Romania.
The land of Count Dracula, Gheorghe Hagi and Ilie Nastase, George Enescu and Nadia Comaneci, Constantin Brancusi and Hertha Muller, Lucian Bute and Daniel Negreanu, Stefan Odobleja and Nicolae Paulescu, Henri Coanda and Aurel Vlaicu and even George Pomutz, an American Civil War general. You may or may not have heard of the people I listed above but in their respective fields all of them have made a considerable impact throughout their lives.
And all of them come from a country in Eastern Europe called Romania.
Many of you have heard about this Eastern European country and with this thread I hope to shed a light on the beauty of Romania and hopefully help you to make a decision with regards to a possible visit.![]()
To start off the thread, I will present a couple of quick facts and figures to give you a better idea about Romania.
The first remains of human activity in Romania are from 42000 years ago, from the "Cave With Bones", whilst the earliest known written evidence of people living in the area are from Herodotus's writings mentioning the local tribes called "Getae". The Dacian Kingdoms which controlled the area later under the reign of Burebista (82BC - 44BC) and later on Decebal were conquered by the Roman Empire and colonised in 106AD.
Later on in the Middle Ages, the first medieval kingdom in Romania was founded in 1330 and up until the Declaration of Independence in 1878 with a new Kingdom of Romania, the territories in modern day Romania have been either independent or under foreign rule.
The creation of the Kingdom of Romania in 1878 under the reign of King Carol (Karl) I ensured stability and prosperity that culminated with the creation of Greater Romania in 1918, comprising of Wallachia, Moldavia, Transylvania, Bucovina, the Quadrilater and Bessarabia. After World War 2, Romania was a Communist country, led by Gheorghe Ghiorghiu Dej and later on by the infamous Nicolae Ceausescu.
Since the fall of the Communist Revolution in 1989, Romania has made the transition to democracy using a system of bi-chamber Parliament and a unitary semi-presidential republic with the capital in Bucharest and under the guidance of the current incumbent Traian Basescu.
Romania celebrates on the 1st of December, since 1918, the Great Union Day of all of the main regions of the country. Since the collapse of Communism in 1989, 1st of December has been declared the National Day of Romania.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_of_Romania
For those interested in Romanian mythology, check this post - Romanian mythology
For those interested in the Romanian monarchy, check this post - Romanian Royal House
And without further ado, here's some wonderful pictures, almost all of them taken from this wonderful Facebook group called "273 places you have to visit in Romania."
http://www.facebook.com/273.ro
Bodi Lake
Calimani Plateau
Corcoaiei Gorges
Peles Castle - built by King Carol I
Dawn at Costinesti, Black Sea
Postavaru Plateau, 1600m
Brasov - The Black Church, centered
Curtea de Arges Cathedral
Bran Castle - Dracula's wrongly attributed residence (Vlad Tepes's castle was Poenari)
Top 5 Things to Visit in Romania
Promotional ad to be featured on major media channels
National Anthem of Romania
The thread will be frequently updated with more pictures, couple of videos and other information regarding Romania, including a special lengthy post about the capital Bucharest, so stay tuned.
Furthermore, if you wish to visit Romania, do not hesitate to post in this thread. I'd be more than happy to give you information where to go, what to visit, where to stay...
Here is the official website of the Romanian tourism - http://www.romaniatourism.com/
Thank you and I hope you enjoy.![]()