14 Facts About Romania

Romania is a country in southeastern Europe known for its forested region of Transylvania, which is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains.

Its preserved mediaeval towns include Sighişoara, and there are numerous fortified churches and castles, most notably the clifftop Bran Castle, which has long been associated with the Dracula legend.

The country's capital, Bucharest, is home to the massive Communist-era Palatul Parlamentului government building.

Romania is home to the world's heaviest structure. The vast Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, begun during the final years of Nicolae Ceaușescu's rule and not completed until 1997 (seven years after his death), is 240 metres long, 270 metres wide, 86 metres high (12 storeys), and cost a staggering €3 billion (£2.5 billion) to construct.

Romania is the world's fifth most boozy country, trailing four other Eastern European countries: Belarus, Russia, Moldova, and Lithuania. According to the map below, the average Romanian consumes 14.4 litres of pure alcohol per year, compared to 11.6 litres in the United Kingdom.

The European bison, weighing in at 1,400 pounds, was nearly hunted to extinction but has recently been reintroduced to several Eastern European countries, including Romania.

Bucharest has one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world. Cărtureşti Carusel first opened its doors in 2015 in a restored 19th-century building. It has over 10,000 books, 5,000 albums and DVDs, and a bistro on the top floor.

Its 4G network is the envy of the rest of the world. According to OpenSignal, Romania is one of the best places in the world for 4G speed, ranking fourth out of 78 countries. Users in the country can expect an average speed of 35.61 Mbps, compared to just 21.16Mbps in the UK.

Romania's 22,298km network is the world's 15th largest, despite the fact that it is only the world's 81st largest country in terms of total area.

They constructed the world's largest flag. In 2013, a five-ton flag with dimensions of 349 metres by 227 metres and 44 miles of thread was unfurled in Romania.

Romania also produced the world's longest sausage, measuring 39 miles in total length.

Nicolae Paulescu discovered insulin (though two Canadian scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize for their research on the hormone in 1923), Henri Coandă invented the modern jet engine, and Petrache Poenaru invented the fountain pen.

Romania has seven Unesco World Heritage Sites, including the eight churches of northern Moldavia, which are covered in wonderful frescoes (the Voroneţ Monastery has been dubbed Romania's Sistine Chapel), and the eight wooden churches of Maramureş, including Sapanta Peri, which claims to be the tallest wooden church in the world. 

The Merry Cemetery in Săpânţa favours colourful tombstones over sombre memorials.