Baia Mare

Baia Mare
	Baia Mare
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	Location of Baia Mare
	Coordinates: 47°40′N 23°35′E / 47.667, 23.583
	Government
- Mayor	Cristian Anghel (National Liberal Party)
	Area
- Total	233.3 km2 (90.1 sq mi)
Elevation	228 m (748 ft)
	Population (2002)
- Total	137,976
- Density	641/km2 (1,660.2/sq mi)
- July 1, 2004	149,735
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
	Website: http://www.baiamarecity.ro/

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{{Infobox Settlement

Baia Mare (Hungarian: Nagybányai; German: Frauenbach; Latin: Rivulus Dominarum) is a town and municipality in North West part of Romania. It is the residence of Maramures county. The town is situated approximately 600 kilometres away from Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, 70 kilometres away from the border with Hungary and 50 kilometres away from the border with Ukraine. Baia Mare Municipality includes the following communes and villages: Blidari, Firiza, Valea Neagra, Valea Borcutului.

According to the latest official estimates released in 2002, the population of Baia Mare Municipality is 140,937.

[edit] Population

The municipality of Baia Mare had a total population of 137,976 in 2002 , the majority being Romanians. In 2004 Baia Mare had a population of 149,735. The diverse ethnic composition of the city is as follows:

Romanian: (79.81%)
Hungarian: (14.84%)
Roma: (0.51%)
German:(0.36%)
Ukrainian: (0.25%)
Jews: (0,10%)

and 642 others, including Greeks, Turks, Italians, Lippovans, Poles and Slovaks.

Before the Second World War, Baia Mare had a Jewish Community of more than 1.000 Jews, out of which only around 130 still live in the city, due to the extermination of the Jews in the Holocaust by the Hungarian Horthyst regime. Along with Rădăuți, Gura Humorului and others, Baia Mare was one of the country's shtetls. The city's Jewish community benefits from a synagogue, dating from 1885.

[edit] Geography

The city is situated in the vicinity of the Gutâi and Igniş Mountains. Altitudes reach 1400 meters in some peaks. The area is famous for its outstanding landscapes and the mountains are easily accessible from the city, famous routes being: Igniş (1307 m), Mogoşa (1246 m), Gutâi (1443 m), Creasta Cocosului (1450 m), Piatra Soimului (839 m), Plestioara (803 m), Dealul Bulat (683 m), Murgau (633 m), Dealul Crucii (500 m) etc. Some of these mountains provide skiing slopes, most notably the one at Mogoşa, which is the most difficult slope in Northern Romania^{[citation needed]}. The city is situated in the Baia Mare valley and is encircled on all sides by hills and mountains, which makes the climate in the city milder than the rest of the surrounding area. Proof of this is that the outskirts of Baia Mare are the only areas where you can find chestnut trees that usually need Mediterranean climate to grow. This is the northern most reach of the chestnut tree. However, abrupt temperature changes take place and, during the winters, the temperatures may occasionally drop below -20 degress Celsius. The summers are mild, cooler than in the rest of the country. The precipitations in this area are quite high, due to the mountains in the north and east which do not allow the air masses to pass beyond the region's limits, the average rainfall being almost 1000 mm/year. The city of Baia Mare is the most populated of all Northern Romanian cities (Satu Mare, Suceava and Botoşani), with a population of approximately 149,735. It also has high a level of culture and education, being home to many theatres, schools, museums and art galleries. Not far from the city there are a few very important natural reservations, among which: Creasta Cocoşului, Cheile Tătărului, Lacul Albastru etc. Because of its privileged location in the Eastern Carpathian mountains it is considered one of the most picturesque cities in Romania.

[edit] Politics

The Baia Mare Municipal Council, elected in the 2008 local government elections.

Party	Seats in 2004	Seats in 2008
National Liberal Party	9	9
Democratic Liberal Party	5	6
Social Democratic Party	4	5
Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania	3	3
Greater Romania Party	2	-

[edit] History

The city's placement on the middle course of Sasar River, in the middle of a plateau with a warm Mediteranean-like climate, facilitated living conditions since the Palaeolithic. During the Bronze Age the region was inhabited by Thracian tribes. Later, Baia Mare was included in the Dacian kingdom formed by the King Burebista when the mining exploration begun, as the area is rich in gold and silver. Baia Mare is first mentioned in written documents released by Charles I of Hungary in 1329 under the name of Rivulus Dominarum (English: Ladies' River). Later, in 1347 the town is presented in documents released by Louis I of Hungary as an important medieval town with a prosperous mining industry with rules of organisation characteristic to the free towns of that time. In 1411 the town and its surrounding areas, including the mines, were transferred into the property of the Hunyadi family by the Sigismund who recognised Janos Hunyadi's contribution to stop the Turkish invasion towards Western Europe. Thus, the town entered in a period of prosperity, when St. Stephen Cathedral was built. Today the cathedral tower is one of the best-known town's landmarks. The first school, named Scoala Rivulina, was opened in Baia Mare in 1547 by the Reformed Church. In 1703 Pintea Viteazu and his band managed to free the town for a short period of time. Since then Pintea is seen as an important figure in the town's history, representing the dream of freedom. The city’s mining industry made a leap forward in 1748 when the Austrian authorities created The Superior Mining Headquarters.

In 1918 Baia Mare become part of the Kingdom of Romania. After World War II, Baia Mare suffered an important transformation in population structure. The Romanians, once a minority in the town, became the majority population group. A quick and dynamic development started shortly after World War II when Baia Mare started to grow in both population and inhabited area. A new town centre with modern architecture buildings and structures was built in the late '70s and early '80s.

[edit] Economy

The economical activity of Baia Mare has been built around the mining activities located in the surrounding areas. However, after the 1989 Revolution these mining activities have decreased visibly, being replaced with several activities which have improved the city's economy in recent years. Nowadays, Baia Mare has become one of the most economically evolved cities in the region^{[citation needed]}. As a result, several supermarkets have been built in the city and at least 3 malls are due to open for the public no later than December 2008. As well, the largest sofa manufacturing plant in Eastern Europe, Italsofa, is located near the Baia Mare city ring.

The road infrastructure within the city is changing to be able to better connect the city and absorb the traffic on the express road which is to be built between Petea (at the border with Hungary) and Baia Mare, a project for which the feasibility study has just completed. The express road will connect the cities of Baia Mare and Satu Mare to the Hungarian motorway M3 and thus the whole European motorway network.

[edit] Natives

[edit] Sportmen & Sportwomen

[edit] Singers & Actors

[edit] Painters

István Réti

[edit] Others

Oana Muntean - scientist
Gheorghe Costin - composer

[edit] Famous Residents during times

[edit] Hungarian painters

[edit] Others

Augustin Buzura - Romanian novelist
Gheorghe Pop de Băseşti - Transylvanian politician
Mstislav Dobuzhinsky - Lithuanian painter
Amrita Sher-Gil - Indian painter
János Thorma - Hungarian born Romanian painter
Mária Földes - Romanian born Jewish playwright
Maricel Voinea - Handball player, Olympic medals winner

[edit] Sister Cities

Baia Mare has signed town twinning agreements or partnership agreements with the following cities:

Serino, Italy, since 2003
Nyíregyháza, Hungary, since 2003 - partnership only
Hódmezovásárhely, Hungary, since 2001
Bielsko-Biała, Poland, since 2001
Hollywood, Florida, USA, since 2001

Wels, Austria, since 2000
Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, since 1990
Szolnok, Hungary, since 1990
Kitwe, Zambia, since 1972

[edit] Gallery

Old town	Old Downtown	The Romanian Soldier Monument	Traian Boulevard
City Library	Mara Hotel	Carpati Hotel	Maramures County Hall
Chimney of Phoenix Copper Smelter