Lonely Planet Romania & Bulgaria

by Lonely Planet

  As art entered its modern phase in the 19th century, Romania trailed behind Western Europe. France, as the arbiter of painting styles, exerted a disproportionate influence. While many early Romanian attempts were knock-offs of French styles, by the mid- and late 19th century true Romanian masters were emerging.

  The best of these masters, arguably, was Nicolae Grigorescu (1838–1907). Grigorescu absorbed French influences like realism and Impressionism, but brought them home with scenes celebrating Romanian landscapes, peasantry and soldiers. His portraits included unexpected subjects, such as Roma and Jewish women. He was a prolific painter, and art museums around the country carry his work.

  Fact: Sacha Baron Cohen shot his ‘Kazakhstan’ scenes for the comic movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) in the village of Glod, north of Târgovişte.

  Sculpture

  Sculpture has been an active art form in the territory of modern Romania from the prehistoric days of the early Cucuteni people, whose nubile figurines must have titillated audiences way back in 6000 BC. Fast-forward some 5000 years and the ancient Romans and Greeks brought the techniques of classical sculpture to settlements all along the Black Sea. The history and archaeology museums in Tulcea and Constanţa are filled with these works of antiquity.

  In the 19th century, at a time when realism was prized, sculpture often took the form of larger-than-life statues of national heroes. This rigid, didactic statue-making, however, was blown away in the early 20th century by the abstract works of Romanian master Constantin Brâncuşi (1876–1957). Brâncuşi turned the world of modern sculpture on its head with his dictum of using sculpture not to focus on an object’s form, but rather its essence. His work is featured at Craiova’s Art Museum, as well as in a series of open-air public works at Târgu Jiu, not far from where he was born.

  Contemporary Romanian sculpture got a boost – or perhaps a setback – by a controversial work unveiled in 2012 at Bucharest’s National History Museum. The bronze statue, by Vasile Gorduz (1931–2008), depicts a fully nude (and anatomically correct, but not particularly well-endowed) Roman Emperor Trajan holding a wolf to symbolise the synthesis of Roman and Dacian cultures. It provoked derision on all sides, but tellingly has emerged as the city’s most photographed work of art.

  In 2009 one of Brâncuşi’s works, A Portrait of Mme LR, sold for US$37 million at a Christie’s auction in Paris.

  Folk Culture

  Romanian folk traditions have come under increasing threat from modern life, but remain surprisingly strong, particularly in Maramureş, parts of Transylvania and in the western region of Wallachia, called Oltenia. Folk crafts sit alongside the fine arts and have exerted strong influence over the centuries on Romanian painting, sculpture and music.

  Folk Albums

  Band of Gypsies

  (Taraf de Haïdouks)

  Art of the Bratsch

  (Anatol Ştefăneţ)

  Baro Biao

  (Fanfare Ciocarlia)

  World Library of Folk & Primitive Music

  (edited by Alan Lomax)

  Arts & Crafts

  Folk culture continues to thrive in traditional crafts such as pottery, weaving and woodworking. Romanian pottery is incredibly diverse. Materials and patterns vary according to the area where the pottery was made. The Ethnographic Museum in Craiova has an excellent display of regional pottery. Other important areas include Miercurea Ciuc and Baia Mare.

  Similarly, textile weaving carries on into the modern age; many private homes in smaller towns and villages still have looms, and embroidery, patterns and materials can differ greatly from region to region. Weaving is used to produce bed clothing and towels as well as curtains and rugs. Romanian carpet tradition, not surprisingly, shares much in common with the Ottoman Turks. Even today, one of the most common carpets you’ll see are the thin-weave, oblong rugs called kilims.

  Maramureş is the centre of the country’s woodworking expertise. Over the centuries, the inhabitants have used the abundant forests to create fabulous wooden churches. Traditionally, each family’s woodworking skills are displayed on the enormous, elaborately carved wooden gates that front the family house. Wood was often used in making cooking utensils, and spoon-carving is still carried on throughout Maramureş and parts of Transylvania.

  THE ROMANIAN 'NEW WAVE' IN FILM

  Romanian film has traditionally not commanded worldwide attention, but that changed about 15 years ago with the emergence of a brilliant young generation of directors making films in a style that has come to be known as the 'Romanian New Wave’. While the films differ greatly in theme, they share a low-budget, low-key, hyper-realistic aesthetic that feels refreshing at a time when much of world cinema is dominated by big-budget blockbusters and comic-book movies.

  One of the early big hits was director Cristi Puiu’s Death of Mr Lăzărescu in 2005. This film tells the tragi-comic story of an old man and his futile efforts to get hospital care in Romania’s dysfunctional medical system. It won the top prize at Cannes for young and upcoming directors.

  That was followed up in 2007 by Cristian Mungiu’s amazing Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days. Set in Ceauşescu-era Romania, the film explores the frightening world of backstreet abortions, but more generally the limits of friendship and the inability of society to cope with basic problems. It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for best film. Mungiu followed up that early success with the excellent Beyond the Hills (2012) and Graduation (2016).

  Other well-known directors to have worked in this style include the late Cristian Nemescu, who was tragically killed in a car crash, Corneliu Porumboiu and Radu Muntean.

  Andrei Ujică‘s 2010 Autobiography of Nicolae Ceauşescu tells a convincing story of the former dictator’s descent into madness using nothing more than hours and hours of official footage, edited and spliced together. It’s mesmerising.

  Folk & Roma Music

  You won’t travel far without hearing Romanian folk music, which is still common at family celebrations, holidays and weddings.

  Traditional folk instruments include the bucium (alphorn), the cimpoi (bagpipes), the cobză (a pear-shaped lute) and the nai (a pan-pipe of about 20 cane tubes). Many kinds of flute are used, including the ocarina (a ceramic flute) and the tilinca (a flute without finger holes).

  Folk music can take many forms. A doină is a solo, improvised love song, a sort of Romanian blues with a social or romantic theme sung in a number of contexts (at home, at work or during wakes). The doină was added to the Unesco World Heritage list of intangible cultural elements in 2009. Another common form, the baladă (ballad), is a collective narrative song steeped with feeling.

  Couples may dance in a circle, a semicircle or a line. In the sârbă, males and females dance quickly in a closed circle with their hands on each other’s shoulders. The hora is another fast circle dance. In the brâu (belt dance), dancers form a chain by grasping their neighbour’s belt.

  Many modern bands have successfully incorporated folk elements into their acts. One of the most innovative has been the Timișoara-based metal group Negură Bunget, whose dark sounds draw on traditional instruments and folk rhythms. Taraf de Haïdouks was one of the few Roma bands to hit the big time in world music in the 1990s and 2000s, and became a favourite of actor Johnny Depp.

  Manele, a modern form of hard-edged pop and dance music, emerged from the Roma, Balkan and ethnic music scene and took the country by storm in the 1990s and 2000s. The gritty lyrics, peppered with profanity and aimed at underclass youth, are frequently likened to a Romanian, home-grown hip-hop. Look for artists like Florin Salam and Nicolae Guță, who is sometimes called the 'Father of Manele'.

  New Wave Films

  Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days

  Beyond the Hills

  Death of Mr Lăzărescu

  Boogie

  Happiest Girl in the World

  Child's Pose

  The Romanian People

 
This Latin 'island’ sitting in the far corner of southeastern Europe remains a fascinating enigma. It’s a traditional culture in the throes of rapid modernisation, juiced in 2007 by EU membership, and still coping with a four-decade communist-totalitarian hangover. Sure, there are plenty of social problems to deal with and head-scratching moments when it comes to minority rights and social equality, but the signs are generally headed in the right direction. The energetic populace ensures that whatever happens, it’s never dull.

  An Island of Latins

  Romania is often – correctly – described as 'an island of Latins surrounded by a sea of Slavs' (and Hungarians). Though the Romans occupied these parts for only a scant two centuries (2000 years ago), they bequeathed a language and temperament that places Romania firmly within the Latin family of nations, alongside Italy, Spain, Portugal and France. As with citizens of those other countries, Romanians tend to be warm, passionate, family-oriented, opinionated and highly impatient behind the wheel!

  One thing you can usually rely on in face-to-face interactions is frankness and getting to the truth. Newcomers are often amazed by the candour of their host's enquiries as to their salary, views on homosexuality, the Roma, and anything else often deemed off-limits topics of conversation in other countries.

  Romanian is spoken by around 90% of the population; nevertheless there are sizeable numbers of speakers of Hungarian, German, Romani, Ukrainian and Russian, and smaller numbers of Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian and Serbian speakers.

  The Birth of Bling

  As Westernisation accelerates, Romanians are lapping up the shiny brands foreign advertisers are hawking to them: mobile phones, prestige-brand cars, cosmetics and clothes. Indeed a whole new class has evolved, the fitosi (nouveau riche), obsessed with gadgetry and personal appearance. This propensity to want the best and newest slowed a bit during the global economic crisis of 2008–2010, though more recently it's kicked back into high gear again.

  To an outsider all of this might seem shallow, but in truth many of those flashy cars return not to expensive houses but to modest flats – image these days seems to be everything. But try to put it into some perspective. After so many generations of suffering from limited choices, paranoia and oppression, it's no wonder many Romanians live by a carpe diem creed.

  Rapes are still difficult to convict in Romania because a witness and medical certificate are required, and most women are too scared to report the crime to police.

  Hot Potatoes

  The treatment of ethnic Hungarians (the nation’s largest ethnic minority) remains a flashpoint and a thorn in the side of bilateral Hungarian–Romanian relations. Romania is bound by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages to recognise certain rights of Hungarian speakers, yet in practice those rights are sometimes violated. One high-profile case concerned a decision by local authorities in Cluj-Napoca to refuse to post bilingual street signs in Hungarian.

  Much of the friction is driven by right-wing fringe groups like Noua Dreaptă (New Right). This group routinely promotes anti-Hungarian feelings in Transylvania and indulges in garden-variety gay-bashing as well, such as organising anti-gay marches during the annual Bucharest Pride.

  You're also likely to hear tirades from usually mild-mannered Romanians about the Roma minority. Rightly or wrongly, the average Romanian blames the country's besmirched image as a crime-ridden country on the practices of its Roma citizens.

  WOMEN IN ROMANIAN SOCIETY

  Romanian media portrayals of women can seem outdated, with TV shows peppered with dancing girls in barely a strip of clothing and anchor women on news channels dolled up like beauty queens. Juxtaposed to this is a worrying domestic-abuse record. While social mores are changing and evolving, this is still very much a man's country where women are expected to conform to being gentle and submissive, and males dominant and strong.

  Surveys suggest as many as one in five women has been abused by her partner. In 2003 the country adopted its first law to prevent and combat domestic violence. That law was strengthened in 2012 by identifying various forms of abuse, including marital rape and economic mistreatment. Romania took another step forward in 2016 when it ratified the Council of Europe's convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. The signs are hopeful. Romania's developing economy has seen a rapid increase in the number of female professionals taking their place in management positions in the workplace.

  In 2001 Romania finally repealed the criminalisation of homosexuality, though it has yet to recognise same-sex partnerships.

  EU: Brain Drain & Gain

  In the decade or so since Romania’s accession to the EU in 2007, the country has witnessed profound changes in every sphere. Polls continue to show that about three quarters of Romanians support the EU and their country’s membership, but scratch the surface in private conversation and you’ll find it’s been a mixed bag.

  One of the biggest negatives, no doubt, has been the brain drain of talented young Romanians to countries around the EU, particularly to Italy, Spain and the UK. The IMF calls Romania the biggest exporter of human resources in the EU, with nearly one in five Romanians living outside the country. While EU membership can’t be blamed entirely, the EU’s open doors arguably made the lure of jobs abroad more powerful and accessible.

  On the positive side of the ledger is a host of benefits and advantages that are hard to quantify, but equally difficult to ignore. Billions of euros in public EU funds have flowed into the country since accession. While the funds have swamped the country’s ability to absorb them, Romanians have gained much cleaner air and water, better roads and a much more secure social benefit infrastructure. Romanians are free to travel, study and work where they want. The currency, the leu, has stabilised, and economic prospects are generally good.

  The Romanian Kitchen

  Romanian dishes have a delightful, home-made character, incorporating fresh, organic produce into relatively uncomplicated but delicious meals. Many dishes use pork, paired with a staple like polenta, potatoes or cabbage. The recipes derive from peasant cooking, with liberal borrowings from neighbouring cultures such as Turkish, Hungarian, German and Slavic.

  Comfort Food

  Romanian food wasn’t bred so much to dazzle as to satisfy. Mămăligă, a cornmeal mush (often translated as ‘polenta’ on English menus), was seemingly designed to warm and fill the stomach. You’ll find it at restaurants, inns and family homes around the country – it can be disappointingly bland or stodgy in restaurants, but when home-made and served with fresh smântână (sour cream), it hits the spot.

  Mămăligă pairs beautifully with sarmale, the country’s de facto national dish (though it’s actually an import from the days of Ottoman rule) and comfort-food extraordinaire. Sarmale are cabbage or vine leaves stuffed with spiced meat and rice; the mămăligă here provides an excellent backstop for soaking up the juices.

  If you want to make your own mămăligă, a couple of good books include Galia Sperber’s The Art of Romanian Cooking and Nicolae Klepper’s Taste of Romania.

  Soups & Stews

  Romanian meals always begin with soup, usually a ‘sour’ soup called ciorbă. The sour taste derives from lemon, vinegar, cabbage juice or fermented wheat bran added during preparation. Sour soups come in several varieties – the local favourite is ciorbă de burtă, a garlicky tripe soup. Others worth looking for include ciorbă de perişoare (spicy soup with meatballs and vegetables) and ciorbă de legume (vegetable soup cooked with meat stock).

  The fish soup (ciorbă de peste) served in and around the Danube Delta is some of the best in the world. It’s typically made from several types of fresh fish, including trout, pike-perch, sturgeon, carp and a giant Black Sea catfish known as somn, plus lots of fresh vegetables, garlic and other spices, all simmered in a cast-iron kettle.

  Tochitură, another menu staple, is a hearty stew that could easily be filed away under the ‘comfort food’ category too. There are regional var
ieties, but it’s usually comprised of pan-fried pork, sometimes mixed with other meats, in a spicy tomato or wine sauce, served with mămăligă, cheese and – this is the rub – topped with an egg cooked sunny-side up. How can it go wrong?

  Soups are often served with a small pepper on the side. Don't put the pepper in the soup; instead take a nibble of it along with a spoonful of soup. You might also be served clear or creamy garlic sauce (mujdei). The local habit is to take a spoonful of the garlic and mix it with the soup.

  Street Eats

  Romanians love to eat on the go. Look out for:

  covrigi – hot pretzels sprinkled with salt or sesame or poppy seeds

  gogoși – doughnuts, dusted with sugar or stuffed with fruit

  placinte – warm sweet or savoury pastries, stuffed with fruit, curd cheese or meat

  mici – grilled rolls of spiced minced pork or beef, served with mustard

  shoarma – like a shawarma, though usually made from chicken or pork, with toppings like cabbage and tomato sauce

  COOKING COURSES