in A.D. 271. This incident opened the floodgates of power struggle over Romania and waves of nomadic tribes lashed on its mainland. The Goths, Vandals, Huns, Slavs and Magyars are to name just a few that arrived to the country from different parts of Europe and Asia. Such new arrivals, settlements and clashes of different culture and race heavily influenced the demography of the country. Gradually, the mainland Romania got segregated in three distinct principalities of Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania.
Till eleventh century, the Magyars of Hungary dominated the Transylvanian region, but Moldavia and Wallachia managed to retain their independent status. The flair of freedom was short lived for them as on sixteenth century they succumbed to the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. In between the neighbouring Russian and Austrian empire started to crop in to the territories of Romania. Then the big Battle of the Mohacs took place in 1526 between Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. Following this, Transylvania too came under the control of the Ottomans. During the Turkish times the Romanian principalities were bestowed with much independence but suffered massive oppression in hands of the Austrian Hapsburg rulers. After the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, they became Russian protectorates. From this time on the historical principalities of the country went through a number of boundary changes. It became a unified country in 1881 when Karl of Hohenzollern, a German prince, was chosen as the country's ruler and became King of Romania (Carol I) after the Congress of Berlin.
Initially, in the First World War Romania remained neutral but later aligned itself with Britain, France and the other Allies. The aim was to get hold of the territory of Transylvania and it succeeded in doing so with the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. During the Second World War, Romania started off as a neutral country but got attached to the Axis power. By 1940 territorial losses led to the abdication of King Carol and Premier Ion Antonescu came into power. Romania was reorganised along Fascist orders and about 270,000 Jews were massacred. In 1944 a coup supported by the King Michael, Antonescu was overthrown and the Germans were expelled. In following years the Romanian army helped to liberate its neighbours, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
In 1947, Romania became a communist Peoples Republic and in 1955 it joined the Warsaw Treaty Organization and the United Nations. In 1965, Nicolae Ceausescu became the Secretary General of the Romanian Communist Party and ruled Romania until he was overthrown and executed in 1989. The disintegration of the USSR in 1991 ended the Soviet effect on Romania forever and in the country went ahead towards the path of democracy and liberalisation. In 1995 Romania became an associate member of the European Union and looked forward to a full membership by 2007.
Bran Castle
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Economy
Romania reeled under a Soviet influenced economic structure where the state controlled all agricultural and industrial enterprises. Heavy industries formed the financial backbone of the country but it failed to rise over the bottlenecks and remained one of the poorest European countries. Things started to look brighter when the USSR broke away and cleared the way for capitalist economy with emphasis on foreign trade. A large scale process of liquidation of public sector units has been undertaken by the present government. A loan is secured from the International Monetary Fund and steps have been taken to pull down the inflation rate. The success is evident from the low percentage of unemployment and the GDP/PPP count at $171.5 billion with per capita of $7,700.
Industry contributes over half of the country's gross national product and absorbs for one third of the labour force. Agriculture provides employment for around thirty percent of the population. Major manufactures include steel products, machinery, transport vehicles, and chemicals. The country's industrial areas have developed around the cities of Arad, Bucharest, Braşov, Hunedoara, Iaşi, Oradea, Reşiţa, and Timişoara. Constanţa is the chief Black Sea port while Brăila, Galaţi, and Giurgiu are the main Danubian ports. The Romanian tourism thrives with beautiful cities like Galaţi and Constanţa and Bucharest, which is also known as the “Paris of the East.”
Palace of Parliament, Bucharest
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Politics
Romania is a parliamentary republic governed under the constitution that came in to following from 1991. The Romanian legislature rests in the hands of the prime minister and his set of cabinet members who are headed by the president of the country. The country is divided into 40 administrative districts and one municipality.
The president of Romania is elected by popular vote for a four-year term. He in turn appoints the prime minister and the cabinet members who are referred by the premier. But all these appointments require approval from the members of the bicameral parliament of Romania. The parliament is segregated in two houses, the Senat or Senate, and the Camera Deputaţilor or Chamber of Deputies. While the senate consists of 137 members, the other chamber has total 332 seats. Members of both the houses are elected through national suffrage and stay for four years.
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