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Location of Romania
LocationAt the confluence of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to the east, and the Black Sea to the southeast. It has a predominantly continental climate, and an area of 238,397 km2 (92,046 sq mi) with a population of 19 million people (2023). Romania is the twelfth-largest country in Europe and the sixth-most populous member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, followed by Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Timișoara, Constanța, Craiova, Brașov, and Galați.

Settlement in what is now Romania began in the Lower Paleolithic followed by written records attesting the kingdom of Dacia, its conquest, and subsequent Romanisation by the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The modern Romanian state was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. During World War I, after declaring its neutrality in 1914, Romania fought together with the Allied Powers from 1916. In the aftermath of the war, Bukovina, Bessarabia, Transylvania, and parts of Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș became part of the Kingdom of Romania. In June–August 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and Second Vienna Award, Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union and Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In November 1940, Romania signed the Tripartite Pact and, consequently, in June 1941 entered World War II on the Axis side, fighting against the Soviet Union until August 1944, when it joined the Allies and recovered Northern Transylvania. Following the war and occupation by the Red Army, Romania became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact. After the 1989 Revolution, Romania began a transition towards democracy and a market economy.

Romania is a high-income country, with a very high Human Development Index and a highly complex economy, that is emerging to be a middle power in international affairs. Romania ranked 47th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023. Its economy ranks among the fastest growing in the European Union, being the world's 44th largest by nominal GDP, and the 36th largest by PPP. Romanian citizens enjoy one of the fastest and cheapest internet speeds in the world. Romania experienced rapid economic growth in the early 2000s; its economy is now based predominantly on services. It is a producer and net exporter of cars and electric energy through companies like Automobile Dacia and OMV Petrom. The majority of Romania's population are ethnic Romanians and religiously identify themselves as Eastern Orthodox Christians, speaking Romanian, a Romance language (more specifically Eastern Romance). Romania is a member of the United Nations, the European Union, the Schengen Area, NATO, the Council of Europe, BSEC and WTO. (Full article...)

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The founding of Wallachia (Romanian: descălecatul Țării Românești), that is the establishment of the first independent Romanian principality, was achieved at the beginning of the 14th century, through the unification of smaller political units that had existed between the Carpathian Mountains, and the Rivers Danube, Siret and Milcov.

Prior to the consolidation of Wallachia, waves of nomadic peoples – the last of them being the Cumans and the Mongols – rode across the territory. The territory became a frontier area between the Golden Horde (the westernmost part of the Mongol Empire) and the Kingdom of Hungary after 1242. The Romanians in Muntenia, east of the Olt River, had to pay tribute to the Mongols; and west of the river, in Oltenia, they were oppressed by the Bans of Severin, appointed by the Kings of Hungary. The Golden Horde's domination decreased in the region at the end of the 13th century, and at that time the Kingdom of Hungary also underwent a strong political crisis. These events enabled the incipient states of the territory to consolidate their autonomy. (Full article...)
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Contra as manager of Romania in 2018

Cosmin Marius Contra (Romanian pronunciation: [kosˈmin ˈmari.us ˈkontra]; born 15 December 1975) is a Romanian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Saudi Pro League club Damac.

Primarily an attacking-minded right-back, he was also deployed as a midfielder. He played professionally in three countries his own notwithstanding, mainly Spain where he appeared for Alavés, Atlético Madrid and Getafe, amassing La Liga totals of 188 games and eight goals. A Romania international for nearly 15 years, he represented the nation in two European Championships. (Full article...)
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The rock sculpture of Decebalus, made between 1994–2004, is a carving in rock of the face of Decebalus (r. AD 87–106), the last king of Dacia, who fought against the Roman emperors Domitian and Trajan to preserve the independence of his country, which corresponded to modern Romania.

Did you know (auto generated)

  • ... that film critic and censor D. I. Suchianu wanted Romanian moviegoers to cease "falling asleep whenever they're not shown a naked breast [or] a hip that's getting some action"?
  • ... that Soviet politician Pavel Chioru wanted "Moldovan", which he developed from a dialect of Romanian, to serve as a language of the "exploited" against the supposedly upper-class Romanian?
  • ... that the tanker MV Millennial Spirit sailed under a Moldovan flag, was crewed entirely by Russians, and was mistaken for a Romanian ship?
  • ... that Caloian, a ritual once practiced in southern and eastern Romania, involved the burial of a figurine by young girls, one of whom acted as a priest?
  • ... that Romanian musicologist Cornel Țăranu completed unfinished scores by George Enescu that Enescu did not wish to publish?
  • ... that Gheorghe Eminescu, nephew of Romania's national poet, spent time in communist prisons, including one which allocated him a 25-centimeters-wide (10-inch) sleeping area?

More did you know

  • ...that Timișoara, a city in western Romania, was the first European city to have electric streetlights (that time part of Austria-Hungary)?

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