Reșița | ||
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Location of Reșița |
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Coordinates: 45°18′0″N 21°53′25″E / 45.30000°N 21.89028°ECoordinates: 45°18′0″N 21°53′25″E / 45.30000°N 21.89028°E | ||
Country | Romania | |
County | Caraș-Severin County | |
Status | County capital | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Ioan Popa | |
Area | ||
• Total | 197.65 km2 (76.31 sq mi) | |
Population (2011) | ||
• Total | 73,282 | |
Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
• Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
Climate | Cfb | |
Website | primaria-resita.ro |
Reșița (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈreʃit͡sa]; Croatian: Ričica; Czech: Rešice; German: Reschitz; Hungarian: Resicabánya; Serbian: Решица/Rešica; Turkish: Reşçe) is a city in western Romania and the capital of Caraș-Severin County, in the Banat region. Its 2011 population was 73,282.
The name of Reșița might come from the Latin recitia, meaning "cold spring", as the historian Nicolae Iorga once suggested, presuming that the Romans gave this name to Resita, from a water spring on the Doman valley. A much more plausibile version, according to Iorgu Iordan, would be that the name is actually coming from a Slavic word: people living in the neighbouring village of Carașova 15 km away, referring to this place, that in those days was a similar village to theirs, as being „u rečice” (at the creek). It can also be noted that almost all Slavic countries have places with the name of Rečice (pronounced Recițe in Romanian).
Historically, the town has its origins in the 15th century under the name of Rechyoka and Rechycha. Archaeological research found traces of habitation going back to the Neolithic, Dacian and Roman eras. It was mentioned in 1673 under the name of Reszinitza, whose citizens paid taxes to Timişoara, and by the years 1690–1700, it was mentioned as being part of the District of Bocșa together with other towns in the Bârzava Valley. The town was referenced to in the conscription acts of 1717 under the name of Retziza. On 3 July 1771, it became an important metal-manufacturing center in the region. The foundation of the industrial Reșița were laid with the establishment of factories near the villages of Reșița Română (Reschiza Kamerală or Oláh Resitza) and Reșița Montană (Eisenwerk Reschitza, Német(h) Reschitza or Resiczbánya). Reșița Montană was at first inhabited by Romanians, and later, in 1776, 70 German families settled there. Between 1880 and 1941, Germans were the dominant population in the city, with as many of them as 12,096 residing here in 1941, as opposed to 9,453 Romanians, and 1861 Hungarians living here in the same year. Between the years 1910–1925, Reșița had the status of a rural area, and in 1925, it was declared a town thanks to its development to a powerful industrial location in modern Romania. In 1968, it became a municipality.