Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania

Economy | Tourist Industry | Transport | Education

🇷🇴 Cluj-Napoca, or simply Cluj, is the fourth-most populous city in Romania. It is the seat of Cluj County in the north-western part of the country.

Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (445 km), Budapest (461 km) and Belgrade (483 km). Located in the Someșul Mic river valley, the city is considered the unofficial capital of the historical province of Transylvania. From 1790 to 1848 and from 1861 to 1867, it was the official capital of the Grand Principality of Transylvania.

The new metropolitan government of Cluj-Napoca became operational in December 2008. According to a 2007 estimate provided by the County Population Register Service, the city hosts a visible population of students and other non-residents—an average of over 20,000 people each year during 2004–2007. The city spreads out from St. Michael's Church in Unirii Square, built in the 14th century and named after the Archangel Michael, Cluj's patron saint. The boundaries of the municipality contain an area of 179.52 square km (69.31 sq mi).

Cluj experienced a decade of decline during the 1990s, its international reputation suffering from the policies of its mayor at the time, Gheorghe Funar. Today, the city is one of the most important academic, cultural, industrial and business centres in Romania. Among other institutions, it hosts the country's largest university, Babeș-Bolyai University, with its botanical garden; nationally renowned cultural institutions; as well as the largest Romanian-owned commercial bank. Cluj-Napoca held the titles of European Youth Capital in 2015, and European City of Sport in 2018.

The Cluj metropolitan area includes Cluj-Napoca and 19 nearby communes: Aiton, Apahida, Baciu, Bonțida, Borșa, Căianu, Chinteni, Ciurila, Cojocna, Feleacu, Florești, Gilău, Gârbau, Jucu, Petreștii de Jos, Săvădisla, Sânpaul, Tureni, & Vultureni.

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Economy Cluj-Napoca is an important economic centre in Romania. Local brands that have become well known at a national, and to some extent even international level, include: Banca Transilvania, Terapia Ranbaxy, Farmec, Jolidon, and Ursus breweries.

The American online magazine InformationWeek reports that much of the software/IT activity in Romania is taking place in Cluj-Napoca, which is quickly becoming Romania's technopolis. Nokia invested 200 million euros in a mobile telephone factory near Cluj-Napoca; this began production in February 2008 and closed in December 2011. It also opened a research centre in the city that was shut down in April 2011. The former Nokia factory was purchased by Italian appliance manufacturer De'Longhi. The city houses regional or national headquarters of MOL, Aegon, Emerson, De'Longhi, Bechtel, FrieslandCampina, Office Depot, Genpact and New Yorker. Bosch has also built a factory near Cluj-Napoca, in the same industrial park as De'Longhi.

Cluj-Napoca is also an important regional commercial centre, with many street malls and hypermarkets. Eroilor Avenue and Napoca and Memorandumului streets are the most expensive venues, with a yearly rent price of 720 euro/m², but Regele Ferdinand and 21 Decembrie 1989 avenues also feature high rental costs. There are two large malls: VIVO! (including a Carrefour hypermarket) and Iulius Mall (including an Auchan hypermarket). Other large stores include branches of various international hypermarket chains, like Cora, Metro, Selgros and do-it-yourself stores such as Baumax and Praktiker.

Among the retailers found in the city's shopping centres are H&M, Zara, Guess, Camaïeu, Bigotti, Orsay, Jolidon, Kenvelo, Triumph, Tommy Hilfiger, Sephora, Yves Rocher, Swarovski, Ecco, Bata, Adidas, Converse, and Nike.

In 2021, the city's general budget was 2.117 billion lei, the equivalent of over 433 million Euros. This marks a 114% increase over the 2008 level of 990 million lei or 266 million Euros.

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Tourist Industry In 2007, the hotel industry in the county of Cluj offered total accommodations of 6,472 beds, of which 3,677 were in hotels, 1,294 in guesthouses and the rest in chalets, campgrounds, or hostels. A total of 700,000 visitors, 140,000 of whom were foreigners, stayed overnight. However, a considerable share of visits is made by those who visit Cluj-Napoca for a single day, and their exact number is not known. The largest numbers of foreign visitors come from Hungary, Italy, Germany, the United States, France, and Austria. Moreover, the city's 140 or so travel agencies help organise domestic and foreign trips; car rentals are also available.

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Transport Cluj-Napoca has a complex system of regional transportation, providing road, air and rail connections to major cities in Romania and Europe. It also features a public transportation system consisting of bus, trolleybus and tram lines.

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Education Higher education has a long tradition in Cluj-Napoca. The Babeș-Bolyai University (UBB) is the largest in the country, with approximately 50,000 students attending various specialisations in Romanian, Hungarian, German and English. Its name commemorates two important Transylvanian figures, the Romanian physician Victor Babeș and the Hungarian mathematician János Bolyai. The university claims roots as far back as 1581, when a Jesuit college opened in Cluj, but it was in 1872 that emperor Franz Joseph founded the University of Cluj, later renamed the Franz Joseph University (József Ferenc Tudományegyetem). During 1919, immediately after the end of World War I, the university was moved to Budapest, where it stayed until 1921, after which it was moved to the Hungarian city of Szeged. Briefly, it returned to Cluj in the first half of the 1940s, when the city came back under Hungarian administration, but it was again relocated in Szeged, following the reincorporation of Cluj into Romanian territory. The Romanian branch acquired the name Babeș; a Hungarian university, Bolyai, was established in 1945, and the two were merged in 1959. The city also hosts nine other universities, among them the Technical University, the Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca (USAMV), the University of Arts and Design, the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy and other private universities and educational institutes.

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Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania 
<b>Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania</b>
Image: ZARAKA

Cluj-Napoca was ranked #38 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Cluj-Napoca has a population of over 324,960 people. Cluj-Napoca also forms the centre of the wider Cluj-Napoca metropolitan area which has a population of over 418,153 people. Cluj-Napoca is ranked #250 for startups with a score of 1.367.

To set up a UBI Lab for Cluj-Napoca see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Cluj-Napoca has links with:

🇮🇱 Beersheba, Israel 🇵🇹 Braga, Portugal 🇮🇹 Cervia, Italy 🇻🇪 Chacao, Venezuela 🇩🇪 Cologne, Germany 🇺🇸 Columbia, USA 🇫🇷 Dijon, France 🇩🇪 Dortmund, Germany 🇺🇸 East Lansing, USA 🇹🇷 Eskişehir, Turkey 🇧🇷 Jacareí, Brazil 🇰🇿 Karaganda, Kazakhstan 🇦🇱 Korçë, Albania 🇸🇰 Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovak Republic 🇵🇭 Makati, Philippines 🇧🇪 Namur, Belgium 🇫🇷 Nantes, France 🇨🇳 Ningbo, China 🇮🇹 Parma, Italy 🇭🇺 Pécs, Hungary 🇺🇸 Rockford, USA 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Rotherham, England 🇮🇹 San Mauro Pascoli, Italy 🇧🇷 São Paulo, Brazil 🇰🇷 Suwon, South Korea 🇲🇩 Ungheni, Moldova 🇨🇱 Valdivia, Chile 🇮🇹 Viterbo, Italy 🇭🇷 Zagreb, Croatia 🇨🇳 Zhengzhou, China
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license | Nomad | StartupBlink

Antipodal to Cluj-Napoca is: -156.4,-46.777

Locations Near: Cluj-Napoca 23.5999,46.7772

🇷🇴 Zalău 23.05,47.183 d: 61.5  

🇷🇴 Alba Iulia 23.581,46.067 d: 79  

🇷🇴 Baia Mare 23.583,47.667 d: 98.9  

🇷🇴 Bistrița 24.494,47.136 d: 78.8  

🇷🇴 Mediaș 24.352,46.164 d: 89.3  

🇷🇴 Maramures 24,47.667 d: 103.4  

🇷🇴 Târgu Mureș 24.565,46.54 d: 78.2  

🇷🇴 Sibiu 24.146,45.802 d: 116.3  

🇷🇴 Hunedoara 22.921,45.766 d: 123.9  

🇺🇦 Tiachiv 23.567,48 d: 136  

Antipodal to: Cluj-Napoca -156.4,-46.777

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 16703.7  

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 16696.6  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 16164.5  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 16082.3  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 12619.2  

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 12509.7  

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 12493.3  

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 12490.7  

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 12490.4  

🇺🇸 Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 12443.8  

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