Send Gift Baskets to Târgu Jiu, Romania

There is a river called Jiu that runs through the city, which gives the town its name. During antiquity, a Dacian village existed around today’s city’s location, surrounded by forests. As a result of the Roman conquest of Oltenia (101-102), military units were stationed along the roads that connected different essential routes. Mosaics, coins, ceramics, and Roman bricks were found in the southeastern part of the city during the digging of the Târgu Jiu – Rovinari railroad. As a result of these and ancient testimonies, Târgu Jiu may have been a commercial town (a vicus) under Roman rule. Due to the route from the Danube to Transylvania that runs through the city, historians believe that part of the Roman army under Trajan’s leadership stayed and then passed through it.

Despite Constantine The Great’s involvement in Oltenia, which he sought to bring under imperial rule, the city remained under Roman influence after the withdrawal of the Roman army in 271. Constantine demonstrated the importance of keeping this area under Rome’s control by building a second bridge over the Danube between Corabia (then Sucidava) and the Bulgarian city of Gigen. In terms of length, it was one of the longest in history, measuring over 2400 meters.

The region was ruled by Litovoi in the 13th century, a Vlach (Romanian) voivode whose territory encompassed northern Oltenia. His first mention appears in a diploma issued by King Béla IV of Hungary (1235–1270) on 2 July 1247. As early as 1277 (or between 1277 and 1280), Litovoi was at war with the Hungarians over lands King Ladislaus IV of Hungary (1272–1290) claimed for the crown, but for which Litovoi refused to pay tribute. The battle ended with Litovoi’s death.

A document signed by Mircea cel Batran dated 23 November 1406 gives the first written account of the city. Gorj County has been seated in the town since 1497.

Having lived here as a boy, Constantin Brâncuși was commissioned to contribute to a memorial monument to the World War I fighters called Calea Eroilor, “Heroes’ Street.” In Târgu Jiu, his large sculptures are now the main tourist attractions: The Table of Silence, Stool Alley, The Gate of the Kiss, and The Endless Column. The latter is in the middle section of the city’s coat of arms.

During the 1950s, the Communist mayor planned to demolish Brâncuși’s “bourgeois” art. There was no implementation of the plan.

Rapid population growth was attributed to coal surface mining in the 1960s. Wood, machine building, textiles, glassware, and construction materials (cement, bricks, and tiles) are produced locally.

A university named after Brâncuși was established in 1992.