TIMISOARA

HISTORY

Timisoara’s history is a very long one that starts with ancient human settlements on today’s site and continues with the first fortifications in the XII-th century. The fort has passed through different regimes all of which have changed its development. It started to develop under the Hungarian occupation of Carol Robert of Anjou in the XIV-th century, becoming for a short period of time the capital of the Hungarian empire. The fort was then conquered by the Ottomans, in 1552 and for the next two centuries was an important ottoman military strongpoint. In 1716 Timisoara’s history takes another sharp turn when the fort is conquered by the Habsburg Empire. The town is being developed as capital of the Banat region. The colonisation of Banat make Timisoara an important multicultural and multiconfessional center. The building of the Bega Canal gives the economy and commerce a big boost. The town sees an important and unprecedented development period, consequently being called “The little Vienna” because of its beauty. In 1919 Banat joins Romania and Timisoara sees Romanian administration for the first time. The post war soviet occupation starts the communist regime, a regimme that ends with the 1989 revolution started in Timisoara.

Timisoara is situated at approximately 550km from the capital Bucharest, and 170km and 300km from Belgrade and Budapest respectively, the capitals of the two neighboring countries: Serbia and Hungary.

Timisoara is the third largest city in Romania with a population of 317660 inhabitants (2002).

CULTURE

Timisoara is a multicultural town, influenced by the ethnic minorities residing in it. The German, Hungarian and Serbian as well as the Bulgarian, Italian and Greek communities have a big influence. The cultural inheritance and the diverse cultural offer are the town’s strong points. With 12 professional cultural institutions Timisoara is, after Bucharest, the second largest cultural pole of the country. The theatre in Timisoara has a big history with its 3 national theatres (the first town in Europe of the kind): Romanian National Theatre, German Theatre and Hungarian Theatre, offering shows in Romanian, German and Hungarian. The three institutions share the same iconic building with the Romanian Opera.

The Banat Filarmonic fills the cultural offer thus keeping the tradition of quality acts alive on a stage that has seen names like Franz Liszt, Strauss son, Brahms, Enescu or the premiere of Verdi’s Traviata on the 9th February 1855.

The Banat Museum was founded in 1872 and houses the biggest archaeological collection in the region. There are different sections such as the Arts Museum, Ethnography museum, Village Museum, a Violin Museum and an IT museum. The museum also holds the biggest birds and butterflies collection in Eastern Europe.

Timisoara also has a Muppets theatre (from 1949), “Banatul” folk group, County Library (1902), an Arts School, Culture House and numerous arts galleries, publishing houses, foundations and cultural associations.

ECONOMY

Timisoara is one of the most important industrial, scientific and cultural centers in the country. It is known for its high growth potential for big and successful businesses.

Timisoara started to be known as an economic center in the XVIII century with the Habsburg administration. The building of the Bega Canal also helped considerably. This was a strong competitive advantage in commerce allowing for a pass of goods, being linked with the Danube, the Black Sea and consequently all of Europe. The first railway was built in Timisoara in 1857 allowing commerce to further evolve.

This particular economic model, which has been developed organically for almost 250 years, was finalized in 1948 along with the nationalization, the oppression of private property and the establishment of a centralized planned economy. Timişoara has been over the years through a massive process of industrialization, but having as objectives different criteria than those of the previous development plan. Industrial giants were created in various fields of activity, especially in the chemical and mechanic industries. These giants’ work force was generated by the massive migration of rural population from the area and the rest of the country as well.

After changing the communist regime, despite the decline of some areas of the national economy, Timisoara’s industry continues to give over 3% of the national industrial production. According to the model of modern economy, the service sector is seeing a big growth in Timisoara as well.

Timisoara’s geographical position in western Romania, the high degree of skilled workers, the low level of wages compared to other countries are the main attraction points for foreign investors.

In the last years Timisoara has seen powerful growth due to the foreign investments, especially in the high technology area. In 2005 the French magazine L’Expansion named Timisoara “Romania’s economic showcase” hinting at the high number of foreign investors, saying that Timisoara is seeing a second revolution, an economic one.

The foreign capital invested in Timisoara has origins in Germany, Italy or USA. Some companies with production facilities are: Continental tyres, Solectron (mobile phones, IT), Alcatel (telecommunications), TRW Automotive, Draexelmaier (auto parts for BMW and Audi), Linde Gas, Procter & Gamble, Nestle and others.

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