About Romania The Romanian territory is a classical geographical example of unity in diversity. The Carpathians, the Danube and the Black Sea are the three elements whose mixture leads to the unity and originality of the Romanian territory called the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic space. If the Carpathians have always been the backbone of the Romanian land and the Danube has connected the Romanians to the sea and the rest of the world, then the Black Sea has always been a crossing place of international traffic offering the Romanians the opportunity to participate in this commercial circuit.Born in the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic space, the Romanian people, descending from the Dacians and the Romans, represents in the ethno-cultural space of Europe one of the oldest people, having according to the historian Nicolae lorga, "roots which are four times millenial".Forced to suffer the wild attacks of migratory people for a long time, the Romanians constituted themselves into independent states in the 14th century by uniting the existent pre-state territories. Although historic circumstances prevented the forming of a unique Romanian state for a long time there have always existed common origins, traditions and customs, a unitary geographic frame and community of language.In 1859, as a result of an immense internal effort and a favourable external context, the Union of Moldavia and Wallachia was achieved by the election of Alexandru loan Cuza as Prince of both states. "The Small Union" was consolidated by a reforming work which Europeanized the new state and enabled it to make itselfknown in external affairs.The decisive step towards the constituting of the Romanian Unitary National State was taken during the year 1918. By uniting all the Romanian territories some of which had been under foreign rule: Basarabia, Bucovina, Banat and Transilvania, the Great Union was accomplished in Alba lulia on December 1st, 1918.The anti-communist revolution of December 1989 showed the Romanians' option for democracy and liberty. But it looks like this democracy turned into a kind of chaos the people are massivelly still influenced by the communists.Thoroughly European, Romania has given the world cultural patrimony great personalities: the scholar Dimitrie Cantemir, the sculptor Constantin Brancusi, the musician George Enescu, the inventor Henri Coandă, the diplomat Nicolae Titulescu, the historian Nicolae lorga, the dramatist Eugen lonescu, the historian Mircea Eliade, the mathematician Grigore Moisil.Representing an oasis of Latinity in this part of the world, the Romanians confirm the statement made by the Romanian historian Nicolae lorga: "We have remained Romanians because we could not part from the memory of Rome".

MY HOMETOWN IASIIaşi or Jassy, city in eastern Romania and capital of Iaşi County, on the Bahlui River (a tributary of the Prut River). The city is an important communications and commercial center. Chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and plastics rank among the chief products. Iaşi is the seat of the Orthodox metropolitan region of Moldavia and of a Roman Catholic archbishopric. Places of interest include a cathedral, two 15th-century churches, a library housing the chief records of Romanian history, and the first Romanian university, the Al. I. Cuza University of Iaşi (founded in 1860). Founded before the 14th century, Iaşi was the capital of the principality of Moldavia from 1565 to about 1860. It was burned repeatedly: by the Tatars in 1513, by the Turks in 1538, and by the Russians in 1686. The Treaty of Jassy (1792) concluded the Russo-Turkish War of 1787 (see Russo-Turkish Wars). During World War I (1914-1918), Iaşi temporarily replaced Bucharest as the capital of Romania. Population (1992) 342,994.

BLACK SEA RESORTS--The coastal regions to the south of Constanta and in Mamaia have been developed into an extended resort area with the usual water-sport activities and some health-spa facilities. Generally speaking, the resorts aren't as nice as those in Bulgaria, and the water on the Romanian coast is also less clear. The hotels in the resort area of Mamaia (4 mi/6 km north of Constanta) tend to look like giant replicas of the concrete blocks of which they're constructed. The hotels are on a narrow strip of land separating the sea from the fresh water of Lake Siutghiol (the resorts face the sea, but to rinse off in the lake, you merely have to cross the road in front of your hotel). Tennis, bowling and a miniature golf course are near the hotels. Club Med has recently reopened and is the best property in the region. The next best, in our opinion, is the Vega. Generally speaking, Mamaia is all right, but is really only recommended if you want to be near Constanta dur ing your stay. (See also Constanta.) There's more room between properties south of town. The first major resort in that direction is Eforie Nord, which specializes in therapeutic mud and water treatments (see also Spas). Its sister resort, Eforie Sud, is south of it. Eforie Sud is the oldest resort in the area--the current property was founded in 1892, and there was a Roman spa in the area 2,400 years earlier. Neither of the Eforie complexes are directly on the beach, and the walk from the properties to the water ent ails walking down steps along the face of a cliff (the Eforie Nord beach has almost completely eroded away, and once you reach the water, you have a "lovely" view of the area's industrial complexes).

The best resorts--though their beaches aren't particularly wide, and they're very crowded in the summer--are farther south yet: Neptune, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn (one indication of their desirability is that former dictator Ceausescu had his private vacation villa built in the area). Neptune is the best of the bunch. The spa/resort farthest south is Mangalia; it, too, makes therapeutic claims. It's possible to camp at various points along the sea, and you'll find that the beaches at the campgrounds are, generally speaking, much less crowded. The grounds are not very developed, however, so take your own food. There's a nudist campground north of Constanta at Portitza.

BRAN--Usually seen either as a day trip from Brasov (17 mi/28 km north--see separate paragraph) or en route between Brasov and Bucharest (70 mi/113 km north by northwest of Bucharest), this Transylvanian village is known for its 14th-century castle perched atop a 197-ft/60-m peak. Known as Bran castle, it was built in 1370 as a fortress against marauding Turks who swept across the Wallachian plain on their way to conquer Transylvania. Perched deep in the Carpathian Mountains in the heart of rural Romania, the fortress, known as Dracula's Castle, attracts as many as 4,000 visitors a day from around the world. Plan to view its displays of feudal art, arms, statuary, furniture and hunting trophies. Also Bran was the summer home of Romanian royalty. Vlad the Impaler, the 15th century prince of Wallachia who was infamous for impaling his enemies on spikes, often stayed at the castle. He also is believed to have been imprisoned there for a short period. The prince's lust for blood and his cruelty inspired fear and enduring legends among the local Saxon settlers, who built the Bran fortress on a rocky hilltop surrounded by thick woods and tall mountain gorges. Vlad the Impeler is believed to be the inspiration for English writer Bram Stoker's 19th century "Dracula,'' a novel that has been the basis for numerous vampire films. Vlad the Impeller's father was called Vlad Dracul. Dracul means ``the devil'' in Romanian. The castle has undergone extensive restoration and is in good shape. Is easiest to see by rental car, as only one English- language tour goes there from Brasov each week. Peasants in the nearby Bran village thrive on the tourist spin-offs of the Dracula myth, selling coarse wool sweaters depicting medieval Romanian Prince Vlad Tepes, role model for 19th century novelist Bram Stoker's vampire Count. They spin yarns of Prince Tepes (The Impaler), said to have spent a fortnight at the castle some 500 years ago.

THE DANUBE AND THE DANUBE DELTA

Danube (ancient Danubius, and in the lower part of its course, Ister; German Donau; Slovak Dunaj; Hungarian Duna; Serbo-Croatian and Bulgarian Dunav; Romanian Dunărea; Ukrainian Dunay), second longest river in Europe, and one of the principal transportation arteries on the continent. It is the only major European river to flow from west to east. It rises in the Black Forest region of Germany and flows in a generally easterly direction for a distance of about 2850 km (1770 mi), emptying, on the Romanian coast, into the Black Sea. The delta of the Danube is a region of desolate marshes and swamps, broken by tree-covered elevations. The Danube is navigable by ocean vessels to Brăila, Romania, and by river craft as far as Ulm in Germany, a distance of about 2600 km (1600 mi). About 60 of the approximately 300 tributaries of the Danube are navigable. The principal ones, in the order in which they merge with the Danube, include the Lech, Isar, Inn, Morava, Váh, Raab (Rába), Drava (Drau), Tisza, Sava, Siret, and Prut. The Danube basin, more than 777,000 sq km (more than 300,000 sq mi) in area, includes parts of Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine. Important cities on the river include Ulm, Regensburg, and Passau, in Germany; Linz and Vienna, in Austria; Bratislava, Slovakia; Budapest, Hungary; Belgrade, Serbia; and Galaţi and Brăila, in Romania. Canals link the Danube to the Main, Rhine, and Odra (Oder) rivers, providing a commercial route between the Black and North seas. The Danube Valley between Linz and Vienna, Austria, is noted for its beautiful scenery.Several countries have built dams and hydroelectric power plants on the Danube. In the early 1970s the Iron Gate hydroelectric project was completed as a joint effort between the governments of Romania and the former Yugoslavia. Located at the Iron Gate gorge on the border of Romania and Serbia (which inherited Yugoslavia's portion of the project when that country dissolved in 1991 and 1992), the project includes a dam and two power plants. The construction of the Gabčíkovo dam, located in southern Slovakia, began in the 1980s and was completed in late 1992.The Danube has always been an important route between western Europe and the Black Sea. It formed, in the 3rd century AD, the northern boundary of the Roman Empire in southeastern Europe. Early in the Middle Ages Goths, Huns, Avars, Slavs, Magyars, and other migratory peoples crossed the Danube on their way to invade the Roman, and later the Byzantine, Empire. It served as an artery for the Crusaders into Byzantium (Constantinople) and from there to the Holy Land; later it eased the advancement (beginning at the end of the 14th century) of the Ottomans into western and central Europe. In the 19th century it became an essential link between the growing industrial centers of Germany and the agricultural areas of the Balkan Peninsula. At that time, most of the river's middle and

upper course lay within the Austrian Empire; the lower part belonged to the decaying Ottoman Empire. As Ottoman control over the Balkans weakened, Austria and the other European powers moved to prevent Russia from acquiring the strategic Danube delta.By the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1856), which ended the Crimean War, a European commission was established to control the delta. The commission made a number of changes in the delta and in the lower reaches of the river beneficial to navigation. The Treaty of Versailles (1919), concluding World War I, confirmed the European commission, and set up another one to control the Danube above the delta. During World War II (1939-1945) the commissions were abolished by Nazi Germany, which controlled all of the river from 1940 to 1944. After the war the Communist-bloc nations bordering the river formed a new Danube Commission, headquartered at Budapest. Austria was admitted in 1960 and West Germany in 1963.In the late 1970s the Czechoslovak and Hungarian governments launched the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric project on the section of the Danube that formed the boundary between the two countries. The project called for the construction of two major dams, one at Nagymaros in Hungary, and the other at Gabčíkovo in eastern Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia). However, in 1989 Hungary abandoned the project, claiming that the dams and the network of canals and reservoirs surrounding them would change the flow of the river and thus damage the surrounding environment. Czechoslovakia proceeded with the construction of the Gabčíkovo dam, despite angry protests from the Hungarian government, which demanded that the international boundary between the two countries be redrawn to reflect the Danube's northward shift. Slovakia inherited the dispute when it became an independent country in January 1993. That year, the Slovak and Hungarian governments referred the dispute to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands, for mediation. In 1997 the court ruled that both countries had violated the original hydroelectric project agreement and ordered them to compensate one another and continue negotiations.