Cluj-Napoca
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 Somesul Mic valley.
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 a colonia. Colonized by Saxons in 1178, at this time the city received its German name of Klausenburg, from the old word Klause, meaning mountain pass. However, between 1545 and 1570 large numbers of the Saxons left the town due to the introduction of Unitarian doctrines. 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.
The majority of the city's inhabitants were Hungarians and German Saxons from the Middle Ages until 1918 when Transylvania was incorporated into Romania. The ethnic composition of the city has changed dramatically since then with only around 20 percent of the inhabitants now Hungarians and the ethnic German population virtually extinct. As of 2002 the population of the city was 318,000.
Ursus beer is brewed here. The city is served by the Cluj-Napoca International Airport.
See also
External links
- Official website of Cluj-Napoca (http://www.clujnapoca.ro) (in Romanian)
- Official website of the City Hall (http://www.primariaclujnapoca.ro)
- Events in Cluj-Napoca (http://www.cluj.info) (in Romanian)
bg:Клуж-Напока de:Cluj-Napoca es:Cluj-Napoca eo:Cluj-Napoca fr:Cluj-Napoca la:Claudiopolis pt:Cluj-Napoca ro:Cluj-Napoca
Categories: Cluj