Cluj-Napoca
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Cluj-Napoca (Latin Napoca, Claudiopolis, Hungarian Kolozsvár, German Klausenburg), the capital city of Cluj county, is one of the most important academic, cultural and industrial centers in Romania. Regarded as the historic capital of Transylvania, the city is located in northwestern Romania, and is approximately 320 km (200 miles) northwest of Bucharest in the Someşul Mic valley.
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History
Cluj-Napoca has a very rich historical and cultural heritage. The city stands on the site of an ancient Dacian settlement, Napoca, which the Romans made first a municipium, later a colonia. From the 3th century it was the seat of the procurator of Provincia Porolissensis. Colonized by Saxons in 1178, at this time the city received its German name of Klausenburg, from the old word Klause, meaning mountain pass. In 1270 it was given urban privileges by king Stephen V and rose quickly: the big St. Michael church was built under king Sigismund. This time the number of Saxon and Hungarian inhabitants were equal, and king Matthias (who was born here in 1440) ordered that the chief judge should be Hungarian and Saxon in turn. However, between 1545 and 1570 large numbers of the Saxons left the town due to the introduction of Unitarian doctrines, and became the center of Hungarian noblility and intellectuals.
In 1600, Mihai Viteazul conquered the whole Transylvania and unified it with Moldavia and Wallachia. On 9 August 1601 had his last dinner in Cluj-Napoca, before he was killed from the order of General Basta, at Câmpia Turzii. One of his generals, Baba Novac, was trialed and burnt at the stake in Cluj-Napoca.
The first Hungarian newspaper appeared in Cluj-Napoca in 1791, and the first Hungarian theatrical company was there established in 1792. In 1798 the town was to a great extent destroyed by fire.
From 1830 to 1848, as capital of Transylvania and the seat of the Transylvanian diets, the city became the centre of the Hungarian national movement in the principality; and in December 1848, during the Hungarian revolt against the Austrians it was taken and garrisoned by the Hungarians under the Polish General Bem.
In 1994 and in 2000, Cluj-Napoca hosted the Central European Olympiad in Informatics (CEOI). It thus made Romania not only the first country to have hosted the CEOI, but also the first country to host it a second time.
Population
The majority of the city's inhabitants were Hungarians and German Saxons from the Middle Ages. Since Transylvania came under Romanian sovereignty in 1920, the ethnic composition of the city has changed dramatically. As of 2002 the population of the city was 318,000 (ranked third in Romania after the capital Bucharest and the city of Iasi. The ethnic composition, according to official sources is: 79.46% Romanians, 18.86% Hungarians, 0.96% Roma, 0.22% Germans and 0.07% Jews.
Economy
Ursus beer is brewed here. The city is served by the Cluj-Napoca International Airport.
Education
Cluj-Napoca is one of the most important Romanian academic centres.
- Universities:
- Babeş-Bolyai University (the largest in the country with more than 43,000 students) offering 105 specialisations in Romanian, 52 in Hungarian, 13 in German and 4 in English
- Technical University (with more than 12,000 students)
- Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Farmacy (with more than 6,000 students)
- Universitatea de Ştiinţe Agricole şi Medicină Veterinară
- Art and Design University
- Some private universities: Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University (more than 1,500 students), Avram Iancu University, Bogdan Vodă University
- Some important colleges: Liceul de Informatică Tiberiu Popoviciu, Liceul Emil Racoviţă, Liceul Gheorghe Şincai, Liceul Nicolae Bălcescu, Liceul George Coşbuc, Liceul Mihai Eminescu, Liceul Onisifor Ghibu
Some tourist attractions
The tourist not-to-miss list should definitely include the following:
- the Avram Iancu Square with the Orthodox Cathedral, the National Theatre and the Avram Iancu Statue
- the Unirii Square with the Catholic Cathedral and the Matei Corvin Statue
- the Universităţii Street with the Babeş-Bolyai University
- the Mihai Viteazul Square with the Mihai Viteazul Statue
- the Lucian Blaga Square with the University Library
- the Botanical Garden
- the George Baritiu Street with the Technical University
- the Cetăţuia with its wonderful panorama of the city
- the Central Park
- several museums: Transilvanian Ethnographic Museum (including its open air section), History Museum, Art Museum, Zoology Museum, Farmacy Museum
See also
- Cluj-Napoca Botanical Garden
- Cluj county
- Modern architecture in Cluj-Napoca
- Cathedral of Saint Michael
- Banffy Palace
External links
- Virtual trip of Cluj-Napoca
- Official website of Cluj-Napoca (in Romanian)
- Official website of the City Hall
- Events in Cluj-Napoca (in Romanian)
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