Romania’s National Day: Military parades, exhibitions, and fairs taking place in Bucharest and in the country
Those who remain in the city for the short break occasioned by the November 30 and December 1 public holidays can enjoy the military parade, explore the exhibitions of the museums that stay open throughout this period or do some season…
Simona Fodor · Journalist
· Updated · 4 min read
Those who remain in the city for the short break occasioned by the November 30 and December 1 public holidays can enjoy the military parade, explore the exhibitions of the museums that stay open throughout this period or do some season shopping at the fairs open in town. We outline below some of the events taking place in this period.
The parades
Most major cities in the country organize events to mark Romania’s National Day, but the military parades organized in Bucharest and in Alba-Iulia usually take the spotlight. In Bucharest, more than 1,500 military and staff of the Defense Ministry, Domestic Affairs Ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunications Service, and the National Administration of Penitentiaries will march in the parade organized on the premises of the city’s Triumph Arch Square. They will be joined by 150 foreign military from Belgium, France, Northern Macedonia, Moldova, Portugal, the US, the Netherlands, and military of NATO countries with a presence in Romania.
Where to watch the Bucharest parade: The event, which starts at 11:00, will be broadcast by the public television TVR and streamed on the National Defense Ministry’s Facebook page.
In Alba-Iulia, more than 700 military from all structures of the Defense Ministry and 60 military vehicles will parade on the city’s December 1 boulevard. The day continues with various events, among them concerts in the Alba Carolina fortress. The full program is available here.
Museums in Bucharest
The National Museum of Art of Romania (MNAR) and its subordinated museums – the Museum of Art Collections, Zambaccian Museum, and Pallady Museum – are open on December 1 between 10:00 and 18:00. Among the temporary exhibitions currently open at MNAR are Nostalgia. Remembrance. Recapture. European Landscape and Ruins in the 16th-19th Centuries, which exhibition aims to present the various aspects and meanings that the ruin receives in European visual culture; The Stories of the Cross, covering miniature sculpture in the Byzantine tradition; and Beyond the Legend. Neagoe Basarab, looking at the art developed in the age of the Wallachian ruler.
Grigore Antipa Museum of Nature History is open on November 30 and December 1 and 2 between 10:00 and 18:00. The public can see the temporary exhibition
