Satu Mare (; ; ; or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of

Satu Mare County Satu Mare County (, , ) is a county (Counties of Romania, județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', in German language, Ge ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the region of Maramureș, broadly part of

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. Mentioned in the '' Gesta Hungarorum'' as ("Zotmar's fort"), the city has a history going back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Today, it is an academic, cultural, industrial, and business centre in the Nord-Vest development region.

Geography

Satu Mare is situated in

, in northwest Romania, on the river

Someș The Someș () or Szamos ( or ''Samosch'') is a left tributary of the Tisza in Hungary and Romania. It has a length of (including its source river Someșul Mare), of which 50 km are in Hungary.Lower Someș alluvial plain, spreading out from the Administrative Palace at 25 October Square. The boundaries of the municipality contain an area of . From a geomorphologic point of view, the city is located on the Someș Meadow on both sides of the river, which narrows in the vicinity of the city and widens upstream and downstream from it; flooded during heavy rainfall, the field has various geographical configurations at the edge of the city (sand banks, valleys, micro-depressions). The formation of the current terrain of the city, dating from the late

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Tertiary period The Tertiary ( ) is an obsolete Period (geology), geologic period spanning 66 million to 2.6 or 1.8 million years ago. The period began with the extinction of the non-bird, avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at t ...

, is linked to the clogging of the Pannonian Sea. Layers of soil were created from deposits of

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

loess A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits. A loess ...

and

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

, and generally have a thickness of –. Over this base, decaying vegetation gave rise to

podsol Podzols, also known as podosols, spodosols, or espodossolos, are the typical soils of coniferous or Taiga, boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on he ...

ic soils, which led to favorable conditions for crops (

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

fruit tree A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by animals and humans. All trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, the te ...

s). The water network around Satu Mare is composed of the Someș River, Pârâul Sar in the north and the Homorod River in the south. The formation and evolution of the city was closely related to the Someș River, which, in addition to allowing for the settlement of a human community around it, has offered, since the early

, the possibility of international trade with coastal regions, a practice that favored

milling Milling may refer to: * Milling (minting), forming narrow ridges around the edge of a coin * Milling (grinding), breaking solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting in a mill * Milling (machining), a process of using ro ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and other economic activities. Because the land slopes gently around the city, the Someș River has created numerous branches and

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...

s (before 1777, in the perimeter of the city there were 25 meanders downstream and 14 upstream). After systematisation works in 1777, the number of meanders in the city dropped to 9 downstream and 5 upstream, the total length of the river now being at within the city. Systematisation performed up to the mid-19th century configured the existing Someș riverbed; embankments were built long on the right bank and on the left. In 1970, the embankments were raised by –, protecting 52,000 hectares within the city limits and restoring nearly 800 ha of agricultural land that had previously been flooded.

Flora and fauna

The flora associated with the town of Satu Mare is characteristic for the meadow area with trees of soft essence like

wicker Wicker is a method of weaving used to make products such as furniture and baskets, as well as a descriptor to classify such products. It is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as . Wicker was first documented ...

, indigenous poplar,

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

and

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according to ...

. Grassland vegetation is represented by '' Agrostis stolonifera'', '' Poa trivialis'', ''

Alopecurus pratensis ''Alopecurus pratensis'', known as the meadow foxtail or the field meadow foxtail, is a Perennial plant, perennial grass belonging to the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Europe and Asia. This common plant is found on grasslands, especia ...

'' and other types of vegetation. The city's largest park, the Garden of Rome, features some rare trees that are uncommon to the area, including the pagoda tree, native to East Asia (especially China); '' Pterocarya'', also native to Asia; and '' Paulownia tomentosa'', native to central and western China. Fauna is represented by species of rodents (

hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera. They have become established as popular small pets. The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian ...

and

european ground squirrel The European ground squirrel (''Spermophilus citellus''), also known as the European souslik, is a species from the squirrel family, Sciuridae. It is among the few European species in the genus ''Spermophilus''. Like all squirrels, it is a membe ...

), reptiles, including '' Vipera berus'' in the Noroieni forest, and as avifauna species of

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

s, geese,

egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

s, during passages and systematic occasional wanderings.

Climate

Satu Mare has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

, characterised by hot dry summers and cold winters. As the city is in the far north of the country, winter is much colder than the national average, with minimum temperatures reaching , lower than values recorded in other cities in western Romania like

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

() or

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

(). The average annual temperature is , or broken down by seasons: Spring ,

summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

autumn Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemisphe ...

and

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

. Atmospheric humidity is quite high. Prevailing wind currents blow in from the northwest, bringing spring and summer rainfall. Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/

Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

Name

The Hungarian name of the town ''Szatmár'' is believed to come from the personal name ''Zotmar'', as the 13th-century '' Gesta Hungarorum'' gives the name of the 10th-century fortified settlement at the site of today's Satu Mare as ("Zotmar's fort"). The name ''Satu Mare'', which means "great village" in Romanian, was used for the first time by the priest Moise Sora Novac in the 19th century. An older Romanian name, ''Sătmar'', was formally replaced by the current one in 1925.

History

Archaeological evidence from

Țara Oașului Țara Oașului, lit. 'Oaș Country' in Romanian language, Romanian () is an cultural area, ethnocultural and historical region of Romania located in the north-east part of Satu Mare County, from both Satu Mare and Baia Mare. The total area is abo ...

, Ardud, Medieșu Aurit, Homoroade, etc. clearly shows settlements in the area dating to the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

and the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. There is also evidence that the local Dacian population remained there after the Roman conquest in 101/106 AD. Later, these lands may have formed part of Menumorut's holdings; one of the important defensive fortresses – , dating to the 10th century – was at Satu Mare, as mentioned in the '' Gesta Hungarorum''. After

Stephen I of Hungary Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( ; ; ; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last grand prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first king of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038. The year of his bi ...

created the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

in the year 1000, German colonists were settled at the periphery of the city (''Villa Zotmar''), brought in by Stephen's wife, the Bavarian princess Gisela of Hungary. Later, they were joined by more German colonists from beyond the Someș River, in Mintiu. A royal free city since the 13th century, Satu Mare changed hands several times in the 15th century until the Báthory family took possession of the citadel in 1526, proceeding to divert the Someș's waters in order to defend the southern part of the citadel; thus, the fortress remained on an island linked to the main roads by three bridges over the Someș. In 1562 the citadel was besieged by Ottoman armies led by Pargalı İbrahim Pasha of

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

and Maleoci Pasha of

. Then the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

besieged it, leading the fleeing

n armies to set it on fire. The Austrian general Lazar Schwendi ordered the citadel to be rebuilt after the plans of Italian architect Ottavio Baldigara; using an Italian system of fortifications, the new structure would be pentagonal with five towers. After a period when it changed hands, the town came under Ottoman control in 1661. Called ''Sokmar'' by the new authorities, it was a

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

center within the Şenköy

sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

of Varat Eyalet. This status held until 1691, when the army of the

expelled the Ottomans during the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

. In the Middle Ages, Satu Mare and Mintiu were two distinct entities. The two settlements, then called "Szatmár" and "Németi", were united in 1715, and the resulting city was named "Szatmár-Németi". On 2 January 1721, Emperor Charles VI recognised the union, at the same time granting Satu Mare the status of royal free city. A decade earlier, the Treaty of Szatmár was signed in the city, ending Rákóczi's War for Independence. The city's importance was linked to the transportation and commerce of salt from nearby Ocna Dejului (, ), possibly already at a very early date. Due to the economic and commercial benefits it began to receive in the 13th century, Satu Mare became an important centre for craft guilds. In the 18th century, intense urbanisation began; several buildings survive from that period, including the old city hall, the inn, a barracks, the

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

church and the Reformed church. A Roman Catholic diocese was established there in 1804. In 1823, the city's systematization commission was established in order to direct its local government. In 1844, paving operations begun in 1805 were stepped up. The first industrial concerns also opened, including the steam mill, the brick factory, the Neuschloss Factory for wood products, the lumber factory, the Princz Factory and the Unio Factory. Due to its location at the intersection of commercial roads, Szatmárnémeti became an important rail hub. The line to Nagykároly ( Carei) was built in 1871, followed in 1872 by a line to Máramarossziget ( Sighetu Marmației) line, an 1894 link to Nagybánya ( Baia Mare), 1900 to Erdőd ( Ardud) and 1906 to Bikszád ( Bixad). Since the second half of the 19th century, it underwent important economic and socio-cultural changes. The city's large companies (the Unio wagon factory, the Princz Factory, the Ardeleana textile enterprise, the Freund petroleum refinery, the brick factory and the furniture factory) prospered in this period, and the city invested heavily in communication lines, schools, hospitals, public works and public parks. The banking and commerce system also developed: in 1929 the

chamber of commerce and industry A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

, as well as the commodities stock market were established, with 25 commercial enterprises and 75 industrial and production firms as members. In 1930 there were 33 banks. After the collapse of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, Romanian troops captured the town during their offensive launched on 15 April 1919. By the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

, Satu Mare officially ceased to be part of Hungary becoming part of

. In 1940, the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

gave back

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...

, including Satu Mare, to Hungary. In October 1944, the city was captured by the Soviet Red Army. After 1945, the city became again part of Romania. Soon afterwards, a Communist regime came to power, lasting until the 1989 revolution.

Jewish community

The presence of Jews in

is first mentioned in the late 16th century. In the 17th century, prince Gabriel Bethlen permitted

Sephardi Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

from Turkey to settle in the Transylvanian capital Gyulafehérvár (

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

), in 1623. In the early 18th century, Jews were allowed to settle in Sathmar. Some of them became involved in large-scale agriculture, becoming landlords or lessees, or were active in trade and industry, or distilled brandy and leased taverns on crown estates. In 1715, when Sathmar became a royal town, they were expelled, beginning to resettle in the 1820s. In 1841, several Jews obtained the permission to settle permanently in Sathmar; the first Jewish community was formally established in 1849, and in 1857, a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

was built. After a great number of traditional Ashkenazic Jews had settled in the town, the Jewish community split in 1898, when a supporter of the Hasidic movement was elected chief rabbi, into an Orthodox and a Status Quo community, led by a

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

rabbi, which erected a synagogue in 1904. In the 1920s, there were several Zionist organizations in Satu Mare, and the yeshiva, one of the largest in the region, was attended by 400 students. In 1930, the city had five large synagogues and about 20

shtiebel A shtiebel (, pl. ''shtibelekh'') is a place used for communal Jewish prayer. In contrast to a formal synagogue, a shtiebel is far smaller and approached more casually. It is typically as small as a room in a private home or a place of business ...

s. In 1928, a conflict within the Orthodox community broke out over the election of a new chief rabbi, lasting six years and ending in 1934 with the appointment of the Hasidic rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, a traditionalist and

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

, who later re-founded the

Satmar Satmar (; ) is a group in Hasidic Judaism founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), in the city of Szatmárnémeti (also called Szatmár in the 1890s), Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is a b ...

Hasidic dynasty A Hasidic dynasty or Chassidic dynasty is a dynasty led by Hasidic Jewish spiritual leaders known as rebbes, and usually has some or all of the following characteristics: * Each leader of the dynasty is referred to as an ''ADMOR'' (abbreviation ...

in Williamsburg, New York. Another Hasidic rabbi, Aharon Roth, the founder of the Shomrei Emunim and Toldot Aharon communities in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, was also active in Satu Mare. After Satu Mare became part of Hungary again in 1940, the civil rights and economic activities of the Jews were restricted, and in summer 1941, "foreign" Jews were deported to Kamenets-Podolski, where they were murdered by Hungarian and German troops. In 1944, the Jewish population was forced into the Satu Mare ghetto; the majority of men were sent to forced labor battalions, and the others were deported to the extermination camps in Poland, where the majority of them were murdered by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

. Six trains left Satu Mare for

Auschwitz-Birkenau Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

, starting on 19 May 1944, each carrying approximately 3300 persons. The trains passed through Kassa (

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

) on 19, 22, 26, 29, 30 May and 1 June. In total, 18,863 Jews were deported from Satu Mare, Carei and the surrounding localities. Of these, 14,440 were killed. Only a small number of the survivors returned to Satu Mare after the war, but a number of Jews belonging to linguistically and culturally different groups from all parts of Romania settled in the city. The majority of them later emigrated to Israel. By 1970, the town's Jewish population numbered 500, and in 2011, only 34 Jews remained. In 2004, a Holocaust memorial was dedicated in the Decebal Street Synagogue's courtyard. Aside from the synagogues, two Jewish cemeteries also remain. Among the notable members of the local Jewish community have been historian Ignác Acsády, parliamentary deputies Ferenc Chorin and Kelemen Samu, politician Oszkár Jászi, writers Gyula Csehi, Rodion Markovits, Sándor Dénes, and Ernő Szép, painter Pál Erdös, Jacob Reinitz and director György Harag.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, Satu Mare had a population of 91,520, making it the 20th largest city in Romania.

Politics

Administration

The city government is headed by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. Since 2016, the office is held by Gábor Kereskényi. Decisions are approved and discussed by the local council made up of 23 elected councillors. The city is divided into 12 districts laid out radially. One of these, Sătmărel (''Szatmárzsadány''), is a separate village administered by the city. * 14 Mai * Carpați I * Carpați II * Centrul Nou * Cloșca * Crișan * Gelu * Horea *

Menumorut Menumorut or Menumorout (Modern ) was the ruler of the lands between the rivers Mureș, Someș and Tisza at the time of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 900, according to the '' Gesta Hungarorum'', a Hungarian chronicle wr ...

* Sătmărel * Soarelui * Solidarității Additionally, as Satu Mare is the capital of

, the city hosts the palace of the prefecture, the headquarters of the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

and the

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

, who is appointed by Romania's central government. Like all other local councils in Romania, the Satu Mare local council, the county council and the city's mayor are elected every four years by the population. The city is at the center of the Satu Mare metropolitan area, a metropolitan area established in 2013, with a population of 243,600, and which includes 26 cities, towns and communes. The Satu Mare City Council, elected at the 2020 local elections, is composed of the following parties: The city day is 14 May, which commemorates the devastating floods that affected the city in 1970, although it is also a day of rebirth.

Justice system

Satu Mare has a complex judicial organisation, as a consequence of its status of

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

capital. The Satu Mare Court of Justice is the local judicial institution and is under the purview of the Satu Mare County Tribunal, which also exerts its jurisdiction over the courts of Carei, Ardud, Negrești-Oaș, Tășnad and Livada. Appeals from these tribunals' verdicts, and more serious cases, are directed to the Oradea Court of Appeals. Satu Mare also hosts the county's commercial and military tribunals. Satu Mare has its own municipal police force, ''Poliția Municipiului Satu Mare'', which is responsible for policing of crime within the whole city, and operates a number of special divisions. The Satu Mare Police are headquartered on Mihai Viteazul Street in the city centre (with a number of precincts throughout the city) and is subordinated to the county's

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

inspectorate on Alexandru Iioan Cuza Street. City Hall has its own community police force, ''Poliția Comunitară'' located on Universului Alley, dealing with local community issues. Satu Mare also houses the county's

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

inspectorate.

Transport

Road

Satu Mare has a complex system of transportation, providing road, air and rail connections to major cities in Romania and Europe. The city is an important road and rail hub located near the borders with Hungary and Ukraine. The city is connected to other major Romanian cities by road ( Tabliczka E81

European route E81, Tabliczka E671

European route E671 and Tabliczka E58

European route E58 European route E 58 is a road part of the International E-road network. It begins in Vienna, Austria, and passing through Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova, ends in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. It is approximately long. Since 2014, a pa ...

) and by rail ( CFR Main Line 400). The total number of automobiles registered in Satu Mare was 82,000 in 2008. The city has around 400 streets with a total length of and cover an area of .

Railway

Satu Mare Rail Station, located about north of the city centre, is situated on the Căile Ferate Române Line 400 (

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

– Siculeni – Deda – Dej – Baia Mare), on Line 402 (

– Săcueni – Carei – Satu Mare – Halmeu) and on Line 417 (Satu Mare – Bixad). CFR provides direct rail connections to all the major Romanian cities and to

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. The city is also served by another secondary rail station, the ''Saw Station'' (''Gara Ferăstrău'').

Public transport

The main public transportation system in Satu Mare consists of bus lines. There are twenty-three urban and suburban lines with a total length of , the main operator being Transurban S.A. In addition, there are various taxi companies serving the city. It is worth mentioning that Satu Mare had a trolleybus system in the past, created on 15 November 1994 but has bee
closed in 2005

Airport

The city is served by the Satu Mare International Airport , located south of the city, with a concrete runway, one of the longest in Romania, with TAROM and

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operating regular flights to Bucharest, London and Antalya (seasonal only).

Sports

Association football, Football (soccer) is the most popular recreational sport in Satu Mare. There are two major football clubs in Satu Mare: FC Olimpia Satu Mare, Olimpia and Someșul Satu Mare, Someșul Oar. There are two football stadiums in Satu Mare: Stadionul Olimpia with 18,000 seats and Someșul Stadium with 3,000 seats. Other popular recreational activities include fencing, Team handball, handball, bowling, women's basketball, karate and chess. The local women's basketball team CSM Satu Mare (basketball), CSM Satu Mare is one of the best in the Romanian league; it finished third in the 2008/2009 season playoffs. The team plays its home matches in the largest Arena, indoor arena in the city, the LPS Arena, which has a capacity of 400 seats. The Cyprus, Cypriot professional tennis player Marcos Baghdatis was brought to Satu Mare in 1998 for a month and a half by his former coach Jean Dobrescu to train and to participate in local tennis competitions alongside his fellow Cyprus Davis Cup team, Davis Cup team member, Rareș Cuzdriorean, who is also a Satu Mare native with Cypriot citizenship.

Fencing

Satu Mare has a tradition in fencing dating to 1885, and is the city that has supplied the most world and Olympic champions in Europe. Names like Ecaterina Stahl, Marcela Moldovan, Suzana Ardeleanu, Suzana and Ștefan Ardeleanu, Petru Kuki, Rudolf Luczki, Samuilă Melczhner, Geza Tere and in particular Alexandru Csipler figure prominently in the annals of Romanian fencing. The last four also formed the core of the city's fencing school, winning major local and international tournaments. Top results for which there is evidence date to 1935, when the local Foil (fencing), foil team, Olimpia Satu Mare, lost against CFR Timișoara by a score of 15–10 in the national final, while Rudolf Luczki won the Sabre (fencing), sabre finals held in Cluj-Napoca. In 1973, the first signaling device in Romania was used in Satu Mare; this has been characterised as "a veritable revolution" for Romanian fencing.

Economy

Satu Mare benefits from its proximity to the borders with Hungary and Ukraine, which makes it a prime location for logistical and industrial parks. Companies that have established production facilities in Satu Mare are Voestalpine, Dräxlmaier Group, Gotec Group, Anvis Group, Schlemmer Group, Schlemmer, Casco Schützhelme and Zollner, Zollner Elektronik in the industrial sector; FrieslandCampina in the food sector; Radici Group in the textile sector; and Saint-Gobain and Boissigny in the wood industry. Currently the largest private employer in Satu Mare is the German automotive company Dräxlmaier Group which owns since 1998 an electric engine components factory in the city and has around 3,600 employees. The factory supplies automotive wiring especially to the German car manufacturer Daimler AG but it also supplied wiring to another car manufacturer Porsche for its Porsche Panamera model. The Sweden, Swedish company Electrolux owns a kitchen stove factory in the city acquired in 1997, that has a surface area of and 1,800 employees. The facility has an annual production capacity of around 1.2 million units and the majority of the Zanussi brand kitchen stoves in Europe are manufactured there. The Austrian company Voestalpine owns, since 2004, a steel tubes production facility with an annual capacity of 50 million units per year. The German company Arcandor has its main Romanian office established in Satu Mare. The subsidiary, accounting for the region formed by Romania and Hungary, is the most important among the 16 subsidiaries in Europe in terms of the percentage of sales through online orders having in 2008 total orders of €19.3 million. The company also owns a logistic facility and a call center in the city. Satu Mare's retail sector is fairly well-developed; a number of international companies such as Carrefour, Auchan, Kaufland, Metro Cash and Carry, Metro Point, Lidl and Penny Market have supermarkets or hypermarkets in the city. There is also a regional mall, Shopping City Satu Mare, with a gross leasable area (GLA) of , DIY stores (Dedeman, Brico Dépôt), and several other shopping centers: Grand Mall, Satu Mare, Grand Mall of , Plaza Europa of and Someșul Mall, of . There is also an industrial park called Satu Mare Industrial Park located at the edge of the city on a 70 Hectare, ha surface.

Education

Universities

Satu Mare is home to the Commercial Academy of Satu Mare and several other branches of important Romanian universities: * Babeș-Bolyai University * Spiru Haret University * Technical University of Cluj-Napoca * University of Oradea * Vasile Goldiș West University of Arad

High schools

Satu Mare has 16 high schools, of which four are national colleges: * Doamna Stanca National College (Satu Mare), Doamna Stanca National College * Ioan Slavici National College * Kölcsey Ferenc National College * Mihai Eminescu National College (Satu Mare), Mihai Eminescu National College

Gymnasiums

The city has 16 Gymnasium (school), gymnasiums, with the most important being: * The Grigore Moisil Gymnasium (), founded in 1903 and named after the mathematician Grigore Moisil. * The Ion Creangă Gymnasium (), founded in 1990 and named after the writer Ion Creangă (writer), Ion Creangă. * The Lucian Blaga Gymnasium (), founded in 1996 by Ioan Viman and named after the philosopher and writer Lucian Blaga.

Culture

Satu Mare has a county museum, an art museum, and a theatre, the North Theatre (Satu Mare), North Theatre, built in 1889 which has both a Hungarian and a Romanian section. Concerts are given by the “Dinu Lipatti Philharmonic”, formerly the state symphonic orchestra of Satu Mare, in a concert hall in a wing of the Dacia Hotel. The county library had 320.000 books in 1997, including a special bibliophile collections of over 70.000 volumes.

Tourism

Major tourists attractions are: * Administrative Palace, at , one of the List of tallest buildings in Romania, tallest buildings in Romania * Capitoline Wolf statue * Satu Mare Chain Church, Chain Church * Dacia Hotel * Decebal Street Synagogue * Firemen's Tower (Satu Mare), Firemen's Tower, a tall tower * Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Cathedral

Media

Newspapers

* ''Informația Zilei'' – daily local newspaper * ''Gazeta de Nord-Vest'' – daily local newspaper * ''Cronica Sătmăreană'' – daily local newspaper * ''Friss Újság'' – daily local newspaper in Hungarian language * ''Szatmári Magyar Hírlap'' – daily local newspaper in Hungarian language

TV stations

* TV1 Satu Mare * Nord Vest TV * Pro TV, Pro TV Satu Mare * Informația TV

Radio stations

* Radio City Satu Mare * Radio Unu * Radio Transilvania * Radio ZU * Kiss FM (Romania), Kiss FM Satu Mare

Online portal

* ''Satu Mare Online'' * ''Sătmăreanul''

Consulates

* Honorary Consulate of Ukraine

Natives

;Romania * Ioana Boitor * Gavril Both * Ciprian Brata * Vlad Bujor * Corina (Romanian singer), Corina Ciorbă * Cosmin Costinaș * Daniel David * Mircea Florian (musician), Mircea Florian * Florin Gardoș * Gábor Gerstenmájer * Emanuel Gyenes * Alexandru Karikaș * Simona Miculescu * Dorel Moiș * Ioan Mircea Pașcu * Vasile Paulovics * Ciprian Prodan * Daniel Prodan * Zoltan Ritli * Ovidiu Ioan Silaghi * Sergiu Suciu * Josef Szepeschy * Dan Zaviceanu * Ervin Zsiga ;Hungary * Dániel Antal * Árpád Árvay * Antal Bánhidi * László Bánhidi * László Botka * Gábor Darvas * Arányi Dezső * András Domahidy * Jenő Dsida * Mónika Esztán * Zoltán Horváth (basketball), Zoltán Horváth * József Kürthy * Gyula Lengyel * Noémi Matsutani * Vince Nagy * György Nyisztor * Richárd Osváth * Zoltán Pánczél * Moshe Dovid Winternitz ;Germany * Zita-Eva Funkenhauser * Monika Weber-Koszto * Rita König * Susanne König ;Canada * Corneliu Chisu * Ernest Klein ;USA * Ernie Grunfeld * Yoel Levi ;Cyprus * Rareș Cuzdriorean ;Israel * Miriam Fried

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Satu Mare is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with: * Zutphen, Netherlands, since 1970 * Wolfenbüttel, Germany, since 1974 * Nyíregyháza, Hungary, since 2000 * Berehove, Ukraine, since 2007 * Rzeszów, Poland, since 2007

Gallery

File:Cladire Strada Stefan cel Mare nr. 1 Satu Mare.JPG, Stephen the Great street File:Biserica SM.jpg, Catholic Church, Roman Catholic cathedral File:Satu Mare Chains Church.JPG, Satu Mare Chain Church, Chain Church File:Satu Mare Greek Catholic Cathedral 5.JPG, SS. Michael and Gabriel Cathedral, Satu Mare, SS. Michael and Gabriel Cathedral File:SM8.jpg, Satu Mare Synagogue File:Hotel Dacia, Satu Mare Romania detail 1.JPG, Hotel Dacia, detail File:DJI 0050.png, 25 October Square (Centru Nou, Satu Mare, The New City Centre)

References

External links

Official websites

Satu Mare administration official site

Satu Mare County Prefecture

Satu Mare Municipal Council

Transurban (Public Transport Company) official site

Satu Mare International Airport

Unofficial websites

Satu Mare Online

Satu-Mare.com

Szatmar.ro

Other

* {{Authority control Satu Mare, Cities in Romania Capitals of Romanian counties Satmar (Hasidic dynasty) Populated places in Satu Mare County Historic Jewish communities