Bucharest - Geography, Climate, Law and government, History, Demographics, Economy, Transport, Culture, Architecture, Media, Sports
44°25N 26°07E, pop (2000e) 2 066 000. Capital and largest city of Romania, on the R Dambovi?; founded, 14th-c; important commercial centre on the trade route to Constantinople; capital of Wallachia, 1698; capital of Romania, 1861; badly damaged by German bombing in World War 2; airport (Baneasa); railway; university (1864); technical university (1819); oil pipeline link with Ploe?ti; engineering, metallurgy, machinery, oil refining, textiles, chemicals, food processing, vehicles; Domnita Baleasa Church (18th-c), St George Church (17th-c), Palace of the Republic, Palace of St Synod, Athenaeum arts and music centre.
(Bucharest)
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| Status | Capital of Romania | ||
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| Mayor | Adriean Videanu, since 2005 | ||
| Area | 228 km² | ||
| Population (2003) | 1,929,615 | ||
| Density | 9131.5 inh/km² | ||
| Geographical coordinates | 44°25′N 26°06′E | ||
| Web site | http://www1.pmb.ro/pmb/index.html | ||
Bucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti /bu.kuˈreʃtʲ/ (help·info)) is the capital city and industrial and commercial centre of Romania.
By European standards Bucharest is not an old city, its existence first being referred to by scholars as late as 1459. In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of the "Paris of the East" or "Little Paris" (Micul Paris).
According to the 2002 census, Bucharest proper has a population of 1,921,751. As the most important city in Romania, Bucharest also has a broad range of educational facilities.
The city is administratively known as the Municipality of Bucharest (Municipiul Bucureşti), and has the same administrative level as a county, being further subdivided into six sectors.
Geography
Bucharest is situated on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River, which flows into the Argeş River, a tributary of the Danube.
Besides Cişmigiu, Bucharest contains several other large parks and gardens, including Herăstrău Park and the Botanical Garden. Herăstrău is a large public park located in the north of the city, and the site of the Village Museum, while the Bucharest's botanical garden is the largest in Romania and contains over 10,000 species of plants, many of them exotic;
Bucharest is situated in the south eastern corner of the Romanian Plain, in an area once covered by the Vlăsiei forest, which, after it was cleared, gave way to a fertile flatland. As with many cities, Bucharest is traditionally considered to have seven hills, in the tradition of the seven hills of Rome. Bucharest's radius, from University Square to the city limits in all directions, varies from about 10 to 12 km.
Until recently, the regions surrounding Bucharest were largely rural, but after 1989, new suburbs started to be built around Bucharest, in the surrounding Ilfov county. Further urban consolidation is expected to take place when the Bucharest metropolitan area is formed in 2006, which will incorporate various communes and cities of Ilfov and surrounding counties.
Climate
Bucharest has a continental climate, characterised by hot dry summers and cold winters.
Climate Table| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean Temperature (°C) | –2 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 4 | –1 |
| Mean Total Precipitation (mm) | 40 | 36 | 38 | 46 | 70 | 77 | 64 | 58 | 42 | 32 | 49 | 43 |
| Mean Number of Precipitation Days | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
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Note: A precipitation day is counted as a day where there is at least 1 mm of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, etc.) Sources: World Meteorological Organisation, SouthTravels |
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Law and government
Administration
Bucharest has a unique status in Romanian administration, since it is the only municipality that is not part of a county. Its population, however, is larger than that of any Romanian county, and hence the power of the Bucharest General City Hall (Primăria Generală), which is the city's local government body, is about the same as, if not greater than, that of Romanian county councils. The powers of local government over a certain area are therefore shared by the Bucharest City Hall and the local sectorial councils with little or no overlapping of authority. They are numbered clockwise and are further divided into districts without any form of administration (cartiere):
Sector 1: Băneasa, Pipera, Floreasca Sector 2: Pantelimon, Colentina, Iancului, Muncii, Tei Sector 3: Vitan, Dudeşti, Titan, Centrul Civic Sector 4: Berceni, Olteniţei, Văcăreşti Sector 5: Rahova, Ferentari, Cotroceni Sector 6: Giuleşti, Drumul Taberei, Militari, CrângaşiLike all other local councils in Romania, the Bucharest sectorial councils, the city's General Council and the mayors are elected every four years by the population.
The Municipality of Bucharest, along with the surrounding Ilfov county, forms the Bucharest development region, which is equivalent to NUTS-II regions in the European Union and is used by the European Union and the Romanian Government for statistical analysis and regional development.
Justice system
Bucharest's judicial system is similar to that of the Romanian counties. Each of the six sectors has their own local tribunal, while appeals from these tribunals' verdicts, and more serious cases, are directed to the Bucharest Court of Appeals, the city's municipal court. Bucharest is also home to Romania's supreme court, the High Court of Cassation and Justice, as well as other national courts such as the Constitutional Court of Romania and the National Military Tribunal.
Bucharest has its own municipal police force, the Bucharest Police (Poliţia Bucureşti), which is responsible for policing of crime within the whole city, and operates a number of special divisions. The Bucharest Police are headquartered on Ştefan cel Mare Blvd in the city centre, and has a number of precincts throughout the city.
Crime
Bucharest's crime rate is rather low in comparison to other European capital cities, with the number of total offences declining by 51% between 2000 and 2004.
Although the presence of street children was a problem in Bucharest in the 1990s, their numbers have declined significantly in recent years, currently lying at or below the average of major European capital cities. From 2000 onwards, Bucharest has seen an increase in illegal road races which occur mainly at night in the city's outskirts or on industrial sites.
A significant problem in the city remains institutional corruption, which is seen as the most important justice-and-law related problem in the city. While corruption in Romania has declined in recent years due to various government efforts, Bucharest's level of institutional corruption remains somewhat higher than the Romanian average.
History
Bucharest's history alternated periods of development and decline from the early settlements of the Antiquity and until its consolidation as capital of Romania late in the 19th century.
Burned down by the Ottomans and briefly discarded by princes at the start of the 17th century, Bucharest was restored and continued to grow in size and prosperity. Additionally, on March 23, 1847, a fire consumed about 2,000 buildings of Bucharest, destroying a third of the city.
In 1861, when Wallachia and Moldavia were united to form the Principality of Romania, Bucharest became the new nation's capital;
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 began with mass anti-Ceauşescu protests in Timişoara in December 1989 and continued in Bucharest, leading to the overthrow of the Communist regime.
After the year 2000, due to the advent of Romania's economic boom, the city has modernised and is currently undergoing a period of urban renewal.
Treaties signed in Bucharest
| Treaty of May 28, 1812, at the end of the Russo-Turkish War |
| Treaty of March 3, 1886, at the end of the Serbo-Bulgarian War |
| Treaty of August 10, 1913, at the end of the Second Balkan War |
| Treaty of August 4, 1916, the treaty of alliance between Romania and the Entente |
| Treaty of May 6, 1918, the treaty between Romania and the Central Powers |
Demographics
Historical population of Bucharest| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1789 | 30,030 property-owners; 6,000 houses |
| 1831 | 60,587 property-owners; 10,000 houses |
| 1859 | 122,000 |
| 1900 | 282,000 |
| 1918 | 383,000 |
| 1930 | 639,000 |
| 1956 | 1,237,000 |
| 1966 | 1,452,000 |
| 2000 | 2,300,000 |
| 2003 | 2,082,000 |
The city's population, according to the 2002 census, is 2,082,000 inhabitants, or about 9% of the population of Romania.
Bucharest's population experienced two phases of rapid growth, the first in the late 19th century, when the city grew in importance and size, and the second during the Communist period, when a massive urbanisation campaign was launched and many people migrated from rural areas to the capital.
Approximately 97% of the population of Bucharest are ethnic Romanians, with the second largest ethnic group being the Roma, which make up 1.4% of the population.
Economy
Bucharest is the most economically-developed and industrialised city in Romania, producing around 21% of the country's GDP and about one-quarter of its industrial production, while only accounting for 9% of the country's population. Based on the fact that Bucharest produces around 21% of Romanian GDP for a population of around 2 million, the GDP (PPP) per capita of the city would be US$20,057.
Bucharest's economy is mainly centred on industry and services, with services particularly growing in importance in the last ten years. Bucharest is also Romania's largest centre for information technology and communications and is home to several software companies, including Softwin, which operates internationally. Bucharest contains Romania's largest stock exchange, the Bucharest Stock Exchange, which was merged in December 2005 with the Bucharest-based electronic stock exchange, Rasdaq. The biggest modern shopping centres in Bucharest are Bucharest Mall, Plaza Romania, City Mall, Jolie Ville Galleria and Unirea Shopping Center.
Transport
Bucharest's extensive public transport system is the largest in Romania and the third largest in Europe.
Bucharest is the hub of Romania's national railway network, run by Căile Ferate Române. The city also has five other railway stations run by CFR, which are in the process of being integrated in a commuter railway serving Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov county.
The city's municipal road network is centred around a series of high-capacity boulevards, which generally radiate out from the city centre to the outskirts. This has resulted in wear and potholes appearing on many Bucharest roads, particularly secondary roads, this being identified as one of Bucharest's main infrastructural problems.
Bucharest is also a major intersection of Romania's national road network. It is the origin of most of the country's national roads and expressways, which link the city to all of Romania's major cities as well as to neighbouring countries such as Hungary, Bulgaria and Ukraine.
Although it is situated on the banks of a river, Bucharest has never functioned as a port city, with other Romanian cities such as Constanţa and Brăila acting as the country's main ports.
Culture
Bucharest has a diverse and growing cultural scene, with cultural life exhibited in a number of various fields, including the visual arts, performing arts and nightlife. Unlike other parts of Romania, such as the Black Sea coast or Transylvania, Bucharest's cultural scene is much more eclectic, without a defined style, and instead incorporates various elements of Romanian and international culture.
Landmarks
Bucharest has a number of landmarks that are identified with it throughout the world.
Another well-known landmark of Bucharest is the Arcul de Triumf (Triumphal Arch), which was built in 1935 and was modelled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Aside from these landmarks, Bucharest also has a number of cultural venues, mentioned below, that are often considered icons of the city, such as the Romanian Athaeneum.
Visual arts
In terms of visual arts, the city contains a number of museums featuring both classical and contemporary Romanian art, as well as selected international works. The National Museum of Art of Romania is perhaps the best-known of Bucharest museums.
The Theodor Pallady Museum is situated in one of the oldest surviving merchant houses in Bucharest and includes many works by Romanian painter Theodor Pallady as well as a number of European and Oriental furniture pieces.
Despite the extensive classical art galleries and museums in the city, there is also a contemporary arts scene that has become increasingly prominent in recent times.
Performing arts
Performing arts are one of the strongest cultural elements of Bucharest, and the city has a number of world-renowned facilities and institutions.
Music and nightlife
Bucharest is home to Romania's largest recording labels, and is often the residence of Romanian, and more recently Moldovan, musicians. While many discos play manele, a Turkish-influenced type of music that is particularly popular in Bucharest's working class districts, the city has an increasing jazz and blues scene, and, to an extent, eurodance/trance and heavy metal/punk.
Traditional culture
Bucharest's culture has, especially in the last 15 years, become more modern and wordly in comparison to other Romanian cities.
The Museum of Romanian History is another important museum in Bucharest, containing a collection of artefacts detailing Romanian history and culture from the prehistoric times, Dacian era, medieval times and the modern era.
Cultural events and festivals
There are a number of cultural festivals in Bucharest throughout the year, in various domains, even though most festivals take place in the summer months of June, July and August. The first officially-organised Chinese festival was the Chinese New Year's Eve Festival of February 2005 which took place in Nichita Stănescu Park and was organised by the Bucharest City Hall. In 2005, Bucharest was the first city in Southeastern Europe to host the international CowParade, which resulted in dozens of decorated cow sculptures being placed at various points across the city. Since 2005 Bucharest has its own contemporary art biennale, the Bucharest Biennale.
The 2000s also saw an increasing visibility of Bucharest gay culture, with the opening of the Queen's Club, the first LGBT club in the city, in 2001, and the launch of the annual Bucharest GayFest in 2004.
Architecture
Bucharest's architecture is highly eclectic due to the many influences on the city throughout its history.
The city centre has also retained architecture from the late 19th century and early 20th century, particularly the interwar period, which is often seen as the "golden age" of Bucharest architecture.
Communist architecture
A major part of Bucharest's architecture is made up of buildings constructed during the Communist era replacing the historical arhitecture with "more efficient" high density apartment blocks. One of the best examples of this type of architecture is Centrul Civic, a development that replaced a major part of Bucharest's historic city centre with giant utilitarian buildings, mainly with marble or travertine façades, inspired by North Korean architecture. Communist-era architecture can also be found in Bucharest's residential districts, mainly in blocuri, which are high-density apartment blocks that house the majority of the city's population. Modern shopping malls like Bucharest Mall, Plaza Romania and City Mall emerged on pre-existent structures of former hunger circuses. This process was accelerated after 2000, when the city underwent a property boom, and many Communist-era buildings in the city centre became prime real estate due to their location.
Modern architecture
The newest contribution to Bucharest's architecture took place after the fall of Communism, and particularly after 2000, when the city went through a period of urban renewal – and architectural
revitalisation – on the back of Romania's economic boom. Examples include shopping malls (particularly the Bucharest Mall, a conversion and extension of a "hunger circus"), office buildings,
bank headquarters, the Bucharest World Trade Center and the Chamber of Commerce, which lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa. Additionally, there has been a trend in recent years to add modern
wings and façades to historic buildings, the most prominent example of which is the Bucharest Architects' Association Building, which is a modern glass-and-steel construction built inside a
historic stone façade. These developments are increasingly prominent in the northern suburbs of the city, which are less densely-populated and are home to middle- and upper-class Bucharesters
due to the process of gentrification.
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Panoramic view of The Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevard in Bucharest. |
Lipscani district rooftops |
A Panoramic view of the Palace of the Parliament and around it. |
Fountains of Piaţa Unirii with a view towards the Palace of the Parliament |
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Arcul de Triumf The romanian Triumph Arc established in Bucharest. |
University |
Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse |
The Unirii Square and a view towards the Palace of the Parliament |
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The Unirii Square Fountain |
Odeon Theatre near The University square |
1930s era apartment building in Str. George Vraca |
Lipscani district (old city) Street. |
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Office building near Charles de Gaulle square. |
Magheru Boulevard. |
Bucharest at night. |
Magheru Boulevard. |
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Shop galleries building. |
Chamber of Commerce by night |
Calea Victoriei area. |
Constitution Square, from the main balcony of the Palace of the Parliament. |
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Aerial view of Bucharest. |
Aerial view of Bucharest. |
Media
Bucharest is the most important centre for the Romanian mass media, since it is the headquarters of all the national television networks as well as national newspapers and radio stations.
A significant number of newspapers and media publications are based in Casa Presei Libere (The House of the Free Press) a landmark of northern Bucharest, originally named Casa Scânteii after the Communist-era official newspaper Scînteia.
English-language media became available in Bucharest in the 1990s, and has become increasingly prominent since 2000.
Bucharest is the host city of the fourth edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006.
Sports
Football (soccer) is the most widely-followed sport in Bucharest, with the city having various club teams that are known throughout Europe. Five football teams of Bucharest participate in Liga 1 (League 1), old named Divizia A, the top division in the Romanian football league:
| Club | Founded | Stadium | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sportul Studenţesc | 1916 | Regie Stadium | Oldest team in Bucharest (Now playing in 2nd League (2006-2007 Championship) |
| FC Rapid | 1923 | Giuleşti Stadium | Quarter-Finalist in 2005-2006 season of Uefa Cup (the best performance in club's history) |
| FC Naţional | 1944 | Cotroceni Stadium | |
| FC Steaua | 1947 | Ghencea Stadium | Winner of the 1986 European Champion Clubs Cup and European Super Cup |
| FC Dinamo | 1948 | Dinamo Stadium |
The Lia Manoliu Stadium is the largest stadium in Romania. The Athletics and many Gymnastics National Championships are held in Bucharest, one main reason being the city's extensive sporting infrastructure.
Every autumn, Bucharest hosts BCR Open Romania international tennis tournament, which is included in the ATP Tour.
For the 2007 season, Bucharest will host a round of the FIA GT Championship at the new Bucharest Ring, on May 20. Historic Communist Bucharest was depicted in Jack Chick's first comic book, "Operation Bucharest", first published in 1974.
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