Bucharest

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Bucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti) is the capital city and industrial and commercial centre of Romania, located in the southeast of the country, on the Dâmboviţa river. The city proper has a population of 2,082,000 inhabitants, together with the metropolitan area comprising approximately 2.3 million people, making it the largest city between Berlin and Istanbul.

Bucharest
Bucureşti

Seal of Bucharest
Area
 - Metropolitan
 - Total
 - Water		228 km2
1,521 km2
? km2
Economy
 - GDP per capita local purchasing power (2005)
- Budget (2005)		$20,057
$640 million
Population
 - Total (2002)
 - Density 		2,354,510
1,548/km2
MayorAdriean Videanu
Time zoneEastern Europe: GMT+2
Latitude
Longitude 		44°25′ N 26°06′ E

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).

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). Like most ancient cities of Romania, its foundation has also been ascribed to the first Wallachian prince, the half-mythical Radu Negru.

Bucharest is first mentioned under its present name as a residence in 1459 of the Wallachian 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 Wallachia 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 Wallachia 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-Élysées 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

  1. Treaty of May 28, 1812, at the end of the Russo-Turkish War. Romania loses Bessarabia
  2. Treaty of March 3, 1886, at the end of the war between Serbia and Bulgaria
  3. Treaty of August 10, 1913, at the end of the Second Balkan War (see: Treaty of Bucharest, 1913)
  4. Treaty of August 4, 1916, the treaty of alliance between Romania and Entente (France, England, Russia and Italy)
  5. Treaty of May 6, 1918, the treaty between Romania and the Central Powers, which was never ratified

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 residents of Bucharest in 2000-2002 was 73.1 years, around 2 years higher than the Romanian average.

Economy

Bucharest is the most economically-developed and industrialised city in Romania, producing around 21% of the country's GDP and about one-quarter of its industrial production, while only accounting for 9% of the country's population. Almost two-thirds of national taxes are paid by Bucharest's citizens and companies . Based on local purchasing power, Bucharest has a per-capita GDP of nearly 60% that of the European Union average, and more than twice the Romanian average. . Based on the fact that Bucharest produces around 21% of Romanian GDP for a population of around 2 milion, the GDP (PPP) per capita of the city would be US$20,057.

Romania.htm In April 2005, Bucharest had an unemployment rate of 2.7% (quite significantly lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.5%).

Transport

Main article: Transport in Bucharest

Bucharest's extensive public transport system is the largest in Romania and the third largest in Europe. It is made up of the Bucharest Metro, as well as a surface transport system run by RATB, which consists of buses, trams, trolleybuses and light metros. In addition, there is a private taxi and minibus system. The metro and the surface transport system - currently run by two separate state-owned corporations - will be merged in early 2006 to form the Bucharest Metropolitan Transport Board.

The city is served by two airports: Henri Coandă International Airport (formerly Otopeni) and Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (formerly Băneasa). Henri Coandă takes flights from Tarom, the national air carrier, as well as major international carriers like Alitalia, Lufthansa, Air Canada and Air France, which have flights to Bucharest from a large variety of world cities, including Paris, Madrid, Munich, Toronto, London and Rome. The smaller Aurel Vlaicu Airport is used by smaller private Romanian airlines, as well as discount airlines such as Blue Air.

Bucharest is the hub of Romania's national railway network, run by Caile Ferate Române. The main railway station is Gara de Nord, or North Station, which provides connections to all major cities in Romania as well as international destinations such as Budapest, Sofia, Vienna and Prague. The city also has five other railway stations run by CFR, which are in the process of being intergrated in a commuter railway serving Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov county.

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 third biggest building in the world (by volume) after the Pentagon and the Merchandise Mart. 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.

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

Bucharest has a number of international Supermarket chains such as Carrefour, Cora and METRO. At the moment, the city is undergoing a retail boom, with a large number of supermarkets, and hypermarkets, constructed every year. For more information, see Supermarkets in Romania.

Shopping centers

The biggest modern shopping centers in Bucharest are Cora , Carrefour, Bucharest Mall, Plazza 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

Sports Teams

Football (soccer)

See also

Portrayal in film and fiction

  • The American-produced Romanian-language documentary Children Underground (2000) portrays the lives of homeless children in Bucharest.
  • The Romanian-language film Filantropica ("Philanthropy", 2002) gives a satiric portrayal of the city and of many strata of its life.
  • The English-language film The Wild Dogs (2002) gives a more uniformly bleak portrait of the city.

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This page is based on the Wikipedia article ''Bucharest''. It is licensed under the GNU free documentation license.

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