Caransebeş

Infobox Settlement
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = ROU
timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3
map_caption = Location of Caransebeş
|official_name=Caransebeş


image_shield=Coa_Caransebes_cs_ro.jpg
subdivision_type1=County
subdivision_name1=Caraş-Severin County
subdivision_type2=Status
subdivision_name2=Autolink|Municipality
settlement_type=Municipality|
leader_title=Mayor
leader_name=Marcel Vela
|leader_party=National Liberal Party
area_total_km2=73.58
population_as_of=2002
population_total=28301|population_footnotes=
population_density_km2=384|latd=45|latm=25|lats=17|latNS=N|longd=22|longm=13|longs=19|longEW=E|
website=http://www.primaria-caransebes.ro/

Caransebeş (German: "Karansebesch"; Hungarian: "Karánsebes") is a city in Caraş-Severin County, part of the Banat region in southwestern Romania. It is located at the confluence of the river Timiş with the river Sebeş, the latter coming from the Ţarcu Mountains. To the west, it is in direct contact with the Banat hills. It is an important railroad node, being located approximately 40 km away from Reşiţa, 21 km from Oţelu Roşu, 70 km from Haţeg, and about 25 km from the Muntele Mic sky resort, in the Ţarcu Mountains.

Climate

The climate in Caransebeş is rather mild. Sub-Mediterranean climatic influences are present to some extent. Temperatures do not drop too low in winter (with an average of 0-1°C), but summers can be warm (23-25°C average). Rainfall can be quite abundant throughout the year.

History and population

The first traces of habitation here might date as far as Dacian times. Dacian ruins have been discovered recently near Obreja, a village 7 km away. As the Romans invaded Dacia, they built a castrum named Tibiscum, which was dug up by archaeologists near the nearby village of Jupa, a castrum which later grew to be a full city. Tibiscum is considered one of the gates of Christianity in Dacia, having an important role also in the Romanization of the local people.

During the Middle Ages, the local people continuously inhabited the area. The region passed under the control of the Hungarian Kingdom, then later under the rule of the Transylvanian Principality, and under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Later, the Habsburgs took the control of the region, after prologued wars against the Ottomans. During the wars, in 1788, the Battle of Karánsebes took place between confused soldiers of the Austrian Habsburg army.

After railroads began to appear, the role of Caransebeş grew continuously. In the late 19th century, the Romanian people of the settlement elected to the Parliament of Hungary the Hungarian Lajos Mocsáry, who was a progressive democratic politician fighting for the cultural and administrative rights of all nationalities (including the Romanians) living in the Hungarian Kingdom of that time. After the 1918 union of Transylvania with Romania, Caransebeş became part of Greater Romania. After the rise of the communist regime in 1947, an airport and an airbase were built close to the city. However, the airport did not remain operational for long after the 1989 Revolution.

As of 2000 Caransebeş had a population of 30,901, mainly Romanians, with Ukrainian, German and Hungarian minorities present, but in decline.

People

* Wilhelm Klein, archaeologist
* Ion Dragalina, Romanian World War I General
* Gustav Jaumann, Austrian physicist (1863- 1924)
* Nicolae Corneanu, Orthodox metropolitan bishop

External links

* [http://www.caransebes.ro Unofficial website about Caransebeş]