History of Timişoara

This article is about the History of Timişoara, the largest and most important city in the Romanian Banat. Timişoara is also known by the following names: Hungarian: Temesvár, German: Temeswar / Temeschwar / Temeschburg, Serbo-Croatian: Temišvar / Темишвар, Turkish: Tamışvar / Temeşvar.

Contents

Antiquity

Archaeological discoveries prove that the area where Timişoara is located today has been inhabited since ancient times. The first identifiable civilization in this area were the Dacians who left traces of their past. From coin finds, it is known that the settlement was inhabited during the Roman occupation of Dacia. While no record of the settlement is known from those times, it is generally agreed that the site was inhabited through the Middle Ages when the city was mentioned for the first time. Timişoara region was ruled by Ostrogoths, Huns, Gepids, Avars and Bulgars during three senturies since 630 to 1018, before Hungarian conquest in beginning of 10th century since collapse of Roman rule.

The Middle Ages

The first indication of the city's name is from a record in 1177 describing a "Castrensis de thymes" located in the area, based on the name of the river flowing around it; the Hungarian name Temesvár means "castle (vár) near the river Timiş (Temes)." The city was probably fortified with wooden walls before this time. In 1241 the city was destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Hungary and Poland, but the walls were rebuilt.

The Angevin Hungarian king Charles I visited the city in 1307 and built a stone fortress. Between 1305-1321 Visegrád and Buda were in hand of Csák Máté, one of the most powerful oligarch of that time, thus Charles was forced to move his court to Timişoara in 1315, which became the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary for a short time. However, after Buda and Visegrád were recaptured in 1323, the decision was reversed. This short period of time brought development to the city which is mentioned in 1342 as "civitas".

By the middle of the 14th century, Timişoara was at the forefront of Western Christendom's battle against the Muslim Ottoman Turks. French and Hungarian crusaders met at the city before engaging in the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Beginning in 1443, John Hunyadi used Timişoara as a military stronghold against the Turks, having built a powerful fortress. The city was repeatedly sieged by the Ottomans in 1462, 1476, 1491, and 1522.

In 1514 the largest peasants' revolt in Hungarian history was defeated in a battle near Timisoara and its Sekler leader György Dózsa was tortured and executed.

Ottoman Rule

Because of Timişoara's strategic location, the Ottomans desired to capture the fortress during their campaigns against the Kingdom of Hungary. Although the Hungarians suffered a devastating loss at the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Timişoara was not conquered by the Ottomans until October 1551.

The city was transformed into the administrative centre of an Ottoman province, the Province of Temeşvar . The fortress was rebuilt and, along with Belgrade, used as a major military base by the Ottomans. Because of its military orientation, the city itself developed slowly during the Ottoman administration. Timişoara had two fortified parts: the castle and the city, which was surrounded by wooden and stone walls. 200 guns were used to defend the city as well as water trenches around the walls. Approximately 1,200 houses, schools, hotels, and public baths were to be found inside the walls, while outside the walls around 1,500 other houses were present.

The Habsburg Era

The Ottomans were evicted from the city by the Habsburg Imperial armies led by Prince Eugene of Savoy on 12 October 1716. Eugene entered the city on 18 October and named one of his officers, Claudius Florimund Mercy, as governor of the city. Because the town had burned down during the siege, the city was completely rebuilt under Mercy's supervision. Timişoara was officially conceded to the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy by the Ottomans in the Treaty of Passarowitz of 1718. Timişoara became the capital of the Banat of Temeswar, a separate Habsburg province. The province was abolished in 1778.

Under Habsburg rule, a new stone fortress was built around the city in 1723. Inside the walls houses, hospitals, schools, and churches were being raised, while outside the city factories were being opened. By the 1720 data, most of the inhabitants of the town were ethnic Serbs, and also some Romanians. Later, German, Italian, and Spanish settlers were brought in to settle in the area. The marshland around the city was reclaimed, while the rivers Bega and Timiş became regulated. The city remained a military stronghold with a large garrison. This period was one of strong economic development and population increases. By 1781 Timişoara was one of the most important cities of the Habsburg Monarchy and as such it received a royal free city warrant which would accelerate the development of the city even further. Because of the Habsburg administration, Timişoara was often referred to by the German names Temeschburg, meaning "castle (Burg) on the Timiş" or Temeschwar, based on the Hungarian Temesvár. Temesvar was captured in 1788 and looted by Ottomans in 1789 during Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791).

The 1848/1849 Revolution

Main article: Battle of Temesvár

During the Revolutions of 1848, revolutionaries took over the Hungarian government. Because the Austrian commander of the city’s garrison decided to defend the Habsburg interests, the Hungarian army began an unsuccessful siege of Timişoara (Hungarian: Temesvár) that lasted for 114 days. In the later stage of the revolution, the city was captured by the Serbian troops and for a short time was a capital of the Serbian Vojvodina.

Modernization of Timişoara

The development of the city continued after the attempted 1848/1849 revolution. In 1849, Timişoara became the capital of the new Habsburg province named Vojvodina of Serbia and Tamiš Banat. The province was abolished in 1860.

In 1853 telegraphy was introduced in the city, and in 1857 Timişoara received gas street lighting. In 1857 a train line linking Timişoara with Szeged was constructed, and in 1867 horse trams were introduced in the city. Timişoara became the first European city to have electric street lights in 1884, while the trams became electric in 1899. Timişoara was also the first city in the Kingdom of Hungary and later Romania to have an ambulance station.

After World War I, following a short-lived Banat Republic, and entry of the Serbian forces into the city, Timişoara was incorporated into the Kingdom of Romania in 1919 together with most of the Banat region.

The Romanian Revolution of 1989

In December 1989 a popular uprising began in Timişoara against the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu. The Hungarian Calvinist pastor László Tőkés was ordered to be deported by the Securitate, or secret police, and as a reaction his house was surrounded by members of his church. People supporting him, including people of Romanian origin, gathered at the central square (Opera Square). The Communist administration ordered the army to fire at the congregation. However, a number of army officers refused to open fire and sided with the people. That was the beginning of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, which ended the Communist regime a week later. Timişoara was declared the first Free Town on 20 December 1989, suffering 1,104 reported deaths and 3,352 wounded during the revolution.

Timetable of Timişoara history

Timişoara has 22,560 inhabitants.