CEE/Newsletter/Newsroom/Romanian Wikipedia reached a new milestone: 500,000 articles
- By: MagdaBarascu
Imagine a world where the vibrant landscape of Romanian culture, history, and knowledge is ever-expanding and becoming more accessible to everyone. The tireless work of the Romanian Wikipedia community brings this vision closer to reality each day, yet there remains an endless wealth of information to uncover and share. Reaching the milestone of 500.000 articles in Romanian is a significant achievement for Romanian Wikipedia.
The half-a-million article is called Ulug Beg and was published on October 27, 2024, at 23:11 by the user Gdaniel111. The subject of the article is a 15th-century Timurid sultan, reflecting the community's ongoing commitment to diverse topics and interests.
Since the first articles were published, the Romanian Wikipedia has evolved significantly, adapting to the demands of an increasingly informed and connected audience. The publication of this anniversary article is proof of the continuous progress and the sustained efforts of volunteers to provide quality, relevant and objective content.
"We are extremely proud to celebrate this impressive achievement," said user Strainu. "This moment is a testament to the hard work and passion of our team, as well as the trust our readers have in us. We will continue to dedicate ourselves to our mission of giving every person in the world free access to human knowledge."
Current efforts to edit articles on Wikipedia in Romanian have expanded coverage of important but underrepresented areas, including women’s history, women writers and artists, local heritage, and LGBTQIA+ issues. These efforts have enriched the project and reflect the diversity of Romanian interests and voices.
The first articles in Romanian on Wikipedia were written in July 2003, with the first version of the main page being drafted on 12 July. The user interface, initially in English, started being translated into Romanian by Bogdan Stăncescu (registered with the username Gutza) as soon as he was given sysop rights. The same user subsequently contacted several Romanian universities that were available on the internet along with the Romanian Academy to attract new contributors. These efforts were soon noticed by the Romanian media, who invited him on several occasions to introduce the project to the public. By the end of 2003, the Romanian Wikipedia had exceeded 3,000 articles, ranking 16th among all Wikipedias. As of 20 November 2024, the Romanian Wikipedia has 500,683 articles and is the 31st largest Wikipedia edition.