Cluj-Napoca [key], Hung. Kolozsvár, Ger. Klausenburg, city, 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.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Romanian Political Geography
