44 Facts About Bucharest

In 2017, Bucharest was the European city with the highest growth of tourists who stay over night, according to the Mastercard Global Index of Urban Destinations.

Bucharest is the fourth largest city in the European Union by population within city limits, after Berlin, Madrid, and Rome, just ahead of Paris.

Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania and the richest capital and city in the region, surpassing Budapest a few years ago.

Tradition connects the founding of Bucharest with the name of Bucur, who was a prince, an outlaw, a fisherman, a shepherd or a hunter, according to different legends.

Bucharest's history alternated periods of development and decline from the early settlements in antiquity until its consolidation as the national capital of Romania late in the 19th century.

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Under subsequent rulers, Bucharest was established as the summer residence of the royal court.

Bucharest finally became the permanent location of the Wallachian court after 1698.

However, the Great Depression in Romania took its toll on Bucharest's citizens, culminating in the Grivita Strike of 1933.

On 23 August 1944, Bucharest was the site of the royal coup which brought Romania into the Allied camp.

On 10 August 2018 a protest under the motto 'Diaspora at Home' was held in Bucharest and was marked by significant violence, with over 450 people injured.

Bucharest is situated in the center of the Romanian Plain, in an area once covered by the Vlasiei Forest, which after it was cleared, gave way for a fertile flatland.

Until recently, the regions surrounding Bucharest were largely rural, but after 1989, suburbs started to be built around Bucharest, in the surrounding Ilfov County.

Bucharest has a unique status in Romanian administration, since it is the only municipal area that is not part of a county.

Since 29 October 2020 onwards, the general mayor of Bucharest is Nicusor Dan, currently an independent politician previously backed by the PNL-USR PLUS centre-right alliance at the 2020 Romanian local elections.

Additionally, Bucharest has a prefect, who is appointed by Romania's national government.

Bucharest is home to Romania's supreme court, the High Court of Cassation and Justice, as well as to the Constitutional Court of Romania.

Bucharest has a municipal police force, the Bucharest Police, which is responsible for policing crime within the whole city, and operates a number of divisions.

The violent crime rate in Bucharest remains very low, with 11 murders and 983 other violent offences taking place in 2007.

The difficult situation of the quality of life in Bucharest is confirmed by a vast urbanism study, done by the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism.

Bucharest's population experienced two phases of rapid growth, the first beginning in the late 19th century when the city was consolidated as the national capital and lasting until the Second World War, and the second during the Ceausescu years, when a massive urbanization campaign was launched and many people migrated from rural areas to the capital.

Bucharest's economy is centred on industry and services, with services particularly growing in importance in the last 10 years.

Bucharest is Romania's largest centre for information technology and communications and is home to several software companies operating offshore delivery centres.

Bucharest in crossed by two major international routes: Pan-European transport corridor IV and IX.

Bucharest is a major intersection of Romania's national road network.

Bucharest has a growing cultural scene, in fields including the visual arts, performing arts, and nightlife.

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InterContinental Bucharest is a high-rise five-star hotel near University Square and is a landmark of the city.

Theodor Pallady Museum is situated in one of the oldest surviving merchant houses in Bucharest and includes works by Romanian painter Theodor Pallady, as well as European and oriental furniture pieces.

Bucharest is home to Romania's largest recording labels, and is often the residence of Romanian musicians.

In 2005, Bucharest was the first city in Southeastern Europe to host the international CowParade, which resulted in dozens of decorated cow sculptures being placed across the city.

In 2004, Bucharest imposed in the circle of important festivals in Eastern Europe with the Bucharest International Film Festival, an event widely acknowledged in Europe, having as guests of honour famous names from the world cinema: Andrei Konchalovsky, Danis Tanovic, Nikita Mikhalkov, Rutger Hauer, Jerzy Skolimowski, Jan Harlan, Radu Mihaileanu, and many others.

Since 2005, Bucharest has its own contemporary art biennale, the Bucharest Biennale.

Bucharest has two internationally renowned ethnographic museums, the Museum of the Romanian Peasant and the open-air Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum, in King Michael I Park.

Museum of Romanian History is another important museum in Bucharest, containing a collection of artefacts detailing Romanian history and culture from the prehistoric times, Dacian era, medieval times, and the modern era.

Bucharest is the seat of the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, one of the Eastern Orthodox churches in communion with the Patriarch of Constantinople, and of its subdivisions, the Metropolis of Muntenia and Dobrudja and the Archbishopric of Bucharest.

City is a centre for other Christian organizations in Romania, including the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest, established in 1883, and the Romanian Greek-Catholic Eparchy of Saint Basil the Great, founded in 2014.

Major part of Bucharest's architecture is made up of buildings constructed during the Communist era replacing the historical architecture with high-density apartment blocks – significant portions of the historic centre of Bucharest were demolished to construct one of the largest buildings in the world, the Palace of the Parliament.

The mass demolitions that occurred in the 1980s, under which an overall area of eight square kilometres of the historic centre of Bucharest were levelled, including monasteries, churches, synagogues, a hospital, and a noted Art Deco sports stadium, changed drastically the appearance of the city.

Additionally, a trend to add modern wings and facades to historic buildings has occurred, the most prominent example of which is the Bucharest Architects' Association Building, which is a modern glass-and-steel construction built inside a historic stone facade.

Bucharest is headquarters of most of the national television networks and national newspapers, radio stations and online news websites.

The largest daily newspapers in Bucharest include Evenimentul Zilei, Jurnalul National, Cotidianul, Romania Libera, and Adevarul, while the biggest news websites are HotNews, Ziare.

The largest indoor arena in Bucharest is the Romexpo Dome with a seating capacity of 40, 000.

Bucharest hosted annual races along a temporary urban track surrounding the Palace of the Parliament, called Bucharest Ring.

Since 2009, Bucharest has the largest Ferrari Shop in Eastern Europe and the 2nd largest in Europe after Milan shop.

Bucharest hosted the UEFA Euro 2020 championship at the Arena Nationala or Bucharest National Arena.