About Romania

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Romania is a country with a long and colorful history set in a varied landscape. Moving from east to west, one passes through Transylvania and over the beautiful Carpathian Mountains. Further east and south in Wallachia lies the plain of the Danube River and the capital, Bucharest, a thriving modern city.

As the Danube flows on to the east, it splits into a wide delta which has some of the densest populations of migratory birds in the world. Along the Black Sea are miles of beaches dotted with resorts. North of the mouth of the Danube is Moldovia an area of ancient cities and extraordinary examples of church architecture.

Romania is, in land mass, slightly smaller than the state of Oregon. It has a population of around 23 million. Ninety percent of the people in the country are said to be of Romanian ethnicity while the remainder is largely Hungarian in descent. These people live mostly in Transylvania and have, over the centuries, been a source of conflict between Hungary and Romania. There is also a significant Gypsy presence in the country.

The Romanian language clearly shows its relationship to Latin and its affinity for things Italian and French. In fact, a person with a good high school Latin course will find part of the language understandable.

Romania is known for its incredible agricultural production as the lands along the Danube are extremely fertile. A damning indictment of the Ceausescu regime was the fact that under his "systematization" of the villages, Romania's people were near starvation.

The country has significant mineral deposits, most notably coal and oil. There are also ore bearing bodies in the Carpathian mountains. Based upon these assets, a strong manufacturing and heavy industry presence was developed under the Communist regimes. These are currently in some disarray as they try to adapt to market economies and learn to compete in a global market. Progress continues to be made, and most consider Romania's manufacturing capacity to be a major asset.