Târgu Mureș, Romania - State Theatre - Soviet era postcard c.1970s

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Târgu Mureș (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈtɨrɡu ˈmureʃ] ( listen); Hungarian: Marosvásárhely, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈmɒroʃvaːʃaːrhɛj] ( listen); also known by other alternative names) is the seat of Mureș County in the north-central part of Romania. It is the 16th largest Romanian city, with 134,290 inhabitants as of 2011.

The current Romanian name of the city, Târgu Mureș, is the equivalent with the Hungarian Marosvásárhely, both meaning "market on the Mureș (Maros) [River]". Târg means "market" in Romanian and vásárhely means "marketplace" in Hungarian. The Hungarian Marosvásárhely is sometimes shortened to Vásárhely in local colloquial Hungarian language.

The first written reference of the city was in the Papal registry in Latin as Novum Forum Siculorum in 1332, and later as Sekulvasarhel (modern Hungarian: Székelyvásárhely), meaning "new market of the Székelys", in 1349.^{[citation needed]} Other Latin names for the town included Agropolis and Areopolis.

In 1616, Gabriel Bethlen gave the name Marosvásárhely to the newly upgraded royal free city.^[2] The Romanian name for the city, Oșorhei was a phonetic derivation from Vásárhely while the German name for the town, Neumarkt am Mieresch (also shortened to Neumarkt or Marktstadt; in Transylvanian Saxon, Nai Mark or Nai Muark), can be translated as New Market^[3]

Other historical Romanian names for the town besides Oșorhei were Mureș-Oșorhei and Tîrgu Mureșului; other historical Hungarian names in addition to Székelyvásárhely included Újszékelyvásár and Újvásár.^{[citation needed]}

After World War I, Marosvásárhely became part of Romania and was renamed Oșorheiu.^{[citation needed]} 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 reform that replaced the letter â with î in all words. Another spelling reform in 1993 replaced the letter îwith â in many words and the city's name has since been officially spelt "Târgu Mureș".

The first recorded documentation of the city dates to 1332. It is mentioned in the papal registry under the Latin name Novum Forum Siculorum meaning New Szekler Marketplace, and under the Hungarian name Sekulvasarhel (Székelyvásárhely) meaning Szekler Marketplace in 1349.

On the place of its Castle Church, the Dominican's church stood until the Mongol invasion, 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 sessions of the Transylvanian parliament (diet) 36 times. In 1405, the King of Hungary Sigismund of Luxembourg granted the city the right to organize fairs. In 1470 King Matthias Corvinus granted the first judicial privilege to the city, and in 1482 declared the city a royal settlement. In 1492, wayvoda (prince) István Báthory strengthened its monastery with fortifications. In 1506, the troops of Pál Tomori were beaten by the Szeklers rising against the payment of an extraordinary Ox tax 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 the Transylvanian parliament under prince John II Sigismund Zápolya accepted the free preaching of the word of God, including by the Unitarian Church. In 1600–1601, as a result of the siege of Giorgio Basta, the fortress turned to ruins.^[4] 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 on the advice of mayor Tamás Borsos, but it was actually built between 1614 and 1653. Mózes Székely the only prince of Szekler origin visited the city in 1603 when he 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.^[4] In 1658 Turkish and Tartarian troops invaded the city and burned it, 3000 people were taken into captivity. In 1661, as no one showed willingness to accept the duty of prince, under Turkish pressure Mihály Apafi was elected prince of Transylvania here . In 1662, resulting from the negligence of the Turkish military residing here, the city almost completely burnt down. In 1687 it was devastated by German imperial troops. In 1704, the kuruc troops of Pál Kaszás occupied the fortress, which was re-occupied by Austrian troops led by Lőrinc Pekry in 1706. On 5 April 1707 Francis II Rákóczi was raised to the chair of princes here. In 1707 the city was struck by the plague with more than 3500 deaths. The black death renewed in 1709, 1719 and in 1738–39.^[4]

The city received a major boost to its social and economic life when it became home to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Principality of Transylvania in 1754. In 1802, the Teleki Libraryfounded by count Sámuel Teleki was opened for the public with 40.000 volumes.^[5]

Avram Iancu, 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 13 January 1849 the troops of major Tolnay recaptured it. On 30 July 1849, Sándor Petőfi and Bem set out from here for the Battle of Segesvár.

In 1854, Szekler martyrs Károly Horváth, János Török and Mihály Gálfi were executed on the Postarét for plotting against the Austrian rule.^[4] 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 Bem was inaugurated in Roses Square, in downtown area; in 1893 the statue of Kossuth was as well. The statue of Rákóczi 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 Palace was opened, as part of mayor Bernády György's urban renewal.^{[citation needed]} After World War I, together with the rest of Transylvania, Marosvásáshely became part of Romania and was renamed Oșorheiu. 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 Award, the city was ceded back to Hungary. After Hungary was occupied by Germany in 1944, a Jewish ghetto 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 Vinogradov of the Soviet Red Army expulsed the returning Romanian authorities from Northern Transylvania with reference to the massacres committed by members of Iuliu Maniu's so-called Maniu Guard, and the Romanian authorities were not allowed to return until the government of Petru Groza was formed on 6 March 1945.^[6]

After World War II, the communist administration of Romania conducted a policy of massive industrialization that completely re-shaped the community. Between 1950–1968, it was the center of the Hungarian Autonomous Province, later named as Mureș-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.^{[citation needed]} 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 1989 overthrew the communist regime, the city was the scene of violent ethnic clashes between ethnic Hungarians and ethnic Romanians.

The local economy has started to get stronger after various investors settled in the area.

The city is located in the Mureș River 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 (19.0 sq mi). The city is located at the centre of the historical region of Transylvania and covers an area of 49.3 square kilometres (19.0 sq mi). It lies at the junction of three geographical regions of Transylvania (Transylvanian Plain, Mureș Valley and Niraj Valley) at 330 m (1,083 ft) above sea level. The city extends onto both banks of the Mureș river, however, the downtown area and the greater part of the districts are located on the left bank.

Târgu Mureș is 337 kilometres (209 mi) from Bucharest, 475 kilometres (295 mi) from Chișinău, 480 kilometres (300 mi) from Belgrade, 515 kilometres (320 mi) from Budapest, 598 kilometres (372 mi) from Sofia and 845 kilometres (525 mi) from Kiev. It is surrounded by the following communes: Sângeorgiu de Mureș, Livezeni, Sântana de Mureș, Sâncraiu de Mureș, Corunca, Cristești and Ceuașu de Câmpie. Two villages, Mureșeni (Meggyesfalva) and Remetea (Remeteszeg), are administered by the city.