Sighetu Marmatiei is an interesting city located within the north western Romanian region of Maramures, near the River Iza. Due to its location, this destination is ideal for all those tourists who wish to be able to visit several towns in a short period of time during their vacation in Romania. Sighetu Marmatiel is located near several other attractive spots, such as, for example, Ocna Sugatag, Sarasau, Vadu Izei, Giulesti, and Sapanta.
The city of Sighetu Marmatiei passed from having a population of approximately 21,400 inhabitants in 1910 to more than 44,100 inhabitants nowadays. This city counts with an important percentage of Hungarians, in such a way that the population is composed by approximately a 79,70% of Romanians, 15,80% of Hungarians, and 4,5% of other origins.
The area in which nowadays Sighetu Marmatiei is has been inhabited since as long ago as the Bronze Age. The beginnings of this city as such date from around the 13th century, when King Ladislas IV of Hungary officially recognized it. During the 14th century, this city became capital of what was known as Maramaros Comitatus and was named a Royal Town.
Towards middles of the 16th century, the town of Sighetu Marmatiei became the main residence of the Prince of Transylvania and, along with that, a very popular and active place. Around the year 1730, and by request of King Charles III, the city became part of the Kingdom of Hungary, and not long after that, it became one of its main political and cultural centers.
At the end of World War I, Sighetu Marmatiei was named as part of the Kingdom of Romania, but during World War II it became part of Hungary again. In 1944, the city was returned to Romania, after about 20,000 Jews from Sighetu Marmatiei were sent to extermination camps, fact which has left a deep mark in the history of this city.
Sighetu Marmatiei has been the birth town or home town of several famous personalities. Among the famous people who lived in Sighetu Marmatiei, we can name, for example, the painter Simon Hollosy, the writer, Holocaust survivor, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, the rabbi Yekutiel Yehuda Teitelbaum, the rabbi and Holocaust survivor David Weiss Halivni, and the rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum.