urban cluj: December 2009

Dec 31, 2009

Dec 30, 2009

Dec 29, 2009

Housing development

High-density housing development in Manastur neighborhood.

Dec 28, 2009

Dec 27, 2009

Medieval

Detail of the gothic church on Kogalniceanu street.

Dec 26, 2009

Dec 25, 2009

Mall scene

May the winter holidays bring happiness to you and fulfil your wishes, be they a major purchase or simply enjoying the magic and legends of the season!

Dec 24, 2009

Dec 23, 2009

Dec 22, 2009

Snow falling

Snow falling on Eroilor Boulevard, by night.

Dec 21, 2009

Santa's new jument

In this ad Santa seems to have replaced his reendeers with the purple cow.

Dec 20, 2009

Dec 19, 2009

Few days before holidays

The heavy snow affected the traffic and the businesses in the city, these days.

Dec 18, 2009

Dec 17, 2009

Dec 16, 2009

Winter spectacle

Winter open air spectacle in Unirii Square.

Dec 15, 2009

Dec 14, 2009

Euphoria

Entrance to Euphoria Irish Pub, by night.

Dec 13, 2009

Dec 12, 2009

Dec 11, 2009

Stained glass

Stained glass window in the Cinema Victoria lobby.

Dec 10, 2009

Cemetery

The Manastur Cemetery lays on a hill, in the SW part of the city.

Dec 9, 2009

Dec 8, 2009

Dec 7, 2009

Legal herbs

This kind of shops where you can buy 'aromatic' plants, seeds and salts (in fact, alternative products to get high) are controversial, but still legal.

Dec 6, 2009

Office building

New office buildings on Frunzisului street.

Dec 5, 2009

Dec 4, 2009

Abandoned bar

Abandoned terrace bar in Manastur neighborhood, seen in sepia.

Dec 3, 2009

Panorama

View of the city from the Botanical Garden water tower.

Dec 2, 2009

Dec 1, 2009

The Benedictine abbey of Kolozsvar-Monostur known today as the Calvaria Church was founded in the 11th century under the rule of the Hungarian kings Bela I and Ladislaus I. In 1508, during the reign of Vladislas II, King of Hungary and Bohemia, it become one of the most important institution of secular instruction in the city. In 1581 Stephen Bathory, Prince of Transylvania and King of Poland transferred the convent to the Jesuits, in relation with the foundation of a university college here. Starting with the 18th century, it functioned as a Roman-Catholic, Greek-Catholic, Greek-Orthodox and again Roman-Catholic church. You can see other details of the same church as previously posted here and here.

Cluj is the third big city in Romania considering its population, with a general number of residents & commuters in its metro area of about 400,000.

It is largely known as the capital-city of the historical province of Transylvania - land of medieval citadels, wild crags, caves and forests, and the famous figure of Dracula.

Historically speaking Cluj was settled as a colony by the Romans (Colonia Aurelia Napoca) by the 2nd century CE, from where came the name of Napoca, and thereafter developed as fortress and city by the Hungarians, Saxons and Austrians - which conferred it the cultural, architectural, and urban influences of the multicultural Central Europe. Romanians, who constantly were the dominant rural population around the city, became the city rulers in 1918, when Transylvania became part of Romania, and developed it, especially within the Communist regime, after the 1947, by constructing large industries and working-class neighborhoods.

Along its history, Cluj acknowledged periods of progress and illuminism - sustained by a notable university and the medical and legal centers developed here already since the 16th century - together with warfare, nationalistic and religious troubles and stagnation - due to medieval invasions, far-right politics encouraging hostilities between Magyars and Romanians, and religious tensions between Greek-Catholics and Greek-Orthodoxs.

Today it is considered among the major hotbeds of development regarding the human capital in the region - due to its large number of university students, vibrant culture, safe social and economic environment, and perspectives for further development.