general information

Republic

Capital: Bucarest

Surface area: 238 000 km2

Population: 21,8 millions

Population density/km2: 92

Member of the EU since 2007

National day: 1th December

National anthem: Desteapta-te, romane!

• Dracula, a character created by B, Stocker, was inspired by Vlad the Impaler, the son of Vlad Dracul.

• Painted Easter eggs are a popular tradition in Romania.

• Names that end in "-scu" mean "son of".

• Saponta is home to a "happy" cemetery with colourful crosses and humoristic epitaphs.

• Timisoara was the first city to raise up against the dictator Ceausescu in 1989.

• The leu, the national currency, takes its name from a Dutch coin dating from the 17th century depicting a lion, the lowentaller.

• The Romanian language is a heritage of the Romanisation that took place between the 1st and the 3rd century.

• The Parliament building in Bucarest is the biggest monument in Europe: 270m x 240m x 84m.