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Bucharest (population 2 million, Romanian, Bucureşti) is the capital city and industrial and commercial centre of Romania, located in the southeast of the country, on the Dâmboviţa river.

Along a small tributary of Dimboviţa, named Colentina, several lakes stretch across the city. Lake Floreasca, Lake Tei, Lake Colentina. In addition, in the center of the capital there is a small artificial lake - Lake Cişmigiu. Surrounded by gardens and parks, it has a rich history, as it was frequented by famous poets and writers.

History

The legend says that Bucharest was founded by a shepard named Bucur, another variant, more likely, is that it was established by Mircea cel Batran in the 14th century after a victory won over the turks (bucurie means joy in Romanian, for this reason Bucharest is often called "The City of Joy.").

Like most ancient cities of Romania, its foundation has also been ascribed to the first Walachian prince, the half-mythical Radu Negru (1290-1314). More modern historians declare that it was originally a fortress, erected on the site of the Daco-Roman Thyanus, then it was used to command the approaches to Targoviste, formerly the capital of Walachia.

Bucharest is first mentioned under its present name as a residence in 1459 of the Walachian prince Vlad Ţepeş (Vlad the Impaler). It soon became the summer residence of the court. In 1595 it was burned by the Turks; but, after its restoration, continued to grow in size and prosperity, until, in 1698, Prince Constantin Brancoveanu chose it for his capital and of the united provinces of Walachia and Moldavia from February 1859 (renamed Romania in December 1861 while still nominally subject to the Ottoman Empire).

During the 18th century the possession of Bucharest was frequently disputed by the Turks, Austrians and Russians. In 1812 it gave its name to the treaty by which Bessarabia and a third of Moldavia were ceded to Russia. In the war of 1828 it was occupied by the Russians, who made it over to the prince of Walachia in the following year. A rebellion against Prince Bibescu in 1848 brought both Turkish and Russian interference, and the city was again held by Russian troops in 1853-1854. On their departure an. Austrian garrison took possession and remained till March 1857. In 1858 the international congress for the organization of the Danubian principalities was held in the city; and when, in 1861, the union of Walachia and Moldavia was proclaimed, Bucharest became the Romanian capital. Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the first ruler of the united provinces, was driven from his throne by an insurrection in Bucharest in 1866.

During Nicolae Ceauşescu's communist dictatorship, most of the historical part of the city, including old churches, was destroyed, to be replaced with grandomanic socialist buildings.

Population

The city's population increased from 32,000 in 1800 and 282,000 in 1900 to the present-day number slightly over two million (excluding the largely rural outer ring of Ilfov county).

Transport

Bucharest boasts the largest transport network in Romania, and one of the largest in the Central and Eastern Europe region. Transport can be divided into three major fields:

• A metro (subway) system, run by Metrorex (http://www.metrorex.ro)
• A surface transport system run by RATB (http://ratb.ro) that is made up of buses, trams and trolleybuses
• A private taxi system

Bucharest Metro

The subway system consists of four lines: M1, M2, M3 and M4. In total, the newtork is 63km long and has 45 stations, with 1.5km average distance between stops.

Lines

• M1: Pantelimon-Dristor-Piaţa Unirii-Dristor
• M2: Pipera-Piaţa Unirii-IMGB 2
• M3: Industriilor-Piaţa Unirii-Pantelimon
• M4: Gara de Nord-1 Mai

Future Development

The Bucharest Metro is currently in a period of renewal. In 2002, new high-quality trainsets were introduced, manufactured by Swedish maker Bombardier. They are air-conditioned. Also, lines are being extended. Line M4 was opened as recently as 2000, and it is currently in the process of extension from 1 Mai to Pajura, in the city's north. Also, in 2004, a branch to Line M1 will be opened from Nicolae Grigorescu to Linia de Centură via Policolor. This will extend the network to 50 stations with 70.8 kilometres length.

There is also a plan for line M5, which will run to the large district Drumul Taberei in the city's southwest from Colentina quarter via the city center. As well as this, in the future, the Metro might be extended to Bucharest Otopeni Airport and Băneasa Airport, which is currently only serviced by RATB bus.

If you are travelling to Bucharest and would like a trip planner for the Metro, please visit http://nanika.net/metro and download the MetrO program by Patrice Bernard, along with the Bucharest city file. This excellent program will find the quickest way between two stations.

RATB Surface Transport

Despite many comments in the 1990s about the poor state of Bucharest's transport system, RATB is a very efficient and frequent way to get around Bucharest. As with the Metro, the system is going under a period of renewal, making it one of the most modern and comfortable in Eastern Europe, especially with the introduction of new acoustic station announcement in the trolleybuses.

Taxis

Taxis, which are run by a variety of companies, are cheap and affordable and service all parts of the city.

CFR Trains

Bucharest is served by a commuter railway network operated by CFR, the Romanian national railways. This network is not very efficient and is infrequent, because trains run nationally. There are trains from Bucharest to Snagov.

Getting to and from Bucharest

Air

TAROM, the national air carrier, has good flights from a large variety of world cities, including Paris, Madrid, Munich and Rome. Also, Angel Airlines, the new Romanian private airline, has domestic flights of good quality from Baneasa airport.

Train

Train services into and out of Romania are of very high quality, especially those trains that are operated by Romanian railways, Hungarian railways or Polish railways. There are quality EuroCity and EuroNight trains to Budapest via Arad, as well as to Belgrade via Timişoara.