Portal:Romania/Place of the week
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Timișoara (Hungarian: Temesvár, German: Temeswar / Temeschburg, Serbian: Temišvar, Turkish: Tamışvar) is a city in the Banat region of western Romania. With a population of 305,977 in 2004[update] (329,554 in 2000[update]), it is the capital of Timiș County. It is frequently known in English simply as Timisoara.
All of the variants of its name derive from the Timiș River, known in Roman Antiquity as river Tibisis or Tibiscus. Timișoara is a multicultural city with influential minorities, primarily Germans, Magyars, and Serbs, as well as Italians, and Greeks. It was the birthplace of Johnny Weissmuller (an Olympic swimmer, best known for his role as Tarzan). Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, built Timișoara's footbridge over the Bega. An industrial city with extensive services, it was the first European city to be lit by electric street lamps (the city was part of Austria-Hungary then). Romania is a very interesting place to visit!