History of Baia Mare

Middle Ages

Baia Mare is first mentioned in written documents released by Charles I of Hungary in 1328 under the name of Rivulus Dominarum (English: Ladies' River).

Later, in 1347 the town is presented in documents by Louis I of Hungary as an important medieval town with a prosperous mining industry. Its rules of organization were characteristic of the free towns of that time. In 1411 the town and its surrounding areas, including the mines, were transferred into the property of the Hunyadi family by Sigismund, King of Hungary (later also Holy Roman Emperor), who recognised Janos Hunyadi's contribution to stop the Turkish invasion of Europe.

The town entered in a period of prosperity, when St. Stephen Cathedral was built. Today the cathedral tower is one of the best-known of the town's historic landmarks. The first school, named Schola Rivulina, was opened in Baia Mare in 1547 by the Reformed Church following the Protestant Reformation.

Modern period

In 1703 Pintea Viteazul and his band managed to free the town for a short period of time from the Holy Roman Empire, for which it served as the imperial treasury. Since then Pintea has been seen as an important figure in the town's history, representing the dream of freedom. The Budesti Church has his chain mail shirt and a helmet reportedly worn by "Pintea the Brave", as he was called. The Museum of Baia Mare displays his weapons and their harness.

In 1748 the city’s mining industry made a leap forward when the Austrian authorities created the headquarters of "Superior Mining".