Roman, Romania

Roman (German: Romanvarasch, Hungarian: Románvásár) is a middle-sized city in the middle area of Moldavia, a region of Romania. It is located 46 Km East of Piatra Neamţ, in the Neamţ County at the confluence of Siret and Moldova rivers.

It is thought that the name was taken from Moldavian Voivode Roman I of Moldavia, believed to be its founder. Roman's first son was Alexandru cel Bun.

[edit] History

1234 An official Roman Catholic act mentions a Schismatic (Eastern Orthodox) Bishopric on the spot.
The earliest appearance of the name Roman, in the Novgorod Chronicle (dated between 1387 and 1392).
1355 The first Armenian Orthodox church, more of a wooden chapel, is probably built on the place where the modern Armenian church sits.

The statue of Roman I of Moldavia

1392 The city is mentioned in a Moldavian document, signed by Moldavia's Voivode Roman I, on March 30. The document is one of the first of documents of the then-young state of Moldavia, being the first which holds a fully legible version of the Moldavia seal, bearing the aurochs, the moon, the star, and the flower, still in use on Coat of Arms of Moldova.
1408 On September 14, Alexandru cel Bun established a new Bishopric.
1412 The representatives of the Catholic population of Roman, shepherded by the Bishop of Baia, attend the Council of Constance.
Ştefan cel Mare build a new stone fortress on the left bank of the Siret river, to replace the old earthen one.
1458, 1465, 1488 Ştefan cel Mare's official acts mention the Cathedral of Saint Paraskeva (Paraschiva) in Roman.
1467 The fortress resisted the siege of the Hungarian army under King Matthias Corvinus.
1476 An Ottoman army, led by Mohamed II, besieged the new fortress, with the Moldavians retreating after the Battle of Valea Albă.
1542 Petru Rareş ordered the construction of a new episcopal see on the same spot.
1561 - 1563 The last mention of the old fortress, under Despot Vodă (Ioan Iacob Heraclid).
1562 Ioan Belusiuş, an agent of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, writes his master from Roman, reporting the restoration of the Catholics' rights under Despot-Vodă (after the severe limitations under Alexandru Lăpuşneanu).
1569 Ruxandra Lăpuşneanu builds a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin (Precista Mare) on the same spot the omonim church is placed today.
1595 The church Sfinţii Voievozi is built.
1610 The current Armenian Orthodox Church is built.
1623 The Franciscan missionary Andreas Bogoslavici writes to Rome, describing Roman Catholics as Hungarian that understood and used Romanian. The Catholics appear to have a church dedicated to Saint Peter.
1641 The Vicar of Sofia, passing through Roman, counts 1,500 Eastern Orthodox, 450 Armenian Orthodox and 30 Hungarian Catholics. The Armenians had their own church, in place to this day.
1665 - 1671 Bishop Dosoftei of Roman translated the Psalter into Romanian.
1675 Dumitraşcu Cantacuzino, destroyed Roman fortress together with all other Moldavian fortresses, following Ottoman command.
1691 In December, Miron Costin, one of the first historians and writers in Romanian, is decapitated in Roman on the orders of Prince Constantin Cantemir (Dimitrie Cantemir's father). Costin was in custody, being carried from Bărboşi to Iaşi, where he hoped to prove his innocence; a few days earlier, the chronicler's brother had been killed in Iaşi, being believed to have tried obtaining the throne for himself. The statue marking the spot is now obscured by a blue glass pyramid near the Roman Hotel.
1787 The current Precista Mare church is built.
1798 The first hospital is built on the place where the Municipal Hospital Precista Mare is placed today.
1817 Talmud Torah, one of the first Jewish schools in Principality of Moldova, is inaugurated, an important event in itself as Moldova did not grant citizenship to Jews.

The Roman railway station

1869 The second railway in united Romania opens (December), running from Roman to Iţcani (northern railway station of Suceava). On December 15 the Roman railway station, still in use today, was opened to the public.
1870 On December 27, the Bucharest to Roman railway - through Buzău, Brăila, Galaţi, Tecuci and Mărăşeşti - was opened to the public. It was to close for two years due to technical problems, but was reestablished on September 13, 1872.
1872 After a reluctant government gave its long-waited approval, the first high school of the city, Roman-Vodă, was opened on September 30 in the building that is still in use today as that of School No. 1.

The Roman Vodă College building

1897 The government approved the construction of a new building for the Roman-Vodă High School.
1957 The steel tubes factory, nowadays Mittal Steel Roman S.A., started production. Today, it is the top producer in Romania.
1962 The Museum of Natural Sciences was founded.
1968 Roman lost the county capital status. The greater part of Roman county is included in the new Neamţ County and other parts were included in Iaşi, Vaslui and Bacău counties) as part of Nicolae Ceauşescu's administrative reform. Despite efforts by some citizen organisation after the fall of communism, no change is foreseeable.
1993 The statue of Roman I, now a symbol of the city, was erected near the City Hall.
2004 A statue of Ştefan cel Mare was erected at the city's southern entrance.