Bacău

Infobox Settlement
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = ROU
timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3
map_caption = Location of Bacău

|official_name=Bacău


image_caption=County Council
image_shield=coa_Bacau_RO.png

subdivision_type1=County
subdivision_name1=Bacău County
subdivision_type2=Status
subdivision_name2=Autolink|County capital
leader_title=Mayor
leader_name=Romeo Stavarache|
leader_party=National Liberal Party
area_total_km2=43.1
population_total=175,921 (2002)|population_footnotes= [National Institute of Statistics (Romania)
National Institute of Statistics, [http://www.insse.ro/Anuar%202005/CHAPTERS/cp2.pdf Population of counties, municipalities and towns] , July 1, 2004]
population_density_km2=4064|latd=46|latm=35|lats=|latNS=N|longd=26|longm=55|longs=|longEW=E|
population_metro = 272,803website=http://www.primariabacau.ro

Bacău (in Romanian: IPA|/ba'kəw/) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. It covers a land surface of 41km² and has an estimated population of 175.921 The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, and on the Bistriţa River (which meets the Siret River about 8 kilometres (5 miles) to the south of Bacău). The Ghimeş Pass links Bacău to Transylvania.

History

The earliest known reference to the city dates from 1408, during the rule of Moldavian Prince Alexandru cel Bun. The etymology is unclear, but one possibility is being derived from the name of a medieval Hungarian innkeeper, "Bakó", who, supposedly, had an inn on the current road from Bacău to Roman, whose lodging was, according to legend, the first in the town of Bacău. Interestingly, the "Bakó" word is a fairly common Hungarian last name, meaning "executioner" in Hungarian. Another theory suggests that the name may have a Slavic origin, pointing to the Proto-Slavic word "byk", meaning "ox" or "bull", the region being very suitable for raising cattle; the term, rendered into Romanian alphabet as "bâc", was probably the origin of "Bâcău" (БѪКЪУ in Romanian Cyrillic, a name by which the town is mentioned in several medieval documents).

From around 1591 to 1789, the city was home to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Bacău. That office was always held by a priest from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. During World War I and the occupation of Bucharest by the Central Powers, Bacău was the headquarters of the Romanian Army.Octavian Ciobanu once lived here before he transfered to Grand Forks, ND.

Transportation

The city is about 300 km North of Bucharest. It is served by Bacău International Airport which provides daily direct links with the Romanian cities Bucharest and Timişoara, and international links with 11 cities in Italy and Germany.

The Bacău Railway Station ("Gara Bacău") is one of the busiest in Romania; it has access to the Romanian railway main trunk number 500. Thus the city is connected to the main Romanian cities; the railway station is an important transit stop for international trains from Ukraine, Russia, and Bulgaria.The city has access to the DN2 road (E85) that links it to the Romanian capital, Bucharest (to the South) and the cities of Suceava and Iaşi (to the North). The European route "E574" is an important access road to Transylvania and the city of Braşov. Also the city is located also at the intersection of several national roads of secondary importance.

Bacau has had to hire Chinese workers to fill the shoes of locals who have headed to the West. Many immigrants come for fixed-term contracts and return home instead of putting down roots here.

Culture

Bacău has a public university and several colleges. Two major Romanian poets, George Bacovia and Vasile Alecsandri were born here. The "Mihail Jora" Athenaeum and a Philharmonic Orchestra are located here, as well as the "G. Bacovia" Dramatic Theater and a Puppet Theater. Around Christmas every year, a Festival of Moldavian Winter Traditions takes place, reuniting folk artists from all the surrounding regions. The exhibition "Saloanele Moldovei" and the International Painting Camp at Tescani, near Bacau, reunite important plastic artists from Romania and from abroad.The local History Museum, part of the Museum Complex "Iulian Antonescu" has an important collection of antique objects from the ancient Dacia.

port

*FCM Bacău, football club

Buildings and Structures

* Bacău TV Tower ( Romanian: Turnul de televiziune Bacău), concrete tower, height: 150 metres

Personalities

*Aaron Aaronsohn, botanist
*Angela Alupei, rower
*Vasile Alecsandri, poet
*George Apostu (1934 - 1986), sculptor
*George Bacovia, poet
*Ovidiu Balan, conductor
*Ilie Boca, painter
*Petru Cimpoesu (1952, born in Vaslui), writer
*Radu Cosaşu, writer and activist
*Nicu Enea, painter
*Mariana Zavati Gardner, poet
*Solomon Marcus, mathematician
*Gheorghe Vranceanu (1900 - 1979), mathematician
*Doina Melinte, athlete, Olympic gold medalist
*Mihaela Melinte, athlete, Olympic gold medalist
*Teodor Negoiţă, polar explorer
*Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu, Marxist intellectual and politician
*Andrei Pricope, cellist
*Monica Roşu, gymnast
*Alexandru Şafran, Rabbi
*Nicolae Vermont, painter

Photos

ee also

*Bacau metropolitan area

External links

* [http://www.goobix.com/photos/images-Bacau/ Images from the city]
* [http://www.agendabacau.ro/ Bacau online guide]
* [http://bacau.ido.ro/ Bacau online community] - news, information, discussion forums (in Romanian).
* [http://vremea.ido.ro/Bacau.htm Bacau weather forecast]
* [http://news.observatordebacau.info/ "Observator", Bacău edition]
* [http://orasulbacau.ro/ "Bacau City Portal"]
* [http://bacau.ro/ Portal oras Bacau]