Did You Know ?

» The Palace of Parliament, located in Bucharest, ranks as the biggest office building in Europe and second-largest in the world, after the U.S. Pentagon?

» Voronet Monastery, located in northeastern Romania, is also known as
the ‘Sistine Chapel of the East’?

» Romania has the second largest underground glacier in Europe (in terms of volume) ?

The 3500-year old Scarisoara glacier, located in the Bihor Mountains – 90 miles southwest of Cluj Napoca - has a volume of 2,649,000 cubic feet (75,000 cubic metres), making it the second largest European underground glacier, after the Eisriesenwelt ice cave in Austria. The 154 foot deep entrance shaft leads to some impressive ice structures, including spectacular 20 foot high ice stalagmites. Scarisoara ice-cave is open to the public.

»The city of Brasov (Transylvania) is home to the largest gothic church between Vienna and Istanbul ? 

Brasov's famous landmark and Romania's leading gothic church, the Black Church was built between 1385 and 1477 and got its nickname after the Great Fire of 1689 blackened its the walls.

» The meaning of the word “Transylvania” is the land beyond the forest?

Transylvania was first referred to in a Medieval Latin document dating from 1075 as Ultra Silvam (Ultra meaning "beyond" or "on the far side of …" and Sylva (sylvam) meaning "wood or forest").

» Romania has the second-largest outdoor museum in the world?

Astra Museum in Sibiu features more than 300 buildings as well as watermills and windmills, gigantic presses for wine, fruit and oil, hydraulic forges and structures representing village architectural styles from many parts of Romania.

» Hollywood’s original Tarzan was born in the city of Timisoara, Romania?

Considered by movie-makers “the only man in Hollywood who’s natural in the flesh and can act without clothes”, Johnny Weissmuller (1904-1984) was a box-office hit in the 1932 Tarzan the Ape Man. The ship's roster from his family's arrival at Ellis Island lists his birthplace as Freidorf, now a district of the city of Timisoara. Freidorf maintains beautiful architecture, old German homes, and lots of green spaces.

» The first fountain pen was invented by Craiova-born Petrache Poenaru
(1799-1875)?

Mr. Poenaru's invention was patented in May 1827.

» The movie Cold Mountain was filmed on location in Romania?

Hollywood celebrities Jude Law, Renee Zellweger and Nicole Kidman relaxed in Poiana Brasov after shooting the film Cold Mountain on location in nearby fields and farms.

» The Romanian city of Timisoara was the first in Europe to have electric street-lighting?

Timisoara was the first European city to introduce horse-drawn trams (in 1869) and electrical street lighting (in 1889).

» The Bruckenthal museum in Sibiu opened its doors to the public three years prior to the Louvre Museum in Paris ?

Founded in 1790 by Samuel Brukenthal, the governor of Transylvania, the museum opened to the public in 1817. It is the oldest museum in Romania and one of the first museums in Europe. The art collection includes paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck and Teniers, as well as works of German, Austrian and Romanian masters.

» Insulin was discovered by a Romanian physiologist ?

Only after two Canadians received a Noble prize, some 50 years later, for the same invention Nicolai Paulescu’s precedence was finally recognized and he was rightfully acknowledged as the true inventor of insulin.

» The jet engine used by modern airplanes was invented by Bucharest-born inventor Henri Coanda ?

Romanian inventor and aerodynamics pioneer, Henri Coanda designed and built in 1910 the world's first jet powered aircraft, known as the Coandă-1910, which he demonstrated publicly at the second International Aeronautic Salon in Paris. Coanda died in Bucharest November 25, 1972 at the age of 86. Romania's main international airport, Henri Coanda, is named after the great inventor.

» Without a Romanian gymnast the computers wouldn’t have had the capability to display a perfect 10 ?

Nadia Camaneci got the first 10 in the history of gymnastics in Montreal in 1976.

» Universal literature found valuable sources of inspiration in Romania's
castles ?

The most famous novels written are "The Castle in the Carpathians" by Jules Verne, and "Dracula" by Bram Stoker.

» Romania features the youngest continental land (Danube Delta) in Europe ?

The mighty Danube River flows 1,788 miles from its springs in Germany’s Black Forest to the Black Sea. Just before reaching the sea it forms the second largest and best preserved of Europe's deltas: 2,200 square miles of rivers, canals, marshes, tree-fringed lakes and reed islands. The Danube Delta is a wildlife enthusiast’s (especially a bird watcher’s) paradise. Formed over a period of more than 10,000 years, the Danube Delta continues to grow due to the 67 million tons of alluvia deposited every year by the Danube River.

» Brasov is home to what is said to be the narrowest street in Europe ?

The Rope Street (Strada Sforii) is approximately four feet wide and links Cerbului Street with Poarta Schei Street. The street was initially used as an access route by firefighters.

» Ten U.S. cities have ‘sisters’ in Romania ?

Here is the active list from the 2008 Membership Guide of Sister Cities International:
Baia Mare         - Hollywood, FL
Bistrita              - Columbus, GA
Brasov              - Cleveland, Ohio
Bucharest         - Atlanta, GA
Cluj Napoca      - Columbia SC
Contanta          - Mobile, AL
Medias             - Mineral Wells, TX
Pitesti               - Springfield, OH
Sibiu                 - Columbia, MO

(Romaniatourism.com)

Romanian Economic Status

Boc: This is the greatest increase in the last two years
     *  Analysts: The economy will grow more than 1.5% this year
     The GDP increased in Q3 2011 by 1.9% (in real terms), compared to the previous quarter, whereas compared to the same period of 2010 the advance was 4.4% (gross series), according to the latest estimates of the National Statistics Institute (INS).
     In seasonally adjusted terms, the economic growth between July and September was 4.5% higher than in the similar period of 2010.
     In the first nine months, the GDP increased 2.7% compared to the corresponding period of 2010 on a gross series and 2.6% on a seasonally adjusted series.
     Prime Minister Emil Boc yesterday said that Romania is on schedule to experience a growth of 1.5% and 2%, being the greatest increase of the last two years. He added that data published yesterday by the National Statistics Institute prove that the government's policy to invest and create jobs, was right.
     Emil Boc said: "We can conclude that Romania had four consecutive quarters of economic growth, namely the last quarter of 2010 and the first three of 2011, which proves that the country is on schedule to experience an annual growth of 1.5% and 2% for the year 2011".
     Dan Lazăr, secretary of state in the Ministry of Public Finance, said that the 4.4% advance of the GDP in the third quarter, was caused by the growth of the agricultural sector, according to Mediafax. Still, the "recovery" of the economy isn't being felt in the level of taxes collected, because agriculture isn't properly collected.
     Dan Lazăr said: "We are seeing a recovery of the Romanian economy, a growth of more than 4% of the GDP, which is making us optimistic. Unfortunately, on a fiscal level we haven't felt it so much, because agriculture isn't taxed. If things continue this way, then I say that the tax forecast for this year will be exceeded".
     The secretary of state explained that besides agriculture and construction, it was tourism and exports which contributed to the economic growth in the third quarter.
     The estimative data published by the National Statistics Institute have exceeded analyst expectations, which claim that under these circ***tances this year's economic growth will exceed the forecast of 1.5%.
     Lucian Anghel, chief-economist at the Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR), said that the data published by the National Statistics Institute represent a pleasant surprise. He added that Romania's growth will exceed the economic growth of 1.5% forecasted for this year: "Barring any dramatic drops in the next quarter, the economic growth should exceed 2%. Even if we didn't take into account the 2.6% growth of the agricultural sector, we would have still had an economic growth of 1.8%, which would be an improvement compared to the other quarters".
     Lucian Anghel says that the major issue is now what could happen in the future.
     He said: "This year, the economic growth will exceed 2%, but in 2012 we will see an increasingly reduced demand. Economic growth will depend on the way we will mobilize our resources for investments and on the manner of use of the European grants".
     Lucian Anghel added that this year's harvest may be hard to replicate and next year may be far weaker.
     *  Laurian Lungu: "I wouldn't be too certain of economic growth in the next quarters"
     Laurian Lungu, managing part-ner at "Macroanalitica", said that the estimative figures concerning the GDP show that we are in a recovery process which is slower than the average of the European Union.
     "I wouldn't be too certain of economic growth in the next quarters", he said.
     Laurian Lungu considers that this year's economic growth will exceed the forecasted level of 1.5%, but we need to be cautious because the international economic situation is deteriorating.
     "The idea is to find other engines of economic growth, such as domestic consumption (but not at the rate it had in 2007-2008), investments, even private ones and the European funds, because we have a lot of potential", he said.
     *  Melania Hăncilă: "For the first time since the onset of the crisis, the construction sector had a positive evolution"
     Melania Hăncilă, chief-economist at Volksbank, said that the estimative data of the National Statistics Institute concerning the GDP will cause the economic growth estimates to be revised.
     H added: "The figures published yesterday are above our expectations, which will cause us to revise our forecast for the entire year of 2011 upward, and we expect the GDP to grow 2.2% -2.4% YOY. The revision of the forecast is due to the agricultural sector exceeding expectations, by posting growth of more than 10%, as well as the industry maintaining a stable growth (approximately 5%). For the first time since the onset of the crisis, the construction sector has seen a positive evolution, due to the civil engineering works, funded predominantly by the government".
     Melania Hăncilă claims that the economic advance of 4.4% seen in the third quarter, compared to the same period of the previous year is due especially to agriculture and the increase in foreign demand, "and we therefore can't say that the Romanian economy has actually recovered, especially as long as consumption and investments maintain their negative dynamic".
     He said that this year's growth engines, namely agriculture and exports which have pulled industry behind them, are at high risk of seeing a slowdown in 2012, amid the deterioration of the state of public debt in the EU and the lack of major reforms in agriculture.
     The International Monetary Fund has maintained its forecast of a an economic growth of 1.5% this year, but has significantly lowered its estimate for next year to 1.8-2.3%. (Sorinel Draghici )

The Romanian real estate market, Timisoara

The Romanian real estate market is growing fast, boosted by the rising interest of foreign investors and by the increasing domestic demand for new houses.
What follows is an overview referred to the city of Timisoara, one of the most developed industrial areas in Romania:
- Agricultural land: in the area of Timisoara lands are flat and fertile, also suitable for biologic agriculture. Currently, prices start from 1.300 Euro per hectare (corresponding to 10.000 square metres).
- Building land for industry, retail and offices: Romania is one of the most interesting locations for new factories, due to the low cost of labour. For the areas already provided with utilities (roads, water, drainage, gas, electricity) prices start from 100 Euro/square metre outside the city, while they are about 150/200 Euro/square metre in the city. The cost of construction of an industrial shed starts from as low as 350 Euro/square metre, and they can be rented for a monthly fee of 2 to 4 Euro/square metre.
- Building land for houses and block of flats: there is a strong demand for new detached houses and apartments in modern residential areas. Prices are currently between 15 and 20 Euro/square metre for big lots (around one hectare) still to be parcelled, and between 25 and 35 Euro/square metre for small parcels of land.
- Apartments in buildings situated in the city centre: prices are between 1.200 e 3.000 Euro/square metre depending on the state of preservation.
- New detached houses: for instance, a detached house of 150 square metres with a 600-square-metre courtyard prices are between 100.000 and 150.000 Euro.
- Apartments in the suburbs: for instance, an apartment with two bedrooms in a block of flats costs about 35.000 Euro.
The request for rented house is very strong and the average annual income (for monthly rent) is about 5% on the value of the property.
Even more profitable is the rent so called "in regim hotelier", offered at around 25-30 Euro per day as an alternative to hotels.

In Romania, Start-Ups Gain Strength

PARIS — With a sparkling start-up scene and a wealth of young talent, Romanian entrepreneurs, especially in the information technologies sector, are aiming for the global market.

 “I am very optimistic about what start-ups can do in Romania,” Jan Muehlfeit, chairman of Microsoft Europe, said in a telephone interview. The local pool of technology talent, he said, is one of the main reasons Microsoft has invested in the country.

“In the cloud, you can become a global company in a very fast way,” Mr. Muehlfeit said, referring to the services and applications that are now being provided to businesses through the Internet, by companies like Microsoft, as well as by start-ups. Shared software, data storage and other forms of cloud computing present an opportunity to outsource information technology.

Microsoft has been present in Romania since 1996. Five years ago, it opened a technical center there that it says is the largest of its kind in Europe. It now acts as a partner for small businesses like software developers, sitting at the center of an array of more than 4,000 information technology companies, Mr. Muehlfeit said.

As part of its Romanian operations, Microsoft provides free technology, helps companies connect with investors and supports marketing efforts through its BizSpark program for start-ups. In exchange, the partner companies have developed new applications for the Microsoft platform.

Private enterprise, despised and banned by the former communist regime, emerged only two decades ago in Romania with the onset of democratic change. The country, like its neighbors, has relied heavily on foreign investment to rebuild itself from the ruins of the formerly centralized state economy.

In efforts to catch up with Western competitors, a new generation of entrepreneurs still has to cope with a business culture that lags behind.

Still, Romania has a number of advantages over its Western neighbors. Information technology professionals cite its large talent pool and advanced broadband infrastructure, together with low wages and an appetite for enterprise. Companies including Intel and Oracle as well as Microsoft have set up shop there, investing in call centers, software development and support services.

Romanian start-ups have recently figured among the most promising in Europe. The Telegraph, a British newspaper, worked with the technology start-up blog TechCrunch to compile a 2011 ranking of the top 100 emerging technology businesses in Europe. The list included three companies from Romania.

UberVU, a social media monitoring and aggregation platform, was one of the start-ups selected by the Telegraph panel. Founded in 2008, it now has offices in both Britain and Romania, with international clients and investors.

Dragos Ilinca, co-founder of uberVU, said the initial financing had come from Britain.

“What was difficult to do in Romania was to find the capital necessary to develop a product and take it to the market. This was in early 2008, when everyone was investing in real estate, which was generating crazy returns,” he said.

When the property bubble burst, seed funds and angel investors turned their attention elsewhere and investment became more easily accessible, he said. That was too late for uberVU, which had already raised its first round of venture capital in Britain, but it presented opportunities for entrepreneurs back home.

Mr. Ilinca said that for digital service start-ups seeking a larger market and more financing options, Western Europe still offered an easier environment. Still, he sees a role for companies like uberVU in Romania. “If we want to help Romania be better off economically and socially, entrepreneurship and creating high-value Romanian products and services is the way to do it,” he said.

Marius Ghenea, a pioneering serial entrepreneur, has been running businesses in Romania since the early 1990s. A speaker at School for Startups, a privately run training program, he said that one of Romania’s problems was a lack of business role models.

“When prompted, a lot of young people today indicate international entrepreneurial models such as Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, rather than a local model,” he said. “Entrepreneurial success is still not celebrated in Romania as it should be, for cultural reasons that will only be completely surpassed by the younger generation, born and raised after 1989.”

Based on a British curriculum, School for Startups had 200 students this year in the capital, Bucharest, and the western city of Cluj. For next year, it has started to accept students from neighboring countries. Its founders hope Romania can emerge as a regional hub for entrepreneurial development.

Karen E. Wilson, a senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation, visited Romania in the fall. Kauffman, a U.S. organization, sponsors global initiatives like Startup Weekend and Global Entrepreneurship Week, which is host to events locally.

“I was amazed at how much is happening right now in this area,” Ms. Wilson said in a telephone interview. “People realize that there are a lot of opportunities through entrepreneurship and innovation.”

Startup Weekend, a 54-hour event, is scheduled to take place Nov. 11 to Nov. 13 in Bucharest. Participants will come together for a weekend of brainstorming and networking to help get their start-up ideas off the ground. Similar events are planned in at least 65 cities worldwide through November.

Two days earlier, on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, How to Web, another conference in Bucharest, will bring together leading entrepreneurs and specialists for talks on innovation, Web trends, business analysis and advanced technologies.

At both conferences, a core focus will be how to bridge the cultural gap between innovation and entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship classes are compulsory in Romanian high schools and a growing trend at universities, said Lucian Gramescu, operations manager at Junior Achievement Romania, a nonprofit organization that teaches entrepreneurial skills to young people. But classes concentrate on theory, rather than providing a hands-on approach to starting a business, he said.

“Entrepreneurship classes are not fun, not attractive to students,” Mr. Gramescu said. “For many of them it is just another topic in school and not an invitation to start an enterprise.”

Technical universities have been surprisingly ready to include entrepreneurship programs in coursework, but technology students have tended to be less receptive, he said.

Another issue is teaching people to communicate with investors, he added. “There is money out there, you just need to educate people on how to ask for it.”

The New York Times - Global Business