Bucharest : Romania

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 region where Bucharest is now located was once covered by the Vlăsiei forest, which, after it was cleared, gave way to a fertile flatland.
As with many cities, Bucharest is traditionally considered to have seven hills, in the tradition of the seven hills of Rome. Bucharest’s seven hills are: Mihai Vodă, Patriarhiei, Radu Vodă, Cotroceni, Spirei, Văcăreşti and Sf. Gheorghe Nou.
The city has a total surface of 226 km2. The altitude varies between 55.8 meters at the Dâmboviţa bridge in Căţelu, south-eastern Bucharest and 91.5 m at the Militari church.
Until recently, the regions surrounding Bucharest were largely rural, 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).
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. 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 was then that the Old Royal Court (Curtea Veche) was built and during the rule of Radu cel Frumos it 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 and in 1698, Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu chose it for his capital.
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 IaÅŸi, 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. Today, 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.
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$17,400.
In April 2005, Bucharest had an unemployment rate of 2.6% (quite significantly lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.7%).
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:
A metro (subway) system run by Metrorex – see Bucharest Metro
A surface transport system run by RATB that is made up of buses, trams, trolleybuses and high-speed trams (light-metro) – see Regia Autonomă de Transport Bucureşti
A private taxi system
Getting to and from Bucharest
Air
TAROM, the national air carrier, has 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 EuroCity and EuroNight trains to Budapest via Arad, as well as to Belgrade via TimiÅŸoara. Intercity and Rapid trains service all major cities in Romania. Tickets are inexpensive by Western standards.
In contrast, the “Personal� trains are crowded and slow.
Sights & landmarks
Palatul Parlamentului
The Palace of the Parliament was built by the communist dictator Nicolae CeauÅŸescu (then known as the Palace of the People) and it is the second biggest building in the world after the Pentagon. The huge building hosts the Museum of Contemporary Art
The Village Museum
Established in 1936, the Village Museum is an open air ethnographical museum, extended on 100,000 square metres, containing 272 authentic buildings and peasant farms from all over Romania. – website
Arcul de Triumf
Main article: 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.
CiÅŸmigiu Gardens
The CiÅŸmigiu 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
The Romanian Athenaeum (Ateneu Român)
The Museum of Romanian Historylink website
The Museum of Art Collections
Herăstrău Park, site of the Village Museum
Botanical Garden
Laptăria Enache
The Laptăria Enache, at the back of the upper floor of the National Theater, is well-known as a live music venue; in the warm weather months, the entire operation moves to the theater’s roof.
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 , Carrefour, Bucharest Mall, Plaza Romania 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 effectively 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
Academia de Studii Economice
Universitatea Romano Britanica (British Romanian University)
Universitatea BucureÅŸti
Universitatea Politehnica BucureÅŸti
Universitatea de Medicina si Farmacie Carol Davila
Sports Teams
Football (soccer)
FC Steaua – winner of the 1986 European Champion Clubs’ Cup
FC Rapid
FC Naţional
FC Dinamo BucureÅŸti
Sportul Studenţesc

Sector 1: Băneasa, Pipera, Floreasca
Sector 2: Pantelimon, Colentina, Obor
Sector 3: Vitan, Titan, Centru Civic
Sector 4: Berceni, Olteniţei
Sector 5: Rahova, Ferentari, Cotroceni
Sector 6: Giuleşti, Drumul Taberei, Militari, Crângaşi
History