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Roman () is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...
located in the central part of Western Moldavia, a traditional region of
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
. It is located 46 km east of Piatra Neamț, in Neamț County at the confluence of the rivers Siret and
Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...
. Its name was taken from
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centra ...
n
Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...
Roman I of Moldavia. From here prince Roman realized the centralization of Moldavia, the city of Roman being the capital of the Lower Country of Moldavia ( ro, Țara de Jos).


History

The earliest mention of the city is in the Novgorod Chronicle (dated between 1387 and 1392). Five years later, the name appeared on a donation deed. The city is mentioned in a Moldavian document, signed by Moldavia's Voivode Roman I, on March 30. The document is one of the first of documents of the then-young state of Moldavia, being the first which holds a fully legible version of the Moldavia seal, bearing the aurochs, the moon, the star, and the flower, still in use on
coat of arms of Moldova The coat of arms of Moldova is the national emblem of the Republic of Moldova. Official description Moldovan law describes the arms as follows: ''Per fess gules and azure, an aurochs head cabossed overall, accompanied by a mullet of eight point ...
. Roman became a diocesan see in September 14, 1408, when Voivode Roman I's son, Alexandru cel Bun, established an Orthodox bishopric in the city. The representatives of the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
population of Roman, shepherded by the Bishop of Baia, attended the Council of Constance in 1412. Later on in the late 15th century, Ștefan cel Mare built a new stone fortress on the left bank of the Siret River, to replace the old earthen one. Several documents from 1458, 1465, and 1488 during Ștefan's reign mention the Cathedral of Saint Paraskeva (Paraschiva) in Roman. In 1467, the fortress resisted the siege of the Hungarian army under King Matthias Corvinus, before the Battle of Baia. In 1476, an Ottoman army, led by Mehmed II, besieged the new fortress again, with the Moldavians retreating after the Battle of Valea Albă.
Petru Rareș Petru Rareș (), sometimes known as Petryła or Peter IV (Petru IV; c. 1483 – 3 September 1546), was twice voivode of Moldavia: 20 January 1527 to 18 September 1538 and 19 February 1541 to 3 September 1546. He was an illegitimate child born ( ...
ordered the construction of a new episcopal see on the same spot in 1542. The old fortress was apparently destroyed by Dumitrașcu Cantacuzino, following Ottoman command, together with all other Moldavian fortresses. One of the last mentions of it dates back to 1561–1563 during the reign of Ioan Iacob Heraclid. The catholic community had its rights restored around the same time, in 1562, as Ioan Belusiuș, an agent of the Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I Ferdinand I or Fernando I may refer to: People * Ferdinand I of León, ''the Great'' (ca. 1000–1065, king from 1037) * Ferdinand I of Portugal and the Algarve, ''the Handsome'' (1345–1383, king from 1367) * Ferdinand I of Aragon and Sicily, '' ...
, wrote his master from Roman, after the severe limitations under
Alexandru Lăpușneanu Alexandru IV Lăpușneanu (1499 – 5 May 1568) was Ruler of Moldavia between September 1552 and 18 November 1561 and then between October 1564 and 5 May 1568. His wife and consort was Doamna Ruxanda Lăpușneanu, the daughter of Peter IV Rare� ...
. In 1623, the Catholic community was described by the
Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
missionary Andreas Bogoslavici in a letter sent to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, as Hungarian that understood and used Romanian. The Catholics appear to have a church dedicated to Saint Peter. In 1569, Lady
Ruxandra Lăpușneanu Ruxandra Lăpușneanu (1538 – 21 November 1570) was a princess consort of Moldavia by her marriage to Alexandru Lăpușneanu in 1564. Ruxandra was the daughter of Peter IV Rareș and Princess Elena Ecaterina Rareș (the second daughter of Jova ...
built an Orthodox church dedicated to the Holy Virgin (''Precista Mare'') on the same spot the
eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...
church is placed today. In 1595, the church ''Sfinții Voievozi'' was built. The current Armenian Orthodox Church was built in 1610. Some demographic data from 1641, recorded by the Vicar of
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...
, who was passing through Roman, shows there were apparently 1,500 Eastern Orthodox, 450 Armenian Orthodox, and 30 Hungarian Catholics. A major personality of the city was Orthodox bishop Dosoftei, who translated the Psalter into Romanian in 1665–1671. In December 1691,
Miron Costin Miron Costin (March 30, 1633 – 1691) was a Moldavian (Romanian) political figure and chronicler. His main work, ''Letopiseţul Ţărâi Moldovei e la Aron Vodă încoace' (''The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia Aron Vodă]'') was meant to e ...
, one of the first historians and writers in Romanian, was decapitated here on the orders of Prince
Constantin Cantemir Constantin or Constantine Cantemir (1612–1693) was a Moldavian nobleman, soldier, and statesman who served as voivode between 25 June 1685 and 27 March 1693. He established the Cantemir dynasty which—with interruptions—ruled Moldavia p ...
(
Dimitrie Cantemir Dimitrie or Demetrius Cantemir (, russian: Дмитрий Кантемир; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Romanian prince, statesman, and man of letters, regarded as one of the most significant e ...
's father). Costin was in custody, being carried from Bărboși to Iași, where he hoped to prove his innocence; a few days earlier, the chronicler's brother had been killed in Iași, being believed to have attempted to obtain the throne for himself. The first hospital in Roman was built in 1798 on the place where the Municipal Hospital ''Precista Mare'' is located today. Talmud Torah, one of the first Jewish schools in the
Principality of Moldova Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centra ...
, was inaugurated in 1817, an important event in itself as Moldova did not grant citizenship to Jews. Roman became a railway hub in the 19th century, when the second railway in Romania was opened in December 1869, from Roman to Suceava (
Ițcani Ițcani (german: link=no, Itzkany) is a neighbourhood of Suceava, the county seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County ( ro, Județul Suceava) in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Bukovina ( ro, Bucov ...
). One year later, on December 27, 1870, The
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...
-Galați-Roman railway was also opened, linking Roman to the capital via Mărășești, Tecuci, Galați, Brăila, and Buzău. Right after the inauguration, this railway was closed due to technical problems, but it was reestablished on September 13, 1872. At the same time, after a reluctant government gave its long-waited approval, the first high school of the city, ''Roman-Vodă'', was opened on September 30 in the building that is still in use today as that of School No. 1. In the Communist era, the city lost the county capital status, being included, in 1950-52 and 1956–68, in Bacău Region, in 1952–56 in
Iași Region Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
, and then, in 1968, in Neamț County. It also became the target of industrialization: in 1957, the steel tubes factory started production. Roman became an important industrial center in Romania. After the fall of communism in 1989, most of the heavy industry, relying strongly on state subsidies, went bankrupt and Roman's economy struggled. The steel tubes factory was privatized, and it is now owned by the Mittal Steel Company, and the economy started to recover.


Geography and demographics

Roman is located in north-eastern Romania, in Neamț County, in the historic region of
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centra ...
, at the mouth of 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 ...
, a tributary to the Siret. The nearest large city is Bacău, away on national road DN2 and on the CFR Suceava–Bucharest railway; Piatra Neamț, the county capital, is away and Iași, the historic capital of Moldavia, is away.


Natives

* * Daniel Baston *
Ernest Broșteanu Ernest Broșteanu (January 24, 1869 June 6, 1932) was a Romanian general during World War I, best known for his leading role in the 1918 Romanian military intervention in Bessarabia. Early life He was born on January 24, 1869, in Roman, Neamț ...
* F. Brunea-Fox * Sergiu Celibidache * Corneliu Codreanu (footballer) * Gheorghe Dănilă * Iliuță Dăscălescu *
Constantin Drugă Constantin Dudu Drugă (born 27 February 1990) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defender. Honours Dante Botoșani *Liga III The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football leag ...
*
Zicman Feider Zicman Feider (1903–1979) was a Jewish Romanian acarologist, a remarkable researcher and a gifted academic, whose work continues to influence by many generations of biologists, some of whom studied zoology under his supervision. His name as a re ...
*
Gheorghe Flondor Gheorghe Flondor (Georg Ritter von Flondor) (August 31, 1892, Roman – April 26, 1976, Bucharest) was Romanian politician who served as Royal Resident (''Rezident Regal'') of Ținutul Suceava from February 7, 1939 to September 23, 1940 ...
*
Bianca Ghelber Bianca Florentina Ghelber (née Perie; born 1 June 1990) is a hammer thrower from Romania. Her personal best throw is 74.18 metres, achieved in August at Tokyo Olympics 2020. Career Perie was born in Roman. As a junior, she was dominant in her ...
* Serban Ghenea *
Adrian Gheorghiu Adrian Ion Gheorghiu (born 30 November 1981) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays for Liga IV-Bacău County side Viitorul Curița. He is a right footed and plays as a left winger, but lately he played as a right winger. He is a tech ...
*
Virgil Gheorghiu (poet) Virgil Romulus Gheorghiu (March 22, 1908–March 7, 1977) was a Romanian poet and musician. Born in Roman, his father Miltiade Gheorghiu was a career army officer, while his mother was a primary-school teacher. He attended high school in his n ...
* Ion V. Gruia * Ion Ionescu de la Brad * *
Constantin Istrati Constantin I. Istrati (7 September 1850 – 17 January 1919) was a Romanian chemist and physician. He was president of the Romanian Academy between 1913 and 1916. He was born in 1850 in Roman, Moldavia (now in Neamț County, Romania). He s ...
*
Ana Maria Iuganu Ana Maria Iuganu (born 25 February 1990) is a Romanian handballer who plays for Gloria Buzău and the Romanian national team The Romania national football team ( ro, Echipa națională de fotbal a României) represents Romania in internation ...
*
Mihail Jora Mihail Jora (; 2 August 1891, Roman, Romania - 10 May 1971, Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian composer, pianist, and conductor. Jora studied in Leipzig with Robert Teichmüller. From 1929 to 1962 he was a professor at the Bucharest Conse ...
* Zizi Lambrino * Ciprian Manea * Andreea Marin * * Petru Th. Missir *
Vasile Morțun Vasile G. Morțun (November 30, 1860 – July 20, 1919) was a Romanian politician, playwright and prose writer. Biography Origins, journalism and political beginnings Born in Roman, he came from a wealthy Moldavian ''boyar'' family, and was ...
*
Tereza Pîslaru Tereza Pîslaru (née Tamaș; born 28 April 1982 in Roman, Romania) is a Romanian handball player who plays for HCM Roman. With the Romanian national team she participated at the 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially t ...
* Mădălin Popa * Cornel Popescu *
Andrei Răuță Andrei Răuță (born 4 July 1995) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga II club Dumbrăvița. Club career Racing Colombes & Guingamp Răuță grew up in Racing Colombes Academy and made its debut at professi ...
* * * Simona Spiridon * * Ion Strat *
Sorin Tabacariu Sorin Mădălin Tabacariu (born 23 July 1994) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking ...
* Sorin Ovidiu Vântu * Haralamb Zincă


Twin towns – sister cities

Roman is
twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...
with: * Dilijan, Armenia * Edineț, Moldova * Gedera, Israel * Grugliasco, Italy *
Ștefan Vodă Ștefan Vodă is a city and the administrative centre of Ștefan Vodă District, Moldova. It was known as ''Suvorov'' (Суворов) during the Soviet period, until 22 May 1990. Media * Vocea Basarabiei Vocea Basarabiei ( en, Voice of Bess ...
, Moldova * Sunchang, South Korea *
Samothraki Samothrace (also known as Samothraki, el, Σαμοθράκη, ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,859 (2011 ...
, Greece


References


External links


Roman-Romania.ro – website
*
Ziarul de Roman – Local newspaper



Melidonium
magazine * {{Authority control Cities in Romania 1234 establishments in Europe Capitals of former Romanian counties Populated places in Neamț County Localities in Western Moldavia