Satu Mare
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Satu Mare (pronunciation in Romanian: Template:IPA; meaning "Big Village" in Romanian; Template:Lang-hu; Template:Lang-de; Template:Lang-yi) is a city with a population of 113,688 and the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania.
Satu Mare is the origin of the Satmarer Hasidic Jews, who lived there until World War II and now reside in New York City, Jerusalem, London, and other places.
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Geography
Satu Mare city is situated in the Satu Mare County, in North - West Romania, on the Someş river, 13 km from the border with Hungary and 27 km from the border with Ukraine.
History
Archaeological evidence from Ţara Oaşului, Ardud, Medieşu Aurit, Homorod, etc. clearly shows settlements in the area dating to the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. There is also evidence that the local Dacian population remained there after the Roman conquest in 101/106 AD. Later, these lands formed part of Menumorut's holdings; one of the defensive citadels dating to the 10th century was at Satu Mare (Castrum Zotmar), as mentioned in the Gesta Hungarorum. The city centre - Villa Zotmar - was inhabited by natives, but Teutonic colonists settled on the periphery, brought there in 1006 by Queen Giselle of Bavaria; later, they were joined by German colonists from beyond the Someş River, in Mintiu.<ref name="History">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1543, the Báthory family took possession of the citadel, proceeding to divert the Someş' waters in order to defend the southern part of the citadel; thus, the fortress remained on an island linked to the main roads by three bridges over the Someş. In 1562 the citadel was besieged by Ottoman armies led by pasha Ibrahim of Buda and pasha Maleoci of Timişoara. Then the Habsburgs besieged it, leading the fleeing Transylvanian armies to set it on fire. The Austrian general Lazar Schwendi ordered the citadel to be rebuilt after the plans of Italian architect Ottavio Baldigara; using an Italian system of fortifications, the new structure would be pentagonal with five towers. In the Middle Ages, Satu Mare and Mintiu were two distinct entities, but between 1712 and 1715 the two gradually united their administration. On 2 January 1721 Emperor Charles VI recognised the union, at the same time granting Satu Mare the status of free royal city.<ref name="History"/> A decade earlier, the Treaty of Szatmár was signed in the city, ending Rákóczi's War for Independence.<ref>Wandycz, Piotr Stefan. The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present, p.85. Routledge, 2001, ISBN 0415254914</ref>
Due to the economic and commercial benefits it began to receive in the 13th century, Satu Mare became an important centre for craft guilds. In the 18th century, intense urbanisation began; several buildings survive from that period, including the old city hall, the inn, a barracks, the Greek Catholic church and the Reformed church. A Roman Catholic diocese was established there in 1804. In 1823, the city's systematization commission was established in order to direct its local government. In 1844, paving operations begun in 1805 were stepped up. The first industrial concerns also opened, including the steam mill, the brick factory, the Neuschloss Factory for wood products, the lumber factory, the Princz Factory and the Unio Factory. Due to its location at the intersection of commercial roads, Satu Mare (then called Szatmárnémeti) became and important rail hub. The Satu Mare - Carei line was built in 1871, followed in 1872 by the Satu Mare - Sighetu Marmaţiei line, an 1894 link to Baia Mare, 1900 to Ardud and 1906 to Bixad.<ref name="History"/>
In 1918, as a result of the Union of Transylvania with Romania, Satu Mare ceased to be part of Austria-Hungary and joined the Kingdom of Romania. It underwent important economic and socio-cultural changes. The city's large companies (the Unio wagon factory, the Princz Factory, the Ardeleana textile enterprise, the Freund petroleum refinery, the brick factory and the furniture factory) prospered in this period, and the city invested heavily in communication lines, schools, hospitals, public works and public parks. The banking and commerce system also developed: in 1929 the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as the commodities stock market, were established. 25 commercial enterprises and 75 industrial and production firms were members of these. In 1930 there were 33 banks.<ref name="History"/>
In 1940, the Second Vienna Award gave Northern Transylvania, including Satu Mare, to Hungary, leading to dramatic changes in the socio-political and economic life of the city, such as the extermination of its considerable Jewish population as part of the Holocaust. In October 1944, the city was retaken. Soon afterwards, a Communist regime came to power, lasting until the 1989 revolution.<ref name="History"/>
Demographics
As of 2007, Satu Mare has an estimated population of 113,668, with a Romanian majority and a significant Hungarian minority. According to the 2002 census, the city's ethnic breakdown is as follows:
and 480 others.
The city day is May 14, which commemorates the devastating floods that affected the city in 1970, although it is also a day of rebirth. Template:SatuMare/Demographics
Politics
The Satu Mare Municipal Council, elected in the 2008 local government elections, is composed of the following parties:
Infrastructure
Satu Mare is an important road and rail hub located near the borders with Hungary and Ukraine. The city is connected to other major Romanian cities by road (European route E81, European route E671) and by rail (CFR Main Line 400).
The city is also served by the Satu Mare International Airport Template:Airport codes located 13 km south of the city.
Public transport
The main public transportation system in Satu Mare consists of bus lines. There are twenty-three urban and suburban lines with a total length of 190.1 km, the main operator being Transurban S.A..
Sports
[[File:Olimpia1.jpg|thumb|250px|Stadionul Olimpia]] There are two main football clubs in Satu Mare: Olimpia and Someşul, with Someşul playing in the Romanian Liga III and Olimpia playing in the Romanian Liga IV. There are two football stadiums in Satu Mare: Stadionul Olimpia with 18,000 seats and Someşul Stadium with 3,000 seats.
Economy
Satu Mare benefits from its proximity to the borders with Hungary and Ukraine, which makes it a prime location for logistical and industrial parks.
The most important companies that have established production facilities in Satu Mare are Electrolux, Voestalpine, Dräxlmaier Group, Continental AG, Woco Group, Schlemmer, Casco, Phoenix AG, Hay Automobiltechnik and Zollner Elektronik in the industrial sector, Friesland in the food sector, Steilmann in the textile sector and Saint-Gobain and Boissigny in the wood industry.
The German company Arcandor has its main Romanian office established in Satu Mare.
Satu Mare's retail sector is very developed; a number of international companies such as Profi, Real, Kaufland, Billa and Interex have supermarkets or hypermarkets in the city. There is also a DIY store, a Praktiker, and two malls. The smaller one, Plaza Europa, has a surface area of about 6,000 m²; the larger one, Someşul, is some 12,000 m² in area.
There is also an industrial park called Satu Mare Industrial Park located at the edge of the city on a 70 ha surface.
Tourism
Major tourists attractions are:
- the Firemen's Tower, a 47 m tall tower;
- the Roman Catholic Cathedral;
- the Lupa Capitolina statue;
- the Chain Church;
- the Administrative Palace, a 97 m tall building;
- the Dacia Hotel;
- the Garden of Rome.
There are several hotels in the city, including one 4-star hotel, Villa Bodi, eleven 3-star hotels, Astoria, Leon, Villa Lux, Dacia, Aurora, Dana I, Dana II, Select, Rania, Melody and Belvedere, and one 2-star hotel, Sport.
Natives
Template:Col-begin-small Template:Col-3
- Romania
- Template:Flagicon Ioana Boitor
- Template:Flagicon Corina Ciorbǎ
- Template:Flagicon Cosmin Costinas
- Template:Flagicon Raul Cristian
- Template:Flagicon Daniel David
- Template:Flagicon Mircea Florian
- Template:Flagicon Alexandru Karikas
- Template:Flagicon Cristian Oroş
- Template:Flagicon Ioan Mircea Paşcu
- Template:Flagicon Vasile Paulovics
- Template:Flagicon Daniel Prodan
- Template:Flagicon Ovidiu Ioan Silaghi
- Template:Flagicon Dan Zaviceanu
- Hungary
- Template:Flagicon Dániel Antal
- Template:Flagicon Árpád Árvay
- Template:Flagicon Antal Bánhidi
- Template:Flagicon László Bánhidi
- Template:Flagicon László Botka
- Template:Flagicon Gábor Darvas
- Template:Flagicon Arányi Dezső
- Template:Flagicon András Domahidy
- Template:Flagicon Jenő Dsida
- Template:Flagicon Mónika Esztán
- Template:Flagicon Noémi Matsutani
- Template:Flagicon Vince Nagy
- Template:Flagicon Pánczél Zoltán
- Template:Flagicon Horváth Zoltán
- Israel
- Canada
- USA
Gallery
 Central square in Satu Mare |
 Dacia Hotel, in the historic centre of Satu Mare |
 Houses in Satu Mare |
|
 Satu Mare Synagogue |
See also
External links
Notes
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