Introduction


Cluj-Napoca. Romania.



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 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 USAMV, the University of Arts and Design, the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy and other private universities and educational institutes.
Cluj-Napoca has a diverse and growing cultural scene, with cultural life exhibited in a number of fields, including the visual arts, performing arts and nightlife. The city's cultural scene spans its history, dating back to Roman times: the city started to be built in that period, which has left its mark on the urban layout (centered on today's Piața Muzeului) as well as surviving ruins. However, the medieval town saw a shift in its centre towards new civil and religious structures, notably St. Michael's Church.
The city has a number of renowned facilities and institutions involving performing arts. The most prominent is the Neo-baroque theatre at the Avram Iancu Square Built at the beginning of the 20th century by the Viennese company Helmer and Fellner, this structure is inscribed in UNESCO's list of specially protected monuments Since 1919, shortly after the union of Transylvania with Romania, the building has hosted the Lucian Blaga National Theatre and the Romanian National Opera. The Transylvania Philarmonic, founded in 1955, gives classical music concerts.The multiculturalism in the city is once again attested by the Hungarian Theatre and Opera, home for four professional groups of performers. There is also a number of smaller independent theatres, including the Puck Theatre, where puppet shows are performed.

Music and nightlife


Cluj-Napoca is the residence of some well-known Romanian musicians. Examples of homegrown bands include the popular Romanian rock band Compact, the modern pop band Sistem—which finished third in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, the rhythm and blues band Nightlosers, the alternativeband Luna Amară, Grimus—the winners of the 2007 National Finals of Global Battle of the Bands, as well as a large assortment of electronic music producers, notably Horace Dan D.[189] The Cheeky Girls also grew up in the city, where they studied at the High School of Choreography and Dramatic Art. While many discos play commercialhouse music, the city has an increasing minimal techno scene, and, to an extent jazz/blues and heavy metal/punk. The city's nightlife, particularly its club scene, grew significantly in the 1990s, and continues to increase. Most entertainment venues are dispersed throughout the city centre, spreading from the oldest one of all, Diesel Club, on Unirii Square. The list of large and fancy clubs continues with Obsession The Club and Midi, the latter being a venue for the new minimal techno music genre. These three clubs are classified as the top three clubs in the Transylvania-Banat region in a chart published by the national daily România Liberă. The Unirii area also features the Fashion Bar, with an exclusive terrace sponsored by Fashion TV. Some other clubs in the centre are Aftereight, Avenue, Bamboo, Decadence, Kharma and Molotov Pub. Numerous restaurants, pizzerias and coffee shops provide regional as well as international cuisine; many of these offer cultural activities like music and fashion shows or art exhibitions.

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