BUCHAREST, or BUKHAREST, brVkft rest'. The capital of Rumania, situated on both sides of the Dimbovitza, in latitude 44° 25' N. and longitude 26' 7' E. (Map: Balkan Penin sula, F 2). The two parts of the city are con nected by twelve bridges. five of iron and seven of stone. The general appearance of the city, with its green gardens and numerous church cupolas, is very attractive, although many of the streets are narrow and crooked. still retain hng some of their Oriental characteristics. These streets, however, are confined mostly to the sub urbs, and the city itself is practically modern. The fortifications of Bucharest, completed in 1S96, are very extensive and formidable. con taining eighteen forts and forming a circle of over 40 miles in circumference around the city. The chief streets, such as the Boulevard. Calea. Victorie, Lipscani. and Karlstrasse, are well laid out. and lined with numerous fine buildings. Bucharest contains over 120 churches. mostly Greek Orthodox. Tice most prominent secular buildings of the capital are the royal palace. the university, the national theatre, the palace of justice, and a number of other Government build ings, besides numerous private palaces. Bucha rest has a number of fine monuments, including one to Joan Ileliade-Radulescu, the father of Rumanian literature, and one to the Waywode Michael the Brave.
Industrially Bucharest is of comparatively little importance. Most of the manufacturing establishments are in the hands of Germans and Hungarians, and the production is only slightly above the local demand. The chief manufactur ing products are flour, beer, soap, candles, brick, some textiles, and iron articles. The commerce
is more developed, and a considerable part of the imports of Rumania come to Bucharest.
Bucharest is administered by a town council, consisting of seventeen members. The water supply and the sewers are inadequate, and most of the streets are lighted by gas, while there are still some lighted by oil. Electricity is used only for illuminating the royal palace and the larger public buildings. For local transportation there are a number of horse-car lines and one electric railway.
The chief educational institutions are the uni versity; the veterinary institute: the Ruma nian Academy, with valuable collections and a library: the museum of zcailogy, anthropology, and ethnology; the botanical museum; the museum of antiquities; and the Rumania Geo graphical Society. The charitable institutions are very numerous, and include ten public hospi tals. a number of poorhouses. and kitchens for the poor. The population was 282,071 in 1899. Over 200,000 are Greek Orthodox, over 43,000 Jews, and the rest Roman Catholics, Protestants, Mohammedans, and Armenians.
Bucharest became the residence of the Princes of Wallachia at the end of the Fourteenth Cen tury. It was taken by the Austrians in 1789, and held for two years. The town has suffered greatly from pests and earthquakes. On May 28, 1S12, a treaty was concluded here between Russia and Turkey, by which the former ob tained Bessarabia, the Pruth being made the boundary between the two empires. In 1862 Bucharest became the capital of Rumania.