Pâncota

Pâncota (Hungarian: Pankota) is a town in Arad County, western Transylvania, Romania. The town is situated at a 37 km distance from the county capital (Arad), in the central zone of the county, at the contact zone of the Aradului Plateau and Zărandului Mountains. The administrative territory of the town is 70.9 square km. The town administers one village, Măderat.

The first mention in documents of the locality dates back to 1202-1203 when it was known as villa Pankota.

Population
According to the last census its population counts 7199 inhabitants. From an ethnical point of view it has the following structure: 79,3% are Romanians, 8,4% Hungarians, 8,2% Roms, 3,0% Germans, 0,3% Slovaks, 0,7% Ukrainians and 0,1% are of other or undeclared nationalities.

History
The centre of the town was ravaged by the invaders for several times. The Turks captured the town repeatedly, in 1687 it got under the administration of the Habsburg empire, while in 1867 under Austrian-Hungarian administration, and it had belonged to it until the Great Union in 1918.

Economy
The town's present-day economy can be characterized by a powerful dynamic force with significant developments in all the sectors. Industry of building materials, furniture industry, light industry, food industry, services and tourism are the most representative economic sectors. Pâncota is an important centre of vineyards and vine, it is well-known in the country as well as abroad.

Tourist attractions
Among the most significant touristic sights of the town are the urban environs along Tudor Vladimirescu Street, the old post office, the "Schulkovschy" palace, the Matca channel - an important hydrotechnical work and the Green House(Casa verde) situated on the main Boulevard.