In the south-eastern part of Europe there is a mysterious and thus very attractive country where Bucharest is located - Romania. The legend of Count Dracula provided it with a mysterious halo, and Bucharest got its share of these legends. By the way, the name of the city is translated from Romanian as "City of Joy".
It is believed that Bucharest was founded by a certain Bucur, a local shepherd. He built a small church here, which has survived to this day. Soon a small settlement was formed around it, which has grown to a huge city, which is called Bucharest - the capital of Romania.
The first documented mention is associated with the name of the legendary Count Dracula. In 1459, Vlad Tepes, who later became known as Dracula, granted tax exemption and the right to own plots of land in the town. Also by this time, the area was designated as a princely residence, in honor of which a defensive fortress was erected at the behest of Tepes.
It took exactly 200 years for the city to become the capital of Wallachia. Constantin Brincoveanu completely transferred the princely residence here, and the city continued to build and grow. New churches appeared, craft shops were established in separate streets, and inns were built. Since the XVIII century the city passed into the possession of the Ottoman Porte. But even in this period it continued its cultural, architectural and commercial growth.
Despite fires, plagues, floods and earthquakes, Bucharest continued to retain its status as the capital and one of the most beautiful and important cities in Southeastern Europe. Even gas lighting came here earlier than in Berlin and Paris.
Since the 19th century, the city has been built in the French Bozar style, characterized by wide squares and boulevards. All thanks to the fact that local architects studied in France. Bucharest was nicknamed "Little Paris" for its adherence to this style.
But since the reign of dictator Ceausescu, the city has persistently developed industry and infrastructure. Since then, Bucharest has had a legacy of uniform gray reinforced concrete buildings and the nickname City of Contrasts. Here you can often find a graceful 17th century church behind a monolithic concrete block. Recently, however, thanks to EU grants, the communist legacy is gradually changing its reinforced concrete appearance.
The population of Bucharest today is 1.8 million people, 70% of whom profess Romanian Orthodoxy, 6% Catholicism and Protestantism, and another 3% Greek Orthodoxy. The state language is Romanian, in the tourist sphere English and French are used. The Romanian leu - RON - is used in the city.
