| Mediaș | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
| Historical city centre | |||
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| Location of Mediaș | |||
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Mediaș
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Romania | ||
| County | Sibiu County | ||
| Status | Municipality | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | |||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 62.62 km2 (24.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2002) | |||
| • Total | 63,153 | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Website | http://www.primariamedias.ro/ | ||
Mediaș (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈmedi.aʃ]; German: Mediasch; Hungarian: Medgyes; Transylvanian Saxon dialect: Medwesch) is the second largest city in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania.
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Mediaș is located in the middle basin of Târnava Mare River, at 39 km from Sighișoara and 41 km from Blaj. The health resort Bazna, officially recognized for the first time in 1302, is 18 km from Mediaș. The health resort offers mineral water springs, rich in salts, mineral mud and a special type of salt, called "Bazna salt". The distance between Mediaș and the county's residence Sibiu is 55 km.
The city administers one village, Ighișu Nou (Eibesdorf; Szászivánfalva; Szászivánfalva).
The first signs of human communities in the area are thought to be from the middle Neolithic period.
In the 13th century, the kings of Hungary invited Germany settlers known as Transylvanian Saxons to the area, who settled in the valley of the Târnava Mare River.
In 1910 Mediaş had 8,626 inhabitants, 82 years later 64,481. According to the last census in 2002, in Mediaş there were 55,153 people living. The ethnic composition was[1]:
Mediaş is the second industrial center after Sibiu in the county.
In the 14th-19th centuries, various manufacturers and professionals were members of associations based on their trades called "bresle" (guilds), the first two unions were the ones formed by tailors and cloth makers, in 1457. In 1698, Mediaş already had 33 unions.
In the 19th century, unions started to merge and build factories. The first factory, called "Karres", was established in 1881 and produced various leather products. In 1888, a factory that manufactured cloth and various textiles was built, followed in 1985 by a factory called "Salconserv" that produced salami and cans. The company used to produce the famous brand of salami called "salam de Sibiu", for the company "Theil & Co. A.G. Salami und Selchwarenfabrik", located in Sibiu.
In 1921, Mediaş started to manufacture windows. The factory is now called Geromed and extended its products with blackboards, mirrors, windscreens and stained glass. In the same year, a factory now called Emailul started to produce enameled pots, mugs and dishes.
The "Vitrometan" factory was built in 1922 and produces various glass products, including porcelain, light bulbs and mirrors. "Relee S.A" manufactures automobile components, switches, wall sockets, relays and electric motors.
Mediaş is known best for its role in production of methane gas. The area where Mediaş is located is the site of the largest natural gas field in Romania. The headquarters of Romgaz - the national gas exploitation enterprise - and of Transgaz - the natural gas carrier - are in Mediaş.
Next to almost 20 kindergartens and 10 schools (they are numbered, and three of them have names- School no.1- Mihai Eminescu; School no.9 Hermann Oberth (German school) and School no. 10 Bathory Istvan (Hungarian school)), we mention the following high-schools: Stephan Ludwig Roth High-School, National Gas High-School, Axente Sever High-School, Automecania High-School M.I.U. High-School.
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Mediaş has one of the best preserved historical centers in Romania and also some well preserved medieval fortifications. One of the most impressive symbols of the town is the Tower of the Buglers, which is about 70 meters tall. Its construction started in the 13th century. In the 15th century it was raised to 5 tiers. The St. Margaret Church was finished at about the same time. Later, 3 more tiers were added in only 2 months. The roof consists of colored vitrified tiles, and 4 turrets were built. The tower had a guard, who would sound his bugle whenever an enemy approached. Therefore the tower has this name. The tower has in its South-Western corner (between the clocks) a small wooden man who rings a bell, thus announcing in advance when the clock will ring on the hour. The heavy pressure of the tower on the sandy soil is the reason why the tower is slightly tilted to the North. Between 1927 and 1930, and later in 1972, the tower was consolidated. The tilt of the tip compared with the base is 2.32 m.
The city lies in the middle of the area which was inhabited by Transylvanian Saxons and in an area of 20 km around it there are dozens of fortified churches, two of them UNESCO World heritage sites.
The grapes (and wine leaves) that are visible in the city's coat of arms refer to the (once well-known) wine from Mediaş. For example, the wine is mentioned in Bram Stokers novel Dracula quite in the beginning: "The wine was Golden Mediasch, which produces a queer sting on the tongue, which is, however, not disagreeable" (Jonathan Harker 's diary, May 5, on his way to the castle of the count).
Mediaş is twinned with: