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ROMANIA
Land of
Mountains, Rolling Hills and the Real Life Model for Count
Dracula
By
Liz Goldner
 Romania’s
natural beauty, impressive cultural life and friendly people
have been partly hidden from the larger world for years, until
the fall of Communism.
Located
in southeastern Central Europe, sharing borders with Hungary,
Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, the Black Sea, Ukraine and the Republic
of Moldova, Romania is roughly the size of Oregon. Bucharest,
the capital city with a population of 2,200,000, is aligned
with Portland, Oregon; Montreal, Canada; Venice, Italy; and
Bordeaux, France.
Romania
features impressive mountains, rolling hills, fertile plains
and numerous rivers and lakes. The Carpathian Mountains, traversing
the country’s center, is bordered by foothills and the
Great Plains. Forests cover over one quarter of the country,
while the fauna includes bears, deer, lynx, chamois and wolves.
The Danube River ends its eight-country journey at the Black
Sea at one of the biggest wetlands in the world, the Danube
Delta.
One third
of the country consists of the Carpathian Mountains (known
as the Transylvanian Alps). Another third is hills and plateau,
with orchards and vineyards. The final third is a fertile
plain, largely devoted to agriculture. The country has a temperate
climate, similar to the northeastern United States, with
four distinct seasons.
About
21,700,000 people live in Romania. Eighty nine percent are
Romanian, seven and a half percent are Hungarian, and less
than two percent are Gypsy, German, Ukrainian, Armenian, Croatian,
Serbian and Turkish. The main religions in the country are:
Eastern Orthodox 87 percent, Roman Catholic five percent and
Protestant five percent.
Romanian,
a Latin based language, is a continuation of Latin spoken
in ancient times in Dacia and Moesia in the eastern provinces
of the Roman Empire. The word for “peace” in Romanian
is “pace” pronounced pah – chay (stress
on the first syllable). Most
Romanians living in towns and cities can communicate in English,
French or German.
History
Romania's
history has not been as peaceful as its geography. Over the
centuries, various migrating people have invaded the country,
while its provinces, Wallachia and Moldova, offered furious
resistance to the invading Ottoman Turks. Transylvania was
successively under Hapsburg, Ottoman or Wallachian rule.
Romania's
post WWII history as a communist-block nation is more widely
known, primarily due to the excesses of the former dictator
Nicolae Ceausescu. In December 1989, a national uprising led
to his overthrow. The 1991 Constitution established Romania
as a republic with a multiparty system, market economy and
individual rights of free speech, religion and private ownership.
Romania
has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Age as evidenced
by carved stone tools unearthed there.
10,000
B.C. —cave paintings in northwest Transylvania.
4,000
B.C. —pottery (dated to the Neolithic Age) found in
all regions of Romania.
3,000
B.C. — Thracian tribes of Indo-European origin, who
migrated from Asia, occupied the actual territory of Romania.
2,000
B.C. — a distinctive Thracian sub-group emerged. The
Greeks called these people Getae, but to the Romans they were
Dacians. Herodotus called them "the fairest and most
courageous of men" because they believed in the immortality
of the soul and were not afraid to die.
700 B.C.
— Greeks arrived and settled near the Black Sea. The
cities of Histria, Tomis (now Constanta) and Callatis (now
Mangalia) were established. Western-style civilization developed.
70-44
B.C. — Dacian king Burebista controlled the territory
of modern-day Romania. Burebista created a powerful Dacian
kingdom.
100 A.D.
— Dacian civilization reaches its peak.
101-106
A.D. — Romans conquer and colonize Dacia (today's Romania).
Dacia becomes a Roman province and Dacians adopt the conquerors'
language.
106-274
A.D. — Dacia is a province of the Roman Empire.
271 A.D.
— after fighting off the barbarian Goths, Roman troops
abandon Dacia.
4th Century
— Christianity is adopted by the Daco-Roman, Latin-speaking
people.
4th-10th
Centuries — nomadic tribes from Asia and Europe (Goths,
Visigoths, Huns, Slavs, Magyars) invade Dacia.
11th Century
— Romanians were the only Latin people in the eastern
part of the former Roman Empire and the only Latin people
to belong to the Orthodox faith.
Hungarian (Magyar) forces invade northeastern and central
Romania (Transylvania).
12th Century
— Saxon (German) settlers begin to establish several
towns in Transylvania. Germans were invited to settle in Transylvania
by the king of Hungary who wanted to consolidate his position
in the newly occupied territory.
13th Century
— The first formal division of the formerly unified
Romanian population. The principalities of Wallachia, Moldavia,
and Transylvania are established. Transylvania becomes an
autonomous principality under Magyar rule, until 1526. Magyar
forces tried unsuccessfully to capture Wallachia and Moldavia.
14th-15th
Centuries — Wallachia and Moldavia offered strong resistance
to the Ottoman Empire expansion.
15th Century
– Count Dracula – Dracula, a work of fiction,
does contain some historical references. During his first
reign (1456–1462), "Vlad the Impaler" is said
to have killed from 20,000 to 40,000 European civilians (political
rivals, criminals, and anyone else he considered "useless
to humanity"), mainly by impaling them on a sharp pole.
Some Romanians revere Vlad III as a folk hero for driving
off the invading Turks. His impaled victims are said to have
included as many as 100,000Turkish Muslims..
Historically,
the name "Dracul" is derived from a secret fraternal
order of knights called the Order of the Dragon. Vlad II Dracul,
father of Vlad III, was admitted to the order around 1431
because of his bravery in fighting the Turks. From 1431 onward,
Vlad II wore the emblem of the order and later, as ruler of
Wallachia, his coinage bore the dragon symbol. The name Dracula
means "Son of Dracul".
Bram Stoker,
who published a novel about Count Dracula in 1897, is said
to have come across the name Dracula in his readings of Romanian
history.
16th Century
— Threatened by the Turks, who conquered Hungary, the
Romanian provinces of Wallachia, Moldova and Transylvania
retain autonomy by paying tribute to the Turks.
17th Century
— Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania are briefly united
under Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave), prince of Wallachia.
Unity lasted only one year after which, Michael the Brave
was defeated by the Turks and Hapsburg forces. Transylvania
came under Hapsburg rule while Turkish rule continued in Wallachia
and Moldavia.
18th Century
— Transylvania and the northern part of Moldavia (called
Bucovina) are incorporated in the Hapsburg Empire.
1821 —
Moldavia looses its eastern territory, Bessarabia, to Russia.
1848 —
Transylvania falls under the direct rule of Hungary and a
strong push for Magyarisation (of names and official language),
from Budapest, follows.
1859 —
Alexandru Ioan Cuza is elected to the thrones of Moldavia
and Wallachia.
1862 —
Wallachia and Moldavia unite to form a national state: Romania.
1866 —
Carol I (German born) succeeds Alexandru Ioan Cuza, as prince
of Romania.
1881 —
Romania becomes a Kingdom.
1914 —
King Carol I dies. He is succeeded by his nephew King Ferdinand
I (1914-1927). Romania enters WWI on the side of the Triple
Entente aiming to regain its lost territories (part of Transylvania,
Bessarabia and Bukovina).
1918 —
During large public assemblies representatives of most towns,
villages and local communities in Transylvania, Bessarabia
and Bucovina declare union with Romania.
1930 —
Carol II, Ferdinand's I son becomes king of Romania.
1939 —
Germany demands a monopoly on Romanian exports (mainly oil,
lumber and agricultural products) in exchange for the guarantee
of its borders.
1940 —
The Soviet Union annexes Bessarabia and Northern Bucovina.
Germany and Italy force Romania to cede Northern Transylvania
to Hungary and Southern Dobrogea to Bulgaria. Widespread demonstrations
against King Carol II. Marshall Ion Antonescu forces him to
abdicate in favor of his 19-year-old son Michael. Carol II
flees Romania.
1941 —
Marshall Ion Antonescu imposes a military dictatorship. In
order to regain Bessarabia, Romania joins Germany against
the Soviet Union.
1944 —
King Michael engineers a royal coup and arrests Marshall Ion
Antonescu. Romania changes sides and joins Soviet forces against
Fascist Germany.
1945 —
The Yalta Agreement makes Romania part of the Soviet system.
1947 —
With Soviet troops on its territory, Romania enters the sphere
of influence of the Soviet Union. The communists, who gradually
took power, force King Michael to abdicate and proclaim Romania
a People's Republic.
1950s
— After Stalin's death, Romania begins to distance itself
from Moscow.
1968 —
The condemnation of Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia
by Romania's communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu, earns him
praise and economic aid from the West.
1980s
— Obsessed with repaying the national debt and megalomaniac
building projects Ceausescu orders a ban on importation of
any consumer products and commands exportation of all goods
produced in Romania except minimumfood supplies. Severe restrictions
of civil rights are imposed.
1989 —
Romanians unite in protests against the communist leadership
and local demonstrations sparked a national uprising that
finally ousted communist ruler Nicolae Ceausescu and his cabinet.
1991 —
Romanians vote for a new Constitution.
People and Culture
Romania
is associated with big names in arts and sports.
Constantin
Brancusi is one of the most acclaimed modern sculptors.
Angela
Gheorghiu is one of the world's greatest opera sopranos.
Alexandra
Nechita, a young Romanian painter known for her distinct style,
now lives in California,
Nadia
Comaneci was a former Olympic champion gymnast.
Other
world-renowned Romanian artists include the writer Eugene
Ionesco, pan flute virtuoso Gheorghe Zamfir, piano player
Radu Lupu and musician George Enescu.
George
Enescu, 1881-1955, was a Romanian composer, violinist and
conductor. He graduated from The Vienna Conservatory at age
11. conducted orchestras in New York and Philadelphia, and
was to Romania what Mozart was to Austria.
The soil
sample for Common Ground 191 was collected by Mihaela Paraschivescu
on the grounds of the George Enescu National Museum, Bucharest,
on February 12, 2007. Mihaela wrote, “I personally went
to the site with two colleagues of mine, one digged and took
the sample, another took photographs and put on the CD, and
I organized the package and included the story and gave the
package to the courier.”
Economy
For many
centuries Romania's economy was based on agriculture. In the
1930’s, Romania, one of the main European producers
of wheat, corn and meat, used to be called "the bread
basket of Europe." In the 1950s the communist leader,
Gheorghe Gheorghiu Dej, began developing heavy industry.
Romania
produces coal, natural gas, iron ore and petroleum, while
most raw material for the country's large industrial projects
are imported. Prominent industries include chemical (petrochemical,
paints and varnishes), metal processing, machine manufacturing,
industrial and transport equipment, textiles, manufactured
consumer goods, lumbering and furniture.
The country’s
main crops are corn, wheat, vegetable oil seeds, vegetables,
apples and grapes for wine. Sheep and pigs are the main livestock.
Forestry and fisheries are being developed under long-term
programs.
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