Dominic Fritz

Timișoara is the biggest city in western Romania. It was first mentioned in the historic records at the start of the 13th century and has changed hands between the Hungarian, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires until coming under Romanian control at the start of the 20th century. This colourful history contributes to the city’s current ethnic and multicultural background.

In 1848, Timișoara became the first city in Europe to use electricity to light up its streets and was the jumping-off point to the revolutionary movement that overthrew the Romanian Communist Dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu in 1989.

Timișoara will also hold the title of European Capital of Culture in 2023.

Timişoara is the largest city in western Romania, the seat of Timiş County and the biggest business, a cultural and scientific hub in the Banat region.

With a population of 329,003 inhabitants (1 July 2018), the city is among the top four biggest cities in Romania.

Timișoara has been an industrial centre for Romania for many years, with a strong manufacturing sector and a strong chemical and petrochemical industry.

Furthermore, the city has seen a major boom in the IT sector, such as Google, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, NVidia, Siemens, Nokia, Huawei, Atos, Accenture, Endava, Bitdefender and Visteon have offices there. It is considered to have the most IT professionals after Bucharest.

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Tourism

The charm of this city, settled on the northern bank of River Bega, lies in its distinct architectural character and vibrant cultural life. Timisoara is home to many year-round musical and theatrical performances, art galleries and museums, as well as a bustling nightlife. Major annual events include jazz, film, wine, dance and street performance festivals as well as several Christmas markets.

Timișoara is the only city in Europe that has three state theatres in three different languages – the Mihai Eminescu National Theatre, the German State Theatre and the Gergely Csiky Hungarian State Theatre.