Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Peles Castle

The beautiful castle from the Europe is Peles Castle


Today a historical monument, Peleş Castle is A Neo-Renaissance castle placed in an idyllic setting in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914; its inauguration was held in 1883.The building of the castle began in 1873 under the direct order of the Viennese architect Wilhem Doderer and was continued in 1876 by his assistant, Johann Schultz de Lemberg. During 1877-1879 because of the war they abandoned work. That's why the castle was inaugurated only on October 7, 1883. The location for the castle was chosen by the German prince Carol I de Hohenzollern, who was to become a king and it draws its name from the neighboring brooks which passes through the courtyard.Between 1889 and 1903, architect Karel Liman, who was in charge of the construction, built Pelisor Chateau - a modern and smaller replica of the main building – the residence of King Ferdinand I of Romania and of Queen Mary. The royal couple also lived in the Foisor Hunting Chateau for a while, building that was destroyed in a fire and was rebuilt again in 1933. A brief estimation shows that between 1875 and 1914 there were spent over 16 million golden lei for Peles.The castle was built in wood, stone, bricks and marble and comprises more than 160 rooms. The representative style used is German Renaissance, but one can easily discover elements belonging to the Italian Renaissance, Gothic, German Baroque and French Rococo style.

Peles is surrounded by seven terraces decorated with statues (sculptured by the Italian, Romanelli), stone-made-wells, ornamental vases and Carara marble. The architects used an abundance of wooden decoration, both for the exterior and for the interior of the castle, which confers a very special quality to the building.

Quite outstanding are the Big Armoury Room, the small Armoury Room, the Florentine Room, the Reception Room (where paintings and wooden sculptures depicting 16 castles of the Hohenzollerns are exhibited), the Moresque Room, The French Room, the Turkish Room, the Council Room, the Concert Room as well as the Imperial Suite.It is also worth mentioning other exquisite attractions such as the statues, the ceramics, the gold and silver plates, the Meissen and Sevres porcelain, as well as the extensive weapon collections.Near Peles castle there is Foisorul, a kings' residence with 42 rooms designed in the Swiss style.

Address of the Peles Castle: Muzeul National Peles, Str. Pelesului, Nr. 2, 106100 Sinaia, Jud. Prahova.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Berca Mud Volcanoes

The Berca Mud Volcanoes are a geological and botanical reservation located in the Berca commune in the Buzău County in Romania. Its most spectacular feature is the mud volcanoes, small volcano-shaped structures typically a few meters high caused by the eruption of mud and volcanic gases.As the gasses erupt from 3000 meters-deep towards the surface, through the underground layers of clay and water, they push up underground salty water and mud, so that they overflow through the mouths of the volcanoes, while the gas emerges as bubbles. The mud dries off at the surface, creating a relatively solid conical structure, resembling a real volcano. The mud expelled by them is cold, as it comes from inside the Earth's continental crust layers, and not from the mantle.

The reservation is unique in Romania. Elsewhere in Europe, similar phenomena can be observed in Italy (northern Apennines and Sicily), Ukraine (in the Kerch Peninsula), as well as Azerbaijan.

The reservation is unique in Europe, with similar phenomena being observed in Siberia and Australia. If you consider going to the Muddy Volcanoes, you can do it as one-day trip from Bucharest (it’s a three hours drive).The expelled mud is cold from the very beginning, as it comes from inside the Earth’s continental crust layers, and not from the mantle. The place stinks a little bit like sulfur, but it is not unbearable, and after a few minutes you won’t even notice the smell anymore. There are no dwellings in the proximity, so the area is very quiet. All you can hear are the birds singing and the blurbs of the small volcanoes.
The muddy clods of earth, colder than ice, gurgle and boil underground; then, through numerous opened mouths, scattered all over the valley, they bubble upwards, bursting out either at a very low or at a higher distance.The mud volcanoes create a strange lunar landscape, due to the absence of vegetation around the cones. Vegetation is scarce because the soil is very salty, an environmental condition in which few plants can survive. However, this kind of environment is good for some rare species of plants, such as Nitraria schoberi and Obione verrucifera.

The phenomenon can be observed on two separate locations near the Berca commune, dubbed the Little Mud Volcanoes and The Big Mud Volcanoes.

Danube Delta

The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta Dunării; Ukrainian: Дельта Дунаю, Del'ta Dunaju) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent [1]. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine (Odessa Oblast). The approximate surface is 4152 km², of which 3446 km² are in Romania. If the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1015 km² of which 865 km² water surface; situated in the south, but attached to the Danube Delta from geological and ecological perspectives, as well as being the combined territory of the World Heritage Site) are to be added, the considered area of the Danube Delta grows to 5165 km².

Is the beautiful area in the world, you should come and see that beautiful.
Some 300 species of birds make Danube’s Delta their home, including cormorants, white tailed eagles and glossy ibises. The bird watching season lasts from early spring to late summer. Birds are not the only inhabitants of the Delta. There is also a rich community of fish and animals, from wildcats, foxes and wolves, to even an occasional boar or deer. Altogether, 3,450 animal species can be seen here, as well as 1,700 plant species.
Travelers can spend three or more days exploring its passages, teaming with the highest concentration of bird colonies in all of Europe. The maze of canals bordered by thatch, willows and oaks entangled in lianas, offers the perfect breeding ground for countless species of birds, some of them from as far away as China and Africa. Millions of Egyptian white pelicans arrive here every spring to raise their young, while equal numbers of Arctic geese come here to escape the harsh winters of Northern Europe.
The Delta can be explored as part of a Danube River Cruise, or on day trips and boat excursions from Tulcea which has good hotels, restaurants specializing in fish dishes and the Museum of the Danube Delta.

The Danube River is the most international river on the planet - its course runs across — or forms a part of the borders of several countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and four capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade.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.The Delta is formed around the three main channels of the Danube, named after their respective ports: Chilia (in the north), Sulina (in the middle), and Sfantu Gheorghe (in the south).The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve has the third largest biodiversity in the world (over 5,500 flora and fauna species), exceeded only by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Galapagos Archipelago in Ecuador.The Danube Delta is home to over 60% of the world’s population of pygmy cormorants (phalacrocorax pygmeus), 50% of red-breasted geese (branta ruficollis) and the largest number of white pelicans (pelecanus onocrotalus) and Dalmatian pelicans (pelecanus crispus) in Europe.It also is home to the world’s largest reed bed expanse – 625, 000 acres / 240,000 ha.Some 15,000 people inhabit the Delta area, living in 28 villages and one city (Sulina).The area was first attested by Herodot of Halicarnas (484 – 425 B.C.).More then half of the Delta Biosphere Reserve is virtually intact.


Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Voroneţ Monastery

Year Built: 1488
Built by
: Stephen the Great
Location
: Voroneţ, Suceava County
Summary
: The Church of St. George of the Voroneţ Monastery is possibly the most famous church of Romania. It is known throughout the world for its exterior frescoes of bright and intense colours, and for the hundreds of well-preserved figures placed against the renowned azurite background. The church of Voroneţ that Stephen the Great built included the chancel, the naos with its tower, and the pronaos.


The monastery is located on a riverbank, at the end of the long and narrow village of the same name, near the town of Gura Humorului. The age of the monastic site is not known. A legend tells us that Stephen the Great, in a moment of crisis during a war against the Turks, came to Daniel the Hermit at his skete in Voroneţ and asked for advice. After he won the battle against the Turks, keeping his promise to the monk, the prince built a new church, dedicated to St. George, the bringer of victory in battle. This is the present church that was built on the site of an older wooden church, the scanty remains of which have not been dated. The renowned researcher George Balş wrote in the 1920’s that the churches of this period, and in part also those built in the following century, were “Byzantine churches built with Gothic hands”.The structure and the interior spatial solutions were linked to the Byzantine and south Slavic tradition.

The exterior, with its buttresses and door and window frames were related to Western European High Gothic. The influences spread from Transylvania and Poland with craftsmen who were invited especially to build churches.
The Church of St. George is dated with the commemorative inscription placed above the original entrance, now in the exonarthex: “I, Prince Stephen, by God’s mercy leading the Country of Moldavia, son of Prince Bogdan, started to build this foundation at the Monastery of Voroneţ, dedicated to the Saint and Worshipped and Great Martyr and Victorious George, in the year 6996 (1488) the month of May, 26, the Monday after the Descent of the Holy Spirit, and completed it in the same year, in the month of September, 14”. The text shows that the church was built in less than four months. This tells us something about the high professional level of construction at the time, especially taking into account that the Church of St. Elijah in Suceava was built exactly at the same time.

The church of Voroneţ that Stephen the Great built included the chancel, the naos with its tower, and the pronaos, which means that its plan was identical to the churches of Patrauti, St. Elijah and Milişăuţi. In 1547, the Metropolitan Bishop of Moldavia Grigore Roşca added the exonarthex to the west end of the church. The small windows, their rectangular frames of crossed rods and the receding pointed or shouldered arches of the interior door frames are Gothic. The south and north doors of the exonarthex of 1547 have rectangular frames, which indicate a transition period from Gothic to Renaissance. But, above them, on each wall is a tall window with a flamboyant Gothic arch. The whole west facade is without any openings, which indicates that the intention of Metropolitan Roşca was since the beginning to reserve it for frescoes.

Putna Monastery

The beautiful Monastery Putna

Putna Monastery, raised between 1466-1469, the first fortified construction of Stephan the Great, was designed to be the necropolis of the ruler's family and his descendents, including Petru Rares. The story goes that it was built in a general area picked out by Stephen's advisor, Daniel the Hermit. The exact position of the church was left up to God when Stephen went to the top of a hill and fired an arrow— wherever it fell the church would be built. A section of tree trunk containing the arrow hole is still kept in the monastery museum and a cross marks the spot from which the arrow was shot. Apparently, a forest was cleared for the building of the monastery.

Putna has known earthquakes, fires and invasions for 5 centuries, the only construction from the 15th century still standing is the "Treasure's tower". According to the plaque, it was built in 1481 and it was conceived as a two-floor building, with a terrace at the top, with a crenellated parapet. Today it has a sharp roof. Light comes in through narrow windows, decorated with frames of sculpted rock in a laic manner reminding the late gothic. The monastery was restored several times. Only a few years after the completion of the buildings and fortifications, a dreadful fire destroyed most of the church, the outer walls and the princely home. The following years, the prince and founder rebuilt the church that soon recovered its former lofty appearance. In 1536, another conflagration seriously damaged all the buildings; there followed a new restoration completed in 1559, on the initiative and at the expense of Prince Alexandru Lapusneanu (1552-1561; 1564-1568). In 1653, the church was pulled down to its foundations and replaced in 1654-1662 by a new building which, with slight alterations, has lasted to this day. In this period, the princely residence and the precinct walls were also enlarged and repaired. However, this important restoration did not last more than three quarters of a century, for in 1739, Putna Monastery was destroyed by a powerful earthquake, which made it necessary to start ample restoration work between 1757 and 1761, upon the initiative and with the endeavors of Metropolitan Iacov Putneanul.



Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Bran Castle


The beautiful castle of Dracula

Bran Castle was originally a fortress built by the Knights of the Teutonic Order in the year 1212. It was known by the name of Dietrichstein at the time. Later on, towards the end of the 13th century, it was taken over by the Saxons in that region in order to protect the City of Brasov, an important trade center.Vlad Tepes used Bran Castle as headquarters for his incursions into Transylvania. This castle should not be mistaken for the actual Castle Dracula (now in ruins), which is located on the Arges River.

Bran Castle (German: Törzburg; Hungarian: Törcsvár), situated near Bran and in the immediate vicinity of Braşov, is a national monument and landmark in Romania. The fortress is situated on the border between Transylvania and Wallachia, on DN73. Commonly known as "Dracula's Castle" (although it is one among several locations linked to the Dracula legend, including Poienari Castle and Hunyad Castle), it is marketed as the home of the titular character in Bram Stoker's Dracula. There is, however, no evidence that Stoker knew anything about this castle. Furthermore, there are persistent myths that it was once the home of Vlad Ţepeş, ruler of Wallachia. This is not true. The historical person Vlad III never resided there.

The castle is now a museum open to tourists, displaying art and furniture collected by Queen Marie. Tourists can see the interior individually or by a guided tour. At the bottom of the hill is a small open air museum park exhibiting traditional Romanian peasant structures (cottages, barns, etc.) from across the country.

Mountains in Romania

If you want to visit our mountains area, i can give it to you some examples:

Sinaia, Brasov, Predeal, Borsec, Tusnad,Voineasa, Sarata Monteoru, etc.


Here you can find a list of mountains from our country.

Source : Wikipedia

This is an (incomplete) list of mountains in Romania. There are 12 peaks over 2,500 m in Romania.

Peak ↓ Mountain range ↓ County (Counties) ↓ Height (m) ↓
Moldoveanu Făgăraş Mountains Argeş 2,544
Negoiu Făgăraş Mountains Sibiu 2,535
Viştea Mare Făgăraş Mountains Braşov 2,527
Lespezi Făgăraş Mountains Sibiu 2,522
Parângu Mare Parâng Mountains Gorj, Hunedoara 2,519
Peleaga Retezat Mountains Hunedoara 2,509
Păpuşa Retezat Mountains Hunedoara 2,508
Vânătarea lui Buteanu Făgăraş Mountains Sibiu 2,507
Omu Bucegi Mountains Prahova, Braşov, Dâmboviţa 2,505
Cornul Călţunului Făgăraş Mountains Sibiu 2,505
Bucura Dumbravă Bucegi Mountains Prahova, Braşov, Dâmboviţa 2,503
Dara Făgăraş Mountains
2,283
Ineu Peak Rodna Mountains Bistriţa-Năsăud 2,279
Cindrel Peak Cindrel Mountains Sibiu 2,244
Ştefleşti Lotru Sibiu, Vâlcea 2,242
La Om (Piscul Baciului) Piatra Craiului Braşov 2,238
Godeanu Peak Godeanu Mountains Caraş-Severin, Gorj 2,229
Căleanu Ţarcu Mountains Caraş-Severin 2,190
Ţarcu Peak Ţarcu Mountains Caraş-Severin 2,190
Leaota Peak Leaota Mountains Dâmboviţa, Argeş 2,133
Vârfu lui Pătru Şureanu Mountains Hunedoara 2,130
Ursu Peak Căpăţâna Mountains Vâlcea 2,124
Pietrosu Peak Călimani Mountains Suceava, Mureş 2,100
Şureanu Peak Şureanu Mountains Hunedoara 2,059
Farcău Peak Maramureş Mountains Maramureş 1,956
Ciucaş Peak Ciucaş Mountains Braşov, Prahova 1,954
Toroiaga Maramureş Mountains Maramureş 1,930
Ocolaşu Mare Ceahlău Massif Neamţ 1,907
Mount Toaca Ceahlău Massif Neamţ 1,900
Straja Vâlcan Gorj, Hunedoara 1,868
Budacu Bistriţa Neamţ, Suceava 1,859
Giumalău Rarău Suceava 1,856
Cucurbăta Mare Bihor Mountains Bihor, Alba 1,849
Ţibleş Ţibleş Maramureş, Bistriţa-Năsăud 1,839
Vlădeasa Vlădeasa Cluj 1,836
Muntele Mare Muntele Mare Alba, Cluj 1,826
Harghita Mădăraş Harghita Mountains Harghita 1,800
Hăşmaşu Mare Hăşmaş Harghita, Neamţ 1,792
Pietrosu Peak Bistriţa Mountains Suceava 1,791
Goru Vrancea Mountains Buzău, Vrancea 1,784
Lăcăuţ Vrancea Mountains Covasna, Vrancea 1,777
Saca Peak Gurghiu Mountains Mureş 1,776
Penteleu Penteleu Buzău 1,772
Vlaşcu Mic Munţii Cernei Caraş-Severin 1,733
Cozia Peak Cozia Mountains Vâlcea 1,668
Grinduş Tarcău Bacău 1,664
Rarău Rarău Suceava 1,650
Nemira Nemira Bacău 1,649
Lucina Obcina Mestecăniş Suceava 1,588
Cucu Harghita Mountains Harghita, Covasna 1,558
Bivolu Stânişoara Neamţ 1,530
Paşcani Obcina Feredeu Suceava 1,495
Vârfu lui Stan Mehedinţi Mountains Mehedinţi 1,466
Piatra Goznei Semenic Mountains Caraş-Severin 1,447
Gutâi Peak Gutâi Mountains Maramureş 1,443
Poieniţa Peak Munţii Metaliferi Alba 1,437
Padeş Poiana Ruscă Timiş, Caraş-Severin 1,374
Dâmbău Trascău Mountains Alba 1,369
Igniş Gutâi Maramureş 1,307
Ciomatu Bodoc Harghita 1,301
Detunata Munţii Metaliferi Alba 1,258
Svinecea Mare Almăj Caraş-Severin 1,224
Leordiş Munţii Aninei Caraş-Severin 1,160
Pleşu Codru Moma Arad, Bihor 1,112
Vârfu Cetăţii Perşani Braşov 1,104
Măgura Priei Meseş Sălaj 996
Drocea Zarand Mountains Arad 836
Ţuţuiatu Măcin Tulcea 467

Monday, October 19, 2009

The Black Sea

Do you hear about the beautiful Black Sea?Do you like what you see?Do you like this pictures?



If you like what you see, come in my beautiful country Romania.We have here many fun park, many shops, clubbing/clubbing on the beach , a BIG beach just for you to enjoy the beautiful life.


The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to the Aegean Sea region of the Mediterranean. These waters separate eastern Europe and western Asia. The Black Sea also connects to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch.

The Black Sea has an area of 436,400 km2 (168,495.0 sq mi),[1] a maximum depth of 2,206 m (7,238 ft),[2] and a volume of 547,000 km³ (133,500 cu mi).[3] The Black Sea forms in an east-west trending elliptical depression which lies between Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.[4] It is constrained by the Pontic Mountains to the south, the Caucasus Mountains to the east and features a wide shelf to the north-west. The longest east-west extent is about 1,175 km.

Important cities along the coast include (alphabetical order) : Batumi (121,806), Burgas (229,250),Constanţa (306,000 with a metropolitan area of 550,000), Giresun (90,034),Istanbul (11,372,613), Kerch (158,165), Kherson (358,000), Mangalia (41,153),Năvodari (34,669), Novorossiysk (281,400), Odessa (1,001,000), Ordu (190,143), Poti (47,149), Rize (91,901), Samsun (439,000), Sevastopol (379,200), Sochi (328,809), Sukhumi (43,700), Trabzon (275,137), Varna (357,752), Yalta (80,552), and Zonguldak (104,276) .
Swallow's Nest

The Black Sea has a positive water balance, which results in a net outflow of water 300 km³ per year through the Bosphorus into the Aegean Sea (part of the Mediterranean Sea). Mediterranean water flows into the Black Sea as part of a 2-way hydrological exchange. The Black Sea outflow is less saline and cool, and therefore floats over the warm, more saline Mediterranean inflow. The Black Sea also receives river water from large Eurasian fluvial systems to the north of the Sea, of which the Don, Dnieper and Danube are the most significant.

In the past, the water level has varied significantly. Depending on the water level in the basin, varying surrounding shelf and associated aprons are aerially exposed. At certain critical depths, it is possible for connections with surrounding water bodies to become established. It is through the most active of these connective routes, the Turkish Straits, that the Black Sea joins the global ocean system. When this hydrological link is not present, the Black Sea is a lake, operating independently of the global ocean system. Currently the Black Sea water level is relatively high, thus water is being exchanged with the Mediterranean. The Turkish Straits connect the Black and Aegean Seas and comprise the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles.


Illustration of the Black Sea, from NASA’s World Wind globe software

Live Romania

Live Romania is mean everything about Romania, The beautiful Romania.

This is Romania, We have here all you want, Sea, Mountain, everything you want.

You have many things to to see, to visit, places like the town and castle (the castle Bran) of Dracula and many thinks.

If you want to know everything about Ceausescu, the government who kill the president of Romania, live on TV, you should come in Romania