Bistrița

Sister cities

• Besançon
• Herzogenrath
• L'Aquila
• Soroca
• Columbus
• Rehovot
• Montreuil
• Wels
• Zielona Góra

History

The earliest sign of settlement in the area of is in Neolithic remains. The Turkic Pechenegs settled the area in 12th century following attacks of the Cumans. Transylvanian Saxons settled the area in 1206 and called the region . A large part of settlers were fugitives, convicts, and poor people looking for lands and opportunities. The destruction of ("Market Nösen") under the Mongols of central Europe is described in a document from 1241. The city was then called . Situated on several trade routes, became a flourishing medieval trading post. became a free royal town in 1330. In 1353, King Louis I of Hungary granted the town the right to organize an annual 15-day fair on Saint Bartholomew day, as well as a seal containing the coat of arms of an ostrich with a horseshoe in its beak. The town developed markets throughout Moldavia, and its craftsmen travelled extensively. It was given the right to be surrounded by defensive walls in 1409. In 1465, the city's fortifications had 18 defensive towers and bastions defended by the local guilds. It was also defended by a , or fortified church. In 1713 the Romanian population was expelled by the Saxon magistrates, but they returned later. The town was badly damaged by fire five times between 1836 and 1850. The church suffered from fire in 1857, when the tower's roof and the bells were destroyed. The roof was rebuilt after several years. Fires in the nineteenth century also destroyed much of the city's medieval citadel. A Jewish community developed in after the prohibition on Jewish settlement there was lifted in 1848, The community was Orthodox with a strong Hasidic section, but there were also Jews who adopted German and Hungarian culture. A Zionist youth organization, , was founded in in 1901 by Nissan Kahan, who…

Most-observed species

• False-acacia

  Robinia pseudoacacia L. · Magnoliopsida
  26
• Annual Fleabane

  Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. · Magnoliopsida
  25
• Canadian Fleabane

  Erigeron canadensis L. · Magnoliopsida
  24
• Canadian Goldenrod

  Solidago canadensis L. · Magnoliopsida
  24
• Common Toad

  Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Amphibia
  22
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  20
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  19
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  19