Cluj-Napoca

Cluj-Napoca (klzh-näpō), Hung. Kolozsvár, Ger. Klausenburg, city (1990 pop. 329,234), 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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Cluj-Napoca

 German Klausenburg Hungarian Kolozsvár

City (pop., 2002: 702,755), northwestern Romania. Located in the Somesul Mic River valley on the site of an ancient town, Cluj took shape in the 12th century, became a thriving commercial and cultural centre, and in 1405 was declared a free town. It became the capital of Transylvania in the 16th century. In 1920 Transylvania was incorporated into Romania. In the mid-1970s the city was joined with neighbouring Napoca. It is home to a university; its institute of speleology (the study of caves) was the first in the world.