Romania (România) is located in between Central and Eastern Europe. Romania enchantes travelers with its diversity: be it natural (mountains, hills, sea, delta) or cultural(Romanians, Hungarians, Saxons, Rromas). Over the last decade it has known significant development and is one of the most recent members of the European Union. Still it may surprise some of its visitors who are used to western europe. Romania is a large country which can sometines be shocking with contrasts: some cities are truely western-europe like while in some villages locals live as they did a few centuries ago. While it has signifcant cultural similarities with other Balkan states, it is regarded as unique due to its strong latin heritage. In fact, the Romanian language and grammar are so similar to old latin that some might not tell the difference. Things for which Romania is famous for include: the Carpathian mountains, Constantin Brancusi, wine, the ballpoint pen, medieval fortresses, Mircea Eliade, the electronic microscope, Dacia cars, Dracula, insulin, women, E. M. Cioran, stuffed cabbage leaves, multiethnic peace, the jet engine, Nadia Comaneci, the Black Sea, Gheorghe Hagi, sunflowerfields, painted monastaries and the Danube Delta.
With a Black Sea coast to the east, it is surrounded by Bulgaria to the south, Serbia to the southwest, Hungary to the northwest, Moldova to the northeast and Ukraine in both the north and the east. While its southern regions are usually seen as part of Southeastern Europe (Balkans), Transylvania, its largest region is in Central Europe.
The country - which joined the European Union in January 2007 - is currently enjoying its highest living standards since Communist times, with foreign investment on the rise and one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. This has given way to a series of technological developments. Therefore, we can see a fast-changing, booming Romania, and you will be amazed at how civilized, advanced, clean and of quality it is. Of course, along the way, you will be met with experiences that you are sure to remember for a long, long time.
In ancient times the territory of present day Romania was inhabited mainly by Dacian tribes, which were a remarkable, although not very well known, culture. The Dacian kingdom reached the height of its power in the 1st century BC, when their king Burebista ruled from his power base in the Carpathian Mountains over a vast territory stretching from Central Europe to the Black Sea. The intriguing network of fortifications and shrines built around the Dacian capital Sarmisegetuza, in today's south-western Transylvania, has been relatively well preserved through the ages and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site [2].
In 106 AD the Dacians were defeated by the Romans and most of their homeland became part of the Roman Empire. Being very rich in natural resources (especially gold), the region prospered under the Roman administration: cities developed rapidly, important roads were built and people from all over the Empire settled here. That's why, despite the fact that Roman rule lasted less than 200 years, a population with a distinctive Latin character and language emerged, which was however very strongly influenced by the Slavic peoples to whom it later came in contact.
In the Early Middle Ages Hungarians began to settle in the area today known as Transylvania, which would eventually become part of the Kingdom of Hungary.
