Oravița

Oravița
—  Town  —
Coat of arms
Location of Oraviţa
Country	Romania
County	Caraş-Severin County
Status	Town
Government
• Mayor	Ion Goga (Democratic Party)
Area
• Total	168.9 km2 (65.2 sq mi)
Population (2002)
• Total	15,265
• Density	90/km2 (233.1/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website	http://www.oravita.ro/

Oravița (Romanian pronunciation: [oˈravit͡sa]; Hungarian: Oravicabánya; German: Orawitz; Czech: Oravice; Serbian: Оравица) is a town in southwestern Romania, in Caraș-Severin County, with a population of 15,524 in 2000. Its theatre is a fully functional scaled down version of the Burgtheater in Vienna. Six villages are administered by the town: Agadici (Agadics; Agaditsch), Brădișoru de Jos (Majdán), Broșteni (Brostyán), Ciclova Montană (Csiklóbánya; Montan-Tschiklowa), Marila (Marillavölgy; Marillathal) and Răchitova (Rakitova).

Agadici village

The history of Agadici can be traced back to at least the 17th century, when records noted a population of "800 souls". Today, there are fewer than 200 people living in Agadici. Agadici is a word derived from Turkish: Aga meaning 'colonel' and dici meaning 'daughter'. Therefore, Agadici means "daughter of the colonel". The town was supposedly named after a colonel's daughter when the Ottoman Empire occupied the land that is now the Banat (see the Temeşvar Eyalet).

Anina-Oravița railway

View from Oraviţa - Anina mountain railway in 2010.

Houses close to the Oraviţa - Anina mountain railway.

The Anina-Oravița mountain railway was the first in Romania, built in 1856, it is still in use today for touristic purposes, and it is one of the most beautiful railways in Europe due to very picturesque landscapes, viaducts and long tunnels.