BUCHAREST – RESTLESS AND PICTURESQUE
Bucharest is the capital of Romania, its political, administrative, economical, financial, educational, scientific and cultural centre.
Having a population of more than 3 million people, spread over an area of more than 200 square kilometers, the city of Bucharest is the third most populated capital in the region (after Athens and Istanbul) and the sixth largest city in the European Union.
Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania and is one of the main industrial centres and transportation hubs of Eastern Europe. The city has a broad range of convention facilities, educational facilities, cultural venues, shopping arcades and recreational areas.
Nowadays, Bucharest is a real metropolis. As busy as Paris, as restless as New York, and in the same time uniquely picturesque, Bucharest is definitely a city worth visiting, full of history and symbols.
HISTORY
Bucharest has an ancient history, its territory having been inhabited since the Bronze Age. However, the first written attestation of the existence of the city dates back to the 15th century, from, the time of Vlad the Impaler.
LEGEND OF BUCHAREST
The foundation of Bucharest is somehow full of mystery. The city is told to have been founded by a shepherd named Bucur, giving his name to a village he established on the bank of Dambovita river.
While the legend about the shepherd is probably apocryphal, the name of Bucureşti is quite likely derived from a person Bucur, as the Romanian suffix -eşti is used for settlements derived from personal names, usually of the owner of the land or of the founder.
“LITTLE PARIS”
The end of the 19th century was the most flourishing period of Bucharest. 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 “Little Paris of the East” (Micul Paris).
Currently, besides the elegant buildings with French and Italian influence, orthodox churches in the Baroque style, villas in Second Empire style, but also the massive buildings from the communist age can be seen in Bucharest.
THE FIRST ILLUMINATED CITY IN THE WORLD
Bucharest was the first city in the world illuminated on lamp oil, in 1856, being followed by Vienna, where the first lamps were installed only in 1859.