Bucharest

Bucharest is Romania’s capital and, at the same time, it is the largest industrial and commercial center of the country. Considering the number of inhabitants, its population of 1,883,425 residents (2011) makes Bucharest to be the tenth city in the European Union.

The name of the city

In the mid-seventeenth century, oriental traveler Evliya Çelebi wrote in his memoirs that the name of Wallachia capital comes from the name of Gebel Himme’s son from the tribe of the Beni-Kureis, which was called Ebu-Karis, hence Bukris – Bucharest . In 1781 I.Fr. Sulzer – Swiss traveler in Wallachia , believed that the name stands for “bucuria, bucuros, a bucura” which are all forms of “joy”. Three decades later, in a book printed in Vienna, it is recorded that the name comes from the beech forests that are called “Bukovie”. The Romanian historian Adrian Majuru recalls that in Albanian “Bukureshti” means “beautiful it is.”

Location of the city

Bucharest is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River in a plain area. His first documentary mention dates back to 1459 during the reign of Vlad Tepes (the one from which started the myth of Count Dracula).

It was the first city in the world where public lighting, with kerosene, was introduced in 1857. It became the capital of the united provinces, Wallachia and Moldova, in 1862 and in 1918 became the capital of Romania as a nation state.

The rapid development in all areas – demographic, economic and cultural – as well as French-inspired architecture have attracted in the late nineteenth century, the nickname of Little Paris.

Today, Bucharest is the largest city and the main political, administrative, economic, financial, banking, educational, scientific and cultural center of Romania.

The oldest part of the town include the ruins known as Old Court, Manuc’s Inn and streets Selari, Sepcari, Covaci, Lipscani and Gabroveni which was representing the major commercial and crafts venue of the city. Also in central areas are some old parks Cişmigiu (1854) and Botanical Garden (1860).

Since it is a thriving and important cultural center, Bucharest hosts every year many artistic events such as the National Theater Festival or George Enescu Festival which are a true delight for both Romanian and foreign participants.

See other interesting articles:

How to get to Bucharest