Romanian Pages in New Zealand the Romanian Magazine in New Zealand - Year Vii - Issue 2 English - Issn 1174 4847 - Auckland
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prnz ROMANIAN PAGES IN NEW ZEALAND THE ROMANIAN MAGAZINE IN NEW ZEALAND - YEAR VII - ISSUE 2 ENGLISH - ISSN 1174 4847 - AUCKLAND “Romanian Pages in New This issue is dedicated Zealand” is the to all rugby fans from only Romanian Romania and magazine in New Zealand. New Zealand, You will find out with more than informations 1300 subscribers about Romania, and is an integral about great part of the “Romanian Romanians and Cultural Centre” from about our rugby team, Auckland, which the Mighty Romanian includes also the Oaks, curently ranked first Romanian library. 17 in the world. The magazine is edited About our hopes and by Adina and Cristi dreams, about our past , Dumitrache present and future, (Romanian-Kiwi’s), only by reading our with the help of the magazine. Please feel Romanian community in free to ask us New Zealand and their about Romania, contributers from all over about our games, the world: New Zealand, our players, coaches Romania, France, USA, and officials. Holland, Germany, Canada, We welcome all Australia or Sweden. This in New Zealand is the second issue in the and we thank you history of the magazine all for reading this published only in english, magazine and dedicated to the supporting our team. Rugby World Cup 2011. Hai Romania si bine Go Romania! ati venit in Noua Zeelanda, Go All Blacks! dragii nostri stejari! Contact George at [email protected] or mobile 0210 575 124 prnz 2 ROMANIA Our country is located at the cross- that Romanians call themselves a de- ing the 2008 summit in Bucharest. roads of Central and Southeastern rivative of romanus is first mentioned The country applied in June 1993 Europe, on the Lower Danube, within in the 16th century by Italian human- for membership in the European and outside the Carpathian arch, ists travelling in Transylvania, Mol- Union and became an Associated bordering on the Black Sea. Romania davia and Wallachia. The first written State of the EU in 1995, an Acced- shares a border with Hungary and record of a Romance language spo- ing Country in 2004, and a member Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Mol- ken in the Middle Ages in the Balkans on 1 January 2007. Following the dova to the northeast and east, and was written by the Byzantine chroni- free travel agreement and politics Bulgaria to the south. At 238,391 cler Theophanes Confessor in the 6th of the post–Cold War period, as well square kilometers (92,043 sq mi), century about a military expedition as hardship of the life in the 1990s Romania is the ninth largest country against the Avars from 587, when economic depression, Romania of the European Union by area, and a Vlach muleteer accompanying the has an increasingly large diaspora, has the seventh largest population Byzantine army noticed that the load estimated at over 2 million people. of the European Union with 21.5 was falling from one of the animals The main emigration targets are million people. Its capital and largest and shouted to a companion Torna, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, the city is Bucharest, the sixth largest torna fratre (Return, return brother!). United Kingdom, Canada and the city in the EU with about two million The oldest surviving docu- United States. Romania is the largest people. ment written in Romanian is a 1521 country in southeastern Europe and The Kingdom of Romania letter known as the “Letter of Neacșu the twelfth-largest in Europe. It lies emerged when the principalities of from Câmpulung”. Among other between latitudes 43° and 49° N, and Moldavia and Wallachia were united firsts, this text is also notable for longitudes 20° and 30° E. Romania’s under Prince Alexander Ioan Cuza having the first documented occur- terrain is distributed roughly equally in 1859. Independence from the rence of a Romanian word denot- between mountainous, hilly and Ottoman Empire was declared on ing the country’s name: Wallachia is lowland territories. The Carpathian May 9, 1877, and was internationally mentioned under the name of Ţeara Mountains dominate the centre of recognized the following year. At Rumânească (“The Romanian Land”, Romania, with 14 mountain ranges the end of World War I, Transylvania, țara from the Latin: Terra “land”; cur- reaching above 2,000 m/6,600 ft, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with rent spelling: Ţara Românească). The and the highest point at Moldoveanu the Kingdom of Romania. Greater name România as common homeland Peak (2,544 m/8,346 ft). Romania emerged into an era of of all Romanians is documented in Owing to its distance from progression and prosperity that the early 19th century. This name the open sea and position on the would continue until World War II. has been officially in use since 11 southeastern portion of the Eu- By the end of the War, many north- December 1861. English-language ropean continent, Romania has a eastern areas of Romania’s terri- sources still used the terms Ruma- climate that is transitional between tories were occupied by the Soviet nia or Roumania, borrowed from temperate and continental, with Union, and Romania forcibly became the French spelling Roumanie, as four distinct seasons. The average a socialist republic and a member of recently as World War II, but since annual temperature is 11 °C (52 °F) the Warsaw Pact. then those terms have largely been in the south and 8 °C (46 °F) in the With the fall of the Iron replaced with the official spelling north.[109] The extreme recorded Curtain and the 1989 Revolution, Romania. Some 42,000-year-old temperatures were 44.5 °C (112.1 Romania began to transition to- human remains were discovered in °F) at Ion Sion in 1951 and −38.5 wards democracy and a capitalist the “Cave With Bones”, and being °C (−37.3 °F) at Bod in 1942. The market economy. After a decade of Europe’s oldest remains of Homo integrity of Romanian forest ecosys- post-revolution economic problems, sapiens, they may represent the first tems is indicated by the presence extensive reforms fostered economic modern humans to have entered the of the full range of European forest recovery and the country joined the continent. The Romanian expres- fauna, including 60% and 40% of all European Union on 1 January 2007. sion România Mare (literal translation European brown bears and wolves, Romania is now an upper middle- “Great Romania”, but more com- respectively. There are also almost income country with high human monly rendered “Greater Romania”) 400 unique species of mammals (of development. Romania joined NATO generally refers to the Romanian which Carpathian chamois are best on 29 March 2004, and is also a state in the interwar period, and by known, birds, reptiles and amphib- member of the Latin Union, of the extension, to the territory Roma- ians in Romania. Some 3,700 plant Francophonie, of the OSCE and of nia covered at the time. Romania species have been identified in the the United Nations. Today, Romania achieved at that time its greatest country, from which to date 23 have is a unitary semi-presidential repub- territorial extent (almost 300,000 been declared natural monuments, lic, in which the executive branch km2/120,000 sq mi), managing to 74 missing, 39 endangered, 171 consists of the President and the unite essentially all of the territories vulnerable and 1,253 rare. There are Government. The name of Romania, inhabited by Romanians. Romania almost 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) România, comes from român (previ- joined the European Union in 2007 (5% of the area) of protected areas in ously rumân), meaning “Romanian and signed the Lisbon Treaty. Post– Romania covering 13 national parks (man, person)”, which in turn is a Cold War Romania developed closer and three biosphere reserves: the derivative of the Latin romanus, ties with Western Europe, eventually Danube Delta, Retezat National Park, meaning “citizen of Rome”. The fact joining NATO in 2004, and host- and Rodna National Park. 3 prnz THE MIGHTY ROMANIAN OAKS The Romania national rugby union team (Echipa naţională de rugby a României), nicknamed The Oaks (Stejarii), is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stron- ger European teams outside of the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the Euro- pean Nations Cup, where most recently in the 2008- 2010 competition they finished third. Rugby union in Romania is administered by the Romanian Rugby Federation. The team plays in yellow and blue strips. France first played Test rugby against Ro- mania in 1924 when they tried to establish a rival to the Five Nations championship. At their best, during the 1980s, the national side defeated Wales (twice), Scotland (the 1984 Grand Slam side) and France (twice). In 1981, they lost to the All Blacks 14-6 but had two tries disallowed. Many felt it was wrong for the rugby powers to fail to bring them in to top- flight competition. There are even rumours that the Oaks were invited to join but refused because the championship took place during their winter break. However, with the subsequent deterioration of the domestic political and economic situation in the country rugby in Romania suffered. Nonetheless, Romania played in the first six Rugby World Cups from 1987, with their best result being a win dur- ing the pool stages. However, the likes of Georgia have challenged Romania for top spot below the Six Nations, and Georgia, along with Portugal have both won the European Nations Cup (or Six Nations B). Romania played in Pool C at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, along with Portugal, New Zealand, Italy and Scotland.