Târgu Mureș (ˈtɨrɡu ˈmureʃ; ; ) is the seat of
Mureș CountyMureș is a county of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș.-Geography:The county has a total area of 6,714 km²....
in the north-central part of
RomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. As of January 1, 2009 the city had a population of 145,151 inhabitants, making it the 16th most-populated city in Romania.
Names and etymology
The current
RomanianRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
name of the city, Tîrgu Mureş, is the equivalent of the
HungarianHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
Marosvásárhely with both meaning "market on the
MureșThe name Mureș may refer to:*Mureș County in Romania*Mureș River in Romania and Hungary *Mures , a puzzle gameAlso, the following localities contain the name Mureș and lie on the banks of the river above....
(Maros) [River]" In Romanian, târg means "market" and, in Hungarian, vásárhely means "marketplace". The Hungarian is Marosvásárhely is sometimes shortened to Vásárhely.
The first written reference to the city was in the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Novum Forum Siculorum in 1332 followed by mention as Sekulvasarhel (modern Hungarian: Székelyvásárhely), meaning "new market of the Székelys", in 1349. Other Latin names for the town included Agropolis and Areopolis.
In 1616,
Gabriel BethlenGabriel Bethlen was a prince of Transylvania , duke of Opole and leader of an anti-Habsburg insurrection in the Habsburg Royal Hungary. His last armed intervention in 1626 was part of the Thirty Years' War...
gave the name Marosvásárhely to the newly upgraded
royal free cityRoyal free city or free royal city was the official term for the most important cities in the Kingdom of Hungary from the 15th century until the early 20th century...
. The Romanian name for the city, Oşorhei was a phonetic derivation from Vásárhely while the
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
name for the town, Neumarkt am Mieresch (also shortened to Neumarkt or Marktstadt; in Transylvanian Saxon, Nai Mark or Nai Muark), is a translation of Marosvásárhely.
Other historical Romanian names for the town besides Oșorhei were Mureș-Oșorhei and Tîrgu Mureşului; other historical Hungarian names in addition to Székelyvásárhely included Újszékelyvásár and Újvásár.
After World War I, Marosvásáshely became part of Romania and was renamed Oșorheiu. The name Târgu Mureș became common in the interwar period. After, World War II, the spelling of the city's name was changed to Tîrgu Mureș following a 1953
spelling reformMany languages have undergone spelling reform, where a deliberate, often officially sanctioned or mandated, change to spelling takes place. Proposals for such reform are also common....
that replaced the letter â with î in all words.
Another spelling reform in 1993 replaced the letter î with â in many words and the city has been not officially spelt "Târgu-Mureș" but it is largely used so by mistake, since although the pre-1993 spelling of "Tîrgu Mureș" continues to remain official! Both forms are also at times spelt with a hyphen between the two words (and with an s cedilla [ş] instead of the typographically correct s comma [ș]).
History
The city was first documented in 1332 in the
papalThe Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
registry under the name Novum Forum Siculorum, and as Sekulvasarhel (Székelyvásárhely) in 1349.
On the place of its Castle Church, the Dominican's church stood until the
Mongol invasionThe resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked medieval Rus' principalities and the powers of Poland and Hungary, was marked by the Mongol invasion of Rus starting in 21 December 1237...
, when it was destroyed. In its place, the Franciscans built a new Gothic church in 1260, which was completed in 1446. Since 1439 the town was the scene of the session of parliament ( diet) 36 times. In 1405, the
King of Hungary SigismundSigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
of
LuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
granted the city the right to organize fairs. In 1470 King
Matthias CorvinusMatthias Corvinus , also called the Just in folk tales, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458, at the age of 14 until his death...
granted the first judicial privilege to the city, and in 1482 declared the city a royal settlement. In 1492, wayvoda István Báthory strengthened its monastery with fortifications, this was a pentagon-shaped outer castle tower. In 1506, the troops of Pál Tomori were beaten by the Szeklers rising against the payment of an extraordinary
Ox taxOx Tax is a tax of the Szeklers of Transylvania in medieval Hungarian law. When a boy was born by the Queen, the 'pedestrian' i.e. footsoldier Székelys had to contribute for the treasury one ox after every six oxen of theirs...
imposed on them on occasion of the birth of Louis II of Hungary. In 1557, the Reformed Church College (i.e. Presbyterians) was established as the oldest Hungarian school of Transylvania. In 1571, the session of Transylvanian parliament under prince
John II Sigismund ZápolyaJohn II Sigismund Zápolya was King of Hungary from 1540 to 1570 and Prince of Transylvania from 1570–1571.-Family:The son of King John I and Isabella Jagiełło, he succeeded his father as an infant...
accepted the free preach of the word of God, including the Unitarian Church. In 1600-1601, as a result of the siege of
Giorgio BastaGiorgio Basta, Count of Huszt was an Italian general of Arbëreshë descent, employed by the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to command Habsburg forces in the Long War of 1591-1606 and later to administer Transylvania as an Imperial vassal to restore Catholicism as a predominant religion in...
, the fortress turned to ruins. In 1602, the troops of Gergely Németh put on fire the remaining houses of the town, therefore, in 1602 the reconstruction of the fortress was started further the advice of mayor
Tamás BorsosTamás Borsos mayor of Marosvásárhely , ambassador of Gabriel Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania to the Ottoman Empire.-Life:...
, but it was actually built between 1614 and 1653.
Mózes SzékelyMózes Székely was a Transylvanian nobleman of Székely descent and briefly ruled as Prince of Transylvania.- Biography :...
the only prince of Szekler origin visited the city in 1603, when liberated Transylvania from foreign domination.
In 1616, it was granted the status of a free royal city under the name of Maros-Vásárhely by prince (fejedelem) Gábor Bethlen. In 1658, Turkish and Tartarian troops invaded and burned it, 3000 people were taken into captivity. In 1661, as no one show willingness to accept the duty of prince, under pressure from pasha Ali, Mihály Apafi was elected prince here. In 1662, resulting from the negligence of the Turkish military residing here, the city was almost completely burnt down. In 1687, it was devastated by German imperial troops.
In 1704, the
kurucThe kuruc was a term used to denote the armed anti-Habsburg rebels in Royal Hungary between 1671 and 1711....
troops of Pál Kaszás occupied the fortress, which was re-occupied by Lőrinc Pekry from the labanc in 1706. On 5 April 1707,
Francis II RákócziFrancis II Rákóczi Hungarian aristocrat, he was the leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs in 1703-11 as the prince of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was also Prince of Transylvania, an Imperial Prince, and a member of the Order of the Golden...
was raised to the chair of princes. In 1707 it was struck by pest, more than 3500 people died, the black death renewed in 1709, 1719 and in 1738-39. The city received a major boost to its social and economic life when it became home to supreme court of justice of the
Principality of TransylvaniaThe Principality of Transylvania or Grand Principality of Transylvania was a province of the Habsburg Monarchy and Austrian Empire.-History:...
in 1754. In 1802, the
Teleki LibraryThe Teleki Library , also known as Teleki-Bolyai Library and Bibliotheca Telekiana, is a historic public library and current museum in Târgu-Mureş, Romania...
founded by count
Sámuel TelekiCount Sámuel Teleki de Szék was a Hungarian explorer who led the first expedition to Northern Kenya. He was the first European to see, and name, Lake Rudolf .-Early life:...
was opened for the public with 40.000 volumes.
Avram IancuAvram Iancu was a Transylvanian Romanian lawyer who played an important role in the local chapter of the Austrian Empire Revolutions of 1848–1849. He was especially active in the Ţara Moţilor region and the Apuseni Mountains...
, the leader of the 1848 Romanian revolution in Transylvania, was a young lawyer in the city of Marosvásárhely before engaging in the fight for the rights of Romanians living in Transylvania. On 4 November 1848, the Szekler troops were beaten by the Austrian imperial troops under its walls, and the city was also captured. On January 13, 1849 the troop of major Tolnay recaptured it. On 30 July 1849,
Sándor PetőfiSándor Petőfi , was a Hungarian poet and liberal revolutionary. He is considered as Hungary's national poet and he was one of the key figures of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848...
and
BemJózef Zachariasz Bem was a Polish general, an Ottoman Pasha and a national hero of Poland and Hungary, and a figure intertwined with other European nationalisms...
set out from here for the
Battle of SegesvárThe Battle of Segesvár was a battle in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, fought on 31 July 1849 between the Hungarian revolutionary army supplemented by Polish volunteers under the command of General Józef Bem and the Russian V Corps under General Alexander von Lüders in ally with the Austrian...
.
In 1854, Szekler martyrs Károly Horváth, János Török and Mihály Gálfi were executed on the Postarét for plotting against the Austrian rule, since 1874 a monument marks the place. In 1861, Marosvásárhely became the seat of Marosszék, in 1876 that of Maros-Torda County. In 1880 the statue of
BemJózef Zachariasz Bem was a Polish general, an Ottoman Pasha and a national hero of Poland and Hungary, and a figure intertwined with other European nationalisms...
was inaugurated in Roses Square, in downtown area; in 1893 the statue of
KossuthLajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva was a Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Regent-President of Hungary in 1849. He was widely honored during his lifetime, including in the United Kingdom and the United States, as a freedom fighter and bellwether of democracy in Europe.-Family:Lajos...
was as well. The statue of
RákócziFrancis II Rákóczi Hungarian aristocrat, he was the leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs in 1703-11 as the prince of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was also Prince of Transylvania, an Imperial Prince, and a member of the Order of the Golden...
was also inaugurated in 1907. All three were demolished after World War I between 1919 in 1923 after Transylvania became part of Romania.
The provincial appearance of the city changed greatly in the late 19th century and early 20th century. In 1913, the Hungarian Art-Nouveau style city hall complex and
Cultural PalaceThe Cultural Palace is a remarkable construction in the center of Târgu Mureş . It was built to the request of György Bernády by Marcell Komor and Dezső Jakab .- Outside description :...
was opened, as part of mayor Bernády György's urban renewal. After World War I, together with the rest of
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, Marosvásáshely became part of
RomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and was re-named Oşorheiu. From having been an 89% Hungarian-populated city (1910), Romanian population increased throughout the latter half of the 20th century.
From 1940 to 1944, as a consequence of the
Second Vienna AwardThe Vienna Awards are two arbitral awards by which arbiters of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sought to enforce peacefully the claims of Hungary on territory it had lost in 1920 when it signed the Treaty of Trianon...
, the city was ceded back to
HungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. After Hungary was occupied by Germany in 1944, a
Jewish ghettoJewish ghettos in Europe existed because Jews were viewed as foreigners due to their non-Christian beliefs in a Renaissance Christian environment. As a result, Jews were placed under strict regulations throughout many European cities. The character of ghettos varied through times. In some cases,...
was established in the city. Oşorheiu re-entered the Romanian administration at the end of the war in October 1944, however, on 12 November 1944 General
Vladislav Petrovich VinogradovVladislav Petrovich Vinogradov was a Russian military leader and social activist. He fought in the First World War, Russian Civil War and Second World War and ended his military career Lieutenant General of the Quartermaster Corps.During the occupation of Romania he represented Rodion Malinovsky,...
of the Soviet Red Army expulsed the returning Romanian authorities from
Northern TransylvaniaNorthern Transylvania is a region of Transylvania, situated within the territory of Romania. The population is largely composed of both ethnic Romanians and Hungarians, and the region has been part of Romania since 1918 . During World War II, as a consequence of the territorial agreement known as...
with reference to the massacres committed by members of
Iuliu ManiuIuliu Maniu was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician. A leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, he served as Prime Minister of Romania for three terms during 1928–1933, and, with Ion Mihalache, co-founded the National Peasants'...
's so-called Maniu Guard, and the Romanian authorities were not allowed to return until the government of
Petru GrozaPetru Groza was a Romanian politician, best known as the Prime Minister of the first Communist Party-dominated governments under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Communist regime in Romania....
was formed on 6 March 1945.
After World War II, the
communist administration of RomaniaCommunist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
conducted a policy of massive industrialization that completely re-shaped the community. Between 1950-1968, it was the center of the
Hungarian Autonomous ProvinceThe Magyar Autonomous Region and Mureş-Magyar Autonomous Region were autonomous regions in the People's Republic of Romania .-History:In 1950, Romania adopted a Soviet-style administrative and territorial division of the country into...
, later named as Mures-Hungarian Autonomous Region. On 7 September 1959, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Secretary-General of the Romanian Workers Party, and the Prime Minister Chivu Stoica visited the city. It was then decided where to build the fertilizer production plant, and the new residential quarters of the city. It was decided that the residential quarters would not be built in the Maros valley, but on the surrounding hills.
In March 1990, shortly after the
Romanian Revolution of 1989The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
overthrew the communist regime, the city was the
scene of violent ethnic clashesTârgu Mureş is a town in Romania with an ethnically mixed population that was almost equally distributed between Romanians and Hungarians after the fall of the communist regime in December 1989. In March 1990, short-lived, but violent clashes occurred there between the two ethnic groups in the...
between ethnic Hungarians and ethnic
RomaniansThe Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
.
As of 2000, a considerable percentage of its population has started to work abroad temporarily. The local economy has started to get stronger after various investors settled in the area.
The city has a substantial ethnic Hungarian minority, some of whom identify as
SzékelyThe Székelys or Székely , sometimes also referred to as Szeklers , are a subgroup of the Hungarian people living mostly in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, Romania...
s. Since 2003, some Székely organizations have been campaigning for the city to become the center of an autonomous region again.
Geography
Tîrgu Mureş is is located in the
Mureş RiverThe Mureș is an approximately 761 km long river in Eastern Europe. It originates in the Hășmașu Mare Range in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Romania, and joins the Tisza river at Szeged in southeastern Hungary....
valley. The city spreads out from Fortress Church in the center of the town, built in the 14th century, to form an area of 49.3 square kilometres (19 sq mi). The city is located at the centre of the historical region of
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
and covers an area of 49.3 square kilometres (19 sq mi). It lies at the junction of three geographical regions of Transylvania (
Transylvanian PlainThe Transylvanian Plain is an ethnogeographical area in Transylvania, Romania, located between the Someş River and the Mureş River....
, Mureş Valley and Niraj Valley) at 330 meters above sea level. The city extends onto both banks of the
MureşThe Mureș is an approximately 761 km long river in Eastern Europe. It originates in the Hășmașu Mare Range in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Romania, and joins the Tisza river at Szeged in southeastern Hungary....
river, however, the downtown area and the greater part of the districts are located on the left bank. The Corneşti-plateau is the city's highest point (465 metres (1,525.6 ft) above sea level, co-ordinates: 46.5531°N 24.5984°W).
Tîrgu Mureş is 346 kilometres (215 mi) from
BucharestBucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, 480 kilometres (298.3 mi) from
BelgradeBelgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, 515 kilometres (320 mi) from
BudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and 598 kilometres (371.6 mi) from
SofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
. It is surrounded by the following communes:
Sângeorgiu de MureşSângeorgiu de Mureş is a commune in Mureş County, Transylvania, Romania composed of three villages:*Cotuş / Csejd*Sângeorgiu de Mureş*Tofalău / Tófalva-Demographics:...
,
LivezeniLivezeni is a commune in Mureş County, Romania composed of four villages:*Ivăneşti / Kebeleszentiván*Livezeni*Poieniţa / Marosagárd*Sânişor / Kebele...
,
Sântana de MureşSântana de Mureş is a commune in Mureş County, Romania, composed of four villages:- History :It formed part of the Székely Land region of the historical Transylvania province. Until 1918, the village belonged to the Maros-Torda County of the Kingdom of Hungary...
,
Sâncraiu de MureşSâncraiu de Mureş is a commune in Mureş County, Romania composed of two villages:*Nazna / Náznánfalva*Sâncraiu de Mureş-Demographics:The commune has an ethnically mixed population...
, (
CoruncaCorunca is a commune in Mureş County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania.- Component villages :...
),
CristeştiCristeşti is a commune in Mureş County, Romania that is composed of two villages:*Cristeşti*Vălureni / Székelykakasd-Demographics:The commune has an relative Székely Hungarian majority. According to the 2002 Census it has a population of 5,591 of which 49.49% or 2,767 are Hungarian. 2,421 or 43.3%...
,
Ceuaşu de CâmpieCeuaşu de Câmpie is a commune in Mureş County, Transylvania, Romania composed of eight villages:*Bozed / Bazéd*Câmpeniţa / Mezőfele*Ceuaşu de Câmpie*Culpiu / Mezőkölpény*Herghelia / Mezőménes*Porumbeni / Galambod*Săbed / Szabéd...
. Two villages, Mureşeni (Meggyesfalva) and Remetea (Remeteszeg), are administered by the city.
Distances between the city and some of the major cities in Romania:
- Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
: by rail 448 km, by road 346 km
- Braşov
Brașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....
by rail 282 km, by road 171 km
- Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
127 km by rail, by road 105 km
- Sibiu
Sibiu is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. Located some 282 km north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt...
by rail 189 km, by road 124 km
Climate
Tîrgu Mureş has a
continental climateContinental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
characterised by warm dry summers and relatively cold winters. Winter temperatures are often below 0 °C (32 °F). Throughout the year there are 38 days with
snowSnow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
, and more than 60 days when the snow covers the ground. In summer, the average temperature is between 18 °C (64 °F) and 19 °C (66 °F) (the average for June, July and August), even though temperatures sometimes reach 36 °C (97 °F) during this period. On average, there are 143 days with
precipitationIn meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
over the course of the year, most frequently in December with 16 days and the least in August, September and October with 8 rainy days. The average annual temperature for Tîrgu Mureș is 8.6 °C (47 °F). The record minimum temperature registered in the city was -32.8 C in the years 1942 and 1963. The record maximum temperature of 39 °C (102 °F) was recorded in 1936.
Temperatures over the last 14 years:
Demographics
According to the 2002 census data, the city had a population of 149,577. Among them 69,825 are
HungariansThe Hungarian minority of Romania is the largest ethnic minority in Romania, consisting of 1,431,807 people and making up 6.6% of the total population, according to the 2002 census....
forming the largest urban Hungarian community in Romania, surpassing that of
Cluj-NapocaCluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
. The 2002 census was the first to show the Hungarians as a local minority. The city is officially bilingual and both
RomanianRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
and
HungarianHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
languages are recognised as official and used in public signage, education, justice and access to public administration, however, in case of commercial signage and advertisements the bilingual signage is usually used only by companies if they are owned by Hungarians. Roma people make up 2.51% of the city's population which is considerably lower than their proportion of 6.96% in
Mureş CountyMureș is a county of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș.-Geography:The county has a total area of 6,714 km²....
.
Ethnic communities
Ethnic structure evolution from 1850 till 2002:
Year |
Total |
Romanians |
Hungarians |
Germans |
Jews |
Roma |
Others |
|---|
1850 |
7,855 |
6.0% |
82.6% |
3.1% |
2.6% |
3.6% |
2.1% |
1869 |
12,678 |
5.2% |
88.9% |
3.5% |
n.a. |
n.a. |
2.4% |
1900 |
20,229 |
11.6% |
83.3% |
3.6% |
n.a. |
n.a. |
1.5% |
1910 |
25,517 |
6.7.% |
89.3% |
2.4% |
n.a. |
n.a. |
1.6% |
1930 |
40,058 |
26.7% |
57.2% |
1.7% |
12.1% |
1.1% |
1.2% |
1966 |
86,464 |
28.3% |
70.9% |
0.6% |
n.a. |
n.a. |
0.2% |
1977 |
127,783 |
34.8% |
63.6% |
0.6% |
0.4% |
0.5% |
0.1% |
1992 |
164,445 |
46.1% |
51.4% |
0.3% |
0.1% |
2% |
0.1% |
2002 |
149,577 |
50.4% |
46.7% |
0.2% |
n.a. |
2.4% |
0.01% |
Year |
Total |
Romanians |
Hungarians |
Germans |
Jews |
Roma |
Others |
|---|
2002 |
149,577 |
75,317 |
69,825 |
275 |
n.a. |
3,759 |
401 |
Religious communities
The largest religious community in Tîrgu Mureș is Romanian Orthodox, numbering 46.74% of the population. The most significant other religious communities are
Hungarian ReformedThe Reformed Church in Romania is the organization of the Calvinist church in Romania. The majority of its followers are of Hungarian ethnicity and Hungarian is the main church language...
(30.06%), Roman Catholic (13.50%),
Eastern CatholicThe Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic is an Eastern Catholic Church which is in full union with the Roman Catholic Church. It is ranked as a Major Archiepiscopal Church and uses the Byzantine liturgical rite in the Romanian language....
(2.60%), and
UnitarianThe Unitarian Church of Transylvania is a church of the Unitarian denomination, based in the city of Cluj in the Principality of Transylvania, present day in Romania...
(2.58%).
Economy
At present in Tîrgu Mureș there are over 8500 private companies and also a few state-owned companies.
The various industrial sectors are:
- Chemical industry (Azomureş)
- Food industry:
- Bread industry (Mopan)
- Dairy industry
- Wood industry
- Textile industry
- Leather industry
Districts of the city
| in Romanian |
in Hungarian |
| Centru |
Belváros |
| Dâmbul Pietros (1848) |
Kövesdomb (1848) |
| Unirii (on the right of the Mureş River The Mureș is an approximately 761 km long river in Eastern Europe. It originates in the Hășmașu Mare Range in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Romania, and joins the Tisza river at Szeged in southeastern Hungary....
) |
Egyesülés ( i.e. Benefalva and Hídvég villages
on the right of the Maros River) |
| Rovinari (Ady Endre) |
Ady Endre |
| Aleea Carpaţi |
Kárpátok sétánya (former: Hungária) |
| Budai Nagy Antal |
Budai Nagy Antal |
| Gara |
Állomás |
| Livezeni |
Jedd |
| 22 Decembrie 1989 (7 Noiembrie) |
1989 December 22 (November 7) |
| Tudor Vladimirescu |
Sásvári-negyed (Tudor Vladimirescu) |
| Răsăritului |
Kikelet |
| Mureşeni |
Meggyesfalva |
| Substejăriş |
Cserealja |
| Cornişa |
Kornisa |
| Valea Rece |
Hidegvölgy |
Personalities
Many personalities have been born or lived in the city and helped shaping it in different fields:
- Tamás Borsos
Tamás Borsos mayor of Marosvásárhely , ambassador of Gabriel Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania to the Ottoman Empire.-Life:...
(1566-after 1633)
- Péter Apor
Baron Péter Apor de Altorja was a Hungarian count and historian.-Life:He was born in 1676, and lost his father early. He started his studies in 1686 in Kolozsvár after he continued it in Nagyszombat Hungarian Catholic University. In 1695/96, he gained doctor degree in Law and Free Arts...
(1676–1752)
- Gheorghe Şincai
Gheorghe Șincai was an ethnic Romanian Transylvanian historian, philologist, translator, poet, and representative of the Enlightenment-influenced Transylvanian School....
(1754–1816)
- György Aranka
György Aranka was a Hungarian writer.- Biography :He was born in Secken, Szolnok-Doboka County, Principality of Transylvania. His father György Aranka Senior was the bishop of the Transylvanian Reformed Church....
(1737–1817)
- Petru Maior
Petru Maior was a Romanian writer who is considered one of the most influential personalities of the Age of Enlightenment in Transylvania...
(1756–1821)
- Sámuel Teleki (1739–1832)
- Farkas Bolyai
Farkas Bolyai was a Hungarian mathematician, mainly known for his work in geometry, and of his son János Bolyai.-Biography:...
(1775–1856)
- Avram Iancu
Avram Iancu was a Transylvanian Romanian lawyer who played an important role in the local chapter of the Austrian Empire Revolutions of 1848–1849. He was especially active in the Ţara Moţilor region and the Apuseni Mountains...
(1824–1872)
- Alexandru Papiu Ilarian
Alexandru Papiu-Ilarian was a Romanian revolutionary and lawyer.His father was a Greek-catholic priest, Ioan Pop. He grew up in Budiu de Câmpie, near Târgu Mureş, and finished high school in Cluj. He was active in the Revolution of 1848.He was a founder and president of the Transylvania Society,...
(1827–1877)
- János Bolyai
János Bolyai was a Hungarian mathematician, known for his work in non-Euclidean geometry.Bolyai was born in the Transylvanian town of Kolozsvár , then part of the Habsburg Empire , the son of Zsuzsanna Benkő and the well-known mathematician Farkas Bolyai.-Life:By the age of 13, he had mastered...
(1802–1860)
- György Bernády
György Bernády was the mayor of Târgu Mureş twice, 1900–1912 and 1926–1929. In this period the City Hall and the Cultural Palace in Târgu Mureş on the Roses Square were both built. His name is associated with public illumination and sewerage in the city...
(1864–1938)
- József Dudás
József Dudás , a Romanian/Hungarian politician and resistance fighter, was born in Marosvásárhely in Austria-Hungary ....
(1912–1957)
- János Kemény (writer)
Baron Kemény János was a Hungarian writer, theater director, a dramatist, the founder of the Marosvécs/Brâncoveneşti Helikon community.- Lifetime :...
(1903–1971)
- Károly Molter (writer)
Károly Molter was a Hungarian novelist, dramatist, literary critic, journalist and academic. He spent most of his life in the region of Transylvania, being successively a national of Austria-Hungary and Romania....
(1890–1981)
- András Sütő (writer)
András Sütő was an ethnic Hungarian writer and politician in Romania, one of the leading Hungarian writers in the 20th century.-Early life and education:...
(1927–2006)
- Gabriel Herman
Gabriel Herman currently holds the Professorship in Ancient History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel...
(History professor at the Hebrew University of JerusalemThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, born 1947)
The city was the home of composer György Orbán (born 1947),
SMURDSMURD is an emergency rescue service based in Romania. SMURD is the Romanian acronym for "Serviciul Mobil de Urgenţǎ, Reanimare şi Descarcerare", that means Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication....
doctor
Raed ArafatRaed or Rayed Arafat is a Syrian-born Romanian intensive care physician of Palestinian origin. An anesthesiologist, he is the founder and of Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication , as well as its Mureş County coordinator.-Biography:Born in Damascus to a Palestinian couple from...
(born 1964) and football player László Bölöni (born 1952).
Places of worship
The Reformed Fortress Church is the oldest church in the town. According to historical evidence, less than a century had passed after the first appearance of the Franciscan order in
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, Hungarian Kingdom, that the Franciscan friars arrived to Marosvásárhely. The building of the church took an entire century, from the middle of the 14th century until the middle of the 15th and it consisted of a
monasteryMonastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
building, an older
chapelA chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, the church and the steeple. The church was finalized between 1400 and 1450. The church may have been originally decorated with frescos, as traces of mural paintings were found inside. The almost complete disappearance of these paintings is due to the fact that the church became the property of Protestant believers in 1557. The religious reform required for churches to have no paintings, statues or religious frescos.
The existence of the Franciscan order in Marosvásárhely was directly affected by the religious reform which was largely spread in Transylvania during the 16th century. In 1557, the influence of the Reformed Church over the Hungarians in the town was so strong that it eventually led to the confiscation of the properties of Catholic monastic orders. Franciscan monks, who until that time had been attending the church in the fortress, were forced to leave town. They returned after nearly two centuries when the political climate had become favorable to Catholicism due to the instauration of the Habsburgs in Transylvania. They bought the land in the center of the town where they built a new church and monastery by 1777. The tower, the only part that is still standing, was added to the church's facade in 1802 by architect János Topler. In 1971 the municipality decided to demolish the monastery to create the necessary space for the construction of the National Theater and the square in front of it. A new church was built for the Franciscans on Libertăţii street.
At the beginning of the 18th century, one of the most representative Baroque churches of
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
was built in the town.
St John the Baptist ChurchSaint John the Baptist Church is a baroque parish style church in the city center of Târgu Mureș.- History :Transylvania fulfilled all the requirements for the development of this new architectural style by the beginning of the 18th century, when it became part of the Habsburg Empire. Ignatius of...
was erected in the North-Eastern part of the city center and belongs to the Roman Catholic parish. The inside of the church is luxurious, with liturgical objects that are true works of art. The main altar, made in 1755 by Anton Schuchbauer and Johannes Nachtigal is of monumental dimensions and has a pseudo-architectural structure. The paintings of the altars in the lateral chapels:
Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary, Saint Joseph, Saint John of Nepomuc, Holy Cross belong to the same Michael Angelo Unterberger. The stained glass windows made by the Türke Company of Grottau were installed in 1898.
The Big Synagogue was built between 1899 and 1900 at the initiative of the Jewish community "Status Quo" and that was considered to be one of the most beautiful synagogues of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The design of the building was drawn up by Gartner Jacob from Vienna and the construction works were coordinated by the
Hungarian Pál Soós. The entire edifice is dominated by the central cupola. Each side of the central spire is decorated with a floral rosette similar to the ones on the facade. This type of window is also used several times on the lateral facades. The vast interior is richly decorated, both with shapes and color. The synagogue has 314 seats on the ground floor and 238 on the top floor. The most recent large scale remodeling of the building took place in 2000 when the walls were reinforced and the interior decoration was re-done.
The existence of the
UnitarianUnitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
faith in the town is linked to the name of
Ferenc DávidFerenc Dávid was a Transylvanian Nontrinitarian and Unitarian preacher, the founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania.-Life:Born in Kolozsvár to a Hungarian family, he studied in Wittenberg and Frankfurt...
, founder of Unitarianism and the first Unitarian bishop. The political circumstances in
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
became favourable for Ferenc Dávid’s activity as the Diet of
TordaTurda is a city and Municipality in Cluj County, Romania, situated on the Arieş River.- Ancient times :The city was founded by Dacians under the name Patavissa or Potaissa...
held between 1557 and 1568 granted freedom of faith to all religions in
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. The
UnitarianismUnitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
became religio-recepta together with all the other Protestant faiths. The king of the state himself,
John II Sigismund ZápolyaJohn II Sigismund Zápolya was King of Hungary from 1540 to 1570 and Prince of Transylvania from 1570–1571.-Family:The son of King John I and Isabella Jagiełło, he succeeded his father as an infant...
became Unitarian. The Unitarian Church was built between 1929 and 1930 next to the old Unitarian prayer house dating from 1869.
Other sights
The first fortress in the town was erected in 1492 upon order of Transylvanian voivode
Stephen BáthoryStephen Báthory may refer to several noblemen of Hungarian descent:* Stephen III Báthory , Palatine of Hungary* Stephen V Báthory , judge of the Royal Court and Prince of Transylvania...
, and was accomplished somewhere between 1602 and 1652 under judge
Tamás BorsosTamás Borsos mayor of Marosvásárhely , ambassador of Gabriel Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania to the Ottoman Empire.-Life:...
. Having a pentagon plan, surrounded by a defense wall, the Citadel has seven forts, five of them bearing the names of the guild which – according to tradition – supported its maintenance: the leather dressers’, the tailors’, the butchers’, the ironmongers’, the coopers’. After the Citadel was taken over by the Austrian troops, it became the headquarters of the military garrison based in the town. In the mean time the Baroque style building was built (on the left hand side of the road in front of the entrance gate) and in the second half of the 18th century the construction works of the "barkey" were started, an addition finished in the 19th century. On the occasion of the Târgu_Mureş days – which have as central point of performance the Citadel – a museum center was opened in the gate fort (erected in 1613) presenting the history of the town and of the Citadel.
The
Teleki-Bolyai LibraryThe Teleki Library , also known as Teleki-Bolyai Library and Bibliotheca Telekiana, is a historic public library and current museum in Târgu-Mureş, Romania...
is a historic
public libraryA public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
and current museum in the town. One of the richest
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
n collections of cultural artefacts, it was founded by the Hungarian Count Sámuel Teleki in 1802, at the time when Transylvania was part of the
Habsburg MonarchyThe Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
, and has been open to the reading public ever since. It was among the first institutions of its kind inside the Habsburg-ruled
Kingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
. It houses over 200,000 volumes, of which many are rarities, constituting a comprehensive scientific database. The book collection is divided into several smaller libraries, of which the two main donations are the original 40,000-volume Teleki Library and the 80,000-volume Bolyai Library; the rest, grouped as the Miscellaneous Collection, is made up of several private libraries, volumes previously held by religious schools and those of a
FranciscanMost Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monastery. Overall, the library constitutes a collection of most traditional types of Transylvanian book.
The old City Hall was built in 1906-1907 after the construction plans of Komor Marcell and Jakab Dezső. The entrance area, including the corridor and the staircase leading to the first floor, is the most representative in this regard. The ribbed stellar vaults that cover this area were inspired by
Gothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. The vaults are supported by columns with composite caps, and the keystone is a large floral shape which includes the lighting appliance. The vaults are painted with spiraling vegetal motifs. Elements of the front hall include the stone bench with its legs shaped as those of an animal and with wing-shaped handles. Its shell-shaped, golden back has a shield flanked by two volutes on its upper side. Features of the monumental staircase leading to the first floor include the upper side of the banister resembling a slithering animal or a wave. The exterior decoration is simpler and is based on
Hungarian-
SzékelyThe Székelys or Székely , sometimes also referred to as Szeklers , are a subgroup of the Hungarian people living mostly in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, Romania...
folk motives made of polychromatic ceramics. The ground floor is marked by a solid, embossed pedestal. Windows with large openings tend to be predominant in the facade. The three semicircular windows in the middle area of the facade are those of the honor hall that has a double elevation with respect to the other rooms. The glass paintings which illustrated Gábor Bethlen,
Francis II RákócziFrancis II Rákóczi Hungarian aristocrat, he was the leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs in 1703-11 as the prince of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was also Prince of Transylvania, an Imperial Prince, and a member of the Order of the Golden...
,
Lajos KossuthLajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva was a Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Regent-President of Hungary in 1849. He was widely honored during his lifetime, including in the United Kingdom and the United States, as a freedom fighter and bellwether of democracy in Europe.-Family:Lajos...
,
Ferenc DeákFerenc Deák de Kehida , , was a Hungarian statesman and Minister of Justice. He was known as "The Wise Man of the Nation".-Early life and law career:...
and
Franz Joseph I of AustriaFranz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
are missing from the halls.
The Cultural Palace is a remarkable construction in the city center. It was built upon initiative of the mayor of the town,
György BernádyGyörgy Bernády was the mayor of Târgu Mureş twice, 1900–1912 and 1926–1929. In this period the City Hall and the Cultural Palace in Târgu Mureş on the Roses Square were both built. His name is associated with public illumination and sewerage in the city...
. Building works started in the spring of 1911. They contributed to the establishment of the
Hungarian secessionSecession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
ist architecture school in
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
by their works in
DevaDeva is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, on the left bank of the Mureș River. It is the capital of Hunedoara County.-Name:...
and
OradeaOradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in the Crișana region of north-western Romania. The city has a population of 204,477, according to the 2009 estimates. The wider Oradea metropolitan area has a total population of 245,832.-Geography:...
. The plan is an irregular rectangle, with protuberances on the sides and at the extremities. The building has five floors: a tall ground floor, a mezanine and three floors differentiated by the use of various construction materials. The facades are characterized by bi-dimensionality and by a liniar-rectangular style, with only a few curvilinear elements: the six bow-windows covered by semi-caps above the main portal and the circular balconies on the edges. The main entrance is in the middle of the facade on Enescu street and is made up of four massive doors, protected by an architectural element made of glass and with an iron framing. This element, as well as the doors decorated with iron floral motifs are typical for the early 20th century style. The exterior is richly decorated, with colored mosaic panels, with relieved scenes and busts of Hungarians. The mosaic on the main facade is an allegorical scene inspired by the Hungarian folklore. The cardboards were made by Nagy Sándor, a
Hungarian artist, who founded with Körösföy Kriesch Aladár the School of
GödöllőGödöllő is a town situated in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary, about northeast from the outskirts of Budapest. Its population is about 31,000 according to the 2001 census. It can be easily reached from Budapest with the suburban railway . Gödöllő is home to the Szent István...
. The art is characterized by bi-dimensionality and vertical rhythmicalness. Most of the mosaics and stained glass windows were authored by Róth Miksa, particularly those on the side facing Square.
The Corneşti high (Somostető), a landscape of Tîrgu Mureș, can be seen from here.
Culture
The city is home to the
Peninsula / Félsziget FestivalPeninsula / Félsziget is a music festival taking place annually in July or August in Târgu Mureş, Transylvania, Romania.- History :The first edition of the festival goes back to 2003...
, Romania's biggest music festival
Politics
The local Municipal Assembly has 23 members divided into 5 political parties:
|
Party |
Number of councillors |
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Democratic Union of Hungarians in RomaniaThe Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, is the main political organisation representing the ethnic Hungarians of Romania....
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10 |
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Democratic-Liberal Party |
8 |
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Social Democratic Party The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...
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2 |
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National Liberal Party The National Liberal Party , abbreviated to PNL, is a centre-right liberal party in Romania. It is the third-largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in the Senate: behind the centre-right Democratic Liberal Party and the centre-left Social...
|
2 |
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Greater Romania PartyThe Greater Romania Party is a Romanian radical right-wing, ultra-nationalist political party, led by Corneliu Vadim Tudor. The party is sometimes referred to in English as the Great Romania Party....
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1 |
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Education
Tîrgu Mureş is an important centre for general and higher education. The most important high schools are the "Colegiul Naţional Alexandru Papiu Ilarian" and the Hungarian-speaking "Bolyai Farkas High School". The latter is a continuator of the traditions of the Schola Particula, established in Tîrgu Mureş in 1557, and of the Reformed College banished from Sárospatak at the beginning of the 18th century . The establishment was one of the first schools of the Reformed Church in
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, was first working in the old building of the Franciscan monastery in the fortress, and had Baranyai Decsi, Czimor Janos, Tordai Adam, Laskoi Csokas Peter as teachers, as well as others. After being sacked in 1601 and 1602, the Schola was moved into another building, on the place of the present high school. For centuries it had accommodated the Reformed College and the present high school. The present aspect was acquired at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The main statue, facing Bolyai square was erected following the design of architect Baumgarten Sandor in 1908-1909, in Hungarian Secession style.
Renowned universities like the
University of Medicine and PharmacyThe University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Târgu Mureș or UMF Targu-Mureș is a public university in Târgu Mureș, Romania, founded in 1948 as Institutul Medico-Farmaceutic...
, Petru Maior University and
Sapientia UniversityThe Sapientia – Hungarian University of Transylvania is an institution of Hungarian higher education in the historic region of Transylvania, Romania.At present the Sapientia Foundation finances the following departments of the University:...
account for more than 10,000 students between them. The Sapientia – Hungarian University of Transylvania is an institution of Hungarian higher education in
TransylvaniaTransylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. Its establishment was motivated by needs outgrowing the present choice of Hungarian university education in Romania, especially that the percentage of Hungarian students in Romanian university life does not represent the percentage of Hungarian population in the country, and university education in Hungarian does not cover the range of necessary specializations. Other universities are the Theatre University and "Dimitrie Cantemir" University.
Health care
Târgu Mureş has a well-developed healthcare system. It consists of:
- 2 hospitals
- A County hospital (the biggest in the county) with 11 specialized units
- A Municipal hospital with 7 specialized units
- 36 medical offices
- 9 clinics
- Over 80 pharmacies
- Ambulances and SMURD
SMURD is an emergency rescue service based in Romania. SMURD is the Romanian acronym for "Serviciul Mobil de Urgenţǎ, Reanimare şi Descarcerare", that means Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication....
Transport
Transylvania Motorway (also known as A3), which is due to be completed in 2013, will pass near Tîrgu Mureș. Another future highway that will be connected with the city is the East-West Motorway (A4), that will start in the eastern part of the country near
IaşiIași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
,
MoldaviaMoldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
and will connect itself with A3. It is due to be completed in 2015.
Tîrgu Mureș standard gauge railway station is served mainly by the State Railways route 405, and by the private operator S.C. Transferoviar Grup S.A. (route 300/405). A tourist narrow gauge line (which formed part of an extensive narrow gauge system closed in the 1990s)to Band is operated at certain times of the year.
The city is served by Tîrgu Mureș International Airport, which provides both domestic and international flights. It was renovated in October 2005. The airport is the third busiest airport in Transylvania, after
Cluj-Napoca International AirportCluj-Napoca International Airport serves the city of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It was initially known as Someşeni Airport as it is located east of the city centre in the Someşeni area, which is now within the Cluj-Napoca city limits. In terms of traffic, it is the fourth airport in Romania, after...
and
Sibiu International AirportSibiu International Airport or Aeroportul International Sibiu serves the historic city of Sibiu. It is located in southern Transylvania, west of Sibiu and about northwest of Romania's capital city, Bucharest. In 2006 - 2008, the airport passed through the most important rehabilitation program in...
.
The city transport operators are S.C. Transport Local S.A., S.C. Siletina-Impex S.R.L. and S.C. TudorTrans S.R.L..
Sports
The city is represented in many sports, including: football,
handballHandball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
, basketball and volleyball.
Tîrgu Mureș is the home city of two football teams: FCM Tîrgu Mureș, which plays in
Liga ILiga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...
, and Gaz Metan Tîrgu Mureș, who competes in
Liga IIILiga III is the third level of the Romanian football league system. Its name was changed from Divizia C into Liga III before the start of the 2006-07 season.-Relegation:...
.
Tîrgu Mureș is also known for its
bowlingBowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
team, Electromureş.
The most followed sport in the city is basketball, which is enjoying a huge audience with thousands of fans, with the team BC Mureş playing in the first division. They play their home matches at the "Sala Sporturilor" (Sports Arena in English).
Local media
Printed media
- Népújság
' may refer to:* Népújság , a Hungarian daily newspaper in Târgu Mureş, Romania* Népújság , a Hungarian weekly newspaper in Slovenia* Tolnai Népúság, a Hungarian daily newspaper in Hungary...
- 24 de ore mureşene
- Vásárhelyi Hírlap
- Cuvântul liber
- Zi de zi
- Központ (weekly paper)
- Ziarul de Mureş (weekly paper)
- Infomaţia de Mureş (weekly paper)
- Flash (weekly advertisement)
- Piaţa Mureşeană (weekly advertisement)
- Mediatica.ro
- EuroMaros.ro
- kakukk.ro
Radio
Marosvásárhelyi Rádió
Radio România Regional is, in fact, the national network of regional state owned radio stations. These are, as follows:* Radio Bucureşti FM - * Radio Cluj* Radio Constanţa - * Radio Iaşi* Radio Oltenia Craiova - * Radio Târgu Mureş - * Radio Reşiţa -...
- Rock FM
- Kiss FM
- Radio GaGa
- Radio 21
- Magic FM
- Europa FM
Television
- TVR Tîrgu Mureș
- Ştii TV
- Mureş/Maros TV
- Erdélyi Magyar Televízió
- Realitatea TV
Realitatea TV is a Romanian news television network. The channel is distributed by many cable operators in Romania and Moldova. Its main owner is Romanian businessman Elan Schwartzenberg....
Tîrgu Mureș
- Duna TV
Duna TV or Duna Televízió is one of two public television services in Hungary. "Duna" is the Hungarian name for the Danube. Duna TV operates two channels: Channel 1 and Channel 2-Autonómia....
Marosvásárhely
- Antena 1 Tîrgu Mureș
- Prima TV
Prima TV is a Romanian commercial TV channel, famous mainly for the Cronica Cârcotaşilor show and various reality shows.-Start:Prima TV was launched as one of the first commercial television stations in Romania in December 1997...
Tîrgu Mureș
- ProTV Tîrgu Mureș
Twin towns — sister cities
Tîrgu Mureș has 9 twin towns and sister cities, as listed below:
IlmenauIlmenau is a town located in the district of Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany.Ilmenau is situated in the valley of the Ilm river, at an altitude of 431 metres above sea level, and is the biggest town in Ilm-Kreis district, with 6,200 students studying at the Technische Universität Ilmenau. The...
, Germany
BajaBaja is a city in , southern Hungary. It is the second largest city in the county, after the county seat at Kecskemét, and is home to around 37,000 people....
, Hungary
KecskemétKecskemét is a city in the central part of Hungary. It is the 8th largest city of the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun.Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's third-largest city, Szeged, 86 kilometres from both of them and almost equal distance from the two...
, Hungary
Szeged' is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county town of Csongrád county. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary....
, Hungary
Újbuda, BudapestÚjbuda is the 11th district of Budapest , Hungary. Currently it is the most populous district of Budapest with 137,426 inhabitants . Until the 1890s Újbuda's present territory was a field south to the historical town of Buda. The construction of a new residential area started in the 1900s, the...
, Hungary, since 1997
ZalaegerszegIn 2001 Zalaegerszeg had 61,654 inhabitants . The distribution of religions were, 71.1% Roman Catholic, 3.8% Calvinist, 1.6% Lutheran, 11.6% Atheist .-Notable people:* Lajos Botfy , mayor...
, Hungary, since 1996
GüzelçamlıGüzelçamlı is a sea-side town with own municipality in the district of Kuşadası in Turkey's Aydın Province, and a rising tourists' resort...
, Turkey
BournemouthBournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, United Kingdom
East RenfrewshireEast Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde...
, United Kingdom
See also
External links