
Romania is known for its magnificent tourist attractions, which include the famed Black Sea beaches, alpine mountains and vast, continuous forest areas, ancient ruins, medieval castles, painted monasteries, the beautiful river Danube and Danube Delta (a Biosphere Reserve under UNESCO protection) and so on. Romania is located in southeast Europe and has a current population of around 19 million people. Major cities include Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi, Constanţa, Timişoara, Braşov, Craiova, Galaţi, Oradea, Ploieşti, and Brăila.
The Romanian language is regarded mostly Latin based, but it also has some Slavic influence, reflecting the country’s over 2000-year past. Unlike any other European country, Romania has kept old traditions, including specific gastronomic specialties, folkloric music and clothing, strong religious affiliations, among others.
Previously, it was primarily an agricultural country, but it has since become a highly industrialized country. After defeating the communist system in 1989, Romania established a parliamentary democratic republic with Bucharest as its national capital (current population 1. 7 Million). It developed tight links with Western European countries, joining NATO in 2004 and becoming a full member of the European Union in 2007.
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Historical regions and counties of Romania

Romania is administrative divided into 41 counties, while the national capital Bucharest has the status of a separate municipality. Nine historical regions played distinct roles during the history and continue to be inscribed in Romanian language to this day[1].[2]. The modern state of Romania came into being after the unification of two principalities, Moldavia and Wallachia in 1862.[3] The new unitary state extended over further regions at various times during the late 19th and 20th centuries, including Dobruja in 1878 and 40 years later, Transylvania.[3]
Historical region of Banat
- Timiş county, capital Timișoara
- Caraș-Severin county, capital Reșița
Historical region of Bucovina
- Suceava county, capital Suceava
Historical region of Crişana
- Arad county, capital Arad
- Bihor county, capital Oradea
Historical region of Dobruja (Rom. “Dobrogea”)
- Constanta county, capital Constanța
- Tulcea county, capital Tulcea
Historical region of Maramureş
- Maramureș county, capital Baia Mare
- Satu Mare county, capital Satu Mare
Historical region of Moldavia
- Botoșani county, capital Botoșani
- Iași county, capital Iași
- Neamț county, capital Piatra Neamț
- Vaslui county, capital Vaslui
- Bacău county, capital Bacău
- Galați county, capital Galați
- Vrancea county, capital FocșaniR
Historical region of Muntenia (part of former Wallachia)
- Argeș county, capital Argeș
- Braila county, capital Braila
- Buzău county, capital Buzău
- Călărași county, capital Călărași
- Dâmbovița county, capital Târgoviște
- Giurgiu county, capital Giurgiu
- Ialomiţa county, capital Slobozia
- Iflov county, capital Bucharest
- Prahova county, capital Ploiești
- Teleorman county, capital Alexandria
Historical region of Oltenia (part of former Wallachia)
- Dolj county, capital Craiova
- Gorj county, capital Târgu Jiu
- Mehedinţi county, capital Drobeta-Turnu Severin
- Olt county, capital Slatina
- Vâlcea county, capital Râmnicu Vâlcea
Historical region of Transylvania
- Hunedoara county, capital Deva
- Alba county, capital Alba Iulia
- Brașov county, capital Braşov
- Covasna county, capital Sfântu Gheorghe
- Harghita county, capital Miercurea Ciuc
- Mureș county, capital Târgu Mureș
- Sibiu county, capital Sibiu
- Bistrița-Năsăud county, capital Bistrița
- Cluj county, capital Cluj-Napoca
- Sălaj county, capital Zalău
See also
Explore more about Romania
- Romania collection catalog at MyHeritage
- Historical National Geographic Dictionary by George Ioan Lahovari, “Marele Dictionar Geografic Al Romaniei (1898)”. Publication date: 1898 (in Romanian language)
- Capitanul M.D. Ionescu, “Dobrogia în Pragul Veacului Al XXlea 1904”, republished by Universitatea “Ovidius” Constanța. 2010
References
- ↑ Adiminstrative Divisions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_Romania
- ↑ Historical Regions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_regions_of_Romania
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Treptow, Kurt W.; Popa, Marcel (1996). Historical Dictionary of Romania. Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 0-8108-3179-1.