Romania - RMRG Guide

🇷🇴 Romania

Guide to Regionguess Romania

Landscape

Relatively bare, rolling agricultural hills can be found in much of the Transylvania depression, just east of the Apuseni mountains. Further east of this zone, closer to the Carpathians, the hills will be comparatively more forested.

The Apuseni mountains form a bulge of mountains geologically unrelated to the wider Carpathians. These mountains are substantially less forested than the Carpathians, and in the southern Apuseni you will find more conical mountains of volcanic origin.

The area just west and south of Braşov is a unique flat area with distinct mountains in all directions but north. Rather than forming chains, here you will find many isolated but very tall ridge-shaped mountains.

The Făgăraș plain is an extremely easy to identify landscape. It is the only dead-flat part of Central Romania, and has a wall of tall mountains to its south.

Flat plains surrounded by hills cover much of Covasna and southern Harghita counties. These are higher altitude than other flat regions, and therefore have more of a dead feel, with fewer trees and more potato fields rather than corn.

Around the south side of the bend in the Carpathian mountain range, you can find a unique landscape of dry, craggy hills, often with an exposed, pale underlayer.

Much of Tulcea is covered in low hills which combined with southeast climate and architecture can make for very unique rounds. Note that the western half of this area is covered in forested hills, whereas in the eastern half the hills are mostly treeless.

Bucegi National Park has a unique high-mountain landscape with almost no trees and golden grass.

Agriculture And Vegetation

Blackberries (Rubus sp.) can be identified as low-lying thorny shrubs with characteristic five-part leaves. They are found in the foothills of the central and western mountains.

Hoary cress (Lepidium draba) can be identified by dense clusters of white blossoms and leaves that hug the flower stalk. They are found most often in three hot spots across the country, namely the counties of Teleorman, Constanța and Iași. Topography can be very useful to tell these three regions apart, generally speaking Teleorman is dead flat, Constanța has slight hills and wind farms will usually be visible, whereas Iași has larger hills and you can often see trees planted next to the road.

Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is a small tree or large bush characterized by particularly white leaves. It can be seen mainly in the east of the country. Be careful not to confuse it with the more common white willow (Salix alba), Russian olive has comparatively whiter leaves and tends to be more unruly-looking.

Mulleins (Verbascum sp.) are found most often in and around Vaslui county, but beware that they can also be seen randomly throughout the country.

While small, individual vineyards can be found all over the place, large concentrations of vineyards are mostly unique to the foothills just west of Focşani. Large vineyards can occasionally be found in the southeast just west of Constanța.

Architecture

Transylvanian Saxon (or Moravian) architecture is very distinct and constrained to areas which historically had many German settlers. Distinguishing features include baroque façades with plaster decor on the gable (usually including crosses and the date of construction), jerkinhead roofs, and more square versions of the twin Banat gable windows. The placement of the houses is also very distinct especially in towns, as they are mostly perpendicular to the street and connected to each other by archway-shaped driveways creating a ‘wall’ the whole length of the street.

In Caraş-Severin, you will very commonly find houses connected and lined parallel to the street, giving a more closed feel. This is a very good way of identifying the county, especially in combination with wooded hills surroundings.

In the east, especially the northeast, it is very common to find metal ornamentation of various types on roofs and under gables. Metal roofs in general are also more common in these regions, but are common enough in the south to be unreliable as a meta.

In Banat and to a lesser extent the rest of the flat west, you can find a distinct architecture consisting of relatively plain houses, perpendicular to the street, with two small rectangular windows on the gable. More complex Dutch-like gables and brick-lined edges are even more unique to this area.

Less commonly in the Banat region you can find similar houses with interesting and unique baroque-style roof shapes.

Also in the western plains of Romania you will commonly find buildings with these small bricks lining the ends of roofs. These are also found commonly in Caraș-Severin county.

Roof shoulders (small tiled extensions either side of a roof end) are common in certain clusters throughout western Romania which can be helpful for a more precise regionguess.

Indented, mansard-like roofs are found throughout northwestern Romania. In certain regions like the Apuseni foothills, they are the dominant roof type.

These shingled roofs are also a meta for the northern mountains, particularly in western Suceava. Unusually steep roofs such as the one in the image are also indicative of the same area.

Dark coloured, corrugated metal roofs are extremely common in Maramureș. Note they are not unique to the county, but Maramureș is the only area where they are dominant.

In Suceava county you can often find black plastic roof tiles, mimicking the general trend of northern mountainous counties having darker roofs in general. These are not unique to Suceava, but are far more common there, so it is generally recommended to use this meta if you see more than one house with such a roof.

Fishscale tiles are most common in Central Romania, particularly Sibiu county and areas with Transylvanian Saxon influence. They are also found, but less commonly, in Banat, especially southern Banat.

Pointy roof tiles are confined to a relatively small area north of Braşov, just east of the main region where you would find the more rounded ‘fishscale’ tiles.

These small, often flaky-looking black roof tiles can be found in the southern and eastern foothills of the Carpathians.

In Neamț county you can sometimes find these ‘elongated onion’ variants of hat roofs above the entrance of houses.

Roofs with a triangle-shaped extension over the entrance, usually intricately decorated, can be found in much of the northeast.

Bistrița houses often have the narrower side facing the street, with the distinctive feature being the roof flap across the gable, a feature not found in western houses.

Intricate wooden carvings can be found as gable ornaments in a band stretching from Cluj county to the mountains bordering Neamț county.

These specific wooden gable features, consisting of downward-pointing pikes in a row forming a small triangle at the top of the gable, are a feature of Maramureș architecture, particularly in the eastern half of the county.

Roofs with an extension that slopes lower than the roof itself are a moderately reliable meta for the east, but note that they can be found in the rest of the southern plain.

In Vâlcea and Argeș counties you can commonly find simple, spike-shaped roof ornaments.

These crocodile-scale wall tiles are common in northern, mountainous parts of the country, particularly in Maramureș and Suceava.

In parts of Suceava county you will very often find unique shades of certain colours. The most important bright orange and dark red, commonly used in various elements of construction. Pale yellow and industrial green are less common, but also indicative of Suceava.

Suceava County has a lot of traditional houses with many unique features. One of these is vertical stripes that decorate either the gables or walls of houses. The ‘sun’ pattern on the gable in the image is also a Suceava meta.

Bucovina is a historical region that roughly corresponds to Suceava county. This specific style of decoration along the borders of walls and windows is a feature of Bucovina architecture.

Houses made entirely of wood, especially dark-coloured wood, can be found in most mountainous areas but are by far most common in eastern Maramureș county.

Tulcea county, especially around the Danube delta, has very distinct Lipovan-Russian architecture. The key elements are thatched roofs, sky-blue elements anywhere on the house, and carved wooden gables with finials.

Towns and villages in the southern plains are often identifiable by how often you’ll find houses with arches, either supplementing walls or as an extension over a veranda or entrance. There is also a separate cluster in the hills of western Bacău county.

In Mureș county you can sometimes find houses where one of the front corners is rounded, often with some kind of crown or small tower above it.

Fences with a wide metal cover on top are super common in the northeast and Maramureș. Note that while they can be found occasionally outside these areas, streets completely lined with these fences will usually be in the northeast, particularly nearer the mountains in Neamț and Bucău counties.

These plain, thin, metal sheets in place of fences are a good indicator of the east, although they can also be found less prominently throughout the southern plain.

These houses with stone foundations, small stairs and façades featuring lots of glass in a carved wooden frame are commonly found in the western hills of the southern plain, particularly in Vâlcea and Gorj county.

Houses made of decorative, colourful, 3D tiles are sometimes found in the northwest and Caraș-Severin county.

Houses made entirely of comparatively small bricks are common in hilly regions in western Romania.

Wealthier Romani neighbourhoods are extremely noticeable for the over-the-top architecture, commonly featuring stacked hat roofs, sharp modern patterning, silver/gold gates and statues, and supersized versions of traditional houses even in small villages.

Small covered benches integrated in fences, usually next to a gate, are common in an area covering Cluj and Sălaj counties.

Barns

In the southwestern part of Maramureș county (south of Baia Mare) you will find barns with particularly ornately-carved wooden walls and gables.

Traditional barns with asymmetrical roofs are found in the flat parts of Suceava county.

In parts of the Eastern Carpathians you can find these barns with a wooden top part that is wider than the bottom, with vertical planks, often with thin openings.

In the foothills of the southwest, you can often find these open hay barns with X-shaped wall patterns.

Churches

The Moldavia region (the northeast bordering Moldova) builds its churches in a distinct style. The key distinctive feature is the large semicircle ‘skirt’ roof along the back, with two smaller semicircles on the side, and a ‘witch’s hat’ roof on the spire also being quite common.

Maramureş has a lot of wooden churches, with black-tiled roofs and particularly tall spires. The unusually tall spires can also be found on non-wooden churches in the region. Note: Wooden churches can also be found in the Apuseni mountains, however these are usually more modest.

In Székelyland you can find all white, traditional churches (occasionally with yellow features), usually with simple spires, which are clearly non-Orthodox, as most Székely are catholic or calvinist.

Fortified churches are a feature of numerous towns and villages in formerly Transylvania Saxon populated parts of Central Romania, as well as Székely land.

There is a Turkish minority along the Bulgarian border in Constanța county, which is the only significant muslim minority in Romania. You won’t find bilingual signs, however the Turkish presence is most apparent through the presence of mosques.

Gates

In Maramureș you can find many intricately carved wooden gates at the entrance of properties.

Further east in Maramureș, you can often find more modern-style gates consisting of a black frame with corrugated metal sheets. Within this frame you can find many different patterns.

Suceava often has traditional wooden gates similar to Maramureș, but usually with metal roofs. Suceava gates are also painted most times, as opposed to the wooden colour of Maramureș gates and have finer filigree detailing.

Neamț and Bucău counties have more simple versions of Suceava gates, usually missing the crossbeam underneath or the ornamentation, but still with decorated metal roofs. In Bucău especially you can find the curved variant of these roofs.

Ornate wooden gates are also common in Székler-populated areas (see Székely), the key differences being the lack of a roof over the vehicle gate, and little pencil-top turrets on the side.

Specifically in the southern part of Székely Land, in Covasna county, these concrete bollards with a ball on top are common at property entrances.

Shrines

In Cluj county you will very often find this specific style of cross planted in people’s front gardens or by the roadside. It is distinctive for its decorated semi-circular arch above the statuette.

In the far north-west in Satu Mare county, you can find these bold, stone crosses on people’s properties.

In the Șușița and Gilort valleys in Gorj county, you will find these traditional oath crosses in many places. These are distinct small wooden crosses with a triangular top, often with writing on them and occurring in groups.

Stonewalls

In the far southeast it is common to find stone walls or wall bases in villages, often painted white.

In Hunedoara you can often find these more rounded stones as a construction material for walls or house foundations.

In the mountainous parts of Neamț county, stone walls and foundations are also common, but with a more slab-like appearance.

In northern Cluj county you can sometimes find these thin, messy beige stones used as a construction material for walls and houses.

Wells

In Maramureş county, it is common to find small circular/octagonal wells with conical roofs on people’s properties.

Personal wells are also very common in Suceava, usually with this very unique roof shape.

In the far northeast meanwhile, particularly Botoșani county, it is common to find wells by the roadside, typically integrated into or just outside a property fence. These sometimes share the same design as Suceava wells.

Culture And Language

Romania is one of the most diverse countries in Europe when it comes to native ethnic groups. Regions like Banat or Dobruja were settled by many different ethnicities by the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires respectively, who promoted settlement from numerous different groups. In modern-day Romania, municipalities will always put up bilingual town entry signs if there is a significant non-Romanian population.

Hungarians are the largest minority in Romania at 6% of the total population, and it is quite common to find rounds with bilingual signage. Hungarians are present in two distinct parts of the country, the far west along the Hungarian border, and central Romania in Harghita, Covasna and Mureș counties.

The Székelys are a subset of Hungarians who inhabit the aforementioned area in the centre of the country. Aside from the various Székely designs from the architecture section, it is sometimes possible to find Székely flags being flown in this region.

The Transylvania Saxons are a German ethnic group who historically had a large presence in the southern part of Transylvania, particularly between Sibiu and Brașov. Some towns in this area still have large Saxon populations and corresponding German bilingual signage. There is also a secondary German-speaking area in southern Timișoara county, with some towns there having only German names with no Romanian translation, as well as a small population in Satu Mare near the Hungarian border.

The Krashovani are a subgroup of Croatians who inhabit a group of villages in the centre of Caraș-Severin county.

Serb minority villages are found, not surprisingly, just across the border from Serbia, largely in Caraș-Severin and the western tip of Mehedinți. Signs here will usually be in Serbian Cyrillic.

Ukrainian communities are found, not surprisingly, just across from the Ukrainian border particularly in Maramureș county. There is also a pocket of Ukrainian settlement centered around Știuca on the border between Timișoara and Caraș-Severin.

Czechs form a small minority around where the Caraș-Severin and Mehedinți county borders meet by the Danube.

Slovaks in Romania inhabit numerous villages around the Sălaj and Arad county borders, as well as the town of Nădlac on the western tip of Arad county.

There are two Polish-populated municipalities in central Suceava county.

Lipovan Russians are a subset of Russians who inhabit numerous villages in Tulcea county. Apart from the relatively rare Cyrillic town entry signs, almost all town entry signs for Lipovan villages feature this unique design that represents traditional Lipovan patterns.

Banat Bulgarians are a subset of Bulgarians who inhabit a couple municipalities in western Timișoara county. Here they use their own dialect of Bulgarian which is written in the Latin script instead of Cyrillic.

Toponymy

Romanian town names very often have a geographic component, however these name components rarely repeat. Shown on the map are the few worth learning.

Bilingual Hungarian-Romanian town entry signs are very common, and the Hungarian name is far more likely to contain a useful geographic component (although in the form of a prefix rather than a suffix). These must be memorised however as they do not appear on Google Maps. Some however can be related to Romanian components, e.g. Maros = Mureş, Szatmár = Satu Mare, Csík = Ciuc (as in Miercurea Ciuc).

-ova is essentially the only useful suffix for toponymy guessing in Romania, being found mostly in the southwest.

In Constanța and Tulcea counties, there are many place names with Turkish origins. Unfortunately these can be hard to tell for those without knowledge of the language, but some indicators include the suffixes -ghiol (from ‘göl’), -chioi (from ‘köy’), -tepe, as well as Muslim-sounding names like Rahman or Haidar.

In the southeast corner of the country, along the coast just north of Mangalia, there are a series of resort towns all named after planets of the Solar System.

Infrastructure

Blue roads in Romania followed a logical, circular pattern with Bucharest at its center. 1XX covers much of Transylvania with the numbers continuing up to 7XX in a clockwise direction.

Romania is divided into regional electricity companies which use different markings on poles. It can also be helpful to memorise the names and logos of these companies.

Delgaz covers the northeast of Romania. They mark their poles with particularly long yellow paint with a thunderbolt logo and lots of info in black text, including the town name (in this case ‘Udești’).

The western half of the Danube plain is covered by Distribuție Oltenia, who mark their poles with small green tags. The first two letters of these tags stands for the county. (e.g. AG = Argeş).

‘Annabella’ supermarkets are found primarily in Vâlcea county, with some locations in neighbouring Argeș county.

Most of Romania’s mines and large power stations are located in the southwest, particularly in Târgu Jiu and northern Craiova counties.

Wind Farms are a solid meta for the far southeast, with a couple other small clusters in other regions.

Brașov has lampposts painted in bright colours - either blue, yellow, or green. These colours can even be used to regionguess the city, with blue in the north, yellow in the east, and green in the city centre.

Constanța city has quite unique pole infrastructure. Poles with extra-long yellow paint, unique green warning stickers, and 3-number circular pole tags (either in old font or ‘calculator’ font) are all metas for Constanța.

Baia Mare uses particularly large, red house numbers.

In Maramureș county you will often find these pole tags with a blue M in a blue circle.

Orange vertical pole tags with ‘calculator numbers’ can be found in Bucharest, Galați and Iaşi. In the first two cities the tag will be 5 numbers long, however in Iaşi it is 6 numbers.

Public Transport

Bucharest busses and trams can have a variety of colours and designs, but all will have the STB (Societatea de Transport București) logo on them.