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Baia (german: Baja, Stadt Molde, or Moldenmarkt; hu, Moldvabánya; lat, Civitas Moldaviae) is a commune in
; retrieved on May 27, 2010 It is composed of two villages, namely Baia and Bogata. Located on the
There has been a settlement in Baia since the 13th century,Rădvan, p.458 but the first written evidence is from the following century. It is possible that a document in Poland mentions the town in 1335, when a certain merchant was mentioned by the name of "Alexa Moldaowicz" (i.e. Alexa from the Town of Moldavia) and the next was in 1345, when Baia is placed on a list of towns of the Franciscan Order, Franciscan missionaries.
It was through Baia that the army of King Louis I of Hungary went when conquering the region around 1345-1347. There is evidence of a large fire dated mid-14th century discovered by the archeologists and associated with this conquest.
The early Moldavian chronicles place the first capital of Moldavia in Baia, but it was only an interim capital. Soon the court was moved to Siret, and Baia was not even a county seat by the time of Bogdan I of Moldavia.
After the Hungarian conquest, colonists from Transylvania settled in the town, leading to the urbanization of the settlement, which gained a special status.Rădvan, p.459 According to chronicler Grigore Ureche, the ''târg'' at Baia was founded by "German potters". The area where the colonists settled was reorganized: they built a wooden church and a central marketplace, surrounding which parcels of land were laid out.
By 1400, the inhabitants of the town had a standard of living similar to the urban areas of Transylvania: the houses were heated by cocklestoves and the town's streets Gravel road, paved with river gravel. The town was defended by a wooden palisade which was burnt down in 1467.
The exact ethnic makeup of the townfolks is unknown, but several 15th century documents talk of the "Transylvanian Saxons, Saxons in Baia".Rădvan, p.460 The town's ''pârgari'' had a collective ownership over the mills, which is unlike in other Moldavian towns, where the mills were privately owned. The ''pârgari'' (local council) and ''șoltuzes'' (mayors) were initially elected among the Germans, but this changed with time and in a 1586 document, only half of the ''pârgari'' had German or Hungarian names, while the other half had Romanian names, including the ''șoltuz''.
In 1467, Matthias Corvinus began an expedition against Ștefan the Great, who had previously conquered the stronghold of Kiliya, Kilia, previously held by Hungary.Rădvan, p.461 During Matthias's campaign, his armies set on fire the Moldavian towns of Trotuș, Bacău, Roman and Neamț, but he spares the town of Baia, in which he settled in a fortified stone house in the center. Ștefan cel Mare attacked and burnt the town on the night of December 15, 1467, in the prelude to the Battle of Baia.
The town entered a decline after the beginning of the Protestant Reformation and the persecutions of Catholics in 16th century.Rădvan, p.465 The Catholics of Baia switched to Protestantism and the last bishop of Baia is recorded in 1523. The town of Suceava took over Baia's importance in trade and the town of Baia reverted to be a simple village, as it is today.
The runic inscriptions of the gothic church in Baia
{{Suceava County Communes in Suceava County Localities in Western Moldavia Former capitals of Romania Market towns in Moldavia
Suceava County
Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper.
The county seat is the historical town ...
, in the historical region of Western Moldavia, northeastern Romania with a population of 6,793 (2002 census).Romanian census data, 2002; retrieved on May 27, 2010 It is composed of two villages, namely Baia and Bogata. Located on the
Moldova River
The Moldova () is a river in Romania, in the historical region of Moldavia. It is a right tributary of the river Siret. The river rises from the Obcina Feredeu Mountains of Bukovina in Suceava County and joins the Siret in Cotu Vameș, east of ...
, it was one of the earliest urban settlements in Moldavia.
Name
The Romanian ''baia'' and Hungarian ''bánya'' both mean "mine". Archeologists found traces of ironslag
Slag is a by-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-prod ...
and coal, but only for a brief period before 14th century, before the arrival of the colonists.Rădvan, p.464 It is possible that it derives from the term ''Bania'' (from Ban (title), Ban, a political leader). Baia was mentioned for the first time in the Nestor chronicle under the name Bania.
Another name of the settlement was ''Târgul Moldovei'' which means "the market of Moldavia", referring to the Moldova River
The Moldova () is a river in Romania, in the historical region of Moldavia. It is a right tributary of the river Siret. The river rises from the Obcina Feredeu Mountains of Bukovina in Suceava County and joins the Siret in Cotu Vameș, east of ...
. Its Hungarian name was ''Moldvabánya'', "the Moldova mine". It also had a Latin name, ''Civitas Moldaviae'' which was found on an early seal of the city.
History
There has been a settlement in Baia since the 13th century,Rădvan, p.458 but the first written evidence is from the following century. It is possible that a document in Poland mentions the town in 1335, when a certain merchant was mentioned by the name of "Alexa Moldaowicz" (i.e. Alexa from the Town of Moldavia) and the next was in 1345, when Baia is placed on a list of towns of the Franciscan Order, Franciscan missionaries.
It was through Baia that the army of King Louis I of Hungary went when conquering the region around 1345-1347. There is evidence of a large fire dated mid-14th century discovered by the archeologists and associated with this conquest.
The early Moldavian chronicles place the first capital of Moldavia in Baia, but it was only an interim capital. Soon the court was moved to Siret, and Baia was not even a county seat by the time of Bogdan I of Moldavia.
After the Hungarian conquest, colonists from Transylvania settled in the town, leading to the urbanization of the settlement, which gained a special status.Rădvan, p.459 According to chronicler Grigore Ureche, the ''târg'' at Baia was founded by "German potters". The area where the colonists settled was reorganized: they built a wooden church and a central marketplace, surrounding which parcels of land were laid out.
By 1400, the inhabitants of the town had a standard of living similar to the urban areas of Transylvania: the houses were heated by cocklestoves and the town's streets Gravel road, paved with river gravel. The town was defended by a wooden palisade which was burnt down in 1467.
The exact ethnic makeup of the townfolks is unknown, but several 15th century documents talk of the "Transylvanian Saxons, Saxons in Baia".Rădvan, p.460 The town's ''pârgari'' had a collective ownership over the mills, which is unlike in other Moldavian towns, where the mills were privately owned. The ''pârgari'' (local council) and ''șoltuzes'' (mayors) were initially elected among the Germans, but this changed with time and in a 1586 document, only half of the ''pârgari'' had German or Hungarian names, while the other half had Romanian names, including the ''șoltuz''.
In 1467, Matthias Corvinus began an expedition against Ștefan the Great, who had previously conquered the stronghold of Kiliya, Kilia, previously held by Hungary.Rădvan, p.461 During Matthias's campaign, his armies set on fire the Moldavian towns of Trotuș, Bacău, Roman and Neamț, but he spares the town of Baia, in which he settled in a fortified stone house in the center. Ștefan cel Mare attacked and burnt the town on the night of December 15, 1467, in the prelude to the Battle of Baia.
The town entered a decline after the beginning of the Protestant Reformation and the persecutions of Catholics in 16th century.Rădvan, p.465 The Catholics of Baia switched to Protestantism and the last bishop of Baia is recorded in 1523. The town of Suceava took over Baia's importance in trade and the town of Baia reverted to be a simple village, as it is today.
Notes
References
*External links
* Varga Géza: ''A moldvabányai gótikus templom rovásfelirata''The runic inscriptions of the gothic church in Baia
{{Suceava County Communes in Suceava County Localities in Western Moldavia Former capitals of Romania Market towns in Moldavia