Romania (formerly also spelled Rumania or Roumania; Romanian: România) is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Ukraine and Moldova in the northeast; Hungary and Serbia and Montenegro in the west and Bulgaria to the south along the Danube River. Romania has a stretch of sea coast on the Black Sea and the eastern and southern Carpathian mountains run through its centre.
The name of Romania (România) comes from Român (Romanian) which is a derivative of the word Romanus ("Roman") from Latin. Romania has been a member of NATO since 2004, and is also an acceding country to the European Union. The EU Accession Treaty was signed in early 2005, and Romania is due to join the Union on January 1, 2007.
With an area of 237,499 square kilometers, Romania is the twelfth largest country in Europe. Situated in the northeastern portion of the Balkan Peninsula, the country is halfway between the equator and the North Pole and equidistant from the westernmost part of Europe--the Atlantic Coast--and the most easterly--the Ural Mountains. Romania has 3,195 kilometers of border. Republic of Moldova lies to the east, Bulgaria lies to the south, Serbia to the southwest, and Hungary to the west. In the southeast, 245 kilometers of Black Sea coastline provide an important outlet to the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
The biggest cities in Romania are:
Bucharest / Bucureşti 2,082,334 Bucharest
Iaşi 320,888 Iaşi County
Cluj-Napoca 317,953 Cluj County
Timişoara 317,660 Timiş County
Constanţa 310,471 Constanţa County
Craiova 302,601 Dolj County
Galaţi 298,861 Galaţi County
Braşov 284,595 Braşov County
Ploieşti 232,527 Prahova County
Braila 216,292 Braila County
Oradea 206,616 Bihor County
Arad 183,939 Arad County
Bacau 175,500 Bacau County
A large part of Romania's borders with Serbia and Bulgaria is formed by the Danube. The Danube is joined by the Prut River, which forms the border with Moldova. The Danube flows into the Black Sea forming the Danube Delta which is a reservation of the Biosphere, because many of Romania's borders are defined by natural, sometimes shifting rivers, and because the Danube Delta is constantly expanding towards the sea, about 2-5 linear metres yearly, Romania's surface area has changed over the past few decades, generally increasing. The number has increased from about 237,500 km2 in 1969 to 238,391 km2 in 2005.
Romania's terrain is distributed roughly 
equally among between mountainous, hilly and lowland territories.
The Carpathian Mountains dominate the centre of Romania surrounding the Transylvanian Plateau, 14 peaks reaching above the altitude of 2,000 m, the highest being Moldoveanu Peak at 2,544 m. In the south, the Carpathians sweeten into hills, towards the Bãrãgan Plains. The three highest mountains in Romania are:
Moldoveanu Peak- 2,544 m in Fãgãraş Mountains,
Negoiu Peak- 2,535 m in Fãgãraş Mountains,
Viştea Mare Peak- 2,527 m in Fãgãraş Mountains.
Poiana Braşov is a Romanian ski resort preferred by some tourists because it is relatively inexpensive compared to ski resorts in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and other European states.
It is located at about 1,312 yards (1,200 m) above sea level near the city of Braşov in Romania, and it is easily accessible by road. The resort runs regular buses to take visitors to the base of the ski resort from where they can hike or take a cable car to the main ski runs on the Cristian or Postãvaru summits. At the top of these summits it is possible to see over the entire Braşov region. Poiana Braşov is host to a number of hotels and restaurants, the majority of which cater for foreign tourists. Two of the better known restaurants are Şura Dacilor (The Dacian Barn) and Coliba Haiducilor (The Outlaws' Shack).
Amongst other attractions in Poiana Braşov visitors can find traditional mulled wine and a pepper spiced alcoholic drink known as ţuicã as well as other traditional Romanian fare.
Prahova Valley (Romanian: Valea Prahovei) is the valley where the Prahova river makes its way between the Bucegi and the Baiului Mountains, in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania. It is a tourist region, situated about 100 km north of the capital city of Bucharest.
***Prahova Valley, as seen from the Caraiman Mountain****
Geographically, the Prahova river separates the Eastern Carpathians chain from the Southern Carpathians. The corridor was historically the most important passage way between medieval principalities of Wallachia ans Transylvania. The actual DN1 road, that links Bucharest with the city of Braşov and the future A3 will be built along the Prahova Valley.
The region is a popular destination for mountaineers and for wintersports fans. The most important resorts are: Predeal Azuga Buşteni Sinaia Comarnic Breaza
Transylvania region of Romania is known for its many castles and fortresses.
Biertan Fortress
Bran Castle
Fãgãraş Castle
Hunyadi Castle
Peleş Castle
Poienari Castle
Râşnov Castle
Sighişoara Citadel
The official language is Romanian, a Romance language of the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages, which are also called Romanic, Romantic or Romance languages. This language family includes French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian and Portuguese; its languages are spoken by about 670 million people in many parts of the world, butmainly in Europe and the Western Hemisphere. About 25 million people worldwide speak Romanian, mostly in Romania and Moldova (4,500,000).
According to the Eurobarometer Report "Europeans and Languages" (Sept. 2005) more than a quarter of Romanians understand and speak English and 17% French. Besides, Romania is a member of the Organisation de la Francophonie, with Bucharest being the host of the Summit of Francophony in 2006.
In terms of foreign languages, 5 million Romanians speak English, 4-5 million speak French, 1.5 million speak German, 2 million speak Italian, and 1 million speak Spanish. [8] Historically, French was the leading foreign language for Romanians to study, now it is English, so that as a group the English-speakers in Romania are younger than the French-speakers.
Most Romanians are members of the Romanian Orthodox Church, which is one of the churches of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Catholicism ( both Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic) and Protestantism are also represented, mostly in the areas inhabited by a population closer to Western influence. In the east side of Romania, in the so called Moldova region, there are many old churches and monasteries. One of them, Voroneţ church, is very popular in Europe for the blue tone( Voroneţ blue) used to paint the church` s wall.
In Dobrogea, the region lying on the shore of the Black Sea, there is a small Muslim minority (of Turkish and Tatar ethnicity), which is a remnant of the Ottoman rule and migrations from Crimea, respectively.
Romania's legal tender is the leu (plural lei). On 1 July 2005, the leu was subjected to revaluation so that 10,000 old lei, in circulation on that date, was exchanged for 1 new leu. The existing banknotes and coins, i.e. the old lei, will be legal tender until the end of December 2006. The official exchange rate for 10 August 2005 for 1€=3.39 lei (National Bank of Romania). By 31 December 2006, the existing banknotes and coins, i.e. the old lei, are to be replaced gradually by the new banknotes and coins. The process will prepare Romania for the adoption of the euro, which is expected to take place several years after EU accession. The Romanian government has said that it expects the country will adopt the euro between 2011 and 2012.
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