Oravița | ||
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Town | ||
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Location of Oravița |
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Country | Romania | |
County | Caraș-Severin County | |
Status | Town | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Dumitru Ursu (Social Democratic Party) | |
Area | ||
• Total | 162.64 km2 (62.80 sq mi) | |
Population (2002) | ||
• Total | 15,265 | |
• Density | 90/km2 (200/sq mi) | |
Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
• Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
Climate | Cfb | |
Website | http://www.oravita.ro/ |
Oravița (Romanian pronunciation: [oˈravit͡sa]; Hungarian: Oravicabánya; German: Orawitz; Czech: Oravice; Serbo-Croatian: Oravica/Оравица) is a town in southwestern Romania, in Caraș-Severin County, with a population of 15,524 in 2000. Its theater is a fully functional scaled down version of the old Burgtheater in Vienna. Six villages are administered by the town: Agadici (Agadics; Agaditsch), Brădișoru de Jos (Majdán), Broșteni (Brostyán), Ciclova Montană (Csiklóbánya; Montan-Tschiklowa), Marila (Marillavölgy; Marillathal) and Răchitova (Rakitova).
The name of the town is derived from the Slavic word , meaning "(of) walnut" with suffix -ița.
The history of Agadici can be traced back to at least the 17th century, when records noted a population of "800 souls". Today, there are fewer than 200 people living in Agadici. Agadici is a word derived from Turkish: Aga meaning 'colonel' and dici meaning 'daughter'. Therefore, Agadici means "daughter of the colonel". The town was supposedly named after a colonel's daughter when the Ottoman Empire occupied the land that is now the Banat (see the Temeșvar Eyalet).
The Anina–Oravița was the first mountain railway in today's Romania, opened in 1863, it is still in use today for touristic purposes, and it is one of the most beautiful railways in Europe due to very picturesque landscapes, viaducts and long tunnels.