Timisoara
(Timişoara)
County Timiş Mayor Gheorghe Ciuhandu (PPCD) Area km˛ Population
- 2002 (census)
- Density317,660
/km˛Ethnic groups Working languages Romanian Sister cities <span style Geographical co-ordinates 45°44′ N 21°14′ E Postcode range 300xxx Municipal Website:
Timişoara listen ▶(?) (Romanian: Timişoara, Hungarian: Temesvár, German: Temeswar or Temeschburg, Serbian: Temišvar or Темишвар) is a city in the Banat region of western Romania. With a population of 305,977 in 2004 (329,554 in 2000), it is the capital of Timiş County. It is frequently known in English simply as Timisoara.
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. However, the city name in Romanian is an early borrowing from Old Hungarian and the name originally referred to a castle or fortress. The other names of the city (in German and Serbian) are later borrowings from Hungarian.Culture
Timişoara is a multicultural city with influential minorities, primarily Germans, Magyars, and Serbs, as well as Italians, Palestinians, and Greeks. It was the birthplace of Johnny Weissmuller (an Olympic swimmer, best known for his role as Tarzan). Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, built Timişoara's foot bridge over the Bega. An industrial city with extensive services, it was the first European city to be lit by electric street lamps.
The city is served by Traian Vuia International Airport.
Population
The municipality of Timişoara has a population of 317,660 (Census 2002), the city has a significant Hungarian community. Ethnic composition:- Romanian: 271,677 (85,52%)
- Hungarian: 24,302 (7,65%)
- German: 7,157 (2,25%)
- Serbian: 6,311 (1,98%)
- Roma: 3,062 (0,96%)
- Bulgarian: 1,218 (0,38%)
History
Main article: History of TimişoaraIn 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. The city is believed to have been annexed into the Kingdom of Hungary in 1010.
The first Tobacco mill in today's Romania was set up in Timişoara. The city was also the first town in the Austro-Hungarian Empire to have public lighting using suet candles and lamps with oil and grease. Timişoara was the first town to have an ambulance station in the Kingdom of Hungary and later the Kingdom of Romania.
On December 17 1989 a popular uprising began in Timişoara against the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu. Townspeople supported Hungarian pastor László Tőkés against efforts to deport him by the Securitate, or secret police. This was the beginning of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, which ended the Communist regime a week later.
Landmarks
- Timişoara Orthodox Cathedral
- Timişoara State Theather
- Timişoara Catholic Cathedral (The Dome)
- Huniade Castle
- Mehala Cathedral
Education
- The Dimitrie Cantemir University of Timisoara
- The "Politehnica" University of Timisoara
- The West University of Timisoara
- Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara
- The Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences in Timisoara