Timișoara (UK: /ˌtɪmɪˈʃwɑːrə/,[10] US: /ˌtiːmiː-/,[11] Romanian: [timiˈʃo̯ara] ⓘ; German: Temeswar [ˈtɛmɛʃvaːɐ̯] ⓘ, also Temeschwar or Temeschburg;[12] Hungarian: Temesvár [ˈtɛmɛʃvaːr] ⓘ; Serbian: Темишвар, romanized: Temišvar [těmiʃʋaːr]; see other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural centre in Western Romania.

[21] The spa resorts Buziaș and Băile Călacea are located at a distance of 30 and 27 km (19 and 17 miles) from the city, respectively, mentioned since Roman times for the properties of healing waters.

[39] Archeological remains attested the presence of a population of farmers, hunters and artisans, whose existence was favoured by mild climate, fertile soil and abundant water and forests.

[43] This year is disputed by historians of the opinion that the city's first documentary mention comes from 1266, when heir apparent Stephen V of Hungary donates part of the Tymes fortress, built by his father, Béla IV, to Count Parabuch.

[39] Timișoara remained under the Ottoman rule for 164 years, controlled directly by the Sultan and enjoying a special status, similar to other cities in the region, such as Budapest and Belgrade.

[53] After the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718), the Banat of Temeswar became the province of the Habsburg monarchy and was proclaimed "possession of the Crown" with a military administration which ruled Timișoara until 1751 when it was replaced by a civil one.

[39] In 1860, the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar was abolished and most of its territory was incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary, although direct Hungarian rule began only following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, after the establishment of the dual monarchy.

[54] On 31 October 1918, local military and political elites established the Banat National Council, together with representatives of the region's main ethnic groups: Germans, Hungarians, Serbs and Romanians.

These constituted a natural protection around the fortress for a very long time and favored a wet and insalubrious climate, which spread plague and cholera and kept the number of inhabitants relatively low, preventing civic development.

Researched in detail, the relief of the city and its surroundings presents a series of local peculiarities, represented mainly by deserted meanders, micro-depressions and ridges (generally made of coarse materials).

[59] In addition to permanent courses and those that dry out, often during the summer, on the territory of Timișoara there are a number of lakes: either natural, formed instead of the old meanders or subsidence areas, such as those near Kuncz, Giroc, Pădurea Verde, etc., or of anthropic origin, such as those from Fratelia, Freidorf, Ciarda Roșie, Ștrandul Tineretului, etc.

[82] Timișoara serves as an important polarizer of the labor force for other regions of the country, with a demographic surplus, especially for the counties in northern Moldavia, northwestern Transylvania and Oltenia.

Ghiroda, Giroc, Dumbrăvița, Chișoda, Moșnița Nouă and Utvin became suburbs of Timișoara due to the development of facilities, utilities and infrastructure, territorially joining the city.

[120] In August 2016, mayors Nicolae Robu and Gheorghe Falcă signed the deed of establishment of the Timișoara–Arad metropolis,[121] the first of its kind in Romania, part of the integrated development strategy Timișoara Vision 2030, carried out with the support of the World Bank, ADR Vest and FZMAUR.

[124] Based on its proximity to the western border, Timișoara has managed to attract many foreign investments in recent years, forming, together with Arad, the second largest area in Romania in terms of economic mass.

In an article in late 2005, French magazine L'Expansion called Timișoara Romania's economic showcase, and referred to the increased number of foreign investments as a "second revolution".

[147] Well-known companies such as Google, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Nvidia, Siemens, Nokia, Huawei, Atos, Accenture, Endava, Bitdefender or Visteon have offices in the city, supporting – through the hubs and the digital workshops created – start-ups and SMEs in the field.

In 2017, about 4,000 living spaces were delivered to the market,[152] an increase of almost 60% compared to the previous year, most of the projects representing high-rise residential complexes, addressed to the mass and mid-market segments.

Among the largest residential complexes in Timișoara are ISHO, Adora Forest, Vivalia Grand, XCity Towers, Vox Vertical Village, Ateneo and City of Mara.

[165] Along with the existing stores in the central area, new supermarkets have been opened by national and international concerns such as Selgros, Metro, Auchan, Kaufland, Carrefour, Lidl, Penny, Mega Image or Profi.

On the bricolage and DIY market are present the stores of Dedeman, Hornbach, Brico Dépôt, Arabesque, Leroy Merlin, Mobexpert, Mömax, Jumbo and Decathlon, among others, part of local and international chains.

Unlike other cities of similar size, there is no predominant corridor in terms of loading, with traffic volumes distributed fairly evenly across a series of radial and circular arteries.

Its eastern side was formed by the Jesuit Church,[252] transformed into a mosque during the Ottoman occupation[253] and demolished during the modernization works provided in the urbanistic plan of 1911 (in its place was built the Szana Bank).

[266] The evolution of the postwar architecture of the city was strongly influenced by the activity of the architect Hans Fackelmann, who designed, among others, the West University, one of the first modern constructions in Romania and the Ion Vidu National Art College.

[268] Re-established in 1990 as a department within the Faculty of Constructions, the Timișoara school of architecture brought together architects from the late 1980s who, embracing the theoretical discourse of postmodernism, perpetuated the arts and crafts philosophy of the previous generation, either by a subtle return to historical tradition (Șerban Sturdza, Mihai Botescu or Radu Radoslav), or through a critical regional approach (Vlad Gaivoronschi, Ioan Andreescu or Florin Ionașiu).

[269] Constructions such as Austria House (Mihai Botescu), BRD Tower (Radu Radoslav), City Business Center (Vlad Gaivoronschi) or Reghina Blue Hotel (Ioan Andreescu) are linked to their names.

Chinezul Timișoara (Hungarian: Temesvári Kinizsi), active between 1910 and 1946, was one of the most successful teams in the history of Romanian football, winning between 1921 and 1927 six consecutive titles of champion of Romania.

[319] From a catalogue prepared by Florian Moldovan and Alexander Krischan, in the documentary fund of the County Library of Timișoara were registered in the early 1970s no less than 143 newspaper and magazine titles, of which 60 were Romanian, 39 Hungarian and 40 German.

[322] Apart from the publications previously censored under communist rule, which quickly changed their orientation under new names, in the first months after the Romanian Revolution, the number of newspaper and magazine titles on the local press market increased dramatically.

It broadcasts since 17 October 1994 and covers the western part of Romania (Timiș, Arad, Caraș-Severin and Hunedoara counties), as well as the Romanian communities in Vojvodina (Serbia) and southeastern Hungary.