Vișeu de Sus

Sister cities

• Verkhovyna
• Fürstenfeld
• Staunton
• Rakhiv

History

The town of Viseu de Sus, according to most authors of monographs, is documented from February 2, 1365 (Ketwyssou). This first mention of Vișeu de Sus as a settlement appears in the diploma of the King Louis I of Hungary. According to other authors, the settlement was documented since 1549, under the name of Vișeul Nou (The New Vișeu) or Între Râuri (Between Rivers), being situated at the confluence of the two rivers – name met until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1373, the border of Vișeu de Sus and Borșa is marked, and in 1385 there appears Vișeu de Jos. The year 1453 is the one in which John Hunyadi, the Voivode of Transylvania and the governor of Hungary, gives Vișeu de Sus to the three knezes Ștefan, Petru Mândru, and Nan (Nașcu) and their brothers. The evolution of the town itself starts after the year 1770, when there is established forestry centers with workers in Vişeu and Borșa – "țipțeri" colonists – from Spiš, brought to Vișeu by order of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1743, in Vișeu de Sus there are settled miners from Saxony and establishes exploitation of ores. In 1773, in Vișeu there is established a logging exploitation center, colonized with "sași" (Transylvanian Saxons) from Spiš. In 1775, in Vișeu there are settled German families from Austria (Salzburg and Tyrol). Between 1776 and 1794, the first colonists from Salzkammergut come. In 1778, 25 families from Gmunden settled in the village, mostly with many children. In 1780 the first construction by the newcomers were made such as: First mill in the east side of the city; the construction of the dam above Măcârlău begins, construction which would end in 1784, year when other families from Bavaria settle in Vișeu de Sus. Jews from Galicia also settled in Vișeu de Sus in the 18th century…

Geography

Vișeu de Sus is located in the northeastern part of Maramureș County, on the border with Ukraine. The town lies at the confluence of the rivers Vișeu and Vaser, at an altitude of above sea level, having the characteristics of a mountain city. It neighbors the communes of Moisei to the southeast, Vișeu de Jos to the west, and Poienile de sub Munte to the northwest. It also borders Maramureș Mountains Natural Park to the north, and Rodna Mountains National Park to the south-east. The town administers a surface area of , making it the second-largest town by area in Romania. The relief is mountainous, made of a plateau surrounded by hills, with the altitude varying from to at Vârful lui Dan (Dan's Peak). The relief has a major impact on the tourism in the zone, due to its views. Vaser is the most attractive tourist route in the Maramureș Mountains, a defile, separating on the left a few crystalline shales: Prislopașul (1,201 m), Grebeni (1594 m), Novicioru (1,452 m). It shares its border with Ukraine at . The river Vișeu rises under the Prislop Pass, at an altitude of and flows in the river Tisza near the commune of Bistra at an altitude of around . The river is long, and has an inclination of 2–50 m/km. Its river basin is developed, mostly, in the mountain zone (67%), which ensures a high density of the hydrographic network and a specific drainage of the highest in the country. The river Valea Vinului flows into the Vișeu in Vișeu de Mijloc. The river Vaser rises from the Maramureș Mountains, forming from the springs Boului and Munceii Albi. It is long, and it is Vișeu's most important tributary, with a flow higher than itself. The climate of Vișeu de Sus itself is classified as humid continental (Dfb), characterized by warm summers and…

Most recent

• M 4 — 2015-07-19
  8 km WSW of Neresnytsya, Ukraine