Sigismund Báthory (Hungarian: Báthory Zsigmond; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duke of Racibórz and Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transylvania as voivode (or deputy) of the absent prince, Stephen Báthory. Sigismund was still a child when the Diet of Transylvania elected him voivode at his dying father's request in 1581. Initially, regency councils administered Transylvania on his behalf, but Stephen Báthory made János Ghyczy the sole regent in 1585. Sigismund adopted the title of prince after Stephen Báthory died.
The Diet proclaimed Sigismund to be of age in 1588, but only after he agreed to expel the Jesuits. Pope Sixtus Vexcommunicated him, but the ban was lifted in 1590, and the Jesuits returned a year later. His blatant favoritism towards the Catholics made him unpopular among his Protestant subjects. He decided to join the Holy League against the Ottoman Empire. Since he could not convince the Diet to support his plan, he renounced the throne in July 1594, but the commanders of the army convinced him to revoke his abdication. At their proposal, he purged the noblemen who opposed the war against the Ottomans. He officially joined the Holy League and married Maria Christina of Habsburg, a niece of the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolph II. The marriage was never consummated. (Full article...)
Pope Gregory XIII appointed Báthory cardinal during his visit to Rome in 1584. A year later, he was installed as coadjutor bishop of Warmia. He was in Rome again when Stephen Báthory died in 1586. Andrew was one of the candidates to succeed him in Poland and Lithuania, but Jan Zamoyski, the Chancellor of Poland, convinced him to support another candidate, Sigismund Vasa, and to demonstrate the Báthorys' claim to the crown only through nominating his minor cousin, Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania. After Sigismund Vasa was elected king in 1587, Báthory convinced his cousin's advisors to send reinforcements to Poland to fight against Maximilian of Habsburg, who also claimed the throne. Báthory became Prince-Bishop of Warmia after the death of Bishop Marcin Kromer in 1589. (Full article...)
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The 11th-century runestone G134 referring to Blakumen (Sjonhem cemetery, Gotland, Sweden) Blakumen or Blökumenn were a people mentioned in Scandinavian sources dating from the 11th through 13th centuries. The name of their land, Blokumannaland, has also been preserved. Victor Spinei, Florin Curta, Florin Pintescu and other historians identify them as Romanians (variation of the exonym Vlach), while Omeljan Pritsak argues that they were Cumans. Judith Jesch adds the possibility that the terms meant "black men", the meaning of which is unclear. Historians identify Blokumannaland as the lands south of the Lower Danube which were inhabited by Vlachs in the Middle Ages, adding that the term may refer to either Wallachia (to the north of the Danube) or Africa in the modern Icelandic language. (Full article...)
"Not My Baby" is a song by Romanian singer Inna, released for digital download as a single by Global Records on 3 April 2020. It was composed by Inna alongside Lara Andersson, Michelle Buzz, Junior Oliver Frid, and Fridolin Walcher, while the latter received credit as a producer under his stage name of Freedo. The song was noted as being a hi-NRG-inspired dance-pop, deep house, EDM and Europop track, as well as a departure from the experimental and gypsy music-influenced sound of Inna's Spanish studio album, Yo. Inna had already retransitioned to a more electronic production before the song with "Bebe" in 2019. The lyrics of the former delve into a toxic relationship with a selfish and untruthful partner.
Music critics received "Not My Baby" with universal acclaim upon release, commending its sound, catchiness, and Inna's vocal delivery. For promotional purposes, an animatedlyric video for the song was uploaded to the singer's YouTube channel on 2 April 2020, depicting her in different settings. The official music video was subsequently released on 24 April of that year, including Inna with a snake on her arm and holding a red apple in her hand in the biblical Garden of Eden as an allusion to the Christian belief of the original sin. A reviewer further pointed out similarities between the visual and the Snow White fairy tale. Commercially, the song peaked at number 33 on the Romanian Airplay 100 chart. Inna performed the song at the Untold OverNight event in May 2020. (Full article...)
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Bulgarian-inhabited places in the Banat
Bulgarian-inhabited places in the Banat
Bulgarian population
City or town
The Banat Bulgarians (Banat Bulgarian: Palćene or Banátsći balgare; common Bulgarian: Банатски българи, romanized: Banatski bălgari; Romanian: Bulgari bănățeni; Serbian: Банатски Бугари / Banatski Bugari), also known as Bulgarian Roman Catholics, Bulgarian Latin Catholics and Bulgarians Paulicians or simply as Paulicians, are a distinct Bulgarian minority group which since the Chiprovtsi Uprising in the late 17th century began to settle in the region of the Banat, which was then ruled by the Habsburgs and after World War I was divided between Romania, Serbia, and Hungary. Unlike most other Bulgarians, they are Roman Catholic by confession and stem from groups of Paulicians (who eventually adopted Catholicism) and Roman Catholics from modern northern and northwestern Bulgaria.
Banat Bulgarians speak a distinctive codified form of the Eastern Bulgarian vernacular with much lexical influence from the other languages of the Banat. Although strongly acculturated to the Pannonian region (remote from Bulgaria's mainland), they have preserved their Bulgarian identity; however, they consider themselves Bulgarians among other ethnic groups but self-identify as Paulicians when compared to ethnic Bulgarians. (Full article...)
At Michigan, Meskó did not win the starting job as a punter right away. He redshirted his freshman year and won a battle for the kicking duties on the field in 2006. Meskó then went on to excel on the field as a three-time Ray Guy Award watchlist candidate and off the field as a four-time Academic All-Conference selection. He was also recognized for his character and community service by numerous organizations. As a redshirt junior in 2008, Meskó endured the dynamics of a coaching change, became Michigan's all-time leader in punts and punting yardage, and was named to 2008 All-Big Ten first-team. As a fifth-year senior in 2009, he made a number of preseason All-American teams and achieved the highest punting average of his college career at 44.5 yards per punt. Meskó concluded his season as a 2009 All-Big Ten first-team selection by both the coaches and the media. He was also selected as a first-team Academic All-American and as a second-team All-American by several publications. He holds the career and single-season records for punts and punting yards at Michigan. (Full article...)
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Zay, portrait produced for the 50th anniversary of the Adele Zay School 1884–1935, Kronstadt, Romania
Adele Zay (29 February 1848 – 29 December 1928) was a Transylvanian teacher, feminist and pedagogue. Her family were part of the German-speaking community of the Kingdom of Hungary. Because of her father's death during her infancy, Zay's education was interrupted by periods where she taught to earn money in order to continue private and formal studies. In 1880 after studying abroad in Vienna and Gotha, she passed her primary education certification for Germany and Hungary. The following year, she was certified as a secondary teacher, becoming the first Transylvanian woman to have earned a higher education. From 1875 to 1884, she taught at the Institute of Irma Keméndy in Szeged.
After almost a decade in Szeged, Zay accepted a post at a newly established normal school for training kindergarten teachers in Kronstadt (Brassó). Though ostensibly a teacher, from the beginning Zay was the creative force behind the development of the school and designed the syllabus. She led the school from 1884 to 1927, becoming its official director in 1922. Simultaneously with her relocation to Kronstadt, Zay joined the General Women's Association of the Transylvanian Evangelical Church and became one of the leaders in pressing for women's rights. She successfully agitated for kindergarten and handicraft teachers to be recognized as educators and entitled to pensions. She lobbied for the teaching profession to be opened to women, which was accomplished in 1901, and for a women's normal school to be established, which occurred in 1903. (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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Alexandra Stan (pictured in 2011) initiated the lawsuit against Marcel Prodan.
According to the singer, the incident occurred after she asked Prodan for her earnings, to which he reacted violently. Several hearings in Constanța Court were scheduled as part of the lawsuit; during one, Prodan testified that he had acted in self-defense after Stan hit him in his car and threatened to commit suicide. While Stan's accusations of blackmail and bodily harm were deemed groundless by the judges in 2014, Prodan received a seven-month suspended sentence for common assault in February 2016 and was fined damages. (Full article...)
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Romania was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. Their entry, "Amnesia" by Romanian singer Roxen, was internally selected by a professional jury panel as part of the partnership between broadcaster Televiziunea Română (TVR) and the singer's label Global Records. Roxen was initially due to compete in the 2020 contest with "Alcohol You", however, the event was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to Eurovision 2021, "Amnesia" was promoted by the release of a music video and several live performances. Romania failed to qualify from the contest's first semi-final on 18 May 2021, placing 12th and scoring a total of 85 points. This marked Romania's third non-qualification, consecutive to the previous ones. During Roxen's stage performance directed by Bogdan Păun and Dan Manoliu, the singer was accompanied by five dancers and was portrayed executing an interpretative dance choreography with them. (Full article...)
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"Clap Clap" is a song by Romanian duo Gran Error, Albanian singer Elvana Gjata and Romanian singer Antonia. The song was produced by Achi, Marcel Botezan and Sebastian Barac, who served as co-writers with Iraida. It was released as a single for digital download and streaming by Global Records on 8 July 2022. An English and Spanish-languagetechno-inspired song, it encourages to be bold and transparent, and to let go of anything that stops their freedom. The song received positive receptions from a few music critics, who applauded the music and sound. It reached the record charts at number one in Albania, number three in Romania and number 32 in Poland. An accompanying music video was directed by Alexandru Muresan and Elena Maria Popescu, and uploaded to Gjata's YouTube channel alongside the single release. Filmed in Bucharest, Romania, the video finds the artists and several other people dancing and partying in a karting arena and gaming center. (Full article...)
Anonymous sketch of Bogdan-Pitești, 1917 (signed Correggio)
Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești (Romanian pronunciation:[alekˈsandruboɡˈdanpiˈteʃtʲ]; born Alexandru Bogdan, also known as Ion Doican, Ion Duican and Al. Dodan; June 13, 1870 – May 12, 1922) was a RomanianSymbolist poet, essayist, and art and literary critic, who was also known as a journalist and left-wing political agitator. A wealthy landowner, he invested his fortune in patronage and art collecting, becoming one of the main local promoters of modern art, and a sponsor of the Romanian Symbolist movement. Together with other Post-Impressionist and Symbolist cultural figures, Bogdan-Pitești established Societatea Ileana, which was one of the first Romanian associations dedicated to promoting the avant-garde and independent art. He was also noted for his friendship with the writers Joris-Karl Huysmans, Alexandru Macedonski, Tudor Arghezi and Mateiu Caragiale, as well as for sponsoring, among others, the painters Ștefan Luchian, Constantin Artachino and Nicolae Vermont. In addition to his literary and political activities, Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești was himself a painter and graphic artist.
Much of Bogdan-Pitești's controversial political career, inaugurated by his support for anarchism, was dedicated to activism and support for revolution. He also had an interest in the occult, and maintained close contacts with Joséphin "Sâr" Péladan—sponsoring Péladan's journey to Bucharest (1898). He was detained by the authorities at various intervals, including an arrest for sedition during the 1899 election, and was later found guilty of having blackmailed the banker Aristide Blank. Late in his life, he led Seara, a Germanophile daily, as well as a literary and political circle which came to oppose Romania's entry into World War I on the Entente Powers' side. He was arrested one final time upon the end of the war, by which time he had become the object of public hatred. The enduring mysteries and contradictions of Bogdan-Pitești's career have since drawn interest from several generations of art and literary historians. (Full article...)
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...)
Căile Ferate Române (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈkə.ilefeˈrateroˈmɨne]; abbreviated as the CFR) was the state railway carrier of Romania. The company was dissolved on 1 October 1998 by splitting into several successor companies. CFR as an entity existed from 1880, even though the first railway on current Romanian territory was opened in 1854. CFR was divided into four autonomous companies:
He was the second son of Vlad Dracul, who became the ruler of Wallachia in 1436. Vlad and his younger brother, Radu, were held as hostages in the Ottoman Empire in 1442 to secure their father's loyalty. Vlad's eldest brother Mircea and their father were murdered after John Hunyadi, regent-governor of Hungary, invaded Wallachia in 1447. Hunyadi installed Vlad's second cousin, VladislavII, as the new voivode. Hunyadi launched a military campaign against the Ottomans in the autumn of 1448, and Vladislav accompanied him. Vlad broke into Wallachia with Ottoman support in October, but Vladislav returned, and Vlad sought refuge in the Ottoman Empire before the end of the year. Vlad went to Moldavia in 1449 or 1450 and later to Hungary. (Full article...)
... that film critic and censor D. I. Suchianu wanted Romanian moviegoers to cease "falling asleep whenever they're not shown a naked breast [or] a hip that's getting some action"?
... that Gogu Rădulescu, a member of the Romanian Communist Party central committee, was allegedly spied on by his colleagues through Lăutari performers, called upon to "sing him the blues"?
... that at age 15, Lilia Cosman moved from the United States to Romania to compete for Romania's Olympic gymnastics team?
... 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"?
Image 17Ethnic 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 51Romania 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 52Romania 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 53The Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1786, Italian map by G. Pittori, since the geographer Giovanni Antonio Rizzi Zannoni (from History of Romania)
Image 631941 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 71Bran Castle (German: Törzburg, Hungarian: Törcsvár) built in 1212, is commonly known as Dracula's Castle and is situated in the center 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)
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