The New Romania
In December 1989, Romania was reborn as a free nation. This diverse country now welcomes
tourists who can enjoy a wonderfully varied heritage of traditional culture,
scenic splendors and opportunities for leisure. A
resurgence of endeavor and enthusiasm is revigorating the tourist facilities of the country to
create a unique holiday destination.
Plenty of Things to Do
and See
The choice of activities and places
to visit is extensive. You can ski in traditional or purpose-built mountain resorts
or laze in the hot sun on the beaches at the Black Sea, comparable to those on
the Mediterranean.
You can hike through unspoiled
landscapes, where rivers run clear, or go boating in the 5,640 sq km (2,200 sq
miles) water wilderness of the Danube Delta. Out of this
total surface 4,340 sq km (1,695 sq miles) are to be found in Romania. There one can see pelicans and other endangered birds among floating
iles overgrown with reeds.
One can also enjoy the
architecture, museums and galleries of the cities.
A Legendary History
The very name "Romania" reminds us that ancient Rome exercised a
decisive influence on this country and on the monuments of that era.
There are feudal fortresses,
Byzantine decorated monasteries and adorned village houses to be admired, while
"Dracula's" castle is only one among many other fascinating castles
and palaces.
Living Cultural
Traditions
You can see folk festivals in Transylvania that are genuine
expressions of local culture, not merely staged for visitors. When you buy local
woodcarvings or pottery you buy things made to give pleasure while in use, not
just valueless souvenirs.
One of the many extraordinary
aspects of this country is its vibrant rural culture. For decades the outside
world heard little about it. Not that Romania's heritage is simply one of folk art! Bucharest used to be called the "Little Paris", and with good reason,
too!
Today first class opera and concert
halls, permanent art exhibitions, like that of the sculptor Brancusi,
fine museums and galleries are all specific for Romania's new sophisticated artistic sensitivity.
Modern Facilities and
Affordable Prices
Better still this is all backed up
by the comfort of a widening range of hotels and restaurants, good domestic
transportation by air, train and bus, and surprisingly low prices. Going to the
opera is quite affordable, let alone local dishes and wines. Romania is fun to visit. Come and see for yourself.
Discovering Romania
Some of Romania's many faces
Romania offers a wide choice of general and "theme" touring ideas.
These itinerary suggestions are just a few of many possibilities. Your travel
agent will have much more to add to them.
Painted Monasteries and Feudal Castles

Your 8 day tour to the "Sixtine
Chapel of the East" and some of the most dramatic scenery in Romania starts with a night in Bucharest before driving to Piatra Neamt for wine tasting - Moldavian wines have been famous for 500 years -
and overnight stay.
On Day 3 you visit the graceful 17th century convent of Agapia,
the monastery of Dragomirna, and tour Suceava, former capital of Moldavia. Overnight in Suceava.
Day 4 brings you to the famous painted monasteries. They have marvelously colored and detailed
frescoes of religious and historical scenes on their outside walls.
You will see Humor,
where monks taught painters their craft; Voronet,
known as the Sixtine Chapel of the East; and Sucevita, set in a dramatically fortified compound. Return
to Piatra Neamt to overnight.
Day 5 takes you through the
spectacular Bicaz Gorges in the Eastern Carpathians for two
nights in the medieval city of Brasov.
Day 6 you visit ancient fortified
churches at Prejmer and Harman and the 14th century
stronghold of Bran Castle. On Day 7 drive across the mountains to see Peles Castle, built in the 1870s as a summer retreat for King
Carol I at Sinaia.
The drive back to Bucharest is along the lovely Prahova valley,
stopping to see the Village Museum on the way into the city. Overnight in Bucharest before flying home.
Experiencing Transylvania and Walachia
Starting with a Bucharest city tour including the Village Museum, this comprehensive trip takes in highlights of legendary Transylvania and of the Banat, in the south-west.
Day 3 depart Bucharest for the Curtea de Arges
Monastery, Episcopala Church and Targu Jiu,
where Constantin Brancusi's massive works are
exhibited. Overnight at Targu Jiu.
On the 4th day you see the Iron Gates Museum, ruins of Trajan Bridge at Drobeta - Turnu
Severin, with overnight at Timisoara, cradle of the December 1989 revolution.
From Timisoara to medieval Sibiu is via Deva, commanded by the fairy tale
Renaissance castle of Hunedoara. Overnight at Sibiu.
Day 6 gives you the fascinating but
little known Museum of Folk Technology in Sibiu with exibits from all over Romania. Day 7 takes you to the citadel of Alba Iulia en route to Cluj-Napoca.
Day 8: sightseeing in Cluj-Napoca including the History Museum of Transylvania and the Botanic Gardens.
Day 9 is devoted to Targu Mures,
with its medieval citadel and early 1900s Palace of Culture.
On Day 10 you call at the lovely
lakeside spa of Sovata and transit the dramatic Bicaz Gorges on the way to Piatra Neamt. Day 11 starts off in Piatra Neamt and continues through the tranquil splendour of the Carpathians to
the mountain resort of Poiana Brasov.
Now for two days devoted to this
lovely area, including Brasov's medieval
monuments and Bran Castle, until on Day 14 you leave for Bucharest.
But the tour is not over! The
resort of Predeal and the former royal residence of Peles Castle at Sinaia feature on the last stage of a
travel experience you will never forget. Overnight at Bucharest before flying home.
BUCHAREST
Bucur's City
A strange and romantic city - this is Bucharest. Its paradoxes and charm are given by the shadows, still tangible, of
the past, and the dynamism of present times.
There is a Bucharest of music, a Bucharest of theatres, with some of the most talented European actors, a Bucharest of culture and religion, waiting to be discovered.
A city without legends would be like an adult without childhood. They
say that a shepherd named Bucur has set up a village, on the banks of the Dāmbovita river, in a plain that does not go over 98 m.
Historians, indulgent with the romanticism of the legend, proved that the
present capital of Romania has been populated ever since the middle
Palaeolithic and Neolithic, thanks to its favourable positioning for the
traffic of people and goods.
Bucharest is placed at 60 km away from the Danube, 125 km from the Carpathian
Mountains and 260 km from the Black Sea.
Bucharest, named in the past the Citadel of Dāmbovita,
has had its present name for centuries, a fact attested by the document signed
on the 20th September 1459 by Prince Vlad the Impaler,
who settled here his second residence after Tārgoviste.
Hanul lui Manuc
and its courtyard, an early 19th century caravanserai still functioning as
an inn and restaurant
Chosen to be the capital of the United Principality of Romania in 1859, Bucharest becomes the capital of Romania in 1862.
The city always got the
appreciation of the travellers because of its green spaces, its architecture
and the kindness of its inhabitants.
Its elegant and
exuberant atmosphere once gave it the name of "small Paris".
Nowadays, Bucharest's former atmosphere can be met in the streets around Calea Mosilor St. and in the old churches.
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A town of avenues and
parks
Romania's capital, the nation's centre of cultural and economic life, was
founded more than 500 years ago and is a natural starting point for visits to
the country. During the 1930's its tree-lined boulevards and "fin de
siecle" architecture gave it the nickname "Little Paris".
There is even an Arc de Triomphe
on the impressive Soseaua Kisseleff
which is longer than the Champs Elysees and has
ranges of trees which flower beautifully in the spring.
Despite the massive reconstruction of the 1980s, Bucharest remains a Garden City, leafy and pleasant, with cafes open on
sidewalks in the summer, and with boats on its lakes and rivers.
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Springtime in one
of Bucharest's delightful parks
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Exploring
the City

Finding your way is easy in Bucharest. The underground network offers a standard fare and covers most of
the city. Major boulevards run North-South from the Arcul
de Triumf (Triumphal Arch) down to the Centrul Civic
(Civic Center), crossed by others going East-West. Calea Victoriei - a continuation
of Soseaua Kisseleff - is
the place where the city's inhabitants prefer taking strolls on summer
evenings.
Here you will find majestic public buildings like the National History Museum and the main Post Office, whereas close to its Southern end there is
the lovely Parcul Cismigiu
(Cismigiu Park). Bulevardul (Boulevard) Magheru is parallel to Calea Victoriei and it hosts tourist and airline offices, cinemas
and hotels.
An Eclectic Mixture of Styles
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You will be intrigued
by the city's eclectic mixture of architecture, from Curtea
Veche, the remains of Prince Vlad Tepes 15th century palace - he was the city's founder as
well as the inspiration for "Dracula", - to Orthodox Churches,
Second Empire mansions, the stolid Stalinist architecture of the communist
years and the colossal 6,000 room Parliament House, the second largest
building in the world after the Pentagon.
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Curtea Veche, the founding
site of Bucharest
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TRANSYLVANIA
A Legendary Land
Transylvania is by far the most romantic and inspiring of Romania's provinces. Its very name brings to mind visions of mountain peaks
rising up to the sky above wooded valleys and sparkling streams, visions of
high-roofed wooden churches, legendary castles and a troubled history.
But there is much more to it: ski resorts and health spas, hiking trails and
the Retezat National Park, fascinating medieval towns, art museums and good hotels. In Transylvania new vistas and leisure
activities appear wherever you go.
Brasov and Romania's Mountain Resorts
This medieval city, picturesquely
situated nearby the Postavaru Mountain, is both fascinating in itself and is close
to Transylvania's major mountain resort area, with first class hotels (see the page
on the Mountains).
Look for its old Saxon architecture around the 14th
century Black Church, the ruins of the citadel, and the 18th century Old Town Hall.
The Bran Castle and the Royal Resort of Sinaia
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Beginning with the stark contours of
the Bran Castle, where Prince Vlad
Tepes, the legendary Dracula,
is said tohave
lived
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A trip to take from Brasov is to the castle of Bran, supposed to have
been the home of Prince Vlad Tepes, who inspired
Dracula's legend.
Also, don't miss the castle of Peles, fancifully built in
1883 at the foot of a mountain side for King Carol I, in Sinaia.
This resort was first made popular by the King and it is
worth a stay either in summer for its glorious mountain scenery, hiking and
riding, or in winter for skiing, not to mention health cures.
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Sibiu
Sibiu, also Saxon in origin, is a very pretty town, with cobbled streets
and pastel colored houses. The open air Museum of Folk Technology in a forest by a lake is a "must" to visit, just as the Brukenthal Art Museum.
The town is well placed for excursions to mountain villages, such as Sibiel, where there is a fascinating museum of icons.
Further away near Deva stands the Corvin Castle, rebuilt in the 15th century in Gothic style by Prince Iancu Corvin, who gave it a
sumptuous Knights Hall and towers and buttresses that remind one of the
Chateaux de la Loire.
Banat
This south-western corner of the
country has a drier, more Mediterranean climate than most of Romania and is also slightly different from the cultural point of view.
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Timisoara a city famous throughout the
world since the dramatic days of the
December 89 revolution
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Habsburg rule until 1918 gave it an Art Nouveau
architecture, while almost 1,900 years earlier the Romans had established a
spa at Baile Herculane
that is still one of Romania's most fashionable
ones.
Nearby Mount Domogled is a 60,000 ha
protected area, while the Semenic Mountains have a few small ski
resorts.
Finally, the capital of Banat, Timisoara, is the city where
the 1989 Revolution started.
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Medieval Sighisoara
Originally a Roman town, Sighisoara is one of the
greatest medieval cities left in the world.
The city has a walled
citadel on the hilltop, secret gateways and passages, a 14th century Clock
Tower and the house where Prince Vlad Tepes lived.
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Sighisoara, one of the great medieval cities of Europe
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Festivals
and Folklore
Wherever you go in Transylvania, you will discover
rural traditions that are a real part of everyday life. Shepherds produce large
round cheese which you will see for sale by the roadside.
The house doors are intricately carved. Colorful traditional costumes are worn on Sundays and for
weddings and festivals because they have special meaning.
As to festivals, you will find them in full swing from Easter on.
An Ideal Place to Get Away
To sum it up, both in summer and winter, the valleys and mountains of
Transylvania are refreshingly unspoilt and welcoming, an area where you can
genuinely get away.
MARAMURES
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The fierce
individuality of the Maramures mountain valleys in
the north-west of Transylvania is legendary. Their inhabitants are of Dacian
descent and their independence as a State reached its peak under Decebalus in the first century AD, before the Roman
conquest. Wave after wave of invasions followed.
A unique lifestyle
Nonetheless the villagers here
continued to vividly assert the independence of their customs and their
folklore. Today you can visit and admire their unique lifestyle. Few other
parts of Europe have developed so distinctive a rural culture.
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Traditional headscarves during an
outdoor
religious celebration
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An inheritance of
folklore
Agriculture has always been the
lifeblood of existence in the mountains. Local traditions reflect this, as
there are festivals in April, May, August and December.
The one in December is held at Sighetu Marmatiei, with carnival
parades and revelers wearing animal masks.
Sighetu Marmatiei
Sighetu Marmatiei is a typical Maramures
town, famous for its markets, peasant costumes and lively atmosphere.
The Museum of Maramures has many carnival masks among its exhibits. Here from you may easily
drive to the mountain resort of Borsa and such
villages as Bogdan-Voda and Rozavlea,
renowned for their wooden architecture.
Creativity
in wood and costume
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A typical high-steep
led Maramures
church
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Woodcarving skills are the dominant feature of Maramures crafts. Particularly characteristic of the
villages are wooden churches, with tall steeples and shingled roofs, some
dating back to the 14th century.
Highly developed too is the embroidery of traditional
costumes. On Sunday afternoons both women and men often parade and dance as
they have for centuries.
Women wear colorful headscarves and flowered skirts
with black sheepskin jerkins; men wear black trousers and white jerkins,
though costumes vary from village to village. The Easter festivals are a
particularly good time to see them.
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Touring the valleys
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Baia Mare lies at the heart of this region. Its modern hotels make it
the point of departure for many tours. A popular local expedition is to Surdesti, which has the tallest of the region's wooden
churches.
Another is the one to Sapanta, famous for its
"merry cemetery", where carved tombstones and humorous epitaphs are
a remembrance of the dead.
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The "merry cemetery" in Sapanta -
the "gravestones" are carved in
wood depicting the deceased's
role in life and humorous epitaphs.
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MOLDOVA AND BUCOVINA
Bucovina - the north-eastern province of Romania - is renowned for the beautiful exterior frescoes on the walls of its
monasteries. These triumphs of Byzantine-influenced art reflect a development
of Moldavian civilization in the 15th and 16th centuries, under the patronage
of Stephen the Great (1457-1504).
Plenty more to discover - from
buffaloes to vineyards
Moldavia has an extensive countryside of forests and hills,
with many lesser known delights to discover, especially in the region of Targu Neamt. You might even catch a glimpse of a buffalo, a species which is being
reintroduced into a natural reservation.
There are hiking routes and camping
facilities, as well as good hotels in the main towns. And Moldavian wines have
been known for five centuries. There are vineyards that can be visited.
Iasi and Suceava
These former capitals entice you to a stop on most Bucovina itineraries. Iasi is the home of Romania's oldest University and a centre of intellectual life.
Many well-known Romanian writers' houses are preserved as memorials. The best
known monument of the city is the Trei Ierarhi Church, dating from 1639. In Suceava, which has
direct airline and rail links with Bucharest, it is worth going up to the ruins of Stephen's princely citadel on
the heights near the city.
Remember to ask for specialties of
Moldavian cuisine in the restaurants. Moldavian cooking and local wines are
widely appreciated.
Targu Neamt
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A glimpse on the Agapia
convent which stands among the simple but lovely
houses of the nuns
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This town is the access point for a remarkable group of
monasteries and fortresses that are definitely worth a detour.
The 18th century convent of Agapia gleams as white
as if it stood on a Greek Island. The Monastery in Neamt is the oldest in Moldavia, while the Neamt fortress used to be a key to the region's defence.
A little to the west is the mountain and ski resort of Durau.
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The Monasteries in Bucovina
The decorated monasteries are the major attraction in Bucovina because of the vivid frescoes on their churches.
The latter depict Biblical and
other religious scenes, designed in segments almost like strip cartoons to stir
the imagination of the local people and so educate them in the Orthodox spirit.
The churches stand in the centre of
the monastery complex and all of them have high pitched roofs and little
sunlight comes inside. There are five main monasteries of this kind.
Humor
Humor, founded in 1530, is quite small. Its paintings
include illustration of a poem on the "The Siege of Constantinople",
which shows the feelings of the Romanians towards the Turks.
The aim was to maintain the
Christian faith among Romanians. On other walls are the "Return of the
Prodigal Son" and the Devil amusingly pictured as a greedy woman.
Centuries ago the monks here at Humor ran a school where calligraphers and miniature
painters learnt their craft.
Voronet
This "Sixtine Chapel of the East" was built by Stephen the
Great in 1488 and the vivid colours of its frescoes added later.
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The "Sixtine Chapel" of
the East - Voronet
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The paintings show an adaptation of classic Byzantine
art to Moldavian realities.
Thus the archangels' trumpets take the shape of the
local shepherds' horn or "bucium" and
souls doomed to hellfire wear the turbans of the Turkish enemy.
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The "Sixtine
Chapel" of the East - Voronet
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Sucevita
The Sucevita
Monastery complex, set in a beautiful green valley, is fortified like a citadel
with watch towers at its four corners.
Legend says it that the artist fell
off the wall scaffolding and was killed, so it remained undecorated. When you go there, look for the complex "Jesse's Tree" on
the southern wall.
Moldovita
Striking shades of red, blue,
yellow and brown characterize the monumental scene of the "Siege of Constantinopole" on the walls of the Moldovita church.
Inside, 16th century furniture
survives, including Prince Petru Rares'
chair, as large as a throne. The Prince built Moldovita
and his statue stands outside.
Arbore
Quite small, and without the high
cupola that distinguishes most monastery churches, Arbore
is predominantly decorated in shades of green. Look for the scene from
"Genesis" along the western wall, since it is particularly lively and
graceful.
TIME BOUNDARIES
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Although we face the beginning of the third mi llennium, Romania will impress its tourists
with the strange sounding of a wooden plate, a ritual which calls the people
to church.
Regardless of the modesty or the grandeur of the
churches, they are places which benefit from the most precious Romanian
fortunes: the landscape, the building art and last but not least, valuable
objects, from silver or gold jewelry to the most
delicate tissues.
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All the important moments in the
Romanians' life are tightly related to the church: the birth, for the sacred
mystery of the baptize, the wedding, the death and the
most important holidays of the year, such as Easter and Christmas. Especially
in the villages, the church and also the cemetery are places where one can
witness picturesque proceedings, which usually take place when feasting or
blessing the food and the drinks for holidays. There are also some proceeding
to invoke rain, fertility or to drive away malefic spirits. All these rituals
are based on the belief in God, Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary.
Most of the Romanians are orthodox.
In Dobrogea, at DERVENT, in the middle of a deep
forest, issued like a miracle in a dry aria, we find the monastery and the cave
where Saint Apostle Andrei preached Christianity for the first time on Romanian
land. These lands are the birth place of remarkable people of the Christian
world, such as St. Ioan Casian and Dyonisius Exiguus.
As there are many Catholics and Greek-Catholics in Romania, we can find here wonderful establishments serving these religions.
Many other ethnic groups were welcome here, and the whole country is adorned
with religious edifices belonging to Magyars or Transylvanian Saxons, to
Israelites or Turks, to Armenians or Greeks, Lippovans,
Serbians and Tartars. By seeing the Romanian churches - regardless of the
religion they were dedicated to - a tourist will easily understand the story of
the people who gave them life.
Romania's Carpathians - The Pleasure of Freedom
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The Carpathians, denominated in ancient times
"Corona Montium", form a third of the
country's territory, and represent the second European mountain chain after
the Alps. Even if they are not as high as the Alps, The Carpathians are
equally picturesque and spectacular.
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Placed as an
arch inside the country, the Carpathians are formed of three mountains chains
(Oriental, Southern and Western
Carpathians), each of them with its
particular beauty and hospitable landscapes.
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The Oriental
Carpathians stretch from the
north-eastern frontier up to the Prahova Valley. They are the longest volcanoes chain in Europe, comprising the
massifs Oas, Gutai, Tibles, Calimani, Harghita, Bodoc and Baraolt.
The second mountains chain, the Southern Carpathians, is
placed between Prahova Valley and the Timis-Cerna corridor. Here there
are the highest mountain peaks in Romania (Peak Moldoveanu in Fagaras
Massif 2544 m, Negoiu 2535 m, Parāngu
Mare 2519 m, Peleaga 2509 m, Omu 2505 m).
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