| Bucharest (population 2.3 million, Romanian:
Bucureşti) is the capital city and industrial and commercial centre of Romania, located in the southeast of the country, on the Dâmboviţa river.
Geography
Along a small tributary of Dâmboviţa, named Colentina, several lakes
stretch across the city, the most important being Lake Floreasca, Lake Tei and Lake Colentina. In addition, in the center of the
capital there is a small artificial lake - Lake Cişmigiu. Surrounded by gardens and parks, it has a rich history, as it was
frequented by famous poets and writers.
The city has a total surface of 226 km2.
Until recently, the regions surrounding Bucharest were largely rural areas, but after 1989, new suburbs started to be built around Bucharest, in Ilfov county.
Divisions
The city is divised in 6 administrative sectors (sectoare), each further divided into districts (cartiere).
History
Main article: History of Bucharest
Middle Ages
The legend says that Bucharest was founded by a shepherd named Bucur, another variant, more likely, is that it was established by Mircea cel Bătrân in the 14th century after a
victory won over the Turks (bucurie means joy in Romanian, for this reason Bucharest is often called "The City of
Joy.").
Like most ancient cities of Romania, its foundation has also been ascribed to the first Walachian prince, the half-mythical
Radu Negru (1290-1314). More modern historians declare that it was originally a
fortress, erected on the site of some Daco-Roman settlements, then it was used to command the approaches to Târgovişte, formerly the capital of Walachia.
Bucharest is first mentioned under its present name as a residence in 1459 of the
Walachian prince Vlad Ţepeş (Vlad the Impaler). It soon became the
summer residence of the court. In 1595 it was burned by the Turks; but, after its
restoration, continued to grow in size and prosperity, until, in 1698, Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu chose it for his capital and of the
united provinces of Walachia and Moldavia from February 1859 (renamed Romania in December 1861 while still nominally subject to the
Ottoman Empire).
Modern history
During the 18th century the possession of Bucharest was frequently
disputed by the Turks, Austrians and Russians. In 1812 it gave its name to the treaty by which
Bessarabia and a third of Moldavia were ceded to Russia. In the war of 1828 it was occupied by the Russians, who made it over to the prince of Walachia in the following year.
On 23 March 1847 a fire consumed about
2,000 buildings of Bucharest (about a third of the city) .
A rebellion against Prince Bibescu in 1848 brought both Turkish and Russian
interference, and the city was again held by Russian troops in 1853-1854. On their departure an Austrian garrison took possession and remained till March 1857. In 1858 the international congress for the organization of the
Danubian principalities was held in the city; and when, in 1861, the union of Walachia and
Moldavia was proclaimed, Bucharest became the Romanian capital. Alexander John Cuza, the first ruler of the united provinces, was driven from his throne by an
insurrection in Bucharest in 1866.
In the second half of the 19th century, the population of the city
increased dramatically. The extravagant architecture and cosmopolitan high culture of this period won Bucharest the nickname of
The Paris of the East (or Little Paris, "Micul Paris"), with Calea Victoriei as its Champs Elysées or Fifth Avenue, but the social divide
between rich and poor was described at the time by Ferdinand
Lassalle as "a savage hotchpotch."
20th century
On December 6, 1916 the city was
occupied by the German forces, the capital being moved to Iaşi, but it was liberated in November 1918, becoming the capital of the
new united Kingdom of Romania.
Bucharest suffered heavy loses during WWII due to the English and American bombardments.
On November 8, 1945, the king's day, the
communists suppressed pro-monarchist rallies.
During Nicolae Ceauşescu's leadership, most of the
historical part of the city, including old churches, was destroyed, to be replaced with the grandomanic socialist buildings of
the Centru Civic, notably the Palace of the Parliament. Some historic districts remain, but many argue whether Bucharest
is really the Paris of the East today.
In 1977, a strong 7.4 on the Richter-scale earthquake claimed 1,500 lives and destroyed many old buildings.
Mass protests began in Timişoara in December 1989 and continued in Bucharest, leading to the overthrow of
Ceauşescu's communist regime.
Unhappy with the results of the revolution, mass protests supported by the students' leagues continued in 1990 (the Golaniad) and were violently stopped by the miners of Valea Jiului (the Mineriad). Several other Mineriads followed,
the results of which included a government change.
After the year 2000, due to the advent of Romania's economic boom, the city has
modernized and many historical areas have been restored to their former glory.
Treaties signed in Bucharest
- May 28, 1812, at the end of the Russo-Turkish
War. Romania loses Bessarabia
- March 3, 1886, at the end of the war
between Serbia and Bulgaria
- August 10, 1913, at the end of the
Second Balkan War (see: Treaty of Bucharest,
1913)
- August 4, 1916, the treaty of alliance
between Romania and Entente (France, England, Russia and Italy)
- May 6, 1918, the treaty between Romania and the
Central Powers, which was never ratified
(see: Treaty of Bucharest, 1918)
Population
The population greatly increased in the last two centuries with Bucharest growing importance, partially due to urbanization of
Romanians, who, until the 19th century were mostly farmers, predominantly
living in rural areas. Nowadays, about 9% of the population of Romania lives in Bucharest.
- 1800: 32,000
- 1859: 122,000
- 1900: 282,000
- 1918: 383,000
- 1930: 639,000
- 1966: 1,452,000
- 2000: 2,300,000
- 2003: 2,082,000 (official census statistics) + 50,000 commuters
The life expectancy of Bucharest in 2000-2002 was 73.1 years, around 2 years higher than the Romanian average.
Economy
Although it accounts for around 9% of Romania's population, Bucharest produces around 21% of the country's GDP and about a quarter of the industrial production, being
obviously the most developed area and industrialized area of Romania. Almost two-thirds of Romania's national taxes are paid by
Bucharest citizens and companies. [1] (http://www.capital.ro/index.jsp?page=article&article_id=18487§ion_id=3)
The weak status of the Romanian leu in international exchange rates makes it difficult to compare economic product of Bucharest to
that of the European Union countries. Based on local purchasing power,
Bucharest has per capita GDP about about 50% that of the EU, nearly twice the Romanian average. [2] (http://www.anchete.ro/articol.php?limba=ro&ID_articol=627). Based on the fact that
Bucharest produces around 21% of Romanian GDP for a population of around 2 milion, the GDP (PPP) per capita would be US$16,300.
[3] (http://www.erionet.org/JIM%20Romania.htm)
Transport
Main article: Mass transit in
Bucharest
Bucharest boasts the largest transport network in Romania, and one of the largest
in the Central and Eastern Europe region. Transport can be divided into
three major fields:
Getting to and from Bucharest
Air
TAROM, the national air carrier, has good flights from a large variety of world
cities, including Paris, Madrid, Munich and Rome, to Henri Coandă Airport (formerly
Otopeni), the main international airport. Also, other private Romanian airlines operate from Băneasa and Coandă Airports.
See also Angel Airlines.
Train
Main article:Căile Ferate Române
Train services into and out of Romania are of very high quality, especially those trains that are operated by Romanian
railways, Hungarian railways or Polish railways. There are quality EuroCity and
EuroNight trains to Budapest via Arad, as well as to
Belgrade via Timişoara.Quality
Intercity and Rapid trains service all major cities in Romania. Tickets are
inexpensive by Western standards. In contrast to these are the daily commuters trains (Personal) that are very slow, crowded and
inconfortable. Avoid these at all cost.
Sights & Landmarks
Palatul Parlamentului
The Palace of the Parliament was built by
the communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu (then known as the
Palace of the People) and it is the second biggest building in the world after the Pentagon.
The Village Museum
Established in 1936, the Village Museum is an open air ethnographical museum, extended
on 10 hectares, containing 272 authentic buildings and peasant farms from all over Romania.
Arcul de Triumf
The first, wooden, triumphal arch was built hurriedly, after Romania
gained its independence (1878), so that the victorious troops could march under it. Another
temporary arch was built on the same site, after World War I. The current
arch was built in 1935.
Cişmigiu Gardens
The Cişmigiu Gardens were built as a public garden in the
center of Bucharest in 1847 after the plans of the German architect Carl F.W. Meyer.
National Museum of Art
See main article National
Museum of Art of Romania.
Located in the former royal palace, the museum features notable collections of medieval and modern Romanian art, as well as
the international collection assembled by the Romanian royal family. The modern Romanian collection features sculptures by
Constantin Brâncuşi and Dimitrie Paciurea.
Museum of the Romanian Peasant
See main article Museum of the
Romanian Peasant A beautifully displayed collection of textiles (especially costumes), icons, ceramics, and other
artifacts of Romanian peasant life. This institution received the "European Museum of the Year 1996" prize.
Other landmarks
See also a more comprehensive list of
buildings in Bucharest.
Shopping
Supermarket chains
Shopping in Bucharest is very affordable and of a considerably high quality. For food and necessities shopping, see Supermarkets in Romania.
Shopping centers
The biggest modern shopping centers in Bucharest are Cora [4] (http://www.cora.ro), Carrefour, Bucharest Mall, Bucharest Plaza and Unirea shopping
center. However, there are also a large number of traditional markets; the one at Obor
covers about a dozen city blocks, and numerous large stores that are not officially part of the market effectivly add up to a
market district almost twice that size.
Ethnic artifacts
The Museum of the Romanian Peasant
has a very notable store, offering artifacts such as textiles, musical instruments, and painted eggs.
Education
The first Romanian higher education institution was opened in 1694 (the Academy of Saint Sava), and in 1864 the Bucharest University was established; today there are 21 higher education
institutes with nearly 100,000 students in the capital.
Colleges and Universities
Sports Teams
Football (soccer)
Portrayal in film and fiction
- The American-produced Romanian-language documentary Children Underground (2000) [5] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264476/) portrays the lives of homeless children in
Bucharest.
- The Romanian-language film Filantropica ("Philanthropy", 2002) [6] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314067/) gives a satiric portrayal of the city and of many
strata of its life.
- The English-language film The Wild Dogs (2002) [7] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290930/) gives a more uniformly bleak portrait of the city.
External links
Official sites
City guides
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