12 Things I Bet You Didn’t Know About Romania.

Although still regarded by many as an off the beaten path destination, Romania is a country full of surprises, folklore and exciting places that leave long lasting impressions in visitors’ minds.

1. The Merry Cemetery .

Tucked away in a tiny village of Maramures county, near

the Ukrainian border, the Merry Cemetery (Cimitirul Vesel).

Sapanta’s cheerful cemetery stands out for its colorful high wooden crosses carved in oak and painted with scenes of the deceased’s life.

Moreover, each tombstone features a witty poem depicting the person’s life and the way he/she died.

To give you an idea, here is a funny epitaph

translated by Wikipedia:

Under this heavy cross

Lies my poor mother in-law

Three more days she would have lived,

I would die, and she would read (this cross).

You, who here are passing by

Not to wake her up please try

Cause’ if she comes back home

She’ll criticize me more.

But I’ll behave so well

That she’ll not return from hell.

Stay here, my dear mother in-law!

2. Romanian inventors have changed the world.

Romania gave birth to some extraordinary scientists and

engineers, most of whom have actually changed the

world.

Some of these include:

Nicolae Constantin Paulescu – discoverer of insulin;

Eugen Pavel – inventor of Hyper CD-ROM;

Aurel Persu – the first engineer and car

designer to build a car with the wheels inside

its aerodynamic line.

Petrache Poenaru  – inventor of fountain

pen ;

 Emil Racovita – founder of biospeleology (the study of organisms living in caves); 

Furthermore, Romanian engineers have successfully

contributed to the history of flight. Henri Coanda, Traian Vuia

and Aurel Vlaicu – all of them have played an important role as

pioneers in aerodynamics and aviation.

3. Romanian is the only romance language in eastern europe.

Most people believe that Romanian language is very similar to

those spoken in Russia or other Slavic countries, but in reality,

Romanian is a Romance language closely related to Italian,

French, Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese.

English Romanian

Welcome Bine ai venit  Hello Salut / Bună ziuaThank you Mersi / MulţumescI love you Te iubesc  

Merry Christmas Crăciun fericit Happy New Year Un Nou FericitHappy Easter Paşte FericitHappy Birthday La mulţi ani

..and the most important thing to know

Would you like to dance with me?

Dorești să dansezi cu mine?

4. Romania has 7 Unesco world heritage sites

Churches of Moldavia

Historic Centre of Sighisoara

Monastery of Horezu

Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania

Wooden Churches of Maramures

Danube Delta

5. Romania is Europe’s richest country in gold resources.

6. Romania boasts the world’s largest administrative building.

Built by former Romanian dictator – Nicolae Ceausescu,

Bucharest’s Palace of the Parliament – also known as People’s

House – is the largest, heaviest and most expensive civil

administration building on the planet.

7. Romania’s national currency is leu, which means lion (english).

8. Romania has the best-preserved delta in europe

Although the second largest river delta in Europe after the Caspian

Depression’s Volga Delta (Russia/Kazakhstan), the Danube Delta in

Romania is the best preserved on the continent.

It features no less than 23 natural ecosystems, boasting an amazing variety of unique flora and fauna.

9. The largest population of brown bears in europe lives in Romania.

10. The statue of decebalus, europe’s largest rock sculpture.

Somewhere along the Danube, near the small city of Orsova, in

southwestern Romania, lies a 55-m high rock sculpture depicting

Decebalus, the last king of Dacia.

The monument is the largest rock sculpture in Europe and can

only be reached by boat.

11. The only gold museum in europe.

Also known as the Mineralogical Collection of Brad, The Gold

Museum in the small Romanian city of Brad is the only one of its kind

in Europe.

The pieces are so unique and spectacular that their value does not

depend on grammage anymore.

For instance, a lizard shaped

item of only seven tenths of a

gram of gold has been evaluated

at 3 million EUR.

12. The first city lit by electric street lamps in continental europe.

Timisoara, one of the most beautiful and vibrant

Romanian metropolises, was the first mainland

European city to be lit by electric street lamps,

back in 1884.

As per international standards, it was second only to New York City.

And one thing…..

Not Budapest!!!!!