Discover Romania

History of Romania: From Dacia to Today

Enough cultural/historical context to better understand Romanian society today — not a textbook summary.

Sources: romaniatourism.com, Wikipedia — Last reviewed: August 2026

Knowing the broad strokes of Romanian history helps make sense of a lot of everyday details: why Romanian is a Latin-based language, why parts of Bucharest look distinctly Communist-era, and why NATO and EU membership carry real symbolic weight for many Romanians.

1Dacian-Roman Roots

The Romans conquered Dacia (modern-day Romania) in 106 AD; the Latin left behind from that era is the basis of the modern Romanian language and even the name "Romania" itself.

2The Three Medieval Principalities

Before modern Romania existed, the territory was three separate principalities — Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania — each with its own rulers, customs, and architecture, a legacy still visible in regional differences today (Transylvanian cuisine and towns feel distinctly different from Bucharest).
Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul) briefly united all three principalities under one rule in 1600 — the union didn't last, but it later became a national symbol of Romanian unity (his statue stands in University Square, Bucharest).

3Formation of Modern Romania

1859: Union of Wallachia and Moldavia under Alexandru Ioan Cuza — the birth of the modern Romanian state.
1877: Independence from the Ottoman Empire; 1918: Union with Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bucovina ("Greater Romania").

4World War II

Romania initially fought alongside Nazi Germany, but on 23 August 1944 abruptly switched sides to join the Allies — a decision that reshaped the country's entire postwar trajectory.
By the war's end, Romania fell under Soviet influence, setting the stage for the Communist era that followed.

5The Communist Era & Modern Romania

Romania was under Communist rule from 1947 to 1989 (Ceaușescu from 1965), ending with the December 1989 revolution — useful context for understanding older Romanians' attitudes and some neighborhoods' architecture.
The Romanian Revolution began with protests in Timișoara on 16–17 December 1989 and reached Bucharest within days; Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu were executed on 25 December 1989 after a rapid military trial — one of the most violent post-Communist transitions in Eastern Europe.
Bucharest's Palace of the Parliament (today home to the Romanian parliament) remains the era's most visible legacy — the world's second-largest administrative building, built in the 1980s at the cost of demolishing a large swath of the historic neighborhood that once stood there.
Romania joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007 — both memberships carry real symbolic weight for many Romanians as a definitive post-Communist "return to the West."
To see this history up close: the National History Museum of Romania, on Calea Victoriei in Bucharest, and a guided tour of the Palace of the Parliament itself, are both real, accessible options.

This guide is part of the "About Romania" collection.

View all guides in About Romania

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