A city whose edifices were mostly built during the 18th century, Timi║oara is dubbed ôLittle Vienna.ö With its Baroque aspect, Timi║oara is the city with the largest population in Western Romania, i.e. 340,000 inhabitants.
Timi║oara was first mentioned in written documents in 1212 under the name of ôCastrum Temessiensis.ö At the time, it was a solid fortress with four access gates.
Between 1315 and 1323, the city became the most important urban centre of the region, and the residence of Charles Robert of Anjou, the King of Hungary. Between 1441 and 1446, Timi║oara was the residence of Iancu of Hunedoara, the Prince of Banat.
It was conquered by the Turks in 1552, and then by Eugene of Savoy in 1716. Its integration in the Austrian Empire (which later became the Austro-Hungarian Empire) encouraged new immigration. Many Swabians, as well as French, Italian, Spanish, and German immigrants came successively to the city.
The Austrian Governor of the city, Count Claude Fremaut de Mercy, ordered that a new Vauban-type fortification be built between 1715 and 1734. The new fortress, which replaced the medieval one, was in turn demolished by royal order at the end of the 19th century. It used to have three access gates equipped with drawbridges that led to the main neighborhoods of the city. Thus, the Ardeal Gate led to the Fabric neighborhood, and the Viennese Gate to the Mehala neighborhood. There also was a third gate, known as the Josefin or Petrovardin Gate.
In 1781, Emperor Joseph II granted Timi║oara the status of a free royal city and made it possible for its citizens to be represented in the Hungarian parliament in Buda. In 1849, after the Austrian armies defeated the Hungarian revolutionaries, the region of Banat was detached from Hungary and placed under direct Austrian administration. Timi║oara became the capital of Vojvodina and of the newly established imperial region of Timi║oara-Banat. In 1867, the Banat region once again reverted to Hungary.
During the 19th century, Timi║oara became an important industrial centre. In the second half of the century, the city underwent fast modernization: in 1884, Timi║oara was one of the first European cities to implement electric street lighting, and in 1869 horse-drawn trams for public transportation were introduced.
In 1918, Banat, just like Transylvania and Maramure║, united with Romania. This was the moment when buildings in the Neo-Romanian style also began to appear in Timi║oara. After World War II, new cultural institutions were founded in the city. These include the Romanian National Theatre, the Hungarian and German Theatres, the Romanian Opera House and the University.
