| Târgu Neamţ | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Town — | |||
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| Location of Târgu Neamţ | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Romania | ||
| County | Neamţ County | ||
| Status | Town | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Decebal Arnăutu (Democratic Party) | ||
| Population (2002) | |||
| • Total | 20,496 | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Website | http://www.primariatgneamt.ro/ | ||
Târgu Neamţ (also spelled Tîrgu Neamţ, Romanian pronunciation: [ˌtɨrɡu ˈne̯amt͡s]; German: Niamtz, Hungarian: Németvásár, Hebrew: טרגו נאמץ, Latin: Ante Castrum Nempch) is a town in Neamţ County, Romania, on the Neamţ River. It had, as of 2002[update], a population of 20,496. Three villages are administered by the town: Blebea, Humuleşti and Humuleştii Noi.
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Originally a market town, hence its name (in Romanian "târg" = market), it had an important role in Moldavian culture. It was first mentioned in a late-14th century document.
The name neamţ is derived from the Slavic word nemeti meaning "snows". In many Slavic languages, nemeti also means "German", as Germans could not understand Slavic speakers when the cultures first met. "Neamţ" is also a generic name for the German people in the Romanian language. This may lead to speculation of a German foundation of Târgu Neamţ, according to which Saxon colonists crossed the Carpathians from the Bistriţa area and built a commercial township. Some Romanian historians, including B. P. Haşdeu consider that Târgu Neamţ was probably a Teutonic settlement from the 13th century, when the Teutonic Order made incursions from Transylvania against the Cumanic peoples that were living in Moldavia. Nowadays, historians disagree with this possibility mostly because of the long-lasting influences of the communist-nationalistic historiography which refused to accept the town was anything else than a Romanian-founded settlement.
The town is located at the crossing of two national roads: and . The planned East-West Motorway will bypass the town on its south when completed, providing access to Iaşi (to the east) and Târgu Mureş to the west. The railroad station is the terminus station of CFR Line 517 linking it to Paşcani via an electrified railway.