In Romanian historiography, the Great Union () or Great Union of 1918 () was the series of political unifications the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

had with several of the Romanian historical regions, starting with Bessarabia on 27 March 1918, continuing with Bukovina on 28 November 1918 and finalizing with

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

(on its broad meaning) on 1 December 1918 with the declaration of the union of this region with Romania during an assembly at the city of Alba Iulia. Romanians also consider several other events as preludes to the Great Union, such as the unification of

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

(also known as the Little Union, ) in 1859 or the independence of the country and the annexation of Northern Dobruja in 1878, and also the occupation of

and Moldavia by the Prince of Wallachia, Michael the Brave, in 1600. Today, the Great Union has an important meaning in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and it is commemorated in the Great Union Day, the national day of the country, every 1 December. The centenary of the Great Union on 1 December 2018 was widely celebrated in Romania, with military parades at cities like Alba Iulia or

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

to which many people (up to 550,000, 100,000 of them in Alba Iulia alone), including the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, attended. The centenary was also celebrated in

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, where more than 100 localities and 3 districts declared unification with Romania.

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* * {{Historiography Greater Romania 1918 in Romania December 1918 in Europe Politics of Romania Kingdom of Romania Romania in World War I Romanian nationalism Romanian irredentism National unifications Territorial evolution of Romania History of Banat History of Bessarabia History of Bukovina History of Crișana History of Dobruja History of Maramureș Transylvania in World War I History of Eastern Europe

See also

References

External links