1/28/23, 5:43 PM Târgu Jiu - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 45°2′3″N 23°16′29″E

Contents
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(Top)
1History
2Brâncuși ensemble

3Coat of arms
4Population

5Transport
6Gallery
7Education
8Sports
9Twin cities
10Natives
11See also
12References

13External links

Târgu Jiu
(Redirected from Targu Jiu)

Târgu Jiu (Romanian pronunciation:  [ˌtɨrɡu ˈʒiw]) is the

capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It Târgu Jiu
is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks
Municipality
of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the
city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polata, Preajba Mare,
Romanești, Slobozia and Ursați.

The city is noted for the Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin

Brâncuși.

History

City center
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The city takes its name

from the river Jiu,
which runs through it.
In antiquity, there was
a Dacian village in
around the location of
Coat of arms
Jiu Bridge at the turn of the 20th
today's city surrounded
century.
by forests. After the
Roman conquests of
Oltenia (101-102),
military units were stationed around the roads that
connected different important routes at the time. During
the digging of the Târgu Jiu - Rovinari railroad, mosaics,
coins, ceramics and Roman bricks were found in the south-
eastern part of the city.[3] This and ancient testimonies
support the idea that Târgu Jiu was a commercial town (a
vicus) while under the Roman Empire's rule. A very
important route that connects the Danube to Transylvania
runs through the city, so historians believe that part of the
Roman army under Trajan's leadership stayed and then Location in Gorj County
passed in the actual location of the city.

After the 271 withdrawal of the Roman army, the city

remained in the Latin influence zone, mainly because of
Constantine The Great's involvement in Oltenia which he
sought to bring under imperial rule. The importance of
keeping this zone under Rome's control was underlined by
Constantine's decision to build a second bridge over the Târgu Jiu
Danube between today's Corabia (then Sucidava) and the
Bulgarian city of Gigen. It was over 2400 meters long, one
of the longest of all time.
Location in Romania
This territory was under Litovoi's rule, a Vlach (Romanian) Coordinates: 45°2′3″N 23°16′29″E
voivode in the 13th century, whose territory comprised
northern Oltenia. He is mentioned for the first time in a Country Romania
diploma issued by king Béla IV of Hungary (1235–1270) on County Gorj
2 July 1247. In 1277 (or between 1277 and 1280), Litovoi Established 1406 (first official
was at war with the Hungarians over lands King Ladislaus record as Jiul)
IV of Hungary (1272–1290) claimed for the crown, but for
Subdivisions Bârsești, Drăgoieni,
which Litovoi refused to pay tribute. Litovoi was killed in Iezureni, Polata,
battle. Preajba Mare,
Romanești,
The first written account of the city appears in a document Slobozia, Ursați
dating from 23 November 1406 in an order signed by
Government
Mircea cel Batran. Since 1497, the city has been the seat of
Gorj County.  • Mayor (2020– Marcel
2024) Romanescu[1]
Constantin Brâncuși, who had lived here as a boy, was (PNL)
commissioned to contribute to a memorial monument to Area 102 km2 (39 sq mi)
the fighters of World War I, called Calea Eroilor, "Heroes'
Population (2011)[2] 82,504
Street", which was finished in 1938. His large sculptures

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are now the main tourist attractions in Târgu Jiu: The  • Density 810/km2
Table of Silence, Stool Alley, The Gate of the Kiss, and The (2,100/sq mi)
Endless Column. The latter is shown in the middle section Time zone EET/EEST
of the city's coat of arms. (UTC+2/+3)

In the 1950s the Communist mayor planned to demolish Postal code 200xyz
Brâncuși's "bourgeois" art. The plan was not carried out. Area code +40 x53
Vehicle reg. GJ
Starting in the 1960s, coal surface mining contributed to a Website www.targujiu.ro (htt
rapid population growth. Other local industries include p://www.targujiu.r
wood, machine building, textiles, glassware and o/)
construction materials (cement, bricks and tiles).

In 1992, a university was founded and named after Brâncuși.

Brâncuși ensemble
Mihai Radu, a Romanian architect based in New York, described Târgu Jiu's downtown - rebuilt
during the Communist era - as little more than "a mix of poorly maintained paving, disheveled mass
housing, jumbled signage and buildings of every size and description". The overall cityscape is
"mundane, but vibrant and no doubt livable", with "often dissonant" street pattern and urban fabric.
Representing the interior space of Brâncuși's ensemble, the Calea Eroilor - otherwise an
unprepossessing, uninspiring and "unacceptably vernacular" street - defines through his sculptures
the town's civic areas in the same manner as the Great Axis of Paris.[4]

Brâncuși's work in Târgu Jiu is “absolutely revolutionary”: the sculptures exist at the same time as
conventional public art with multiple meanings and as functional structures (seats, gateway,
monumental marker). Most importantly for Târgu Jiu's urban design, they shape a larger urban
structure, being spatially integrated with the town's urbanism in a dramatic and fundamental way.
One's progression through the entire ensemble is a spatial experience rare in any modern day city. The
sculptures peacefully coexist with and transcend their mundane context. Through Brâncuși's work,
East and West come together in Târgu Jiu in a “completely unique” way. The town's imperfections
reinforce his ensemble's place in the "messy" cityscape and its history. Juxtaposed against the city's
messy urbanism, Brâncuși's ensemble is pluralist urbanism in its finest form. Civic in every way, his
ensemble is closely integrated with Târgu Jiu's everyday life. A small-town Romanian fabric merged
with a sculptural ensemble of world significance makes Târgu Jiu's plural urbanism astonishing.[4]

Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Târgu Jiu consists of a shield with seven towers. In the centre of the shield lies the
representation of Constantin Brâncuși's Endless Column, a symbol of Romanian art and culture. In
the right and left sides of the shield lies a golden lion holding a black sword, "guarding" the column.
The lion is the ancient symbol of Oltenia, thought to originate in the logo of one of Rome's legion
stations in this area, the 13th Legion "Gemina (Legio XIII Gemina)". It represents the bravery and
combative spirit of the city's inhabitants.

Population
1889: 4,076

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1900: 6,634
1940: 26,634
2002: 96,641
2011: 80,548

As of 2011 census, 78,553 inhabitants live within the city limits:[5] 96,29% were Romanians (75,640
people), 3,41% Gypsies or Roma people (2.683 people) and 0,20% others.

Transport
The public transport system of Târgu Jiu consists of 2 trolleybus lines and 8 bus lines. It is
operated by S.C. Transloc. S.A. A ticket for one trip costs around €0.50.
The main railway station is situated on Republicii Blvd. It was reconstructed within the last 25
years.
The city's road network consists of five boulevards (Blvd. Constantin Brâncuși, Blvd. Nicolae
Titulescu, Blvd. Republicii, Blvd. Ecaterina Teodoroiu, Blvd. Unirii). The main street of the city is
Calea Victoriei (Victory Avenue). The largest boulevard in Târgu Jiu is Blvd. Ecaterina Teodoroiu.
Târgu Jiu is crossed by many important roads, such as E 79 and DN 67.

Gallery

The Endless Gate of the Kiss by Tudor Vladimirescu Tudor Vladimirescu

Column by Constantin Brâncuși monument National College
Constantin Brâncuși

City Hall Holy Archangels Central Park Palace of Finance,

Church and Gorj today Constantin
County Prefecture Brâncuși University

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Tudor Arghezi Ecaterina Teodoroiu

Library Memorial House

Education
Main high schools are:

National College "Ecaterina Teodoroiu" (http://www.ecat.ro)

Tudor Vladimirescu National College
Constantin Brăiloiu Music and Arts High School
National College "Spiru Haret" (http://www.spiruharetgorj.ro/)
Colegiul Comercial "Virgil Madgearu (http://www.ccvm.ro)"
Colegiul Tehnic "General Gheorghe Magheru"
Scholar Group Energetic Nr. 1" (http://energeticnr1.com)

The universities are:

Constantin Brâncuși University

Spiru Haret University

Sports
The main football team of the city is Pandurii. They have spent 12 season in the country's top league,
Liga I. Their best result was achieved in the 2012–13 season, when they came in second. Pandurii has
qualified for European competitions on two occasions, and reached the group stages of the 2013–14
UEFA Europa League.

Also, the city has one basketball team in Liga Națională, CSM Târgu Jiu and two handball team in
Divizia A, UCB Târgu Jiu, at male's and CSM Târgu Jiu, at female's.

Twin cities
Târgu Jiu is twinned with the following cities:[6]

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Forbach, France Pendik, Turkey

Lauchhammer, Germany Yambol, Bulgaria
Noci, Italy

Natives
Ioan Bengliu, general
Ioan Culcer, general
Adrian Ioana, mathematician
Grigore Iunian, politician
Mihail Lascăr, general
Horațiu Mălăele, actor
Vasile Martinoiu, opera singer
Sergiu Nicolaescu, actor and film director
Constantin Petrovicescu, soldier and politician
Gheorghe Tătărescu, lawyer and prime minister
Ecaterina Teodoroiu, World War I heroine
Emil Ungureanu, chess International Master

See also
Lake Ceauru (project)

References
1. "Results of the 2020 local elections" (https://prezenta.roaep.ro/locale27092020/romania-pv-final).
Central Electoral Bureau. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
2. "Populaţia stabilă pe judeţe, municipii, oraşe şi localităti componenete la RPL_2011" (https://www.r
ecensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rpl_2011_populatia-pe-categorii-de-localitati.x
ls) (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
3. Ministerul Culturii şi Patrimoniului Naţional, Lista Monumentelor Istorice, 2010 (http://www.cultura.
abt.ro/Files/GenericFiles/LMI-2010.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120610112533/ht
tp://www.cultura.abt.ro/Files/GenericFiles/LMI-2010.pdf) 2012-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
4. Brent D. Ryan, MIT Press, 27 oct. 2017, The Largest Art: A Measured Manifesto for a Plural
Urbanism, pp. 126-129 (https://books.google.ro/books?id=vzs8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA126)
5. "Recensamantul populatiei si Locuintelor 2011" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160121101301/htt
p://www.gorj.insse.ro/phpfiles/GORJ%20COMUNICAT%20REZULTATE%20PROVIZORII%20RP
L%202011.pdf) (PDF) (in Romanian). INSSE. 2 February 2012. Archived from the original (http://w
ww.gorj.insse.ro/phpfiles/GORJ%20COMUNICAT%20REZULTATE%20PROVIZORII%20RPL%20
2011.pdf) (PDF) on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2012.

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