Urziceni

Urziceni
Municipality
The Orthodox church in the city center
Coat of arms
Urziceni Location of Urziceni
Coordinates: 44°43′5″N 26°38′43″E / 44.71806°N 26.64528°E / 44.71806; 26.64528Coordinates: 44°43′5″N 26°38′43″E / 44.71806°N 26.64528°E / 44.71806; 26.64528
Country	Romania
County	Ialomiţa County
Status	Municipality
Government
• Mayor	Constantin Sava (National Liberal Party)
Area
• Total	53.57 km2 (20.68 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	14,053
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website	http://www.urziceni.ro

Urziceni (Romanian pronunciation: [urziˈt͡ʃenʲ]) is a town in Ialomiţa County, Romania, located around 60 km north-east of Bucharest. It has a population of 14,053: 93.1% Romanians, 4.6% Roma and 1.6% Hungarians.

As the census of 2011 results shows, Urziceni is ranked in 3rd place in Ialomița County, after Slobozia and Fetești with 14053 stable residents, there are 6765 males and 7288 females.

Founded by Romanian shepherds, its name is derived from the word "urzică" (nettle). It was mentioned for the first time in a written document on 23 April 1596, during the reign of Mihai Viteazul. It gained in 1831 the status of market town and in 1895 the city status. For 117 years, it was the capital of Ialomiţa county (between 1716 and 1833).

A little town by any standards, Urziceni is perhaps best known for its football team, Unirea Urziceni. Urziceni holds the record for the smallest town to have a team in the Champions League after Fontvieille, hometown of AS Monaco FC. The team wound up a year later.