Climate

Because of its position on the southeastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate that is transitional between temperate and continental. Climatic conditions are somewhat modified by the country’s varied relief. The Carpathians serve as a barrier to Atlantic air masses, restricting their oceanic influences to the west and center of the country, where they make for milder winters and heavier rainfall. The mountains also block the continental influences of the vast plain to the north in the Ukraine, which bring frosty winters and less rain to the south and southeast. In the extreme southeast, Mediterranean influences offer a milder, maritime climate. The average annual temperature is 11°C (51.8°F) in the south and 8°C (46.4°F) in the north. In Bucharest, the temperature ranges from -29°C (-20.2°F) in January to 29°C (84.2°F) in July, with average temperatures of -3°C (26.6°F) in January and 23°C (73.4°F) in July. Rainfall, although adequate throughout the country, decreases from west to east and from mountains to plains. Some mountainous areas receive more than 1,010 millimeters (about 39.764 inches) of precipitation each year. Annual precipitation averages about 635 millimeters (25 inches) in central Transylvania, 521 millimeters (about 20.512 inches) at Iaşi in Moldavia, and only 381 millimeters (15 inches) at Constanţa on the Black Sea.

The Golden Stag Festival

The Golden Stag Festival (Romanian: Cerbul de Aur) is an annual international music festival held in Braşov, Romania. The main organiser is Televiziunea Română, Romania’s state-run (and largest) television network. The festival has two main components: an international contest and guest performances by both Romanian and foreign stars. The Golden Stag was first held in 1968.

Well-known artists have performed at the festival over the years, including Gilbert Becaud, Josephine Baker, Toto Cutugno, James Brown, Kylie Minogue, Diana Ross, Christina Aguilera, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Rogers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, UB 40, INXS, Scorpions, Tom Jones, Ricky Martin, Pink, Sheryl Crow, Kelly Family, t.A.T.u., Ruslana and many others.

The festival previously took place during the summer, but more recently was moved to the autumn. For 2006, the organisers were considering staging the festival in the spring to ensure the presence of top artists.

In the recent years, the Golden Stag Festival has been sponsored entirely by TVR, after the Municipality of Braşov and the Romanian Ministry of Culture decided to stop funding the event.

“Our only goal is to let the public enjoy quality music – and this we will do, by concentrating on the artists, and not the date or the location of the festival.” TVR spokesperson

Serviciul Român de Informaţii

Serviciul Român de Informaţii (SRI) is the Romanian domestic intelligence service. It is considered the descendant of the former Departamentul Securităţii Statului (also called Securitate), of the Socialist Republic of Romania. The official decree (No. 181) that created the agency was released on March 26, 1990. The service functions in collaboration with other branches of the country’s security services, although their funds were scaled down and the secret service lost the position the Securitate held (presumably one of the world’s top secret services prior to 1989). Under the command of Director George Cristian Maior, a long-term process of reform commenced implementation at the beginning of 2007. Reforms include structural changes and a redefinition of the service’s role.

Economy

This is a transitional economy from centrally planned to market. Since 1991, Romania’s economy is privatized. In the private sector produces almost 70 percent of GDP. Unemployment calculated for the whole country does not exceed 10 percent., Although in some regions up to 60 percent. In 2005, Romania hit flood, which caused losses of around 1 billion euros, feared then that it may even delay its accession to the European Union. The most important industries are mining, metallurgy and electrical engineering. In Romania, is also developing tourism.

In the first quarter of 2008 year the GNP increased by 9%.

License plates

Romanian license plates have a white background and black characters, on the side – blue bar with the flag of Romania and the letters RO. 2, the first letters of registration code (an exception is Bucharest, which is code B).

Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking is nothing unusual in Romania. In larger cities are often starting at the city holding pens, where some local hitchhikers stand. It is customary, the driver Sprit money to pay. But at every road can be easily hitchhike. Even then it is often desirable fuel money. Even horse-drawn carriages and trucks take a happy with. After a friendly hand signal just jump up on the coach (pause will be rather rare). Even trucks to hold when the thumb raushält. A map should accompany you to your own goal to be able to show. Conclusion: Romania is a very tramperfreundliches country. It is worthwhile here to hitchhike, not only to reach remote areas, but also to the people, cars and life from an unusual perspective to know.

Etymology

The name of Romania (Rumania or România) comes from Român (Romanian) which is a derivative of the word Romanus (“Roman”) from Latin.The fact that Romanians have said the name is a derivative of Romanus (Romanian: Român/Rumân) is mentioned as early as the 16th century by many authors, including Italian Humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia.^{[7][8][9][10]} The oldest surviving document written in the Romanian language is a 1521 letter (known as “Neacşu’s Letter from Câmpulung”) which notifies the mayor of Braşov about the imminent attack of the Ottoman Turks. This document is also notable for having the first occurrence of “Rumanian” in a Romanian written text, Wallachia being here named The Rumanian Land – Ţeara Rumânească (Ţeara from the Latin: Terra land). In the following centuries, Romanian documents use interchangeably two spelling forms: Român and Rumân.^[12] Socio-linguistic evolutions in the late 17th century led to a process of semantic differentiation: the form “rumân”, presumably usual among lower classes, got the meaning of “bondsman”, while the form român kept an ethno-linguistic meaning.After the abolition of serfdom in 1746, the form “rumân” gradually disappears and the spelling definitively stabilises to the form “român”, “românesc”.The name “România” as common homeland of all Romanians is documented in the early 19th century. This name has been officially in use since December 11, 1861.

English-language sources still used the term “Rumania”, borrowed from the French spelling “Roumania“, as recently as World War II,^[17] but since then the term has disappeared entirely.

Bran Castle

Despite popular myth, Bran castle has no links with Vlad Tepes, the medieval prince most often associated with everyone’s favourite vampire. And, with its fairytale turrets and whitewashed walls, the castle is not exactly menacing. It was actually built by Saxons in 1382 to defend the Bran pass against Turks.

Many rooms have been subjected to a modern redecoration and look as if they are inhabited by rich eccentrics. The furniture is indeed a highlight of a visit here. The fountain in the courtyard conceals a labyrinth of secret underground passages. The entry fee includes admission to an on-site ethnographic museum and the nearby Vama Bran Museum.

When to Go

May and June are the best months to visit, followed by September and early October. At these times, you can visit the medieval painted monasteries in southern Bucovina, and enjoy them minus the tourist hordes. Spring and autumn are also the best times for birdwatching in the Danube Delta. Romania has harsh winters, when tourism is centred on the ski resorts like Poiana Brasov and Sinaia. Snow lingers as late as mid-May and the hiking season doesn’t begin in earnest till June. The resorts along the Black Sea coast start filling up in late June and stay packed until mid-August.

Bucharest

Bucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti /bu.kuˈreʃtʲ/ (help·info)) is the capital city, industrial, and commercial centre of Romania. It is Romania’s largest city. It is located in the southeast of the country, at 44°25′N, 26°06′Eand lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River. It was originally known as Dâmboviţa citadel.

By European standards, Bucharest is not an old city, its existence first being referred to by scholars as late as 1459.^[2] Since then it has gone through a variety of changes, becoming the state capital of Romania in 1862 and steadily consolidating its position as the centre of the Romanian mass media, culture and arts. Its eclectic architecture is a mix of historical, interbellum, Communist-era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city’s elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of the “Paris of the East” or “Little Paris” (Micul Paris).^[3] Although many buildings and districts in the historic centre were damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes and Nicolae Ceauşescu’s program of systematization, many survived. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom.^[4]

According to January 2006 official estimates, Bucharest proper has a population of 1,930,390.^[5] The urban area extends beyond the limits of Bucharest proper and has a population of 2.1 million people.^[6] Adding the satellite towns around the urban area, the metropolitan area of Bucharest has a population of 2.6 million people.^[6]. Bucharest is the 6th largest city in the European Union by population within city limits.^[5]

Economically, the city is the most prosperous in Romania^[7] and is one of the main industrial centres and transportation hubs of Eastern Europe. As the most developed city in Romania, Bucharest also has a broad range of educational facilities.

The city proper is administratively known as the Municipality of Bucharest (Municipiul Bucureşti), and has the same administrative level as a county, being further subdivided into six sectors.