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The zone of Vrancea is situated high in the elbow of the Carpathians with the mountains to the west. It is separated from valea Trotuşului zone to the north by sparsely populated forests, meets the Buzău region of valea Râmnicului to the south, and drops to the plains along the Siret river to the east.

The ethnographic zone follows the river valleys deep into the Carpathians where there is little agricultural land. There is a string of settlements along the rivers, where occupations are mainly pastoral. The zone of Vrancea was relatively isolated until recently due to poor road access, whereas the political county of Vrancea also includes the city of Focşani and it's surrounding plains.

Archaeological evidence indicates that sites have been inhabited from the Neolithic through to the Iron age, predominantly along the foothills, but a few sites exist in the lower reaches of the valleys. The 'age of migrations' appears to been limited to the area of the plains.

In 1227 to 1228 a Cuman bishopric was founded near Focşani with the conversion of the Cumans to Christianity. This increased the Hungarian Kingdom's religious and political influence in the region. However, the diocese was destroyed in 1241 by the Tatar invasion.

Vrancea is mentioned in documents of Alexandru cel Bun in 1421 and was in the past an independent ţinut. In the beginning of the 17th century the peasants in all the villages, after 13 years of war with the boyers (feudal nobility), succeeded in freeing themselves of their feudal owners. 

Some influences from other regions may still be present in the villages of Rucăreni, Dragosloveni and Soveja which had a population originating from Muscel. The village of Bârseşti is supposed to have a Transylvanian population.

Despite Vrancea being a remote area, the folklore has continued to transform and develop incorporating influences from outside the zone. Originally connections to the outside world were made by the transhumance shepherds, but more recently forestry workers from Sitna Buzăului have come to work in Vrancea during weekdays.

Dances

The majority of dances in Vrancea are performed in a line or circle. The men's dances De tare and  Munteneşte are specific to Vrancea and are related to the Muntenian Brâul. The connection in the old dances with Muntenia to the south west  is also seen in the dances Brâul vechi and  Boităneasca which similar to Lăzeasca in Sita Buzăului. 

The dances such as Corăgheasca, Ţigăneasca, Rusasca, Ţărăneşte come from the neighbouring ethnographic zones (interference zones) come, with dances such as Hora, Raţa, Basmaua, Chindia, Chilabaua being from the common Moldavian repertoire.

Other dances have been introduced from the wider circulation such as Oiţa, Cărăşelul, Muşamaua,  and the common Sârba, plus more recent urban influences such as Banul Mărăcine, Alunelul, Sârba studenţilor, Sotiş, and Polca.

Couple dances are seen in the local versions of De doi, and Ciobanaşul plus the wide spread introduced dances such as Cărăşelul, Muşamaua, Sotiş, and Polca.

Line dances

Balkan 3 measure	4 measure Hora	uni-directional	bi-directional	in place
common Sârba	Hora Vrancei Hora Sovejană Hora lui Gheorghe		Ceasormicul Oiţa (Sârba) Sârba în câalice Jianul Mocăneşte	Mocancuţa Slănicul Boităneasca

Men's dances

Ritual dances	Brâul	Group men's dances	Lad's dances	Verbunc
	De tare Munteneşte Natânga	Mocăneasca

Couple dances

Processional walking dance	Turning dances	Column dances	Csardas	Germanic & central European	Others
					De doi Ciobanaşul

Music

Violin, cobza and sometimes small cimbalom.  In the past the fluier and cimpoi.

Costume

Women's costume

Shirt	Aprons/skirt	Headwear	Belt	Overgarments
Gathered neck chemise cămaşă încreţită Older style blouse with long 'twisted' sleeves.	Wrap round skirts called catrinţe are black with metallic stripes (vrâste)	Headscarves  (Ştergar) or silk Maramă.	Narrow woven fabric belt (brâu)	Black woollen cloth or velvet waistcoat (ilic)

Men's costume

Shirt	Trousers	Headwear	Belt	Overgarments
Straight Shirt - (Cămaşă dreaptă)	Winter trousers (iţari), very long and creased as wound round legs. Thin summer trousers (Izmene)	Felt hat	Wide woven belt fabric (brâu) or leather belt (chimir)	Black fabric waistcoat (laibăr)