Târnaveni
Encyclopedia
Târnăveni is a city and municipality
Municipalities of Romania
A municipiu is a level of administrative subdivision in Romania, roughly equivalent to city in some English-speaking countries. This status is given to towns that are quite large and urbanized...

 in central Romania
Romania
Romania 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...

, Mureş County
Mures County
Mureș 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....

. It lies on the Târnava Mică River
Târnava Mica River
The Târnava Mică River is a river in Romania. Its source is in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, in Harghita County. It flows through the Romanian counties Harghita, Mureş, and Alba, more or less parallel to and north from the Târnava Mare River. The cities of Sovata and Târnăveni lie on the...

 in central Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania 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 city administers three villages: Bobohalma, Botorca and Cuştelnic; the last was part of Găneşti
Ganesti
Găneşti is a commune in Mureş County, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Găneşti, Păucişoara, Seuca and Sub Pădure. It also included Cuştelnic village until 2002, when it was transferred to Târnăveni city.-References:...

 Commune until 2002.

In Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian 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...

, it was previously known as Diciosânmartin, then Târnava-Sânmărtin.

History

Archaeological research has demonstrated that the presence of human communities in this area dates back thousands of years. In 1921, traces of a Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

 settlement were discovered; a collection of 135 Imperial Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 denarii
Denarius
In the Roman currency system, the denarius was a small silver coin first minted in 211 BC. It was the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly debased until its replacement by the antoninianus...

and two silver balls were also found. The place was historically certified in 1279, under the name of terra Dychen Sent Marton, in a document involving land relocations and ownership.

In 1502, the place was mentioned as a borough (Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...

: oppidum
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...

), as a part of Cetatea de Baltă
Cetatea de Balta
Cetatea de Baltă is a commune in Alba County, Romania with a population of 3217. It is located between Târnăveni at 15 kilometers and Blaj at 21 kilometers on the county road DJ 117...

 fief
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...

 of the Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...

n Princes Stephen the Great
Stephen III of Moldavia
Stephen III of Moldavia was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent representative of the House of Mușat.During his reign, he strengthened Moldavia and maintained its independence against the ambitions of Hungary, Poland, and the...

 and Petru Rareş
Petru Rares
Peter IV Rareș was twice voievod of Moldavia: 20 January 1527 to 18 September 1538 and 19 February 1541 to 3 September 1546. He was an illegitimate child born to Ștefan cel Mare...

. Since vineyards covered the majority of the cultivated land, it came to be known as the "vine country" (Weinland).

From the early 19th century until 1918, when Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania 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...

 voted to unite with Romania
Union of Transylvania with Romania
Union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia.The national holiday of Romania, the Great Union Day occurring on December 1, commemorates this event...

, the city was a local administrative center inside the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The 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...

 and Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many of the European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas...

, Târnăveni was included in the administrative units of Romanians resisting the Hungarian Revolutionary government, and, as part of the 3rd Legion, Cetatea de Baltă, provided soldiers for the army of Avram Iancu
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...

; its prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....

 was Vasile Moldovan (the latter was ultimately defeated and settled in Boziaş, where he later died).
After 1866, it served as the capital of Kis-Küküllő
Kis-Küküllo
Kis-Küküllő is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in central Romania . Kis-Küküllő is the Hungarian name for the Târnava Mică River...

 comitatus
Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary)
A county is the name of a type of administrative units in the Kingdom of Hungary and in Hungary from the 10th century until the present day....

, alternating this attribute with Küküllővár (today's Cetatea de Baltă) or with Erzsébetváros (today's Dumbrăveni
Dumbraveni
Dumbrăveni is a town in the north of Sibiu County, in the centre of Transylvania, central Romania...

). The late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period when many administrative and social-economic facilities were built in the town, marked an urban evolution. In 1912, the locality was raised to the rank of city.

The discovery of methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...

 deposits radically changed the city history: gas was supplied to private residences after 1915. The inhabitants sent representatives to the Great National Assembly held in Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,747, located on the Mureş River. Since the High Middle Ages, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania...

 on December 1, 1918; inside the Kingdom of Romania
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...

, it became the administrative seat of Târnava-Mică County
Târnava-Mica County
Târnava-Mică County was a county in the Kingdom of Romania, the successor to the county of Târnava-Mică of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its capital was Diciosânmartin .-Geography:...

. Named Târnava-Sânmărtin during 1920-1926, and later Diciosânmartin, the locality officially became Târnăveni in 1941.

After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, a calcium carbide
Calcium carbide
thumb|right|Calcium carbide.Calcium carbide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula of CaC2. The pure material is colorless, however pieces of technical grade calcium carbide are grey or brown and consist of only 80-85% of CaC2 . Because of presence of PH3, NH3, and H2S it has a...

 and calcium cyanamide
Calcium cyanamide
Calcium cyanamide or CaCN2 is a calcium compound used as fertilizer, first synthesized in 1898 by Adolph Frank and Nikodem Caro . It is formed when calcium carbide reacts with nitrogen. It is commercially known as Nitrolime....

 factory was set up, followed by a nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...

 and later by a coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...

 factory. In 1936, an installation of synthetic ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...

 production was set in Târnăveni, the first of this type in the world — over the following years, the company involved in the latter process switched to weapons manufacturing. The administrative palace and the hospital were both built during the urban expansion — the latter was where the famous physician Constantin Ion Parhon
Constantin Ion Parhon
Constantin Ion Parhon was a Romanian neuropsychiatrist, endocrinologist and politician. He was the President of the Provisional Presidium of the People's Republic of Romania from its proclamation on December 30, 1947 to April 13, 1948, and Chairman of the Presidium of the Great National Assembly...

, whose family was originally from Cetatea de Baltă, used to consult his patients.

During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the small Jewish
History of the Jews in Romania
The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....

 community was decimated during the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...

, and the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...

 closed down. 230 Romanian soldiers who, after Romania parted with the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...

 and joined the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 in 1944, defended the city against German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 troops lie buried in the local cemetery.

After the war, the city's industry witnessed a continuous development. In 1957, for the first time in the country, polychlorinated vinyl was produced here. A modern glassware factory — Gecsat — is situated in the southeast area, and produces a wide range of export products.

Târnăveni became a municipality
Municipalities of Romania
A municipiu is a level of administrative subdivision in Romania, roughly equivalent to city in some English-speaking countries. This status is given to towns that are quite large and urbanized...

 on November 5, 1998.

Geography

Târnăveni is crossed by the Blaj
Blaj
Blaj is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 20,758 inhabitants.The landmark of the city is the fact that it was the principal religious and cultural center of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church in Transylvania....

-Praid
Praid
Praid is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is composed of six villages:-Demographics:...

 railroad, and also by DN 14A Iernut
Iernut
Iernut is a town in Mureş County, central Transylvania, Romania. It administers eight villages: Cipău, Deag, Lechinţa, Oarba de Mureş, Porumbac, Racameţ, Sălcud and Sfântu Gheorghe.-Demographics:The 2002 census revealed the following demographic data :...

-Mediaş
Medias
Mediaș is the second largest city in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania.-Geographic location:Mediaș is located in the middle basin of Târnava Mare River, at 39 km from Sighișoara and 41 km from Blaj. The health resort Bazna, officially recognized for the first time in 1302, is...

,
DJ 107 Târnăveni-Blaj, DJ Târnăveni-Căpâlna
Capâlna
Căpâlna is a commune in Bihor County, northwestern Romania with a population of 1,943 people. It is composed of five villages: Căpâlna, Ginta, Rohani, Săldăbagiu Mic and Suplacu de Tinca.-References:...

-Ungheni
Ungheni, Mures
Ungheni is a town in Mureş County, in central Romania. Its Romanian name until the 1960s was Niraşteu.Six villages are administered by the town:* Cerghid* Cerghizel* Moreşti* Recea* Şăuşa* Vidrasău...

 and by DJ 142 Târnăveni-Bălăuşeri
Balauseri
Bălăuşeri is a commune in Mureş County, Romania composed of six villages:*Agrişteu / Egrestő*Bălăuşeri*Chendu / Nagykend*Dumitreni / Szentdemeter*Filitelnic / Fületelke*Senereuş / Szénaverős- History :...

. Târnăveni is situated at the following distances from:
  • Bucharest
    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....

     - 360 km
  • Târgu-Mureş
    Târgu-Mures
    Târgu Mureș is the seat of Mureș County in the north-central part of Romania. 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:...

     - 45 km
  • Cluj-Napoca
    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...

     - 102 km
  • Sibiu
    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...

     - 78 km
  • Mediaş - 25 km
  • Blaj - 36 km

Demographics

In 2004, Târnăveni had 26,300 inhabitants, making it the 84th largest city in Romania; according to previous records, it had 26,073 inhabitants in 1977, 30,520 in 1992, and 26,537 in 2002.

Of the population, 72.4% are Romanians
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....

, 19.6% Hungarians, and 8% Roma
Roma minority in Romania
The Roma constitute one of the major minorities in Romania. According to the 2002 census, they number 535,140 people or 2.5% of the total population, being the second-largest ethnic minority in Romania after Hungarians...

.

Culture

In 1962, the local Museum of History was opened, housing separate sections for archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

, ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...

, natural science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...

 and numismatics
Numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the...

. The present-day Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism 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....

 Church, built in Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic 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....

 style in the 13th century, redecorated in 1599, houses a silver cup from 1636, as well as a silver plate and a bell dating from 1678. The wooden Christian Church, brought over from the Corneşti village, had its interior painted by Nicolae Pop. The school in Boziaş was set up in 1780.

Other buildings in the city include the Romanian Orthodox
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...

 Holy Trinity Cathedral (built 1939-1940), the Sfântul Gheorghe Church, and the Roman Catholic church.

One of the main pillars of the Transylvanian School
Transylvanian School
The Transylvanian School was a cultural movement which was founded after part of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Habsburg-ruled Transylvania accepted the leadership of the Pope and became the Greek-Catholic Church . The links with Rome brought to the Romanian Tranylvanians the ideas of the Age of...

, Petru Maior
Petru Maior
Petru Maior was a Romanian writer who is considered one of the most influential personalities of the Age of Enlightenment in Transylvania...

, was a connected with the city — according to research, his father Gheorghe Maior, lived in Târnăveni by 1750, serving as a Greek-Catholic
Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic
The 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....

 priest in the Seuca parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

. The composer György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...

 was born here in 1923.

Twin towns — Sister cities

Târnăveni is twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with: Hajdúszoboszló
Hajdúszoboszló
Hajdúszoboszló is a town in Hajdú-Bihar county, Hungary, 19 kilometres southwest of county seat Debrecen. It is the third largest town in Hajdú-Bihar county.-Location:The town is located in the northeastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain...

 (since 1990) Ronchin
Ronchin
-References:*...

 (since 1998)

See also

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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