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ROMANIA was one of the least visited countries in Europe, till 15 years ago. Closed for more than 40 years behind the "Iron Curtain" and almost isolated from the rest of the world by a communist regime until 1989, Romania is a land of many genuine treasures that are waiting to be discovered. Romania is one of the large countries of Europe (the size of the United Kingdom or roughly half of France), with a population of approx. 22 million inhabitants. Along with the Romanians, Hungarians, Germans, Serbs, Turks and other minorities also live in the country. Most of them are of Greek-Orthodox religion, but there are also many Catholics, Protestants, Evangelical, Muslims and others. Romania is the largest country in South-eastern Europe. It is roughly the same size as the United Kingdom and slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Oregon.   » The Carpathian Mountains are home to one of the largest undisturbed forests in Europe.   60% of European brown bear population lives in the Carpathian Mountains.     » Romania features the youngest continental land (Danube Delta) in Europe. the Danube Delta is the largest natural reserve in Europe, a paradise for fishermen and birdwatchers  » The second largest underground glacier in Europe (in terms of volume) can be found in Transylvania - Romania.  The 3500-year old Scarisoara glacier, located in the Bihor Mountains –  » The statue of Dacian king Decebal, carved in the rocky bank of the Danube river, is the tallest rock sculpture in Europe (135 feet tall). It is a homage to the last king of Dacia (today's Romania), from Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Constantino Dragan. If you are a Dracula fan, you wouldn't want to miss Dracula's Castle in Bran, the Borgo Pass or his birthplace in the medieval "Upper Town" of Sighisoara - they're all in Transylvania. Science / Technology » Romanian Inventor Traian Vuia was the first European to built and fly a fully  self-propelled, fixed-wing 'automobile airplane' (March 18, 1906).   » The first substance proved to have a normalizing effect on blood sugar levels -pancreatine (the predecessor of insulin) was discovered by Romanian physiologist, professor of medicine: Nicolae Paulescu!    Between 1914 and 1916, Dr. Paulescu performed experiments in which he obtained an anti-diabetic pancreatic extract.  In 1916 his extract, injected into diabetic dogs, reduced blood glucose levels.   » The jet engine used by modern airplanes was invented by Bucharest-born inventor Henri Coanda.  Romanian inventor and aerodynamics pioneer, Henri Coanda designed and built in 1910 the world's first jet powered aircraft, known as the Coandă - 1910, which he demonstrated publicly at the second International Aeronautic Salon in Paris.  Romania's main international airport, Bucharest Otopeni - Henri Coanda, is named after the great inventor.   » The first fountain pen was invented by Craiova-born Petrache Poenaru  (1799-1875).  Mr. Poenaru's invention was patented in May 1827.   » The Romanian city of Timisoara was the first in Europe to have electric street-lighting (in 1889). Timisoara was also the first European city to introduce horse-drawn trams, in 1869. » The Peles Castle was the first European castle entirely lit by electrical current.  The castle’s central heating system, built in 1888,  is still functional and in use today.   » The world's first industrial oil refinery opened at Ploieşti (southern Romania) in 1857. Oil was exploited commercially in Romania since 1857, two years before oil was discovered in Pennsylvania.   » The first natural gas compression station in Europe was built in  Sărmăşel - Romania, in 1927.   » The Danube - Black Sea canal - in south-east Romania - is world's third longest man-made navigation route, after the Suez and the Panama Canals. The first plans to build this canal were made in late 1830s but construction works only started in 1975. 13.5 billion cubic feet of soil and rock were excavated to build the Danube - Black Sea canal (883 million more than to for the Suez respectively  4.9 billion more than for the Panama). Its banks are reinforced with 177 million cubic feet of concrete. This 61 miles long, Y-shape canal, was opened to navigation in 1984, it makes  the water distance from the Danube river to the port of Constanta 249 miles shorter and keeps trade ships away from the Danube Delta. People » Hollywood's original Tarzan was born in the city of Timisoara, Romania.  Considered by movie-makers "the only man in Hollywood who's natural in the flesh and can act without clothes", Johnny Weissmuller (1904-1984) » Soprano Alma Gluck - the first lyrical artist to sell one million records -  was born in Bucharest, Romania on May 11, 1884. » Romanian gymnast  Nadia Comaneci was the first to achieve a perfect routine and get the first score of 10.00 in the  history of gymnastics, during  the Olympics in Montreal (1976).  The scoring displays of the time  lacked the technical capability to  show a perfect 10.00.  They could only display three-digit  grades (0.00 to 9.99 but not a 10.00)  In 2000 Nadia was named as one of  the athletes of the 20th century by the Laureus World Sports Academy.