The historical regions of Romania are located in Central, Southeastern, and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

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 ...

came into being through the unification of two principalities,

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 ...

and

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 ...

in 1862. The new unitary state extended over further regions at various times during the late 19th and 20th centuries, including

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...

in 1878, and

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 ...

in 1918. These regions are part of Romania today:

( united with Moldavia in 1859 to create modern Romania): * Muntenia (Greater Wallachia); * Oltenia (Lesser Wallachia): the territory between the rivers

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and Olt and the

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ; ) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Prahova River in the east and the Timiș and ...

became part of the Principality of Wallachia in the early 14th century.

( united with Wallachia in 1859 to create modern Romania): *

Western Moldavia Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...

: in today's form part of Romania since 1944; * Southern Bukovina: following the union with Romania in 1918 (initially, the entire region of Bukovina was part of Romania, until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

: *

Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( or simply ; , ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube, Danube River and the Black Sea, bordered in the south by Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria. ...

: in Romania since 1878 (with the exception of some Danubian islands and Snake Island, which were incorporated into the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1948, and became part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

in 1991). Wallachia, western Moldavia, and Dobruja are sometimes referred collectively as the Regat (''The Kingdom''), as they formed the Romanian "Old" Kingdom before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also part of the historical regions of Crișana, Maramureș, and Banat. The new borders were set by the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

in 1920 between the respective states): * Transylvania proper: following the declaration of the union with Romania in 1918; *

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

: since 1918 claimed and eventually divided between Romania,

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

(today

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

) and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

; * Crișana: the region bordered by the rivers Mureș and

Someș The Someș () or Szamos ( or ''Samosch'') is a left tributary of the Tisza in Hungary and Romania. It has a length of (including its source river Someșul Mare), of which 50 km are in Hungary.Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...

, following the declaration of the union in 1918, eventually divided between Hungary and Romania; * Maramureș: part of the mountainous northwestern region, following the declaration of the union in 1918, eventually divided between

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

and Romania (today, Northern Maramureș is part of

). Between 1918 and 1920, during the Revolutions and interventions in Hungary, the Hungarian–Romanian War affected also part of these territories until the final resolution of state affairs by the Paris Peace Conference. Greater Romania

These regions and territories were part of Romania in the past: * Bessarabia: this territory was part (as the eastern half) of Moldavia until 1812, when it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. The entire region became part of Romania from 1918 to 1940 when it was occupied by the Soviets. Romania managed to annex it again in 1941, but lost it back in 1944, during

. * Southern Bessarabia (including a part of

Budjak Budjak, also known as Budzhak, is a historical region that was part of Bessarabia from 1812 to 1940. Situated along the Black Sea, between the Danube and Dniester rivers, this #Ethnic groups and demographics, multi-ethnic region covers an area ...

): in 1856, the southern part of Bessarabia was returned to Moldavia, which united with Wallachia in 1859 to create modern Romania. In 1878, Romania was pressured into exchanging this territory for the Dobruja, and Russian rule was restored over it. * Northern Bukovina: the region was part of Romania from 1918 to 1940 when it was occupied by the Soviets; Romania managed to annex it again in 1941, but lost it in 1944. Today it is part of the

Chernivtsi Oblast Chernivtsi Oblast (), also referred to as Chernivechchyna (), is an oblast (province) in western Ukraine, consisting of the northern parts of the historical regions of Bukovina and Bessarabia. It has an international border with Romania and Moldo ...

. * Hertsa region: a territory of Moldavia, it was part of Romania from 1859 to 1940, when it was occupied by the Soviets; Romania managed to annex it again in 1941, but lost it in 1944. Today it is part of the Chernivtsi Oblast in Ukraine. *

Southern Dobruja Southern Dobruja or South Dobruja ( or simply , ; or , ), also the Quadrilateral (), is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra provinces, part of the historical region of Dobruja. It has an area of 7,412 square km an ...

: was annexed from Bulgaria in 1913, after the Second Balkan War. It became Bulgarian again after 1940. * Snake Island: an island located in the Black Sea, that was part of Romania between 1878 and 1948. Others: *

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

: controlled by Romania from 1941 to 1944 as the Transnistria Governorate (Romania did not formally incorporate Transnistria into its administrative framework). * Pokuttia: controlled for around a century and a half with interruptions by the Romanian principality of Moldavia. The region was occupied by Romania for several months in 1919.

Citations

General cited references

* {{Europe topic, Historical regions of, ES=Historical regions of Spain (disambiguation)

Regions, Historical Regions, Historical

See also

Citations

General cited references