Romania OLD Europe

8500 years of continuity

The problem we think Romania faces is the lack of awareness regarding the possibilities which the diversity of our country has to offer. It’s a modern country with all the amenities you would expect in the 21st century.

Reasons to choose Romania as a destination

Romania is one of the safest countries and, due to our geo-political context… Romanians have come a long way in the last two decades since communism fell. Romania has a rich and diverse culture that goes back thousands of years, therefore our country is proud of many heritage sites protected by UNESCO.

Romania truly is an European hidden gem and it is great to visit throughout the year. From the largest European virgin forests of the Carpathian mountains, to the beautiful Natural Reserve Biosphere of The Danube Delta, not to forget the vibrant beach resorts around the Black Sea. It has so many unexplored attractions!

Here are a few interesting facts:

Three clay tablets, dating from 5300 BC, discovered in the village of Tărtăria (central Romania), have been the subject of considerable controversy among archaeologists, some of whom claim that the symbols represent the earliest known written evidence in the world, 2.000 years before the Sumerian writing…

With an area of 230,000+ km2 Romania is roughly the same size as the United Kingdom.

The real Dracula was a Romanian prince and military leader Vlad Ţepeş who fought bravely against the invading Turkish army in the mid 1400’s and who was famous for his bloody impalements. The name “Dracula” comes from his father who was part of the Order of the Dragon, sworn to protect Christianity against the Ottoman Empire. Count Dracula – the Vampire – was created by the Romantic novelist, Bram Stoker in 1897.

You’ll Die Laughing, if you’re Not Already Dead: The Merry Cemetery in Maramureş is a unique happy graveyard and a popular tourist attraction! It is famous for its over 800 colorful gravestones, carved in oak that are decorated with colorful paintings and funny and ironic epitaphs about the deceased.

Romanian wines became known around 2000 BC when the Greeks arrived from the Black Sea, making it one of the world’s oldest vineyard regions (as compared to the French wines introduced by Greeks around 600 BC). Because too much wine was produced and consumed, in 50 BC the Getae King Burebista had to set a limit to cultivation of wine grapes and wine production through his empire: DIO GETIA (present-day Romania). Today Romania is the 9th largest wine producer in the world!

According to the World Records Academy, The Palace of Parliament, located in Bucharest, ranks as being the biggest office building in Europe and second-largest in the world, after the U.S. Pentagon.

According to Top Gear, the Transfăgărăşan Road is the best driving road in the world. Jeremy Clarkson said in 2009 that “Every great corner from every great racetrack in the world has been knitted together to create one unbroken grey ribbon of automotive perfection”.

In the news: European Capital of Culture in 2021

2016 ends on a happy note with great prospects for the next 5 years. A huge increase in traveling will bring awareness and place Romania on the map of business travelers. This growth is noticeable in the boost of direct flight connections to Romania, development of international hotel chains and investment in infrastructure facilities.

This scenario is outlined by the fact that Romania won in September 2016 the title of European Capital of Culture in 2021 with its most western city: Timişoara. It is one of the most multicultural cities in Romania: here you can spot over 6 cultures: Romanian, Hungarian, German, Serbian, Jewish, Bulgarian and Czech.

What makes Timișoara special?

1718 – the oldest brewery in Romania where you can still organise a special dinner. 1745 – building of the first hospital in Romania * 24 years before Vienna and 34 before Budapest 1884 – first city in Europe with electrical street lighting, 731 lamps 1953 – first European city with three theatres in three languages, Romanian, German and Hungarian. 1989 – first liberated city in Romania and the city where the revolution against Communism started.

Andrei Toderaş – Ultravoyage