Reșița

The name of Reșița might come from the Latin recitia, meaning "cold spring", as the historian Nicolae Iorga once suggested, presuming that the Romans gave this name to Resita, from a water spring on the Doman valley. A much more plausibile version, according to Iorgu Iordan, would be that the name is actually coming from a Slavic word: people living in the neighbouring village of Carașova 15  km away, referring to this place, that in those days was a similar village to theirs, as being "u rečice" (at the creek). It can also be noted that almost all Slavic countries have places with the name of Rečice (pronounced Recițe in Romanian).[3]

Historically, the town has its origins in the 15th century under the name of Rechyoka and Rechycha. Archaeological research found traces of habitation going back to the Neolithic, Dacian and Roman eras. It was mentioned in 1673 under the name of Reszinitza, whose citizens paid taxes to Timișoara, and by the years 1690–1700, it was mentioned as being part of the District of Bocșa together with other towns in the Bârzava Valley. The town was referenced to in the conscription acts of 1717 under the name of Retziza. On 3 July 1771, it became an important metal-manufacturing center in the region. The foundation of the industrial Reșița was laid with the establishment of factories near the villages of Reșița Română (Reschiza Kamerală or Oláh Resitza) and Reșița Montană (Eisenwerk Reschitza, Német(h) Reschitza or Resiczbánya). Reșița Montană was at first inhabited by Romanians, and later, in 1776, 70 German families settled there. Between 1880 and 1941, Germans were the dominant population in the city, with as many as 12,096 residing there in 1941, as opposed to 9,453 Romanians, and 1,861 Hungarians living there in that year. Between 1910 and 1925, Reșița had the status of a rural area, and in 1925, it was declared a town thanks to its development into a powerful industrial location in modern Romania. In 1968, it became a municipality.

After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Reșița lost most of its importance and its economy faced a drawback, along with the Romanian economy. The population also suffered a decrease, dropping from 110,000 in 1989 to 86,000 in 2006. After the fall of communism, the Reșița Steelworks (Combinatul Siderurgic Reșița, CSR) was bought by an American investor who brought the factory just one step away from bankruptcy. Today the steelworks are run by TMK Europe GmbH, a German subsidiary of OAO TMK, Moscow, which has projects of modernization for the CSR.

The city is situated along the Bârzava River, which meets the Doman River in the centre of town. Most of the urban area is concentrated along the Bârzava, with some development—mostly residential—in the surrounding hills.

It is made of three main areas, two former villages that were very close: Romanian Reșița (Romanian: Reșița Română or Olah Resitza) and Highland Reșița (Romanian: Reșița Montană, Eisenwerk Reschitza or Nemet Reschitza); a new area, recently built, made of tower blocks on a wide opened meadow, called Bârzava's Meadow.[4]

The Civic centre of the city has been partially renovated in 2006. An important point of attraction located in the City Centre is the impressive kinetic fountain designed by Constantin Lucaci, built in the communist era.

There are also important cultural points in Reșița that have been renewed in 2006, including the Concrete School (Școala de Beton), Downtown, and the Polyvalent Hall (Sala Polivalentă).

The Reșița Steam Locomotive Museum features Romania's first locomotive built in Romania at Reșița in 1872, and is located in the open-air museum in the (Romanian: Triaj) neighborhood.

An important iron and steel center, Reșița is the site of blast furnaces, iron foundries, and plants producing electrical appliances, chemicals and machinery (see Reșița works).

Local factory in the early 20th century

Small part of the Reșița Steelworks

City Hall in the City Centre

Museum of Highland Banat

Community Centre

The city is a hub for leisure locations all around. Locations near Reșița include the ski resort at Semenic, Lake Gozna, Lake Secu, the Trei Ape Lake (Three Rivers Lake), Gărâna, Brebu, and Văliug.

At the 2021 census, the city had a population of 58,393. At the 2011 census, there were 65,509 people living within the city of Reșița,[5] making it the 29th largest city in Romania. The ethnic makeup is as follows:

Catholic Church in Reşiţa dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows.

Synagogue in Reșița.

According to the 1880 Austro-Hungarian census, the residents were:

• 6,569 Roman Catholics
• 2,129 Orthodox adherents
• 304 Lutherans
• 163 Eastern Catholics
• 126 Reformed adherents
• 72 Judaism adherents

Today there are many of the old churches in service and new ones:

• Roman Catholic churches
  • Saint Mary of the Snows Church (Old City) (Romanian: Biserica Maria Zăpezii)
  • Trinity Sunday Church (Govândari) (Romanian: Biserica Duminica Preasfintei Treimi)
• Orthodox churches
  • New Joseph from Partoș Church (City Center) (Romanian: Sfântul Ierarh Iosif cel Nou de la Partoș)
  • Pentecost Church (Govândari) (Romanian: Pogorârea Sfântului Duh)
  • Saints Peter and Paul Church (Govândari) (Romanian: Sfinții Apostoli Petru și Pavel)
  • Saints Peter and Paul Church (Lend) (Romanian: Sfinții Apostoli Petru și Pavel)
  • Saint Basil the Great Church (Moroasa) (Romanian: Sfântul Vasile cel Mare)
  • Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (Moroasa) (Romanian: Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și Gavriil)
• Orthodox cathedral
  • Adormirea Maicii D-lui (Old City)
  • Schimbarea la Față (Govândari)
• Lutheran church (Old City) – built in the 19th century
• Reformed church (Old City)
• Eastern Catholic church (Govândari)
• Synagogue (Old City)

Reșița has a humid continental climate (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification).

The Banca Comercială Română's building in Reșița

Reșița has long been considered as the second-largest industrial center of Romania. It is an important center in manufacturing steel and vehicle manufacturing. C.S.R. (Combinatul Siderurgic Reșița) and U.C.M.R., the first Romanian factory (Uzina Constructoare de Mașini Reșița). The two are called as Reșița works and are the factories which sustained the city's life for more than 300 years. The first factories were built in 1771, during the reign of Maria Theresa. During the 19th century, the steelworks were known as StEG. After the end of World War I, when Banat became part of Romania, they changed their name again, this time to Uzinele și Domeniile Reșița or UDR (Reșița Works and Domains). Only later, under the Communist regime, did the UDR split into CSR and UCMR.

The economy of Reșița has faced a drawback since 1989, but began recovering as a result of increasing foreign and domestic investment, largely in industry.[8]

• Industry: Automobile industry, Iron industry, texture industry, civilian constructions.
• Agriculture: 1% of the labour force of the city works in agriculture.
• Services: public alimentation, internal and international transport.
• Tourism: 2 tourism societies (Tourist Semenic SA and BIRTA SA).

Cristian Chivu during a match in 2011

• Cristian Chivu (1980–), football player
• Andre Drago (born 1995), athlete, boxer and coach
• Ciprian Foias (1933–2020), mathematician
• Christian Gabriel (1975–), chess grandmaster
• Flavius Koczi (1987–), artistic gymnast
• Werner Stöckl (1952–), handballer
• Alexander Tietz (1896–1978), ethnographer
• Francisc Vaștag (1969–), boxer

Association football

• CSM Reșița

Handball

• HC Adrian Petrea
• CSM Reșița

Reșița is twinned with:[12]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reșița.

• Official site of Reșița (Romanian)
• Internet portal of Reșița (Romanian)