City (pop., 2002: 317,651), western Romania.
Located near the Timiş River , it was first settled in Neolithic and Roman times. It was sacked by the Tatars in the 13th century. Its citadel was rebuilt in the 14th century and for a few years became the residence of Charles I of Hungary. The Turks held the town from 1552 until the Austrians took it in 1716. Occupied by Serbia in 1919, Timişoara was allotted to Romania by the 1920 Treaty of Trianon . Antigovernment demonstrations there in 1989 led to the execution of Pres. Nicolae Ceauşescu and the end of communist rule in Romania. It is a manufacturing, commercial, and cultural centre.