Romania is located in Southeastern Europe, bordering Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Bulgaria. It has a population of over 22 million and its capital and largest city is Bucharest. Some key facts about Romania are that its currency is the leu, it was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for 276 years which influenced its cuisine, it was the only Eastern Bloc country to overthrow its communist government violently, and it has very fast internet speeds despite not having underground cabling in cities. The document also discusses Romania's coat of arms, traditional sports and dishes, historic relations with Bulgaria, and common stereotypes Bulgarians have about Romanians.

1. OVERCOMING PREJUDICES THROUGH FAIRY TALES
COMENIUS school partnerships 2012-2014
• Rīgas Juglas vidusskola – Riga, LATVIA
• Avcilar lisesi – Istanbul, TURKEY
• Profesionalna gimnaziya "IVAN HADZHIENOV“–
Kazanlak, BULGARIA
• Grup scolar CONSTANTIN BRANCOVEANU – Horezu,
ROMANIA

2. Romania is a country, located at the crossroads of
Southeastern and Central Europe, on the Lower
Danube, north of the Balkan Peninsula and the
western shore of the Black Sea. Romania shares a
border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine
and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria
to the south.

3. With 238,391 square kilometres, Romania is
the ninth largest country of the European
Union by area, and has the 7th largest
population of the European Union with over 22
million people. Its capital and largest city is
Bucharest – the 6th largest city in the
European Union.

4. The coat of arms of Romania
As a central element it shows a golden eagle holding a
cross in its beak and a mace and a sword in its claws.
It also consists of the three colors: red, yellow, and
blue, which represent the colors of the national flag.

5. Romanian currency
The leu, plural lei,
is the currency of
Romania. It is
subdivided into
100 bani.
Romania is among the few
countries in the world
which use plastic or
polymer banknotes. They
are cleaner, more difficult
to forge and last longer
than the paper ones.

6. Romania has magical castles, medieval towns and
amazing mountain trails to go hiking. Brasov,
Sighisoara, Sinaya, Sibiu and the Danube delta are
places full of charm and favourite tourist destinations.

7. Bucharest was also
known as the “Little
Paris”. With a quarter
of the population in
Romania having studied
French and Romania
being the main
Francophone country in
the region, it’s not
amazing that you can
feel the spirit of Paris
here. Romanians have
their mini Arch of
Triumph, Romanian
Champs-Elysees and
Charles de Gaulle
statue.

8. Historically, French was the predominant foreign language
spoken in Romania, but English has since superseded it.

9. The Palace of Chaushescu
or The Palace of Parliament -
the second largest administrative building in
the world after the Pentagon.

10. The Palace of Parliament
• It took 20,000 workers and 700 architects to build it. The
palace boasts 12 stories, 1,100 rooms, a 328-ft-long lobby
and four underground levels, including an enormous nuclear
bunker, and another four in different stages of completion. It
was built at the cost of 3.3 billion dollars and the demolition
of nearly the whole historical part of Bucharest – twenty
churches, two monasteries and a stadium.

11. Romania was the only Eastern Bloc country
whose Communist government was overthrown
violently.

12. In most international rankings, Romania is among the first
places in the world based on the speed of its Internet
service, being surpassed by Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan,
and Latvia.
There isn’t underground cabling in Romania, so it’s
common to see cables hanging above your head in
the cities.

13. There are bicycle lanes almost everywhere in
Bucharest. In some place they are even two-way!

14. Romanian creativity is impressive –
the park in front of the Palace of Parliament has turned
into a real jungle of tyres.

15. The horror story of Count Dracula was inspired by Vlad III,
Prince of Wallachia, who lived in the 15th century and
whose reputation for excessive cruelty spread all over
Europe and brought him the name Vlad the Impaler.

16. Oină is a Romanian traditional sport, similar in many
ways to baseball and lapta.

17. Some traditional Romanian dishes are chifteles, mici, sarmale,
pork stew with garlic and onions, doughnuts with cream and
cheese, various ciorbe, iahnie de fasole and various appetizers
made of eggplant, peppers or other vegetables.
Some of the dishes were influenced by Turkish cuisine as Romania
was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for 276 years.

18. During the centuries Romanians have dealt with trade –
pottery, furriery, weaving.

19. Foreigners are greatly impressed by Romanian hospitality.
The Italian traveler Niccolo Barsi said “There aren’t people
more hospitable than the Romanians.”

20. Mărțișor (Martenitsa in Bulgarian) is an old Romanian
celebration similar to Bulgarian “Baba Marta”. On March the
1st, people give friends and relatives talismans made from
white and red thread or wool.
According to a legend the custom dates back to the 7th
century and is connected with Bulgarian Khan Asparukh.

21. Bulgarian-Romanian relations

22. Mamaliga, Roma, Chaushescu, Danube bridge
and the Romanian Revolution, broadcast live on TV,
form the popular image of Romania among Bulgarians.

23. The oldest extant document written in Romanian is
Neacșu's letter (1521) and was written using Cyrillic
letters. The Cyrillic alphabet remained in use up until
the late 19th century.

24. During Bulgarian Revival a lot of Bulgarian
revolutionaries found refuge in free Romania – in
Bucharest, Braila, Brasov… Bulgarian national heroes
like Hristo Botev and Vasil Levski prepared from there
the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire.

25. Today two bridges over the Danube connect Bulgaria
and Romania, shortening the distances and drawing
the two peoples together.
Danube bridge 1 “The
Bridge of Friendship” connects
Ruse and Giurgiu
Danube bridge 2
connects Vidin and Calafat.

26. The two neighboring countries joined together the big
family of the European Union in 2007.

27. The economic crisis forced a lot of Bulgarians and
Romanians to emigrate abroad in search of better-paid
jobs, parting with families and friends.

28. The most common stereotypes
that Bulgarians have about Romania

29. 1. Romania is a place, haunted by vampires
There are no vampires in Transylvania. Also, there’s nothing
creepy about it and people living there don’t have that
funny accent you’ve heard in Hollywood films. What
“vampires” really do nowadays is attracting tourists and
bringing money into the country.

30. 2. Romanians were under Russian
influence during the Communism
Romanians don’t speak Russian. People were forced to
learn Russian during the Communism but this hasn’t
been the case since 1990.

31. 3. Most of Romanian population are Romas
Roma people (so-called Gypsies) make up only 2.5% of
Romania’s over 22 million people. A surprising number of
people seem to think Romanians are the minority.

32. 4. Budapest is Romania’s capital city
Bucharest is Romania’s capital city, while Budapest is
actually Hungary’s. This is something that many people
get wrong.

33. 5. Younger Romanians want to emigrate into a Western
European country and admire things “modern and
Western”, while the older generations tend to recall
the security of jobs and life that Communism offered.

34. From Bulgaria –
with love!