Interesting facts about Romania | Reuters Romanians voted in a presidential election run-off on Sunday pitting incumbent President Traian Basescu against leftist leader Mircea Geoana. Following are interesting facts about the Black Sea European Union state. * The name "Romania" comes from the Latin word "Romanus," which means "citizen of the Roman Empire." The empire expanded into what is now Romania under the rule of Trajan after two wars ending in 106 AD and ruled there until the end of the third century. * Vlad Tepes, the bloodthirsty 15th century ruler who inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula, was an anti- corruption crusader. Legends say, Tepes, who ruled the province of Wallachia and was known as "Vlad the Impaler," was beloved by his followers for ridding his land of thieves and corrupt officials. His tactics, however, were extreme, and included impaling wrong-doers on wooden spikes and leaving them to die at crossroads and in public squares. * Bucharest's Palace of the People is the world's largest and most expensive civil administration building in the world, according to the World Records Academy. Built by Stalinist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in the 1980s, its 360,000 sq meters of floor area houses Romania's parliament in more than a million tons of marble, steel, crystal and wood. Ceausescu hoped the building would become Romania's "Acropolis," but today it is seen as a symbol of destructive social policies in which his circle pampered itself while most Romanians went without

Interesting facts about Romania | Reuters

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Interesting facts about Romania | Reuters

Romanians voted in a presidential electionrun-off on Sunday pitting incumbentPresident Traian Basescu against leftistleader Mircea Geoana.

Following are interesting facts about theBlack Sea European Union state.

* The name "Romania" comes from theLatin word "Romanus," which means "citizen of the Roman Empire."

The empire expanded into what is now Romania under the rule of Trajan after two wars ending in106 AD and ruled there until the end of the third century.

* Vlad Tepes, the bloodthirsty 15th century ruler who inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula, was an anti-corruption crusader.

Legends say, Tepes, who ruled the province ofWallachia and was known as "Vlad the Impaler,"was beloved by his followers for ridding his landof thieves and corrupt officials.

His tactics, however, were extreme, andincluded impaling wrong-doers on woodenspikes and leaving them to die at crossroads andin public squares.

* Bucharest's Palace of the People is the world'slargest and most expensive civil administrationbuilding in the world, according to the WorldRecords Academy.

Built by Stalinist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu inthe 1980s, its 360,000 sq meters of floor areahouses Romania's parliament in more than a

million tons of marble, steel, crystal and wood.

Ceausescu hoped the building would become Romania's "Acropolis," but today it is seen as a symbolof destructive social policies in which his circle pampered itself while most Romanians went without

Page 2: Interesting facts about Romania | Reuters

food and winter heating.

* The Danube Delta, about 80 percent of which is in Romania, is the largest and best preserved ofEurope's deltas, according to UNESCO. It has the world's largest reed bed and hosts speciesincluding endangered sturgeon, otters, wildcats and European mink.

A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991, it is a waypoint for large flocks of birds migrating fromnorthern Europe to Africa and is regularly home to more than 300 bird species, including pelicans,herons, egrets and eagles.

(Reporting by Ioana Patran; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)