Romania

Country Profile

Official Name: Romania

ISO Country Code: ro, ROU

Time:
Local Time = UTC +2h (Summer +3h)
Actual Time: Wed-Apr-17  11:16

Country Calling Code: +40

Capital City: Bucuresti (Bucharest; pop. 2 million)

Other Cities: Iasi (350 000), Constanta (344 000), Timisoara (327 000), Cluj-Napoca (334 000), Galati (331 000), Brasov (316 000)

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Official Sites of Romania



The Palace of the Parliament of Romania in Bucharest is home to the bicameral legislature of Romania, which consists of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The building was constructed according to the ideas of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. Romania's Palace of the Parliament is among the largest administrative buildings in the world.
Image: Garrett Ziegler


Political system of Romania
Romania is a semi-presidential republic with a head of government - the prime minister - and a head of state - the president. Executive functions are performed by both the government and the president. The Romanian bicameral parliament consists of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

Romania Government

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Official Sites of Romania

Presidential României
The Romanian Presidency.

Guvernul României
The Government of Romania.

Romanian Parliament
Romanian Parliament - Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies of Romania.
Romanian Parliament - Senat
The Romanian Senate.


Ministerul Afacerilor Externe (MAE)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Diplomatic Missions
Romanian Mission to United Nations
Permanent Mission of Romania to the UN - New York.
Embassy of Romania
Washington, D.C.
Romanian Diplomatic Missions abroad
Address list of Romanian Diplomatic Missions Abroad.
Foreign Diplomatic Missions in Romania
Foreign diplomatic missions in Romania.


Weather
C.N. Institutul National de Meteorologie Hidrologie si Gospodarire a Apelor (INMH)
National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology.

 

Maps of Romania



Map of Romania (click map to enlarge)
Image: © nationsonline.org

Maps

Map of Romania
Political Map of Romania.

Google Earth Romania
Searchable map and satellite view of Romania.
Google Earth Bucharest
Searchable map and satellite view of Romania's capital.
Google Earth Constanta
Searchable map and satellite view of Constanta.

Continent:
Map of the Black Sea
Political map of the Black Sea area.
Map of the Balkan Peninsula
Political Map of the Balkans.
Map of Central and Eastern Europe
Political Map of Europe.
Map of Europe
Political Map of Europe.
 

News from Romania





Romania's dynamic entertainment and media (E&M) industry continues to grow. Television is the preferred medium for most Romanians. But, the government's vision of journalism and freedom of expression encourages censorship and self-censorship, and editorial policies are subordinated to the interests of owners. ^[RSF]

News from Romania

Press Agencies
Mediafax
Romanian Press Agency.

Romanian language newspapers online
Adevarul (The Truth)
National News (Romanian).
Evenimentul Zilei (Event of the day)
Romanian News (Romanian).
Jurnalul National (The National Journal)
Romanian daily newspaper.
Libertatea (Liberty)
Romanian daily (Romanian).
Romania Libera (Free Romania)
Romanian newspaper (
Ziarul de Iasi
Newspaper from Iași, a university city in eastern Romania.
Ziua
ZIUA newspaper has ceased publication.

List of newspapers in Romania
Wikipedia List of newspapers in Romania.


Business
Bucharest Business Week
Business, Finance and National News. (in Romanian)
Capital
Capital is a Romanian business weekly.
Ziarul Financiar
A financial newspaper published daily in Bucharest.


English language newspaper
Nine o'Clock
Daily English language newspaper.
Romania Journal
English language news about Romania.
Valahia News
Romanian and international news. (in English and Romanian)

TV/Radio
Televiziunea Româna - TVR
TVR is the state-owned Romanian public television with five channels: TVR1, TVR2, TVR3, TVRi, and TVR Moldova. (in Romanian)

Radio Romania
The state-owned Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company operates national and regional networks.
Radio Romania International
Part of Radio Romania that broadcasts abroad.
 

Arts & Culture of Romania



The main entrance of the Palace of Culture in Iasi, a Romanian city near the border with Moldova. The neo-Gothic palace was built between 1906 and 1925 on the site of the former medieval Moldavian court and the site of an earlier palace.
Today, the National Museum Complex "Moldova" houses four museums in the Palace of Culture: The Museum of Art, the Museum of History of Moldova, the Ethnographic Museum of Moldova and the Museum of Science and Technology "Ștefan Procopiu."
Image: Sebastiaan ter Burg - Europeana EU

Romania Arts & Culture

Museum
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
The Muzeul Național al Satului "Dimitrie Gusti", built in 1936, is an open-air museum in Bucharest. The museum shows the peasant life as it has taken place for centuries in the rural areas of Romania.

Danube Delta Eco-Tourism Museum Center ICEM
The institute is home to the Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art and the Museum of History and Archaeology.

Natural History Museum Grigore Antipa
The Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum in Bucharest. (in Romanian)

Romanian Peasant Museum
The National Museum of the Romanian Peasant in Bucharest houses a collection of textiles (especially traditional costumes), icons, ceramics and other artifacts of Romanian peasant life.


Art
National Art Museum of Romania
The official website of the National Art Museum.

Museum of Art Collections
The Art Collections Museum is a department of the National Museum of Art of Romania. It displays more than 30 collections, ranging from Romanian and European art to decorative and oriental art.


Festivals
The Maidens' Fair (Targul de Fete)
Century-old matchmaking festival where villagers in traditional costume walk up to Gaina Mountain Plateau for traditional music, dancing, feasting, and finding a mate.

Rowine
The international wine Festival of Romania.

Sibiu Jazz Festival
The most famous jazz festival in Romania.

UNTOLD Festival
UNTOLD is the largest electronic dance music (EDM) festival held annually in the heart of Transilvania.



Fans of UNTOLD Festival with Romanian flag in front of the main stage. Untold Festival is the biggest electronic music festival in Romania and takes place in Cluj-Napoca, the unofficial capital of Transylvania.
Image:  Vlad Rusu
 

Business & Economy of Romania


The CEC Palace in Bucharest houses the headquarters of the Central Bank of Romania (CEC). The building was constructed between 1897 and 1900 and is located in Calea Victoriei, opposite the National Museum of Romanian History.
Image: sailko


Economy of Romania

National Bank of Romania
The Central Bank of Romania.

Bucharest Stock Exchange
The official website of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the stock exchange of Romania.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania
Official website of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Major Companies in Romania

Banks/Financial Services
Banca Comercială Română
Banca Comercială Română (BCR) is a member of the Austrian Erste Group bank and Romania's most important financial group.

Banca Transilvania
Banca Transilvania S.A. (BT) is a banking institution headquartered in Cluj-Napoca. BT is the largest bank in Romania in terms of assets.


Fashion
Jolidon
Romanian lingerie and swimsuits.


Food
European Drinks & Foods
European Drinks & Foods is one of the largest Romanian manufacturers and distributors of food and beverages.

Mega Image
Mega Image is a supermarket chain in Romania, operating over 800 stores throughout the country. It is owned by the Belgian Delhaize Group.

Napolact
Napolact is one of the most important Romanian dairy producers, based in the city of Cluj-Napoca. The company belongs to the Dutch multinational dairy cooperative FrieslandCampina.


Hypermarket
Dedeman
Hypermarket chain for do-it-yourself supplies.


Industry
Automobile Dacia
Dacia is a Romanian car manufacturer and the country's largest company by revenue, established in 1966. Dacia has been part of the French Renault Group since 1999.
Electroputere S.A.
Electroputere S.A. manufactures high voltage electrical appliances such as rotary electric machines and transformers.
Electroputere VFU
Electroputere VFU is a manufacturer of rolling stock and one of the largest industrial companies in Romania.
Hidroelectrica
Hidroelectrica is the leader in electric power production and the main electricity producer in Romania.
OMV Petrom S.A.
OMV Petrom S.A. is a Romanian oil company. In 2004, Petrom was privatized by the Romanian state and sold to the Austrian multinational oil company OMV.
Romgaz
Romgaz is the largest producer and main supplier of natural gas in Romania.

Services
Continental Hotels
Continental Hotels is a Romanian hotel chain with thirteen hotels, four of which operate under the Ibis brand.

Software

Bitdefender
Bitdefender is a Romanian cybersecurity company headquartered in Bucharest, best known for its antivirus software.

eMAG
eMAG is a Romanian internet platform and retail website owned by Dante International SA.

GeCAD Software
The Romanian GECAD Software originally developed CAD (Computer Aided Design) software and later switched to developing security software, such as antivirus software.

SIVECO Romania
SIVECO Romania is a software company specialized in developing IT projects for education, health, and agriculture.

Softpedia
Softpedia is a Romanian software and tech news website based in Bucharest that offers downloads of indexed applications for various platforms.

UiPath
UiPath is a global software company that produces robotic process automation (RPA) software. It was founded in 2005 in Bucharest, Romania.

Telecommunication
Orange Romania
Orange România is a broadband Internet service provider and mobile operator in Romania and a subsidiary of Orange S.A. (formerly France Télécom).

Telekom Romania Communications
The Romanian telecommunications company operates together with Telekom Romania Mobile under the German Telekom brand.


Transportation


Terminal at Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest is the busiest international airport in Romania and the main hub for the national carrier TAROM.
Image: Benoît Prieur

Airlines

Blue Air
Blue Air is a Romanian low-cost airline headquartered in Bucharest, with its main hub at Henri Coandă International Airport.

TAROM
TAROM is the national airline of Romania and the oldest airline still operating in the country. Its main hub is at Henri Coandă International Airport.


Airports
Aeroportul International Henri Coanda
Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest (IATA-code: OTP) is the busiest airport in Romania.
"Mihail Kogălniceanu" Constanța International Airport
Constanța International Airport (IATA-code: CND) is a major airport that serves the city of Constanța, the Port of Constanța and the country's Black Sea resorts.


Rail
Caile Ferate Romane - CFR
The Romanian State Railway.
CFR Calatori
Online tickets for Romanian passenger trains.
Grup Feroviar Român - GFR
GFR is the largest private railway company in Romania.



Cruise terminal in the port of Constanta, Romania's main port.
Image: Luca Mauri

  

Tourism in Romania



Dracula, the centuries-old vampire, son of the Dragon, prince of darkness and the lord of the undead used to live in a castle like the Bran Castle in Transylvania in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel "Dracula."
The castle is located in Bran, 25 km southwest of Brașov. It is presented to tourists as Dracula's castle, although it only remotely resembles its description in Bram Stoker's novel.
Image: Dobre Cezar

Destination Romania - Travel and Tour Guides

Discover Romania: Castles and Palaces: Bran Castle, Corvin Castle, Cotroceni Palace, Mogoșoaia Palace, Palace of Culture, Palace of the Parliament, Pelișor Castle, Peleș Castle, Poenari Castle;
Monasteries and Churches:
Biserica Neagră (Black Church), Cozia Monastery, Moldovița Monastery, Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral, Putna Monastery, Stavropoleos Monastery, Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral, Voroneț Monastery.
Berăria H, largest Bierkeller in Southern Europe (Bucharest).

Accommodation, hotels, attractions, festivals, events, tourist boards, biking, skiing, hiking, climbing, cruising, diving, tours, etc.


Romania
The official tourism website of Romania is maintained by the National Authority for Tourism.


Wikivoyage: Romania
The free worldwide travel guide in many languages about traveling in Romania.


Cities
Bucharest Tourism
Tourist guide to Bucharest, Romania's capital city.

Brașov
The official website of the city Brasov.

Cluj-Napoca
the second-largest city in Romania.

Mangalia
A port city and seaside resort on the coast of the Black Sea.

Sibiu
The medieval city in Transylvania with 900 years of history.

Timișoara
Tourist information about the city in western Romania that is known for its Secessionist architecture.

 
Deva, the medieval fortress on a volcano in the Western Carpathians at sunrise. In 1307 the Bavarian Duke Otto was imprisoned in this castle by the Transylvanian voivode Ladislaus. The restored fortress is a Romanian National Heritage Site and a popular tourist attraction.
Image: Neighbor's goat

What is Romania known for?



Apuseni landscape, the mountains "of the sunset," a large mountain range in Transylvania, part of the Western Carpathians.
Image: Wirestock


Romania is famous for:

The Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains are a 1,500 km (930 mi) long mountain range, forming an arc across Central and Eastern Europe. The range extends southeastward from Czechia and Slovakia into Romania.


Danube Delta
The Danube Delta is the second-largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), with a small part in Ukraine (Odessa Oblast). The delta is home to over 300 species of birds and 45 species of freshwater fish in its numerous lakes and marshes.


The Black Sea
Romanian has a 275 kilometers long coastline on the Black Sea from the Danube Delta in the north down to the coast of Mangalia in the south. The country's beaches are known as the Romanian Riviera. Mamaia, a district of Constanța, is considered Romania's most popular resort.


Transylvania
Transylvania is one of the three historical regions of Romania, the others being Moldavia and Wallachia. Transylvania is a large highland region in northwestern Romania, separated from the rest of the country by the Carpathian Mountains and the Transylvanian Alps. The region is famous for free-roaming vampires, howling wolves and as the birthplace of Dracula (Sighisoara).


Oradea
The city of Oradea is known for its art nouveau architectural heritage.


Constantin Brâncuși
Constantin Brâncuși was a Romanian sculptor, painter, photographer, and a pioneer of modernism.


Nicolae Ceaușescu
Ceaușescu was a Romanian communist politician and dictator who run the country totalitarian style from the mid-1960s until 1989. He and his wife were executed by a firing squad near Bucharest.


Tristan Tzara
Tristan Tzara was one of the founders and a central figure of the Dada movement.


Berca Mud Volcanoes
The mud domes are the most spectacular feature of the lunar landscape of the geological and botanical reserve in the north of the Romanian municipality of Berca.

Salina Turda
The Turda Salt Mine is a tourist attraction in the Durgău-Valea Sărată region of Turda in northwestern Romania. The mine was opened to tourists in 1992 and is one of the hidden jewels of the world worth visiting.


Peștera cu Oase
Peștera cu Oase is a karst cave system with tunnels and chambers in the southwestern Carpathian Mountains where some of the oldest European early modern human (EEMH) remains have been found.

 

UNESCO World Heritage Sites



Orthodox wooden church of Barsana Monastery with pavilion and entrance tower (r). The Wooden Churches of Maramureş are a Romanian UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Image: Luminita
 

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Romania

Romania is home to nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites, seven cultural, two natural, and zero mixed, plus 16 sites inscribed on the Tentative List, an inventory of those properties which a State Party intends to consider for nomination. (see UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in Romania)


Churches of Moldavia
These eight churches of northern Moldavia, built from the late 15th century to the late 16th century, their external walls covered in fresco paintings, are masterpieces inspired by Byzantine art. They are authentic and particularly well preserved. Far from being mere wall decorations, the paintings form a systematic covering on all the facades and represent complete cycles of religious themes. Their exceptional composition, the elegance of the characters, and the harmony of the colors blend perfectly with the surrounding countryside.


Monastery of Horezu
Founded in 1690 by Prince Constantine Brancovan, the monastery of Horezu in Walachia is a masterpiece of the 'Brancovan' style. It is known for its architectural purity and balance, the richness of its sculptural detail, the treatment of its religious compositions, its votive portraits, and its painted decorative works. The mural and icon painting school established at the monastery in the 18th century was famous throughout the Balkan region.


Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania
These Transylvanian villages with their fortified churches provide a vivid picture of the cultural landscape of southern Transylvania. The seven villages inscribed, founded by the Transylvanian Saxons, are characterized by a specific land-use system, settlement pattern, and organization of the family farmstead that have been preserved since the late Middle Ages. They are dominated by their fortified churches, which illustrate building styles from the 13th to the 16th century.


Wooden Churches of Maramureş
These eight churches are outstanding examples of architectural solutions from different periods and areas. They show the variety of designs and craftsmanship adopted in these narrow, high, timber constructions with their characteristic tall, slim clock towers at the western end of the building, either single- or double-roofed and covered by shingles. As such, they are a particular vernacular expression of the cultural landscape of this mountainous area of northern Romania.

 

Education in Romania



The neo-baroque building of the Bucharest Central University Library with the equestrian statue of Carol I. The library was founded in 1895, 31 years after the foundation of the University of Bucharest, as the Carol I Library of the University Foundation.
Image: Diego Delso


Ministry of Education Romania
The official website of the Ministry of Education Romania.


Major universities in Romania

Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
The public university in Iași was founded in 1860; it is the oldest university in Romania.

Babes-Bolyai University - UBB
UBB in Cluj-Napoca is a public research university with a long academic tradition.

Ion Mincu - Institute of Architecture - IMUAU
University of Architecture and Urbanism, Bucharest.

Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
Public university in Sibiu.

Politehnica University Timisoara
Politehnica University in Timișoara was founded in 1920 and is one of the largest technical universities in Central and Eastern Europe.

University of Bacău
A Public university in Bacău.

University of Bucharest - BU
Universitatea din București, the public university in Bucharest was founded in 1864.

Technical University of Cluj-Napoca
A multidisciplinary institution in Baia Mare, formerly known as the Universitatea de Nord.

Universitatea de Vest
The University of the West in Timisoara was founded in 1962. The university has been part of UNITA Universitas Montium, an alliance of six European universities, since 2020.
 
 

Environment & Nature



One of the mud volcanoes shows a gas-filled mud bubble in the geological and botanical reserve north of Berca in Buzău County of Romania. The lunar landscape is created by the eruption of mud, water and gases.
Image: Malte Jörn Krafft

Government institutions
Ministry of Environment and Waters Management
Official website of the ministry (in Romanian).

National Institute of Research and Development for Earth Physics
NIEP provides earthquake information for current and past earthquakes, hazards and preparedness information, and education resources for teachers and students.

Garda Nationala de Mediu
National Institute for environment protection. (in Romanian)

Non-profit organizations
Carpathia – European Wilderness Reserve
The goal of the Conservation Carpathia Foundation is to create a world-class wilderness area in the southern Romanian Carpathians.

Terra Mileniul III
Terra Mileniul III is a non-profit organization for the protection of the environment. (in Romanian)


National parks in Romania
Danube Delta (Delta Dunării)
The Danube, which flows into the Black Sea, is the largest and best preserved delta area in Europe.

Bucegi Natural Park
Nature reserve in the Bucegi Mountains of the Southern Carpathians. The park is famous for its mushroom shaped rocks (Babele) and the Sphinx rock formation.

Iron Gates Natural Park
The natural park, located in southwestern Romania, includes the Romanian part of the Iron Gate gorge of the Danube River.

Vânători-Neamț Natural Park
Vânători Park in northeastern Romania is one of the few places where you can see the European bison (Bison bonasus).



Breathtaking view from the Ciucaș peak of the karst landscape southeast of Brașov. Still 28% of Romania is forested, but the ongoing deforestation is a threat to the environment.
Image: David Marcu
 

Romania History



Romanian troops storm the Grivitsa Redoubt during the Romanian War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. The Romanian War of Independence is the name given in Romanian historiography to the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78), as a result of which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Painting: Henryk Dembitzky (1830-1906)


History of Romania
Romania was founded in 1859 by a personal union of the Danubian principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially called Romania since 1866, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877.


History of Romania
A Wikipedia article on the history and bibliography of Romania.

Origin of the Romanians
Wikipedia page on the various theories about the origin of Romanians.

Moldavia
Articles about Moldova, the historical region and a former principality that now belongs to Romania.

History of Transylvania
Wikipedia article about the historical and geographical region in central and northwestern Romania.

History of Transylvania
Important events in the history of Transylvania between 1526 and 1944.

Wallachia
Wikipedia article about the historical and geographical region of Romania.

Timeline of Romanian history
Wikipedia page with a chronological overview of events in the history of Romania.

The Romanian History Index (WWW Virtual Library )
Internet resources on the History of Romania.



Bucharest in the 70s of the 19th century in the area of the Great Market.
Aquarelle: Amedeo Preziosi (1816 – 1882)

 

Additional Information

Selected various country profiles of Romania published by international organizations.


Amnesty International: Romania
Amnesty International is a non-governmental organization focused on human rights.

BBC - Country Profile: Romania
Country profiles by the British public service broadcaster.

EU member countries: Romania
EU member countries, in brief, Romania.

FAO: Romania
UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

GlobalEDGE: Romania
About Romania from Global Business Knowledge Portal.

The Heritage Foundation: Romania
Index of Economic Freedom by The Heritage Foundation, an American conservative think tank.

Human Rights Watch: Romania
HRW conducts research and advocacy on human rights.

OEC: Romania
The Observatory of Economic Complexity provides the latest trade data.

Reporters Without Borders: Romania
RSF (Reporters sans frontières) is an international NGO that defends and promotes media freedom.

Wikipedia: Romania
Wikipedia's Romania page in many languages.

The CIA World Factbook about Romania
The CIA World Factbook's Romania Page.