The largest city in Romania, Bucharest, is situated in the southern part of the country and boasts a population of 2.2 million inhabitants (as of 2012). Bucharest’s rich history dates back to 1459 AD, with traces of habitation as far back as 500 BC, and it became Romania’s capital in 1862 AD. Often referred to as the ‘Little Paris’, Bucharest features distinctive architecture from the inter-war period. Legends suggest that the city got its name, Bucuresti (Bucharest), from a shepherd named Bucur who founded it by the Dambovita river; the word ‘Bucur’ translates to ‘happiness’ in Romanian. Alternatively, the name Bucharest might be derived from the term ‘Bukovie’, referring to beech forests, while some attribute its name to the Albanian phrase ‘bukureshti’, meaning ‘it is beautiful’.