|
| |
Coa_BaiaMare_MM_ROpng
|
| |
Baia Mare in Romaniapng
|
| |
Maramureş
|
| |
County capital
|
| |
Cristian Anghel
|
| |
2000
|
| |
National Liberal Party
|
| |
23573
|
| |
2002
|
| |
137,976
|
| |
587
|
| |
|
| |
http://wwwbaiamarecityro/
|
(meaning ''Great Mine'', pronunciation in and the seat of
Maramureş County . It is located in the western part of the county, on the middle course of the
Sasar River , at an average altitude of 228 metres. The city has an area of 235.73 km&
2 and also contains the following settlements: Blidari, Firiza, Valea Neagră and Valea Borcutului.
Consistent with the concentration of the economic activities and their importance, Baia Mare ranks the 3rd in the northwest of Romania.
The municipality of Baia Mare has a total population of 137,921, the city gives home to a sizeable
Hungarian community. The ethnic composition of the city is as follows:
During the
Bronze Age , the region around Baia Mare was the realm of the
Thracians from which later descended the
Geto-Dacians . It was also part of the large
Dacia n state formed by
Burebista .
The first mention of the settlement is from
1142 , when King
Géza II of
Hungary settled it with
Transylvanian Saxons . The name of the settlement was ''Frauenbach'' in German (''Asszonypataka'' in Hungarian, ''Rivulus Dominarum'' in
Latin ), meaning “River of the Ladies” or “Woman's Brook”. The richest documentation, however, is found in the act of privilege issued by
Louis I Of Hungary in
1347 .
In
1411 the Hungarian king exchanged the city for
Belgrade with
Djuradj Branković , prince of
Serbia (from 1411 to
1521 Belgrade was a Hungarian border castle). In that year a document speaks of the Mint in Baia Mare, one of the oldest and most famous in
Transylvania .
In
1446 the mines and domain of Baia Mare become the property of the Hunyadi family as a token of gratitude for the bravery shown by
John Hunyadi in his battles against the invading
Turks . John Hunyadi commissioned the Saint Stephen cathedral whose Stephen Tower remains a landmark of the city to this date.
In
1469 King
Matthias Corvinus Of Hungary bestowed upon the city the right to develop its defense system by erecting fortified walls and keeps, strengthened by deep moats and large palisades to keep out the invaders. Baia Mare thus became an impressive fortress.
In
1567 it was annexed by John Szigmond, prince of Transylvania. The city was in
Szatmár County of the
Kingdom Of Hungary .
In
1600 , as a sign of gratitude for having cancelled several of the city's debts, the tenant of local mines, Felician Herbstein, ordered a coin to be minted in gold, displaying the effigy of
Michael The Brave ,
Voivod of
Wallachia . Collectors agree that this is an effigy of the prince of great numismatic value.
Between the years
1605 -
1606 ,
1621 -
1629 ,
1645 -
1648 the city and the surrounding county was part of the Principality of Transylvania. From the
16th Century the settlement was officially called ''Nagybánya''.
In
1703 , the legendary outlaw
Pintea Viteazul was witness, alongside
Francis II Rákóczi , to the freeing of the city from the hands of the
Austria n
Habsburgs during a
Kurucs War . The year
1889 saw the printing of the first newspaper in Romanian language - "Gutinul" - a weekly paper dealing in matters social, literary and economic.
From
1919 /
1920 (
Treaty Of Trianon ) to
1940 (
Second Vienna Award ) Baia Mare was part of the
Kingdom Of Romania , and during 1940-
1944 part of Hungary. The Treaty of Paris after the
Second World War reallocated the city to Romania. From
1952 -
1960 Baia-Mare was in Baia Mare Region, from 1960-
1968 in Maramureş Region, and since 1968 has been in Maramureş County.
