Romania

Romania (dated: Rumania, Roumania; Romanian: România, IPA: [ro.mɨˈni.a]) is a country that can be found in the south-eastern part of Central Europe. It is found to the north of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube. It is within and outside the Carpathian arch, and is bordering on the Black Sea.^[1] Most of the Danube Delta is found inside Romania. It shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south.

Romania is a semi-presidential unitary state. Romania was made by the joining of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859. It was given its independence in the 1878. At the end of World War II, some of its territories (around what is now known as Moldova) was occupied by the USSR.

After the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, Romania started political and economical reforms that let Romania join the European Union on 1 January 2007.

Romania has the 9th biggest territory and the 7th biggest population (with 22 million people^[2]) of the European Union member states. The capital and biggest city in Romania is Bucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti /bu.kuˈreʃtʲ/ (help·info)), with a population of 1.9 million people. One of the cities in Transylvania, Sibiu, was named a European Capital of Culture.^[3] Romania also joined NATO on March 29, 2004.

1 Etymology
2 Geography
3 Monuments
4 Divisions
5 Culture
6 See also
7 References
8 Other websites

[change] Etymology

Romania (Rumania or România) comes from the Romanian word Român, which comes from the Latin word Romanus ("Roman").^[4]^[5] English sources still used the word Rumania as recently as World War II. This comes from the French word Roumania.^[6] After this mention, no other mentions have shown up over the years.

[change] Geography

With an area of 238,391 square kilometres (92,043.279786169 sq mi), Romania is the biggest country in southeastern Europe.^{[needs proving]} It is the twelfth-largest in Europe.^{[needs proving]} A large part of Romania's border with Serbia and Bulgaria is made by the Danube. The Danube is joined by the Prut River. The Prut River makes the border with the Republic of Moldova. The Danube then flows into the area of the Black Sea inside of Romania, which forms the Danube Delta. The Danube Delta is the second biggest one of the best kept deltas in Europe. It is also a biosphere reserve and a biodiversity World Heritage Site.^[7] Some of the other major rivers in Romania are the Siret, which runs from the north to the south of Moldavia; the Olt, which runs from the Carpathian Mountains to Oltenia; and the Mureş, which runs through Transylvania from the east to the west.

The land in Romania is equally divided among mountainous, hilly and lowland areas. The Carpathian Mountains make up a big part of the center of Romania. 14 of its mountain ranges are taller than 2,000 meters.^{[needs proving]} The tallest mountain in Romania is Moldoveanu Peak (2,544 m/8,346.4567056 ft).^{[needs proving]}

[change] Monuments

The UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites^[8] includes Romanian sites like the Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, the painted churches of northern Moldavia, the Wooden Churches of Maramures, the Monastery of Horezu, the citadel of Sighişoara, and the Dacian Fortresses of the Orăştie Mountains.^[9] The reason why Romania stands out in its usage of World Heritage Sites is the fact that they are spread out all over the country, instead of being found all in one place.^[10]

[change] Divisions

Romania is divided into 41 counties (judeţe), and the municipality of Bucharest (Bucureşti), which is its own county.

Romania is divided more into 319 cities and 2,686 communes (rural towns).^[11] Each of the communes has its own council and is led by a mayor.

[change] Culture

Romania has its own culture, mainly because of where it is located. It is this way because it is the point where three different areas meet: Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, yet cannot be included in any of these areas.^[12] Most of the influences that came to Romania during the old times until the Middle Ages were from Slavic people.

[change] Folk music of Romania

Romanian culture is very large: panflutes, cymbals, alphorns etc. These are folk instruments. Folkloric music of Romania influenced the Romanian classical music. The culture of Romania was influenced by the Greeks, Romans, and Slavs.^{[needs proving]}

Gheorghe Zamfir is a Romanian singer who sings folklore songs using the panflute. The alphorn is used in Carpathians to communicate over long distances. There are also many traditional dances, for example: Sârba, Hora(round dance), and Brâu.^{[needs proving]}

[change] Classical music

The best known Romanian composer is George Enescu, well-known for the Romanian Rapsodies (see also:List of Romanians composers). The Romanian composer Ion Ivanovici composed the waltz Waves of Danube^{[needs proving]}

[change] Literature

A famous Romanian writer is Mihai Eminescu, a writer who wrote poems. Ion Creanga, another writer, wrote many stories and memories. The most famous creation is Amintiri din copilarie(Memories from chilhood).(See also:List of Romanian writers)^{[needs proving]}

[change] See also

[change] References

↑ North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Official Raport
↑ Romanian Statistical Yearbook, Romanian National Institute of Statistics, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-20
↑ Report on the the Nominations from Luxembourg and Romania for the European Capital of Culture 2007. The Selection Panel for the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) 2007 (2004-04-05). Retrieved on 20 January 2008.
↑ Kelley L. Ross (2003). "Decadence, Rome and Romania, the Emperors Who Weren't, and Other Reflections on Roman History". The Proceedings of the Friesian School. Retrieved on 13 January 2008.
↑ Wolff, Robert Lee (January 1948). "Romania: The Latin Empire of Constantinople". Speculum (A Journal of Mediaeval Studies) 23 (1): 1-34. Retrieved on 13 January 2008.
↑ Map of Southern Europe, 1942-1945 from the United States Army Center of Military History via the University of Texas at Austin Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
↑ Danube Delta. UNESCO's World Heritage Center. Retrieved on 9 January 2008.
↑ Official list of WHS within Romania. UNESCO. Retrieved on 31 January 2008.
↑ World Heritage List from Romania. UNESCO. Retrieved on 31 January 2008.
↑ World Heritage Site - Romania. Retrieved on 31 January 2008.
↑ Administrative Organisation of Romanian Territory, on December 31, 2005 (ro). Romanian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved on 7 December 2007.
↑ Romania - Culture

[change] Other websites

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Romania

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