Timişoara

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Timişoara

County	Timiş County
Status	County Capital
Mayor	Gheorghe Ciuhandu, Christian-Democratic People's Party, since 1996
Area	129.2 km²
Population (2002)	317,660 (2002 census) 307,265 (as of July 1, 2004)[1]
Density	2,457 inh/km²
Geographical coordinates	45°45′35″N, 21°13′48″E
Web site	http://www.primariatm.ro/

Timişoara (pronunciation in Romanian: /ti.mi'ʃǒa.ra/; Hungarian: Temesvár, German: Temeschburg, Temeschwar, or Temeswar, Serbian: Temišvar or Темишвар, Banat Bulgarian: Timišvár) is a city in the Banat region of western Romania. With a population of 336,089 in 2006^[2], it is the capital city of Timiş County. It is frequently spelled in English simply as Timisoara (without the diacritical mark beneath the s which actually produces a "sh" sound as in "shape").

Contents 1 Name 2 Overview 3 History 4 Demographics 5 Economy 6 Transport 7 Quarters 8 Main sights 9 Education 10 Sport 11 Sister cities 12 Famous natives 13 Gallery 14 External links 15 References/Notes

[edit] Name

All of the variants of its name derive from the Timiş River, known in Roman Antiquity as river Tibisis or Tibiscus. The evolution of the river name from antiquity (with the phonetic change "b" → "m") can be explained by the transition of Latin into Old Romanian. Although the Bega river passes through Timisoara, the city received its name from the Timiş river because at the time of setting a name, the Bega and Timiş river's paths were very much mixed up.

[edit] Overview

Timişoara is with 336,089 inhabitants one of the largest cities in Romania. It is a large economic as well as cultural center in Banat in the west of the country.

It is a multicultural city with influential minorities, primarily Hungarians, Germans, and Serbs, as well as Italians, Bulgarians, and Greeks. It was the birthplace of Johnny Weissmuller (an Olympic swimmer, best known for his role as Tarzan).

The city is also called "Little Vienna", because it belonged for a very long time to the Habsburg Empire and the entire city center consists of buildings built in the Kaiser era, which reminds one much of the old Vienna. Timişoara is an important university center with the emphasis on subjects like medicine, mechanics and electro-technology. An industrial city with extensive services, it was the first European city to be lit by electric street lamps in 1884. It was also the second European and the first city in what is now Romania with horse drawn trams in 1867. There are numerous claims that Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, built one of Timişoara's footbridges over the Bega.

The old city consists of historic city quarters with several historic squares and proms. These are:

• Cetate (Belváros in Hungarian, Innere-Stadt in German)
• Iosefin (Józsefváros, Josephstadt)
• Elisabetin (Erzsébetváros, Elisabethstadt)
• Fabric (Gyárváros, Fabrikstadt)

Numerous bars, clubs and restaurants have opened in the old center in the fine old baroque square.

[edit] History

Main article: History of Timişoara

In the Roman period, there was a military camp named Zambara or Zurobara in the place where Timişoara is today or in the immediate vicinity.^[3] During the time of the invasions of the nomad tribes of the Central-Asian plains, especially that of the Avars, on the site of the ruins of Zambara, a new settlement was built – Beguey.

In 1019 Timişoara (as Dibiscos/ Bisiskos/ Tibiskos/ Tibiskon/ Timbisko/etc.) was mentioned for the first time in written documents by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II, although not all historians agree with this identification.

In 1154 the Arabian geographer Sarif al Idrisi mentions the city saying it's a "nice city offering a lot of riches".

The first mention of the fort of Timişoara (Castrum Temesiensis) is found in the decree of King Andrew II of Hungary dating from 1212.

Timişoara was first mentioned in official documents as a city in 1474. It was captured by the Ottomans in 1552 and remained under Ottoman control until it was captured by Habsburg officer Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1716.

The demographic conditions of the region changed dramatically during the 167 year of Ottoman rule. In 1582 the city of Temeswar in spite of the bloody siege still had a Hungarian majority (the chief judge was István Herczegh - Preyer, Johann N.: Monographie der konigliche n Freistadt Temesvar - 1853). Later, the largest ethnic group in the city were Muslim Turks, and other smaller groups included Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies. ^[4]

After the city was captured by the Habsburg Empire, the Turkish population fled and we know about 600-700 inhabitants out of which 446 were Serbs, 144 Jewish, and 35 Armenians. ^[5] The "Armenische Stadt" as a separate quarter existed until the great plague of 1738.

According to the 1720 data, the largest ethnic group in the city were Serbs, and other smaller groups were Romanians and Jews; there were no Hungarians and Germans in the city at that time. ^[4] Later, many Germans settled in the city, and they became the largest ethnic group.

In 1718 the first beer factory in Transylvania was built. The first tobacco mill in today's Romania was set up in Timişoara. Between 1728 and 1771 a canal Bega was built to unite the city with the Danube river. In 1849 Timişoara was named the capital of the Austrian crownland of Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat as the result of the Spring of Nations revolution; the province was enthically extremely diverse, with its population made up of Romanians, Germans, Serbs, and Hungarians. The crownland was abolished in 1860 and passed to Hungarian rule in 1867 with the creation of dual monarchy.

The city was also the first city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire to have public lighting using suet candles and lamps with oil and grease. Timişoara also became the first city in Europe to have electric public lighting on the 12th of November 1884, (four years after New York City). A tram hauled by horses also came into service around this period. Meanwhile, in 1869 Timişoara was the first city to have an ambulance station in the Kingdom of Hungary.

In 1910, the town had 72,555 inhabitants: 31,644 (43.6%) Germans, 28,552 (39.3%) Hungarians, 7,566 (10.4%) Romanians and 3,482 (4.8%) Serbs. ^[6]

After World War II, as result of city development and population movement from the Romanian villages of the surrounding region, Romanians became a majority in the city. At the same time, many ethnic Germans emigrated in Germany. Timişoara's population has more than tripled over the last 50 years (it was slightly more than 90,000 at 1930 census), but the Magyars' percentage has decreased from 30% to 7.5%, the Germans from 30% to 2% and the Jews from 8% to almost 0%.^{[citation needed]}

On December 16, 1989 townspeople supported Hungarian Calvinist pastor László Tőkés against efforts to deport him by the Securitate, or secret police. On the 17th a popular uprising began in Timişoara against the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu. This was the beginning of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, which ended the Communist regime a week later.

[edit] Demographics

Timişoara has a population of 336,089 (census 2006). The average annual population growth is -1,5%. 14,2% of the population are under 15 years of age, 4.0% are old over 75. The municipalities population dynamics and ethnic composition:

Census[7]		Ethnic composition
Year	Population	Romanians	Germans	Hungarians	Serbs	Jews	Roma	Slovaks	Bulgarians	Ukrainians	Others
1850	20,590	3,807	11,715	2,346	1,770	1,867	?	?	?	?	?
1880	38,702	5,188	21,121	7,745	2,487	?	?	416	?	29	1,716
1890	45,948	5,594	24,973	11,100	2,363	?	?	332	?	27	1,559
1900	60,551	6,312	30,892	19,162	2,730	?	-	288	?	13	1,154
1920	86,850	16,047	32,097	27,189	?	8,307	-	?	?	?	3,210
1930	102,390	25,207	33,162	31,773	2,237	7,264	379	652	279	56	1,381
1941	125,052	46,466	37,611	24,891	?	?	?	?	?	?	16,084
1956	142,257	75,855	24,326	29,968	3,065	6,700	122	575	280	56	1,310
1966	174,243	109,100	25,058	31,016	4,188	2,590	120	490	475	71	1,135
1977	269,353	191,742	28,429	36,724	6,776	1,629	1,109	404	942	299	1,299
1992	334,115	274,511	13,206	31,785	7,748	549	2,668	675	1,314	756	903
2002	317,660	270,487	7,142	25,131	6,271	367	3,114	570	1,218	762	5,506

[edit] Economy

Timişoara is a strong economic center since the 18th century when the Habsburg administration was installed. Due to the Austrian colonization, the ethnical and religious diversity and the innovation of laws, the economy began to develop. The technicians and craftsmen settled in the city established guilds and gave rise to the city’s developed economy.

During the Industrial Revolution most of the modern innovations were introduced. It was the first city with streets illuminated in the monarchy, and the first city of Europe illuminated by electric light. In this period the Bega river was channelled - Bega channel. It was the first navigable canal in the recent Romanian territory. In this way the city had contact with Europe, and even with the world through the Black Sea. This led to the evolution of commercialism. In the 19th century the railway system of the Hungarian Kingdom reached Timişoara. It is the first city in today’s Romania with international routes. In this way the city had all the needs for commercialism.

In recent years, Timişoara has enjoyed a significant economic boom as the number of foreign investments, especially in high-tech sectors, has risen constantly. It is frequently considered the second most prosperous city in Romania (following Bucharest) and there have been frequent debates on whether the so-called "Timişoara Model" could be applied to other cities. In an article in late 2005, French magazine L'Expansion called Timişoara "Romania's economic showcase", and referred to the increased number of foreign investments as a "second revolution".

Apart from the several local investments, many substantial investments from the European Union take place in Timişoara, particularly from Germany and Italy, as well as from the USA. Continental produces here tires since several years, whose work at present is substantially extended. The company Linde produces technical gases, and a part of the wiring moulds for BMW and Audi vehicles are produced by the company Draexelmaier. The US company Solectron maintains a large workplace in the west of the city for the production of mobile telephony and government inspection department devices. The American company Procter & Gamble manufactures wash and cleaning agents in Timişoara. Swiss company Nestlé produces here waffles.

[edit] Transport

Timişoara public transport network consists of 11 tram lines, 9 trolleybus lines and 15 bus lines, and is operated by Regia Autonomă de Transport Timişoara (RATT), an autonomous corporation of the City Hall. The city is served by Romania's second-largest airport, Traian Vuia International Airport, which is the hub of the Romania's second-largest airline, Carpatair. The city is connected to a series of major European and domestic destinations. Timişoara is a major railway centre and is connected to all other major Romanian cities, as well as local destinations, through the national Căile Ferate Române network.

[edit] Quarters

Cetate Freidorf Zona Odobescu Fratelia Mehala I, II Ronaţ Fabric Elisabetin Iosefin

Calea Girocului Circumvalaţiunii I, II, III, IV Dacia Matei Basarab Mircea cel Batran Bucovina Soarelui Tipografilor Calea Şagului Dâmboviţa

Steaua Torontalului Bucovina Calea Aradului Aradului vest Calea Lipovei Blaşcovici Ion Ionescu de la Brad Olimpia-Stadion

Complex studenţesc Ciarda Roşie Plopi Ghiroda Kuncz Braytim Lunei Chişoda Plăvăţ Banat I

[edit] Main sights

• Timişoara Orthodox Cathedral
• Timişoara State Theater
• The Roman Catholic Cathedral (The Dome)
• Millennium Church
• Huniade Castle

[edit] Education

High Schools:

Colegiul Bănăţean, Grigore Moisil High School, C.D. Loga High School, Nikolaus Lenau High School, Bartók Béla High School, Ion Vidu High School, and Carmen Silva High School are some of the leading high schools in Timişoara.

Universities:

• The West University of Timişoara
• The Politehnica University of Timişoara
• Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timişoara
• The Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences in Timişoara
• The Dimitrie Cantemir University of Timişoara
• The Tibiscus University of Timişoara

[edit] Sport

Football:

• FCU Politehnica Timişoara
• U.M. Timişoara
• Chinezul - historic
• Ripensia Timişoara - historic

Basketball:

• Elba Timişoara

Handball:

• Politehnica-Izometal Timişoara

[edit] Sister cities

Faenza, Italy Gera, Germany Karlsruhe, Germany Mulhouse, France Rueil-Malmaison, France

Szeged, Hungary Treviso, Italy Zrenjanin, Serbia Novi Sad, Serbia Palermo, Italy Shenzen, The people's republic of china

[edit] Famous natives

• Johnny Weissmuller
• Mircea Baniciu
• Iolanda Balaş
• Ana Blandiana
• J. Edward Bromberg
• Nicu Covaci
• André François
• György Klapka
• Károly Kós
• Pelbartus Ladislaus of Temesvár
• Félix Bodrossy
• Hugo Jan Huss
• Eva Maria Lonn
• Zoltan Mesko
• Ioan Holender
• Sandra Romain

[edit] Gallery

The Catholic Cathedral (built between 1736-1774)	The Bega Canal	The Unirii Square	The Orthodox Cathedral
The Orthodox Cathedral (other view)	The Victory Square(view at The Orthodox Church)	The City Hall	The Prefect's Office
King Carol I Street	The Victory Square	The Victory Square	The Baroque Palace
The Catholic Cathedral	The Unirii Square	The Unirii Square (summer)	The Catholic Cathedral (other view)
The Unirii Square and the Statue	The Serbian Church	Pub in Unirii Square	Lenau School in Unirii Square
The BT Cafe	The Libertatii Square	The Floral Clock	The Park near the Floral Clock
Catholic Church	The National Bank of Romania	The National Bank of Romania (at night)	Iulius Mall at Christmas
The Traian Square	The Millennium Cathedral	The Millennium Cathedral (other view)	The Roses Park
The Court Martial	Take Ionescu Street	Cardinal Points	Orthodox Church in Mehala
Dan Paltinisanu Stadium	The Orthodox Cathedral	The Opera	The Timisoara county Hospital
Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy

[edit] External links

• CyberTim Timişoara's Homepage
• City Website (many obsolete info) (in Romanian)
• Timisoara's interactive map and many photos from Timisoara city
• Timişoara online map
• Satellite image from Google Maps
• "Traian Vuia" Int'l Airport (in Romanian, English)
• Timişoara 10 days Weather Forcast

[edit] References/Notes