Information

Baia Sprie (German: Mittelstadt, Hungarian: Felsőbánya) is a town in the Maramureş County, north of Romania.

Under the same administration are four settlements: the proper town of Baia Sprie and the villages of Chiuzbaia, Satu Nou de Sus and Tăuţii de Sus. Neighbouring communities are: the city of Baia Mare, Grosi, Dumbrăviţa, Siseşti and Deseşti. Of the total population, about 11,500 live in the main town. Ethnically, there is a large Romanian majority, and a Hungarian minority of about 28%.

History

The first mention of the settlement is from 1329 as "Civitas in medio monte". the town was in Szatmár County of the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1567 it was annexed by Prince János Zsigmond, prince of Transylvania. 1605-1606, 1621-1629, 1645-1648 the town with the county was part of the Principality of Transylvania.

In the 1910 census, the following languages were spoken in the town: Hungarian language 93.8%, Romanian language 5.2% and other 1.0%. At the same census the following religions were represented: Roman Catholic 52.1%, Greek Catholic 28.1%, Calvinist 13.3%, Judaism 6.1%, other 0.5%.

From 1919/1920 (Treaty of Trianon) to 1940 (Second Decision in Vienna) the town was part of the Kingdom of Romania. Between 1940 and 1944 it was part of Hungary but The Treaty of Paris (1947) reallocated it to Romania. The settlement was a town 1952-1960 in Baia Mare Region, 1960-1968 in Maramureş Region and from 1968 is in Maramureş County.

Cities in RomaniaMaramureş County