Cluj-Napoca
[key], Hung. Kolozsvár, Ger.
Klausenburg, city, W central Romania, in Transylvania,
on the Someşul River. The historic capital of Transylvania and the
second largest city in Romania, it is the administrative center of an
agricultural and mineral-rich area. Its diverse manufactures include a
variety of consumer goods. The city is also a noted educational center with
two universities, a branch of the Romanian Academy of Sciences, a fine arts
institute, a polytechnic institute, and several scientific research centers.
Cluj was founded by German colonists in the 12th cent. and became a thriving
commercial and cultural center in the Middle Ages. It was made a free city
in 1405 by the king of Hungary. Stephen Bathory founded (1581) a Jesuit
academy there, and the city became (16th cent.) the chief cultural and
religious center of Transylvania. It was incorporated into Austria-Hungary
in 1867 and was transferred to Romania in 1920. Hungarian forces occupied
the city during World War II. In the mid-1970s, Cluj was joined with
neighboring Napoca. Landmarks include the 14th-century Gothic Church of St.
Michael, the house where King Matthias I of Hungary was born (1440), and the
ruins of an 11th-century church. Cluj-Napoca is also noted for its botanical
gardens. About half the population is Hungarian.
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