Buşteni

From World travel guide

Downtown Mendoza.jpg

Buşteni (Romanian pronunciation: /buʃ.'tenʲ/) is a small mountain town in the north of the county Prahova, in the center of Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, at the bottom of the Bucegi mountains, that have a maximum altitude of 2505 m. Its name literally means tree-logs in Romanian.

Buşteni's average altitude is 900 m. It is one of the most popular mountain resorts, offering spectacular views, with lots of year-round tourism opportunities, ranging from skiing to mountain climbing.

The town and the surrounding mountains were the site of military confrontations in 1916, during World War I (see Romania during World War I). A large commemorative monument (about 25 m high), Heroes' Cross (Crucea Eroilor) lies atop nearby Caraiman Peak, at nearly 2,260 m. The monument is lighted at night and is visible from virtually everywhere in Buşteni.

The average population is 15,000 inhabitants, although numbers vary greatly because of tourism. The main local industries are wood industry and tourism. Many holiday houses have been recently built in the town.

Also a new Information Tourism Center was set up near the City Hall.

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