Discovering Europe
Romania, land of contrasts
Forming Europe’s new eastern border, Romania seems to be developing quicker than any other European country. After just over a year as a member of the European Union it is experiencing rapid economic growth, even while its social and physical infrastructure awaits reform. Additionally, it is a country with marked regional contrasts, making it a largely unexplored but promising tourist destination. Transylvania in particular, with its many minority groups and mysterious traditions, is a fine example of multicultural diversity.
Street in Bucharest.
© J.-F. Herbecq
A bumpy road
Lying at the crossroads of the Orient and the Occident, Romania is an ‘island’ of Latin civilization in the middle of a Slavic ocean. Its history alternates periods of accelerated modernisation with debilitating stagnation. Between its early origins in the mists of antiquity to final unification of the nation state in the 19th century, Romania witnessed barbaric invasions, the independent principalities of the Middle Ages as well as domination by the Ottomans and the Hapsburgs. The lands that would become Romania absorbed many influences, including those of Saxon settlers who were sent by the Hungarian sovereigns in the Middle Ages to secure an Eastern border frequently under attack from the Tatars and the Turks. Having become masters of Moldavia and Walachia, the Turks neither colonized nor Islamised this borderland, leaving the people to enjoy a large measure of autonomy under the administration of powerful Greek families from Constantinople known as the Phanariots. These Germanic and Greek influences were enduring. Finally, in the aftermath of World War I, the country was defined by the borders of what was known as ‘Greater Romania’. During this turbulent history, the Romanians often saw battles on their soil but were never among the aggressors. Sadly, they had little choice but to face the appetites of the three major powers that surrounded or included them: the Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires. Following World War II, Romania paid dearly for siding with Nazi Germany in the years 1941–45, not only in terms of human lives but also by being incorporated into the communist bloc. The 1989 revolution put an end to the excessive and destructive version of communism imposed by the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Finally, on 1 January 2007, Romania joined the European Union, bringing a guarantee of stability that will no doubt benefit its future development. Both Latin and Orthodox, Romania brings to the EU an original mix of East and West that can only enrich the Europe of the 21st century.
