Bucharest

Bucharest ( ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.71 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 2.31 million residents, which makes Bucharest the 9th most-populous city by population within city limits in the European Union. The city has an area of , while the metropolitan area covers . The city proper is administratively known as the "Municipality of Bucharest" (), and has the same administrative level as that of a national county, being further subdivided into six sectors, each governed by a local mayor. Bucharest is a major cultural, political and economic hub, the country's seat of government, and the capital of the Muntenia region. It is an enclave completely surrounded by Ilfov County.

Bucharest was first mentioned in 1459, and became a center of Wallachian commerce and governance in the 16th and 17th centuries. The city became the capital of the Romanian United Principalities in 1862, and boomed after the 1881 founding of the Romanian Kingdom. In the following decades, the city became known for its cosmopolitanism and eclectic architecture, being nicknamed "Paris of the East". However, it was severely damaged in the Second World War. Under the Socialist Republic of Romania, the city again grew massively in population and area, and new developments were characterized by socialist architecture and planning, particularly Nicolae Ceaușescu's program of systematization. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom. It is one of the fastest-growing high-tech cities in Europe. In 2016, the historical city centre was listed as "endangered" by the World Monuments Watch.