DISCOVER ROMANIA

Geography With a surface area of 238,391 square kilometers Romania is the largest country in southeasternsoutheastern EuropeEurope and the nineth-largest in Europe. Romania's terrain is distributed roughly equally between mountainous, hilly and lowland territories. The Carpathian Mountains dominate the center of Romania, with fourteen of its mountain ranges reaching above the altitude of 2,000 meters.Carpathian Mountainsfourteen of its mountain ranges

DECEMBER 1 - Romania National Day This day memorializes the unification of Transylvania into 'Greater Romania' in 1918 (formalized by international treaty in 1920) as well as Bessarabia and Bukovina

Owing to its CLIMATE Owing to its distance from the open sea and position on the southeastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate that is transitional between temperate and continental with four distinct seasons.temperatecontinental The average annual temperature is 11 °C (52 °F) in the south and 8 °C (46 °F) in the north.

Romania has a population of 21,698,181 and, similarly to other countries in the region, is expected to gently decline in the coming years as a result of sub-replacement fertility rates. Romanianssub-replacement fertility ratesRomanians make up 89.5% of the population. Demographics

The dominant religious body is the Romanian Orthodox Church; its members make up 86.7% of the population.Romanian Orthodox Church RELIGION Palace of the Patriarchate

Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Romanian educational system has been in a continuous process of reform that has been both praised and criticized.Romanian Revolution of 1989reform Each level has its own form of organization and is subject to different legislation. Kindergarten is optional for children between 3 and 6 years old.Kindergarten Schooling starts at age 7 (sometimes 6), and is compulsory until the 10th grade (which usually corresponds to the age of 17 or 16).Schooling Primary Primary and secondary education are divided into 12 grades.secondary Higher education Higher education is aligned with the European higher education area.European higher education area EDUCATION SYSTEM

A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. The Romanian culture is very rich in tradition and folklore. Folklore of Romania

MusicMusic and dance represent a lively part of the Romanian folklore and there are a great variety of musical genres and dances.danceRomanian folklore

Keeping the tradition alive Hora is one of the most famous groupHora Dances. Căluşari Căluşari dance (men's folk dances ) is extremely complex and has been declared by UNESCOUNESCO to be "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritages of Humanity". Calusari Dance

Romanian Celebrations While Valentine’s Day is mostly related to people. Is the Romanian holiday dedicated to love. Dragobete, is strongly connected to nature. As the first signs of spring show, nature and man restart the cycle of life and love. On June 23, SINZIENELE is celebrated. It is a ceremonial ritual performed by young girls who are the symbol of purity. They are to invoke the spirits of wealth and crops and to bring forth a good year in general.

Christmas The Christmas celebration starts with Christmas carols, traditional foods and decorated trees are part of the Christmas traditions. Children start to sing carols during a ceremony in which a white newborn lamb is carried by a child, thus symbolizing religious faith and purity. Another important date is December 6, when St. Nicholas brings small gifts to the young children who have polished their shoes and placed them in front of a window in their home.

Christmas in Romanian

Winter Celebrations The Colidnatul Celebration The Bear Celebration

The Sunday before Easter Sunday is called FLOWERS' SUNDAY. On that day, a special celebration takes place for all who have names associated with flowers. Fish may be eaten that day. The first day of March is the celebration of MARTISOR a day when gifts of small are given to young girls and women. The little gift brings good luck, it is said, during the month of March and throughout the year ahead. Overall, Martisor signifies the end of winter and the arrival of spring.

Easter is the second largest religious celebration in Romania. Lamb, cheese cake, colored eggs and feta cheese make an appearance in every Easter dinner. The egg as a symbol represents the miracle of creation. A ritual coloring of the eggs takes place to express this symbolism. The first egg colored for Easter belongs to the children and it must be colored red. The second egg colored is blue, representing the "love of young women." It is meant to bring good luck in a marriage.

Largest cities Bucharest Bucharest is the capital and the largest city in Romania. At the census in 2002, its population was over 2.1 million. The metropolitan area of Bucharest has a population of about 2.2 million.metropolitan areaBucharest House of the Parliament the second largest building on Earth The Triumph Arch

Bucharest in pictures

IASI Called “ The city on seven hills ”seven hills and "The city of great loves", Iaşi represents a symbol of Romanian history. Iaşi is the social, economic, cultural and academic centre of the Romanian region of Moldavia.

TIMISOARA One of the largest Romanian cities, the third most populous city in Romania. Timişoara is the main economic and cultural center in Banat, in the western part of the country.Banat

SIBIU Sibiu is one of the most important cultural centres of Romania, and was designated a European Capital of CultureEuropean Capital of Culture for the year 2007, in tandem with Luxembourg.Luxembourg

CLUJ NAPOCA Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania Romania. It hosts the country's largest university, Babeş-Bolyai University,Babeş-Bolyai University with its famous botanical garden;botanical garden nationally renowned cultural institutions; as well as the largest Romanian-owned commercial bank.

CONSTANTA Constanta is one of the oldest cities in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located on the Black Sea coast.RomaniaBlack Sea The beach season is at its best between mid May and late September.

What is there to be seen? Bear Cave

watherfalls Cascada Covatari Horse watherfall Caraiman watherfall

St. Ann’s Lake Bicaz lake Red lake Vidraru lake

Curchi monestery Moldavia Monastery The world’s tallest wood church – 25 metres long

The Transfagarasan Road -is by far the most spectacular road in Romania; it passes through Fagaras Mountains (the highest mountains in Romania) connecting Muntenia and Transilvania

The Palace of the People- It is the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon.

About Romanian people? Romanians are naturally hospitable people and always eager to share stories of their village with travelers passing-by. You will surely be invited into their home for a home-cooked traditional Romanian meal.