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"The Balkan Girls" is a song by Romanian singer Elena Gheorghe for a special 2009 edition of her second studio album, Te Ador (2008), and third record, Disco Romancing (2012). It was written by Laurențiu Duță [ro] and Alexandru Pelin, while production was handled by Duță, Ovidiu Bistriceanu and Daris Mangal. The song was released on an enhanced CD on 6 January 2009 by Cat Music. "The Balkan Girls" is a folk-influenced dance-pop song whose refrain celebrates the party life of Balkan girls.
It represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow after winning on the preselection show Selecția Națională. Gheorghe qualified in ninth place for the Grand Final in Moscow, where she finished 19th with a total of 40 points (one of Romania's lowest scores in the contest). During her iele-inspired, mostly negatively-received show, she performed "The Balkan Girls" accompanied by female background dancers with hair extensions and chopped dresses. (Full article...)
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Constantin Al. Ionescu-Caion (Romanian pronunciation:[konstanˈtinaljoˈneskukaˈjon], born Constantin Alexandru Ionescu and commonly known as Caion; 1882 – November or December 1918) was a Romanian journalist and poet, primarily remembered for his legal dispute with humorist Ion Luca Caragiale. He was a Symbolist, a disciple of Alexandru Macedonski, and a militant Francophile, as well as a leading opponent of literary tradition. His scattered work comprises essays, short stories and prose poetry, noted for their cultural references, but made little impact on Romanian literature. As a journalist, Caion prioritized scandals, accusing Caragiale of plagiarism and losing the subsequent celebrity trial of 1902, before partly recanting and winning the retrial. Despite his own coquetries with Romanian nationalism, Caion focused his verve on Transylvania's contemporary nationalist literary current.
Ionescu-Caion was the founder of several magazines, most notably Românul Literar. Originally conceived as a literary supplement for the daily Românul, it became a tribune of Macedonski's Romanian Symbolist movement, and helped discover George Bacovia, the celebrated modern poet. During World War I, when he oscillated between the two opposing camps, Caion put out the journal Cronicarul. This was his last known activity in the Romanian press. (Full article...)
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Christopher depicted in Franz Christoph Khevenhüller's Conterfet Kupfferstich
Christopher's brother, Stephen Báthory, who succeeded John Sigismund in 1571, made Christopher captain of Várad (now Oradea in Romania). After being elected King of Poland, Stephen Báthory adopted the title of Prince of Transylvania and made Christopher voivode in 1576. Christopher cooperated with Márton Berzeviczy, whom his brother appointed to supervise the administration of the Principality of Transylvania as the head of the Transylvanian chancellery at Kraków. Christopher ordered the imprisonment of Ferenc Dávid, a leading theologian of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, who started to condemn the adoration of Jesus. He supported his brother's efforts to settle the Jesuits in Transylvania. (Full article...)
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Mai bună ca niciodată (Romanian: Better than Ever) is the only studio album recorded by Romanian actress, television host and singer Oana Zăvoranu under her mononym Oana. It was released on 28 June 2007 by Roton and Sincron. Zăvoranu had gained significant popularity in her native country in the early 2000s for her acting roles, but took a hiatus in 2006 to focus on a music career and parted ways with the television production company Media Pro.
Mai bună ca niciodată features production by Adrian Cristescu, who was also a contributing songwriter along with Georgiana Ariton, Sabina Cojocar, Dan Lazăr and Silviu Păduraru. "Pusă pe fapte" and "Cariño" featuring Cristescu under his stage name Adi Korekt were selected as singles to support the album, with the latter receiving an accompanying music video and peaking at number 99 on the Romanian Top 100chart. (Full article...)
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Szilágyi coat of arms
Justina Szilágyi de Horogszeg (Hungarian: horogszegi Szilágyi Jusztina; before 1455 – 1497) was a Hungarian noblewoman, who became the second wife of Vlad Dracula, Voivode of Wallachia. She was the daughter of Ladislaus or Osvát Szilágyi and thus a cousin of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. Corvinus first gave her in marriage to Wenceslas Pongrác of Szentmiklós. Pongrác had inherited estates in Upper Hungary (present-day Slovakia), but was forced to renounce them in exchange for landed property he and Justina jointly received in Transylvania following their marriage. After Pongrác died in 1474, the widowed Justina married Vlad, whom Corvinus acknowledged as the lawful voivode of Wallachia in 1475. Vlad seized Wallachia in late 1476, but soon died in battle. To strengthen her claim to her Transylvanian estates, she married Paul Suki, who was related to the former owners of those territories. After the death of Suki, in 1479, Justina was married to John Erdélyi of Somkerék, until her death in 1497. (Full article...)
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Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia. They selected their entry, "The Balkan Girls", by Romanian singer Elena through the national selection competition Selecția Națională 2009 organised by Romanian Television (TVR) in January 2009. Prior to the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, Romania competed eleven times since its first entry in 1994. Its highest placing in the contest had been third place, which the nation achieved in 2005. In 2008, Romania finished in 20th place. "The Balkan Girls" attained local commercial success, topping the Romanian Top 100 in April.
The song was promoted by a music video and live performances in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. Romania qualified in ninth place from the contest's first semi-final on 12 May and ultimately reached 19th place in the Grand Final on 16 May, achieving 40 points. This remains one of the country's lowest Eurovision placements. Elena was accompanied by four female dancers and a background singer during her performance. Conceived as a reinterpretation of the Ieles in Romanian mythology, the show was aided by 3D computer graphics of a blooming forest. (Full article...)
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"Don't Break My Heart" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Nicola for her greatest hits albumBest of Nicola (2003) and fourth studio album De mă vei chema (2004). Written by Nicola and produced by her then-husband Mihai Alexandru, it was released as a CD single in 2003 by Cat Music. Musically, "Don't Break My Heart" is an uptempo dance recording.
The track represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 in Riga, Latvia after winning the pre-selection show Selecția Națională. In Riga, Nicola was automatically qualified to the Grand Final, where she finished in tenth place with 73 points. During her show, the singer performed in front of background dancers who were rotating overdimensional discs in the colors of the Romanian flag. Although a remix of the song received airplay on multiple radio stations in the United States, it failed to impact any national chart. (Full article...)
Alexandra Ioana Stan (born 10 June 1989) is a Romanian singer. Born in Constanța, she made her worldwide breakthrough with the 2010 single "Mr. Saxobeat", which was written and produced by Marcel Prodan and Andrei Nemirschi. They had previously discovered Stan at a karaoke bar in 2009 and signed her to their label, Maan Records. "Mr. Saxobeat" had followed the singer's debut single, "Lollipop (Param Pam Pam)" (2009), which brought her moderate fame in Romania. "Mr. Saxobeat" quickly achieved commercial success locally and abroad, reaching number one in several countries and gathering various certifications. Saxobeats, Stan's debut studio album, was released in August 2011 and features the follow-up singles "Get Back (ASAP)" (2011) and "Lemonade" (2012), which had moderate success in Europe.
"Mami" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Alexandra Stan for her fourth studio album of the same name (2018), independently released as its third single on 4 April 2018. It was written by Stan and Katie DiCicco, while production was handled by DiCicco and Simon Says. A trilingual recording, "Mami" explores femininity. An accompanying music video was filmed by Bogdan Păun of NGM Creative and was uploaded onto Stan's official YouTube channel on 14 February 2018. Inspired by Mexican culture, it portrays the machismo idealism of a Latinagirl next door daydreaming of her love interest. (Full article...)
Tristan Tzara (French:[tʁistɑ̃dzaʁa]; Romanian:[trisˈtanˈt͡sara]; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; 28 April [O.S. 16 April] 1896 – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, composer and film director, he was known best for being one of the founders and central figures of the anti-establishmentDada movement. Under the influence of Adrian Maniu, the adolescent Tzara became interested in Symbolism and co-founded the magazine Simbolul with Ion Vinea (with whom he also wrote experimental poetry) and painter Marcel Janco.
During World War I, after briefly collaborating on Vinea's Chemarea, he joined Janco in Switzerland. There, Tzara's shows at the Cabaret Voltaire and Zunfthaus zur Waag, as well as his poetry and art manifestos, became a main feature of early Dadaism. His work represented Dada's nihilistic side, in contrast with the more moderate approach favored by Hugo Ball. (Full article...)
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"Change" is a song recorded by Romanian group Hotel FM, released as a CD single in 2011 by Romanian Television (TVR). It was written by Alexandra Ivan and Gabriel Băruţă, while production was solely handled by the latter. An uptempopop ballad containing drums, piano and violins in its instrumentation, the lyrics talk about making a positive change in the world and one's life. A reviewer compared "Change" to the music of English group Take That and singer Sean Maguire.
The track represented Romania in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf, Germany after winning the pre-selection show Selecția Națională. Hotel FM eventually came 17th in the contest's Grand Final, gathering a total of 77 points. During their performance, the group was joined by two female background dancers, while the LED screen showed pulsating circles and ovals. Music critics gave mixed reviews of "Change", praising its instrumentation, but criticising the song as "unspectacular" and "cheesy". The track was promoted by endeavours in several European countries, as well as by the release of an accompanying music video produced by TVR and Schneider Production. Uploaded onto YouTube on 18 March 2011, the visual features shots of various Romanian tourist attractions. (Full article...)
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Cover of the first edition
Dracula is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. An epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking a business trip to stay at the castle of a Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula. Harker escapes the castle after discovering that Dracula is a vampire, and the Count moves to England and plagues the seaside town of Whitby. A small group, led by Abraham Van Helsing, investigate, hunt and kill Dracula.
Dracula was mostly written in the 1890s. Stoker produced over a hundred pages of notes for the novel, drawing extensively from Transylvanian folklore and history. Some scholars have suggested that the character of Dracula was inspired by historical figures like the Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler or the countess Elizabeth Báthory, but there is widespread disagreement. Stoker's notes mention neither figure. He found the name Dracula in Whitby's public library while on holiday, thinking it meant devil in Romanian. (Full article...)
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"Deep in Love" is a song by Romanian producer Tom Boxer and singer Morena, featuring guest vocals by English recording artist J Warner. It was released as a CD single in Italy on 31 October 2011 through Step and Go, while later made available for digital download in various countries on 14 February 2012 through Roton. The track was written by Boxer and Warner, and solely produced by Boxer; the latter came up with the song in Morocco in 2011 and recorded a demo while travelling to a concert there. He ultimately worked on the track for four months. A love song, its lyrics include a reference to the popular paradigm that men are from Mars and women are from Venus.
Filmed in a studio in Bucharest and on the Canary Islands, an accompanying music video for "Deep in Love" was uploaded to Roton's YouTube channel on 15 August 2011. For further promotion, the song was performed at the ZU Loves You event organized by Radio ZU. It reached the top 40 on Hungarian, Romanian, Polish and Italian music charts, while being awarded a Platinum certification in the latter region by the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) for 30,000 copies sold. (Full article...)
Charles came to the Kingdom of Hungary upon the invitation of an influential Croatian lord, Paul Šubić, in August 1300. Andrew III died on 14 January 1301, and within four months Charles was crowned king, but with a provisional crown instead of the Holy Crown of Hungary. Most Hungarian noblemen refused to yield to him and elected Wenceslaus of Bohemia king. Charles withdrew to the southern regions of the kingdom. Pope Boniface VIII acknowledged Charles as the lawful king in 1303, but Charles was unable to strengthen his position against his opponent. Wenceslaus abdicated in favor of Otto of Bavaria in 1305. Because it had no central government, the Kingdom of Hungary had disintegrated into a dozen provinces, each headed by a powerful nobleman, or oligarch. One of those oligarchs, Ladislaus III Kán, captured and imprisoned Otto of Bavaria in 1307. Charles was elected king in Pest on 27 November 1308, but his rule remained nominal in most parts of his kingdom even after he was crowned with the Holy Crown on 27 August 1310. (Full article...)
Panait Cerna (Romanian pronunciation:[panaˈitˈt͡ʃerna]; Bulgarian: Панайот Черна, Panayot Cherna, born Panayot Stanchov or Panait Staciov; August 26 or September 25, 1881 – March 26, 1913) was a Romanian poet, philosopher, literary critic and translator. A native speaker of Bulgarian, Cerna nonetheless wrote in Romanian, and developed a traditionalist style which was connected with classicism and neoclassicism. Praised by the conservative literary society Junimea, he was promoted by its leader Titu Maiorescu, as well as by Maiorescu's disciples Mihail Dragomirescu and Simion Mehedinţi. Cerna became the group's main representative during its decline, contributing to both major Junimist magazines, Convorbiri Literare and Convorbiri Critice. He also contributed pieces to the traditionalist magazine Sămănătorul, and was briefly affiliated with other literary journals.
... that Romanian literary scholar Dan Simonescu, who edited a chronicle dealing with the reign of Michael the Brave, had to delete any mention of Michael having "all the Jews murdered"?
... that Romanian-born Helen O'Brien escaped advancing Russians on the King's horse, opened Eve, and worked as a spy for MI5 and MI6?
... that Romanian actress Mitzura Arghezi was once told by her father that her career path held "few satisfactions [...] if you're not a director's wife, a manager's wife, this and that man's girlfriend"?
... that Dimitrie Ralet, a pioneer Romanian orientalist, commended Ottoman reformers for not "blindly adopting what we in Europe take to mean civilization"?
The following are images from various Romania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1Ethnic map of Greater Romania according to the 1930 census. Sizeable ethnic minorities put Romania at odds with Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union throughout the interwar period. (from History of Romania)
Image 6Romania after the territorial losses of 1940. The recovery of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina was the catalyst for Romania's entry into the war on Germany's side. (from History of Romania)
Image 19A 19th century depiction of Dacian women (from History of Romania)
Image 20The Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1786, Italian map by G. Pittori, since the geographer Giovanni Antonio Rizzi Zannoni (from History of Romania)
Image 28Bran Castle (German: Törzburg, Hungarian: Törcsvár) built in 1212, is commonly known as Dracula's Castle and is situated in the centre of present-day Romania. In addition to its unique architecture, the castle is famous because of persistent myths that it was once the home of Vlad III Dracula. (from History of Romania)
Image 39Romania has seen its largest waves of protests against judicial reform ordinances of the PSD-ALDE coalition during the 2017–2019 Romanian protests. (from History of Romania)
Image 40One of the greatest existence of Dacia (from History of Romania)
Image 821941 stamp depicting a Romanian and a German soldier in reference to the two countries' common participation in Operation Barbarossa. The text below reads the holy war against Bolshevism. (from History of Romania)
Image 83The foundation of the First Bulgarian Empire (from History of Romania)
Image 84Map of Romania after World War II indicating lost territories (from History of Romania)
Image 91Lieutenant Emil Rebreanu was awarded the Medal for Bravery in gold, the highest military award given by the Austrian command to an ethnic Romanian; he would later be hanged for desertion while trying to escape to Romania. (from History of Romania)
Image 92Proclamation of Union between Transylvania and Romania (from History of Romania)
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