Reșița

Sister cities

• Caen
• Bălți
• Pesaro
• Marijampolė Municipality
• Baskil district
• Veliko Gradište
• Moncton
• Vrgorac
• Kikinda
• Vršac
• Pančevo
• Bihać

History

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. In the Middle Ages, the area was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Following the death of the Jagiellon King of Hungary Louis II at the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Hungarian crown would be inherited by the Habsburg monarchy, but this was contested by much of the Hungarian nobility, resulting in the formation of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, encompassing much of Transylvania and the Banat. In 1553, the area was incorporated into Temeşvar Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. The town is mentioned in 1673 under the name of Reszinitza, whose citizens paid taxes to the Ottoman bey (governor) in Timișoara (Turkish: Temeşvar; Hungarian: Temesvár). Following the Battle of Vienna in 1683, Ottoman influence north of the Danube would contract. and the Habsburg 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. In the Habsburg-Ottoman War of 1716–1718, Prince Eugene of Savoy would conquer the region for the Habsburgs. The Habsburgs established the Banat of Temeswar and began fortifying the region as a Military Frontier. The town was referenced in the conscription acts of 1717 under the name of Retziza. Under Empress Maria Theresa, in 1751 Reșița and much of the northern Banat was detached from the Banat Military Frontier and transferred from military to civil administration. 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…