Hunyad Castle

The Hunyad Castle (Romanian: Castelul Huniazilor or Castelul Corvineştilor, Hungarian: Vajdahunyad vára) is a castle in present-day Hunedoara, Romania.

It is a relic of the Hunyadi dynasty. In the 14th century, the castle was given to a Vlach knyaz Serb, or Sorb by the German-Roman emperor and king of Hungary Zsigmond as severance, restored between 1446 and 1453 by John Hunyadi. It was built in Gothic style, but has Baroque and Renaissance architectural elements. It features tall and strong defence towers, an interior yard and a drawbridge.

Built in the 14th century, on the place of an old fortification, on a rock below which flows the small river Zlasti, the castle is a large building, with tall and diversely coloured roofs, towers, windows and balconies adorned with carvings in stone.

In the castle yard, near the chapel built also during Iancu de Hunerdoara's ruling, is a well 30 meters deep. The legend says that this fountain was dug by three Turkish prisoners to whom liberty was promised if they reached water. After 15 years they completed the well, but their captors did not keep their promise. It is said that the inscription on a wall of the well means "you have water, but not soul". Specialists, however, have translated the inscription as "he who wrote this inscription is Hasan, who lives as slave of the giaours, in the fortress near the church".

Nadia Comaneci

Nadia Elena Comaneci born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian gymnast, winner of five Olympic gold medals, and the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is one of the best-known gymnasts in the world and, along with Olga Korbut, is credited with popularizing the sport around the world


Nadia Comaneci, Montréal 1976 TEN

Romania

Year of EU entry: 2007
Political system: Republic
Capital city: Bucharest
Total area: 238 000 km²
Population: 21.6 million
Currency: Leu
Listen to the official EU language: Romanian

Romania, in southeast Europe, is mountainous in the north while the main feature in the south is the vast Danube valley. The river forms a delta as it approaches the Black Sea, which is a wildlife reserve for countless native and migratory birds.

The Romanian parliament consists of two chambers, the Senat (Senate), which has 140 members, and the Camera Deputaţilor (Chamber of Deputies), which has 345 members. The members of both chambers are chosen in elections held every four years.

Ethnically, the population is 90% Romanian and 7% Hungarian. The Romanian language, like a number of others in southern Europe, is directly descended from Latin, although Romania is separated from other Romance-language countries by Slav speakers. Romania has considerable natural resources – oil, natural gas, coal, iron, copper and bauxite. Metal-working, petrochemicals and mechanical engineering are the main industries.

Romanian specialities include grilled meatballs, pork stew with garlic and onions and doughnuts made with cream and cheese.

The spine-chilling tale of Dracula is based on the 15th century Romanian Count Vlad Dracul whose son was famous in wartime for impaling captured enemies. Well-known Romanians include the writer Eugene Ionesco, the gymnast Nadia Comaneci and the composer George Enesco.

Romanian leu

The leu (/leŭ/, plural: lei /lej/; ISO 4217 code RON; numeric code 946) is the currency of Romania.It is subdivided into 100 bani (singular: ban). On 1 July 2005, Romania underwent a currency reform, switching from the previous leu (ROL) to a new leu (RON). 1 RON is equal to 10,000 ROL.