Romania罗马尼亚

Curatorial Note

This gallery presents the national atlas tradition of Romania, a country whose cartographic heritage reflects its shifting political and scholarly landscapes. The three atlases on display span 1965–1996, a period when Romania evolved from a socialist republic to a post-communist state. The earliest, *Atlas geografic: Republica Socialistă România* (1965), emerged during the height of socialist-era state-building, when national atlases served as instruments of territorial and ideological consolidation. The second, *Atlas: Republica Socialistă România* (1979), produced by the Academy of the Socialist Republic of Romania’s Institute of Geography, exemplifies a mature phase of centralized academic cartography, with systematic coverage of physical and human geography. The final work, *România: Atlas istorico-geografic* (1996), published by the Romanian Academy after the 1989 revolution, marks a shift toward historical-geographic synthesis, integrating archival research with modern mapping techniques. Together, these volumes illustrate a continuity of institutional commitment—from state-sponsored projects to post-socialist academic endeavors—and their enduring value lies in documenting Romania’s territorial identity across political epochs, serving as essential references for geographers, historians, and planners.