Romania
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
"In the 20th century, Romanian artists reaching international acclaim included Tristan Tzara, Marcel Janco, Isidore Isou, Mircea Eliade, Eugène Ionesco, Emil Cioran, Daniel Spoerri, and Constantin Brâncuși. Musically, there was Maria Tănase."--Sholem Stein "Bucharest contains no fewer than 127 churches (116 of the Greek denomination), besides chapels, etc., most of which are low cruciform structures. None of these possess any special interest for the visitor except the Antim Church and the Stavropolos Chapel, the latter of which, built in 1724, is characterised by harmony of proportions and rich plastic decoration. The Metropolitan Church, built in 1656 and restored in 1834, stands upon a hill in the S. part of the town; adjacent are the residence of the Arch bishop and the House of the Estates."--Southern Germany and Austria, Including Hungary and Transylvania (1883) “We left in pretty good time, and came after nightfall to Klausenburgh. Here I stopped for the night at the Hotel Royale. I had for dinner, or rather supper, a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty. (Mem., get recipe for Mina.) I asked the waiter, and he said it was called “paprika hendl,” and that, as it was a national dish, I should be able to get it anywhere along the Carpathians. I found my smattering of German very useful here; indeed, I don’t know how I should be able to get on without it."--Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker On the railway question, as on every other, national rivalry manifested itself at once. The Hungarians were desirous that the new line should enter the province by Klausenburg (Hungarian), which would have given this town. great additional importance, and-unless the seat of Government had been removed thither-have had the effect of rendering Hermannstadt (Saxon) a second-rate town. From Klausenburg the line was to have gone to Tovis, Karlsberg, and Kronstadt, the eventual terminus being Galatz . The Government line was intended to join the great European railways at Arad, and thence go to Hermannstadt, leaving Transylvania by the Rothen Thurm Pass, where it would meet the Turkish line to Bucharest. Thus, Transylvania, with the exception of Hermannstadt and its neighbourhood, would have benefited little, as the line left the land almost as soon as it entered it. The Grosswardein, Klausenburg-Kronstadt route, had the great advantage of traversing the whole province, which would go far to compensate for the costliness of the undertaking, owing to the difficulties of the route. If assistance were to be rendered to Transylvania, therefore, this line seemed the one best adapted for doing Seeing the impossibility of benefit to the province by the Arad-Hermannstadt line, which was a European railway rather than a Transylvanian one, I became a warm partisan for the one through Klausenburg, in spite of the heavy expense of construction."-- Transylvania, its Products and People (1865) by Charles Boner |
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
A country in South-Eastern Europe, bordered by Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine. The capital is Bucharest.
Contents |
Culture
The culture of Romania is rich and varied. Like Romanians themselves, it is fundamentally defined as the meeting point of three regions: Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, but cannot be fully included in any of them. The Romanian identity formed on a substratum of mixed Roman and quite possibly Dacian elements (although the latter is controversial), with many other influences. During late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the major influences came from the Slavic peoples who migrated and settled in nearby Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine and eventually Russia; from medieval Greeks and the Byzantine Empire; from a long domination by the Ottoman Empire; from the Hungarians; and from the Germans living in Transylvania. Modern Romanian culture emerged and developed over roughly the last 250 years under a strong influence from Western culture, particularly French and German culture.
Literature
The older classics of Romanian literature remain very little known outside Romania. Mihai Eminescu, a famous 19th century Romanian poet is still very much loved in Romania (especially his poems), along with several other "true classics" like George Coşbuc. The revolutionary year 1848 had its echoes in the Romanian principalities and in Transylvania, and a new elite from the middle of the 19th century emerged from the revolutions: Mihail Kogălniceanu (writer, politician and the first prime minister of Romania), Vasile Alecsandri (politician, playwright and poet), Andrei Mureşanu (publicist and the writer of the current Romanian National Anthem) and Nicolae Bălcescu (historian, writer and revolutionary). Other classic Romanian writers whose works are still widely read in their native country are playwright Ion Luca Caragiale (the National Theatre Bucharest is officially named in his honor) and Ion Creangă (best known for his children's stories). The works of composer George Enescu are well-known to Romanians, many of whom consider him their national musician. The symphony orchestra of Bucharest is named in Enescu's honor. Romanian literature has recently gained some renown outside the borders of Romania (mostly through translations into German, French and English). Some modern Romanian authors became increasingly popular in Germany, France and Italy, especially Eugène Ionesco, Mircea Eliade, Emil Cioran, Tristan Tzara and Mircea Cărtărescu.
See also Iordan Chimet and Geo Bogza .
Music
Traditional Romanian folk music (sometimes performed by tarafs, or bands of Gypsy musicians) remains popular, and some folk musicians have come to national (and even international) fame.
During the first decade of the 21st century some Europop groups, such as Morandi, Akcent, and Yarabi, achieved success abroad.
See also Maria Tanase, Alexander Bălănescu and György Ligeti.
Art
Best-known are the sculptor Constantin Brancusi and Tristan Tzara, early member of Dada.
Architecture
The UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites includes Romanian sites such as the Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, the Painted churches of northern Moldavia with their fine exterior and interior frescoes, the Wooden Churches of Maramures unique examples that combine Gothic style with traditional timber construction, the citadel of Sighişoara and the Dacian Fortresses of the Orăştie Mountains. Also, in 2007, the city of Sibiu will be the European Capital of Culture alongside the city of Luxembourg.
Cinema
The cinema of Romania is the art of motion-picture making within the nation of Romania or by Romanian filmmakers abroad.
As upon much of the world's early cinema, the ravages of time have left their mark upon Romanian film prints. Tens of titles have been destroyed or lost for good. From these films, only memories, articles and photos published in the newspapers of the time have remained. Since 1965 Arhiva Naţională de Filme (A.N.F.) (The National Film Archive) has made serious efforts to reconstruct the obscure history of the beginnings of Romanian cinema, in parallel with the publication of memoirs and private research undertaken by great lovers of cinema, such as film critics Ion Cantacuzino and Tudor Caranfil, together with the directors Jean Mihail and Jean Georgescu.
Romanian films have won Best Short film at Cannes in 2004 and 2008 with, Trafic, and Megatron (film).
Romanian cinema has recently achieved worldwide acclaim with the appearance of such films as The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, directed by Cristi Puiu, (Cannes 2005 Prix un certain regard winner), and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, directed by Cristian Mungiu (Cannes 2007 Palme d'Or winner). The latter, according to Variety, is "further proof of Romania's new prominence in the film world."
See also
- Romanian Surrealist group
- Alistair Ian Blyth
- Romanian orphans
- Symbolist movement in Romania
- 100 Greatest Romanians
- Romanian avant-garde
- Cluj-Napoca Bánffy Palace
