Visit Timisoara – The Little Vienna of Romania
We are frequently asked about the most beautiful cities in Romania, that is why we want to tell you a little story about Timisoara, one of our favorite cities in Romania. Timisoara is also called “the little Vienna” and over the years it was a center of many debuts in Romania.
Timisoara is the heart of the Banat – a beautiful and rich Romanian region that has had its share of glory and beauty. Situated at the commercial and military crossroad, Timisoara was one of the matters under dispute between the Ottoman and the Habsburg Empires. Timisoara developed was a town around the fortifications of the fortress and being heavily influenced by Vienna it became a powerful economic centre.
Timisoara is the city where the anti-communism revolution of December 1989 started which led to the downfall of Nicolae Ceaușescu and the communist regime in Romania.
Today, Timisoara unfolds itself to visitors as a multicultural, modern, innovative and progressive city that still preserves alive the memory of past times through its historic architectural and cultural heritage.
Milestones in Timisoara’s history
1177 – indirect documentary mention of the Timisoara as a fortress.
1212 – official documentary mention of Timisoara – Castrum de Tymes.
1716 – Prince Eugene of Savoy frees Timisoara from the Ottomans and Timisoara becomes part of the Habsburg Empire.
1728 – beginning of river Bega’s canalization, the first navigable canal in Romania.
1723 – the construction of the new “Vuaban style” star shaped fortress began.
1771 – publishing of the first newspaper in Romania.
1857 – first town in Romania and the Habsburg Empire with street lighting with gas lamps.
1869 – first town in Romania with a tram pulled by horses.
1884 – first European town to have introduced general electrical street lighting with 731 lamps.
1910 – the first hydroelectric power plant in Romania is built on the Bega river.
1953 – the only European town with three state theaters in three languages: Romanian, German and Hungarian.
1989 – first communism free city in Romania.
Original photos by Mihai Mehedintu at Fabrica de Calatorii
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