The essential portrait
Romania at a Glance
The largest country in south-eastern Europe, held between the arc of the Carpathians, the Danube and the Black Sea — its geography, its people and the character that makes Romania.
Romania is a country in south-eastern Europe, at the crossroads of Central Europe and the Balkans, bordered by Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the north and east, the Black Sea to the south-east, Bulgaria to the south, Serbia to the south-west and Hungary to the west. At 238,397 km² it is the twelfth-largest country in Europe and the largest in its region.
Three landscapes in one country
Romania's geography is divided almost equally, like a balanced picture, between mountain, hill and plain. The Carpathian Mountains sweep across the country in a great arc, dividing it into historic regions and rising to its highest point, Moldoveanu (2,544 m), in the Făgăraș range. To the south and east, fertile plains descend towards the Danube, Europe's second-longest river, which forms much of the southern border before reaching the Black Sea through the Danube Delta — one of the largest wetlands on the continent.
The people and the language
With around 19 million inhabitants, Romania is one of the most populous countries in its region. The Romanian language is the only Romance language in Eastern Europe — a Latin island surrounded by Slavic and Hungarian neighbours. Alongside Romanians live substantial communities of Hungarians (chiefly in Transylvania), Roma, Germans (the Saxons and Swabians, now few in number but with an immense heritage) and other minorities. The main religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
A modern state
Romania is a semi-presidential republic, with a directly elected president and a two-chamber parliament. The capital, Bucharest, is the country's largest city and its main economic and cultural centre. Romania joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union in 2007; its currency remains the leu (RON), though the country is committed to eventually adopting the euro.
Why travellers come
Visitors come for very different reasons: for the painted monasteries of Bucovina and the wooden churches of Maramureș, for the fortified Saxon citadels and villages of Transylvania, for spectacular mountain roads such as the Transfăgărășan, for the wilderness of the Danube Delta, or for the wines and food of each region. Whatever the motive, Romania rewards curiosity: behind the clichés lies one of Europe's most varied and authentic countries.
Getting your bearings
The simplest way to understand Romania is through its historic regions — Transylvania, Moldavia, Bucovina, Maramureș, Banat, Crișana, Oltenia, Wallachia and Dobruja — each with its own landscape, architecture and cuisine. The pages that follow set out, in turn, the country's history, its regions, its culture and identity, and the practical information you need to travel.