Focsani

From Wikinfo

Focşani
Coat of arms
Location of Focşani
Coordinates: 45°42′0″N 27°10′47″E / 45.7, 27.17972
Country	Romania
County	Vrancea County
Status	County capital
Government
- Mayor	Decebal Bacinschi (Social Democratic Party)
Area
- Total	48.1 km² (18.6 sq mi)
Population (2002)[1]
- Total	101,854
- Density	2,115/km² (5,477.8/sq mi)
- July 1, 2004	101,294
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website	http://www.focsani.info/

For criticism see Criticism of Focsani

For the Romanian article see Focşani

Focşani (Template:Pron; German: Fokschan) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the shores the Milcov river. It has a population (as of 2002) of 101,854.

Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Landmarks 4 Coat of arms 5 Possible origins of the name 6 Sister cities 7 Natives 8 Schools 8.1 Important Highschools 9 References 10 Notes

Geography

Focşani lies at a point of convergence for tectonic geologic faults, which raises the risk of earthquakes in the vicinity. It is one of the most popular wine-producing regions in Romania, Odobeşti being just to the northwest. Weisse von Fokshan is a famous local wine, and the vicinity is rich in minerals such as iron, copper, coal, and petroleum.

History

As a town on the Moldavian-Wallachian border, Focşani developed into an important trade center halfway between the Russian Empire and the Balkans. A congress between Imperial Russian and Ottoman diplomats took place near the city in 1772. Nearby the town, the Ottomans suffered a severe defeat at the hands of the allied forces of the Habsburg Monarchy under Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Imperial Russia under Alexander Suvorov in 1789 (see Battle of Focşani).

In the 1850s (after the Crimean War), Focşani grew in importance as the center of activities in favor of the union between Wallachia and Moldavia (the Danubian Principalities), leading to the double election of Alexander John Cuza in Iaşi and Bucharest. Following this, it housed a Central Commission regulating the common legislation of the two countries, as well as the High Court of Justice. Both institutions were disestablished in 1864, when the Romanian Principality was founded as a unified state. Focşani's role in the forming of the modern Romanian state is immortalized in the Union Square Obelisk.

On December 30-31, 1881, following the impact of Zionism on the Romanian Jewish community, the First Congress of all Zionist Unions in Romania for the promotion of the colonization of Eretz Israel was held at Focşani. It was attended by 51 delegates, representing 32 organizations, two press editors, three newspaper reporters and important guests. This 1881 Congress, the first ever held, 16 years before the World Zionist Organization's First Zionist (held in Basel), had a major influence on the Romanian Jews, and its proceedings also became known outside the borders of Romania.

In 1917, during the Romanian Campaign of World War I, Focşani and Galaţi were part of a line of fortifications known as the Siret Line. An armistice was signed in the city on December 9, 1917, between the Kingdom of Romania and the Central Powers.

In 1944, during World War II, Focşani was supposed to be part of the fortified Focşani-Nămoloasa-Galaţi line, where 9 elite divisions were preparing to resist the Soviet Red Army's advance after the Battle of Târgul Frumos. However, due to the turn of events on August 23, 1944 (see Romania during World War II), this never materialized.

Landmarks

An important landmark is Piaţa Unirii, a place that houses a monument dubbed ,,Morcovul" (in translation ,,the carrot"). Other important places are Milcovul, the BIG or the central market

Coat of arms

Focşani's location on the Milcov river which divided Wallachia and Moldavia is depicted on its coat of arms, which represents the heraldic emblems of both principalities and a handshake.

Possible origins of the name

Is it assumed the name came from one of these two reasons:

• A shepherd, Focşa, is assumed to have settled here, and as such the place was ultimately called Focşani, on the same principle with Bucur and Bucharest.
• A word play, as Focşani could be divided in 3 words - Foc şi ani, meaning every year there is a fire (mot-a-mot meaning (the) fire and (the) years).

These two meanings were tought in school between the 1990s and 2000s.

Sister cities

• Tivoli, Italy ^[2]
• Potenza, Italy ^[2]
• 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands ^[2]
• Patras, Greece ^[2]

Natives

• Camil Baltazar
• Constantin C. Giurescu
• Ion Mincu
• Cilibi Moise
• Anghel Saligny
• Oscar Sager
• Solomon Schechter
• Gheorghe Tattarescu
• Adrian Voinea
• Razvan Munteanu
• Iusty

Schools

Important Highschools

• ,,Unirea"
• ,,Cuza"
• Liceul nr. 1
• Liceul 4 (Focşani), located a few blocks from Liceul 1

References

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Focsani. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of this Wikinfo article is available under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license. English | Română | edit

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Personal observation by Iusty.

Notes

v • d • e County seats of Romania (alphabetical order by county) Alba Iulia • Arad • Piteşti • Bacău • Oradea • Bistriţa • Botoşani • Braşov • Brăila • Buzău • Reşiţa • Călăraşi • Cluj-Napoca • Constanţa • Sfântu Gheorghe • Târgovişte • Craiova • Galaţi • Giurgiu • Târgu Jiu • Miercurea Ciuc • Deva • Slobozia • Iaşi • Buftea • Baia Mare • Drobeta-Turnu Severin • Târgu Mureş • Piatra Neamţ • Slatina • Ploieşti • Satu Mare • Zalău • Sibiu • Suceava • Alexandria • Timişoara • Tulcea • Vaslui • Râmnicu Vâlcea • Focşani Bucharest (national capital)