Timișoara 7.84

Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, and the main social, economic and cultural centre in western Romania.The third most populous city in the country, with 319,279 inhabitants as of the 2011 census, Timișoara is the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat. In September 2016, Timișoara was selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2021.HistoryMiddle AgesTimișoara was first mentioned as a place in either 1212 or 1266 as Castrum Temesiense. The territory later to be known as Banat was conquered and annexed by the Kingdom of Hungary in 1030. Timișoara grew considerably during the reign of Charles I, who, upon his visit here in 1307, ordered the construction of a royal palace. Timișoara's importance also grew due to its strategic location, which facilitated control over the Banat plain. By the middle of the 14th century, Timișoara was at the forefront of Western Christendom's battle against the Muslim Ottoman Turks. French and Hungarian crusaders met at the city before engaging in the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Beginning in 1443, John Hunyadi used Timișoara as a military stronghold against the Turks, having built a powerful fortress. The city was repeatedly besieged by the Ottomans in 1462, 1476, 1491, and 1522.