According to abbreviationfinder, Bucharest is Romania’s largest city and capital, as well as the country’s industrial, commercial and cultural center.
History
Its name is attributed to a shepherd called Bucur (Búcur), which means in Romanian “happy”, therefore the name of Bucharest can be understood as “city of joy”.
The origin of Bucharest is linked to the construction of Curtea Veche in 1459, the new palace of Vlad Tepes. Curtea Veche became the summer court of the Wallachian prince and his family. Under the protection of his reign, it was a slave market that led to strong economic development in the area and led to the transfer of many Romanians, thus creating a new expanding city.
During the second half of the 19th century, Bucharest’s population grew rapidly. The extravagant architecture and cosmopolitan cultural atmosphere of the time led to Bucharest being called the Paris of the East, or Little Paris, but the social gap between rich and poor was still too great.
As part of the First World War, the 6 of December of 1916, the city was occupied by German forces and the capital was moved to Iasi, finally being released in November 1918, becoming the capital of the new Kingdom of Romania.
Bucharest suffered great destruction during World War II due to bombing by the air forces of the United Kingdom and the United States.
Geography
Bucharest is located on the banks of the Dâmbovita River, which flows into the Arges River, a tributary of the Danube. Several lakes – the most important of which are Lake Floreasca, Lake Tei and Lake Colentina – stretch through the city, along the Colentina River, a tributary of the Dâmbovita. Also, in the center of the capital there is a small artificial lake – Lake Cismigiu surrounded by the Cismigiu gardens. Cismigiu was inaugurated in 1847 and based on the plans of the German architect Carl FW Meyer, the gardens are currently the main recreational facilities in the city center.
The total area of Bucharest is 226 km². It is the seventh most populous city in the EU. Until recently, the surrounding areas were mainly rural, but after 1989 new neighborhoods began to be built around the city.
Demography
According to the 2002 census, there are 1,926,334 residents, 8.9% of the total population of the country. In addition, there are about 50,000 people who commute to the city on a daily basis, mainly from the surrounding Ilfov county. See population of Romania.
Bucharest’s population experienced two phases of rapid growth, the first at the end of the 19th century, when the city grew in importance and size, and the second during the communist period, when a massive campaign of “urbanization” was launched and many people emigrated. from rural areas to the capital. At this time the natural increase was also significant. The population continues to grow every day, because, despite the fact that Romania’s population falls, the site offers better living conditions.
Economic development
Bucharest is the most economically developed and industrialized city in Romania, producing around 21% of the country’s GDP and about a quarter of its industrial production, while it only represents 9% of the population.
Almost a third of national taxes are paid by Bucharest citizens and companies. According to local purchasing power, Bucharest has a GDP per capita of 64.5% of the European Union 2004 average, and more than twice the Romanian average. According to the fact that Bucharest produces around 21% of Romanian GDP for a population of around 2 million, the GDP (PPP) per capita of the city would be US $ 20,057.
The strong economic development of the city has revitalized the infrastructure and has led to the development of many shopping malls and modern tower and skyscraper-type residential and office buildings. In September 2005, Bucharest had an unemployment rate of 2.6%, significantly lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.7%.
Economically, the city is the most prosperous in Romania and is one of the main industrial and transport centers in Eastern Europe.
From the administrative point of view, Bucharest is a particularity within the Territorial Organization of Romania, since it is the only municipality that is not part of a district.
The government of the city is carried out by a kind of “Mayor General”, who carries out his function together with an elected council made up of 55 members. In addition, the city is divided into six administrative sectors, each of them with a sectorial City Council, made up of 27 seats, and a mayor.
Transport
The city has two airports: Bucharest-Henri Coandă International Airport (formerly Otopeni) and Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (formerly Băneasa). Delta Air Lines serves Bucharest directly from JFK Airport. Henri Coandă is the largest airport in Romania with 5 million passengers in 2007 and the main hub for the national operator TAROM.Băneasa Airport
Bucharest has the largest public transport system in Romania and the third largest in Europe. It also has a metro, tram, buses, trolleybuses and light trains.
The main train station is Gara de Nord, or North Station, which provides connections to the main cities of the country, as well as international destinations, such as Belgrade, Budapest, Sofia, Vienna, Prague, Moscow, Istanbul, Chisinau, and many other cities. and European capitals.
