Bucharest'''Bucharest''' (population 2.3 million, Romanian language|Romanian: ''Bucureşti'') is the capital city and industrial and commercial centre of Romania, located in the southeast of the country, on the Dambovita river|Dâmboviţa river. {| cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" id="toc" align="right" width="270px" |+'''Bucharest''' '''Bucureşti''' |- | align="center" colspan=2 border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" | Image:Bucuresti-stema.png Seal of Bucharest |- | align="center" colspan=2 | Image:Bucuresti-localization.png|Location of Bucharest in Romania |- | Area  - Metropolitan  - Total  - Water | 228 square kilometre|km2 1,521 square kilometre|km2 ? km2 |- | Population  - Total (2002)  - Density | 2,354,510 1,548/km2 |- | Mayor of Bucharest|Mayor | Adriean Videanu |- | Time zone | Eastern Europe Time Zone|Eastern Europe: GMT+2 |- | Latitude Longitude | {{coor dm|44|25|N|26|06|E|}} |} ==Geography== Image:Bucuresti izvor 2.jpg|thumb|270px|Downtown Bucharest Image:Dambovita in Bucuresti.jpg|thumb|270px|The Dâmboviţa River in central Bucharest Along a small tributary of Dâmboviţa, named Colentina (river)|Colentina, several lakes stretch across the city, the most important being Lake Floreasca, Lake Tei and Lake Colentina. In addition, in the center of the capital there is a small artificial lake - Lake Cişmigiu. Surrounded by gardens and parks, it has a rich history, as it was frequented by famous poets and writers. The region where Bucharest is now located was once covered by the Vlasiei forest|Vlăsiei forest, which, after it was cleared, gave way to a fertile flatland. As with List of cities claiming to be built on seven hills|many cities, Bucharest is traditionally considered to have seven hills, in the tradition of the seven hills of Rome. Bucharest's seven hills are: Mihai Voda|Mihai Vodă, Romanian Patriarchy|Patriarhiei, Radu Voda hill|Radu Vodă, Cotroceni, Spirei, Vacaresti|Văcăreşti and Sf. Gheorghe Nou. The city has a total surface of 226 square kilometre|km2. The altitude varies between 55.8 meters at the Dâmboviţa bridge in Catelu|Căţelu, south-eastern Bucharest and 91.5 m at the Militari church. Until recently, the regions surrounding Bucharest were largely rural, but after 1989, new suburbs started to be built around Bucharest, in Ilfov county. ==Divisions== Image:Bucuresti_fantana.jpg|thumb|270px|The Civic Centre (''Centrul Civic'') The city is divised in 6 administrative sectors (''sectoare''), each further divided into districts (''cartiere''). * Sector 1: Baneasa|Băneasa, Pipera, Floreasca * Sector 2: Pantelimon, Colentina, Obor * Sector 3: Vitan, Titan, Bucharest|Titan, Centru Civic * Sector 4: Berceni, Oltenitei|Olteniţei * Sector 5: Rahova, Ferentari, Cotroceni * Sector 6: Giulesti|Giuleşti, Drumul Taberei, Militari, Crangasi|Crângaşi Image:Bucuresti_punte_1837.jpg|thumb|right|270px|Bucharest, 1837 ==History== ''Main article: History of Bucharest'' === Middle Ages === The legend says that Bucharest was founded by a shepherd named Bucur, another variant, more likely, is that it was established by Mircea cel Batran|Mircea cel Bătrân in the 14th century after a victory won over the Turks (''bucurie'' means joy in Romanian, for this reason Bucharest is often called "The City of Joy."). Like most ancient cities of Romania, its foundation has also been ascribed to the first Walachian prince, the half-mythical Radu Negru. More modern historians declare that it was originally a fortress, erected on the site of some Daco-Roman settlements, then it was used to command the approaches to Targoviste|Târgovişte, formerly the capital of Walachia. ''Bucharest'' is first mentioned under its present name as a residence in 1459 of the Walachian prince Vlad Tepes|Vlad Ţepeş (Vlad the Impaler). It was then that the Old Royal Court (Curtea Veche) was built and during the rule of Radu cel Frumos it became the summer residence of the court. In 1595 it was burned by the Turks; but, after its restoration, continued to grow in size and prosperity and in 1698, Prince Constantin Brancoveanu|Constantin Brâncoveanu chose it for his capital. === Modern history === During the 18th century the possession of Bucharest was frequently disputed by the Turks, Austria|Austrians and Russia|Russians. In 1812 it gave its name to the treaty by which Bessarabia and a third of Moldavia were ceded to Russia. In the war of 1828 it was occupied by the Russians, who made it over to the prince of Walachia in the following year. On 23 March 1847 a fire consumed about 2,000 buildings of Bucharest (about a third of the city) . A rebellion against Prince Bibescu in 1848 brought both Turkish and Russian interference, and the city was again held by Russian troops in 1853-1854. On their departure an Austrian garrison took possession and remained till March 1857. In 1858 the international congress for the organization of the Danubian principalities was held in the city; and when, in 1861, the union of Walachia and Moldavia was proclaimed, Bucharest became the Romanian capital. Alexander John Cuza, the first ruler of the united provinces, was driven from his throne by an insurrection in Bucharest in 1866. In the second half of the 19th century, the population of the city increased dramatically. The extravagant architecture and cosmopolitan high culture of this period won Bucharest the nickname of The Paris of the East (or Little Paris, "Micul Paris"), with Calea Victoriei as its Champs Elysees|Champs Elysées or Fifth Avenue, but the social divide between rich and poor was described at the time by Ferdinand Lassalle as "a savage hotchpotch." === 20th century === On December 6 1916 the city was occupied by the Germany|German forces, the capital being moved to Iasi|Iaşi, but it was liberated in November 1918, becoming the capital of the new united Kingdom of Romania. Bucharest suffered heavy loses during WWII due to the English and American bombardments. On November 8 1945, the king's day, the communists suppressed pro-monarchist rallies. During Nicolae Ceausescu|Nicolae Ceauşescu's leadership, most of the historical part of the city, including old churches, was destroyed, to be replaced with the grandomanic socialist buildings of the Centru Civic, notably the Palace of the Parliament. Some historic districts remain, but many argue whether Bucharest is really the Paris of the East today. In 1977, a strong 1977 Bucharest Earthquake|7.4 on the Richter-scale earthquake claimed 1,500 lives and destroyed many old buildings. Romanian Revolution of 1989|Mass protests began in Timisoara|Timişoara in December 1989 and continued in Bucharest, leading to the overthrow of Ceauşescu's communist regime. Unhappy with the results of the revolution, mass protests supported by the students' leagues continued in 1990 (the Golaniad) and were violently stopped by the miners of Valea Jiului (the Mineriad). Several other Mineriads followed, the results of which included a government change. After the year 2000, due to the advent of Romania's economic boom, the city has modernized and many historical areas have been restored to their former glory. ===Treaties signed in Bucharest === # May 28 1812, at the end of the Russo-Turkish War. Romania loses Bessarabia # March 3 1886, at the end of the war between Serbia and Bulgaria # August 10 1913, at the end of the Second Balkan War (see: Treaty of Bucharest, 1913) # August 4 1916, the treaty of alliance between Romania and Entente (France, England, Russia and Italy) # May 6 1918, the treaty between Romania and the Central Powers, which was never ratified (see: Treaty of Bucharest, 1918) ==Population== The population greatly increased in the last two centuries with Bucharest growing importance, partially due to urbanization of Romanians, who, until the 19th century were mostly farmers, predominantly living in rural areas. Today, about 9% of the population of Romania lives in Bucharest. *1800: 32,000 *1859: 122,000 *1900: 282,000 *1918: 383,000 *1930: 639,000 *1966: 1,452,000 *2000: 2,300,000 *2003: 2,082,000 (official census statistics) + 50,000 commuters The life expectancy of Bucharest in 2000-2002 was 73.1 years, around 2 years higher than the Romanian average. ==Economy== Although it accounts for around 9% of Romania's population, Bucharest produces around 21% of the country's Gross domestic product|GDP and about a quarter of the industrial production, being obviously the most developed area and industrialized area of Romania. Almost two-thirds of Romania's national taxes are paid by Bucharest citizens and companies. [http://www.capital.ro/index.jsp?page=article&article_id=18487&section_id=3] The weak status of the Romanian Romanian leu|leu in international exchange rates makes it difficult to compare economic product of Bucharest to that of the European Union countries. Based on local purchasing power, Bucharest has per capita GDP about about 50% that of the EU, nearly twice the Romanian average. [http://www.anchete.ro/articol.php?limba=ro&ID_articol=627]. Based on the fact that Bucharest produces around 21% of Romanian GDP for a population of around 2 milion, the GDP (PPP) per capita would be US$17,400. [http://www.erionet.org/JIM%20Romania.htm] ==Transport== :''Main article: Mass transit in Bucharest'' Bucharest boasts the largest transport network in Romania, and one of the largest in the Central and Eastern Europe region. Transport can be divided into three major fields: * A metro (subway) system run by Metrorex - ''see Bucharest Metro'' * A surface transport system run by RATB that is made up of buses, trams, trolleybuses and high-speed trams (light-metro) - ''see Regia Autonoma de Transport Bucuresti|Regia Autonomă de Transport Bucureşti'' * A private taxi system ===Getting to and from Bucharest=== ====Air==== TAROM, the national air carrier, has good flights from a large variety of world cities, including Paris, Madrid, Munich and Rome, to Henri Coanda Airport, Bucharest|Henri Coandă Airport (formerly Otopeni), the main international airport. Also, other private Romanian airlines operate from Baneasa|Băneasa and Coandă Airports. ''See also Angel Airlines (Romania)|Angel Airlines.'' ====Train==== ''Main article:Caile Ferate Romane|Căile Ferate Române'' Train services into and out of Romania are of very high quality, especially those trains that are operated by Romanian railways, Hungarian railways or Polish railways. There are EuroCity and EuroNight trains to Budapest via Arad, Romania|Arad, as well as to Belgrade via Timisoara|Timişoara. Intercity and Rapid trains service all major cities in Romania. Tickets are inexpensive by Western standards. In contrast, the "Personal" trains are crowded and slow. == Sights & landmarks== image:palaceofpeopleromania.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Palatul Parlamentului image:Bucharest-Village_Museum-House.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A House in Bucharest's Village Museum === Palatul Parlamentului === The ''Palace of the Parliament'' was built by the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu|Nicolae Ceauşescu (then known as the Palace of the People) and it is the second biggest building in the world after the The Pentagon|Pentagon. === The Village Museum === Established in 1936, the Village Museum is an open air ethnographical museum, extended on 100,000 square metres, containing 272 authentic buildings and peasant farms from all over Romania. === Arcul de Triumf === ''Main article: Arcul de Triumf'' The first, wooden, triumphal arch was built hurriedly, after Romania gained its independence (1878), so that the victorious troops could march under it. Another temporary arch was built on the same site, after World War I. The current arch was built in 1935. === Cişmigiu Gardens === The Cismigiu Gardens|Cişmigiu Gardens were built as a public garden in the center of Bucharest in 1847 after the plans of the German architect Carl F.W. Meyer. === National Museum of Art=== ''See main article National Museum of Art of Romania.'' Located in the former royal palace, the museum features notable collections of medieval and modern Romanian art, as well as the international collection assembled by the Romanian royal family. The modern Romanian collection features sculptures by Constantin Brancusi|Constantin Brâncuşi and Dimitrie Paciurea. === Museum of the Romanian Peasant === ''See main article Museum of the Romanian Peasant'' A beautifully displayed collection of textiles (especially costumes), icons, ceramics, and other artifacts of Romanian peasant life. This institution received the "European Museum of the Year 1996" prize. Image:Ateneul_Roman.jpg|thumb|270px|Ateneul Român === Other landmarks === * The Romanian Athenaeum (Ateneu Român) * The Museum of Romanian History * The Museum of Art Collections * Herastrau Park|Herăstrău Park, site of the Village Museum * Botanical Garden image:The_University.JPG|thumb|270px|The University * University Square, Bucharest|University Square image:Lipscani_in_winter.JPG|thumb|270px|Lipscani in winter * Lipscani area, including Manuc's Inn (Hanul lui Manuc) and the Old Court (Curtea Veche) * Zambaccian Museum * Theodor Pallady Museum image:Cretzulescu_palace.JPG|thumb|270px|The Cretzulescu Palace * Kretzulescu Palace * Cotroceni Palace image:Romanian_Opera.JPG|thumb|270px|The Romanian Opera * The Romanian Opera * Obor Market (Piaţa Obor) See also a more comprehensive List of buildings in Bucharest|list of buildings in Bucharest. ==Clubs== image:Club_A.JPG|thumb|270px|Club A ===Club A=== Probably the most famous club in Bucharest, founded by architecture students in a basement near the university. Alternative/Rock/Pop. [http://www.cluba.ro Club A] image:Fire_Club.JPG|thumb|270px|Fire Club ===Laptăria Enache=== The Laptăria Enache, at the back of the upper floor of the National Theater, is well-known as a live music venue; in the warm weather months, the entire operation moves to the theater's roof. ===Others=== Other famous clubs are [http://www.fire.ro Fire Club] (Rock), [http://www.underworldclub.ro Underworld] (Punk/Heavy Metal), Baza Militară (Rock/dance/oldies/soft rock), Kristal Glam Club (Dance), Salsa 3. ==Shopping== ===Supermarket chains=== Shopping in Bucharest is very affordable and of a considerably high quality. For food and necessities shopping, see supermarkets in Romania. ===Shopping centers=== The biggest modern shopping centers in Bucharest are Cora [http://www.cora.ro], Carrefour, Bucharest Mall, Plaza Romania and Unirea shopping center. However, there are also a large number of traditional markets; the one at Obor covers about a dozen city blocks, and numerous large stores that are not officially part of the market effectively add up to a market district almost twice that size. ===Ethnic artifacts=== The Museum of the Romanian Peasant has a very notable store, offering artifacts such as textiles, musical instruments, and painted eggs. ==Education== The first Romanian higher education institution was opened in 1694 (the ''Academy of Saint Sava''), and in 1864 the ''Bucharest University'' was established; today there are 21 higher education institutes with nearly 100,000 students in the capital. ===Colleges and universities=== Image:Politehnica rectorat.jpg|thumb|right|270px|The Politehnica University * Academia de Studii Economice * Universitatea Romano Britanica (British Romanian University)  * Universitatea Bucuresti|Universitatea Bucureşti * Universitatea Politehnica Bucuresti|Universitatea Politehnica Bucureşti * [http://www.univermed-cdgm.ro Universitatea de Medicina si Farmacie ''Carol Davila''] ==Sports Teams== ===Football (soccer)=== * FC Steaua - winner of the 1986 UEFA Champions League|European Champion Clubs' Cup * FC Rapid * FC National|FC Naţional * FC Dinamo Bucuresti|FC Dinamo Bucureşti * Sportul Studentesc|Sportul Studenţesc ==See also== * List of Bucharesters ==Portrayal in film and fiction== * The American-produced Romanian-language documentary ''Children Underground'' (2000) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264476/] portrays the lives of homeless children in Bucharest. * The Romanian-language film ''Filantropica'' ("Philanthropy", 2002) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314067/] gives a satiric portrayal of the city and of many strata of its life. * The English-language film ''The Wild Dogs'' (2002) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290930/] gives a more uniformly bleak portrait of the city. ==External links== {{wikiquote}} {{commons|Bucharest}} ===Official sites=== * [http://www1.pmb.ro/pmb/index_en.htm Bucharest: Official administration site] * [http://www.ratb.ro/ RATB (Public Transport Company) official website] * [http://www.metrorex.ro/ Metrorex (Underground Transport Company) official website] ===City guides=== * [http://www.wikitravel.org/article/Bucharest Travel information on Bucharest at Wikitravel] * [http://www.inyourpocket.com/romania/bucharest/en/ In Your Pocket guide] (also a [http://www.inyourpocket.com/instant/bucharest-instant-guide.pdf downloadable PDF guide]) * [http://www.bucharest-guide.ro Bucharest Travel Guide - locations tested and recommended] Category:Bucharest Category:Capitals in Europe Category:Romanian cities bg:Букурещ da:Bukarest de:Bukarest eo:Bukareŝto fr:Bucarest he:בוקרשט nl:Boekarest ja:ブカレスト no:Bucuresti pl:Bukareszt pt:Bucareste ro:Bucureşti ru:Бухарест sr:Букурешт sv:Bukarest uk:Бухарест yi:בוקאַרעשט zh:布加勒斯特 First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

This article on Bucharest is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bucharest".

if you like cool drinks you may be interested in:

The best prices - up to 45% discount - the best brands - Armani, Lacoste, Aquascutum, Evisu, Prada, Burberrys - and the biggest range - new season stock still arriving - all makes the Brown Bag offering exciting

She Desires is the indulgence store for women. Selling everything from home spa products, to chocolate, adult toys and much more, She Desires has everything a woman could desire to pamper, indulge and feel good.

Hope you enjoyed reading about Bucharest

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page - St Augustine

: Home ::