Further details of our various maps may be found under Data Availability.

On 30 October 1997 Prime Minister Gyula Horn of Hungary and Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea of Romania signed an agreement to build a major highway linking Budapest with Bucharest. Together with an extension to Constanta, this will provide a high quality international road link between Western Europe and the Black Sea.

Our understanding is that the contract will be let in two phases – an initial contract to determine the route, followed by construction contracts to build the road and the supporting infrastructure.

By far the most challenging aspect of this project will be the construction of a modern super-highway through the Carpathian horseshoe. Since medieval times this has presented a serious barrier to travellers. There are very few natural natural routes through the mountains – perhaps the most famous (or infamous) being the historical route overland to the orient which is protected by Bran’s castle.

Geo Strategies has speculated on a more modern variant of this historic trading route and created a strip map from Bucharest to Budapest that you can navigate for yourself (pan and zoom).

You can also examine the local topography and geology from our other interactive maps.

Look for yourself and see if you can identify a better route. And, if you are one of the professionals involved with the project we would, of course, be delighted to provide the various maps you will undoubtedly need.