The city is located at the confluence of the Timiș River with the Sebeș River, the latter flowing from the Țarcu Mountains. To the west, it is in direct contact with the Banat Hills. It is an important railroad node, being located approximately 40 km from the county seat, Reșița, 21 km from Oțelu Roșu, 70 km from Hațeg, and about 25 km from the Muntele Mic ski resort, in the Țarcu Mountains.
Climate
Caransebeș has an oceanic climate (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification), with an average of 0–15 °C (32–59 °F), but summers can be warm, with an average of 20–24 °C (68–75 °F). Rainfall can be quite abundant throughout the year.
Climate data for Caransebeș (1991–2020, extremes since 1991)
The first traces of habitation here might date as far as Dacian times. Dacian ruins have been discovered recently near Obreja, a village 7 km away. As the Romans invaded Dacia, they built a castrum named Tibiscum, which was dug up by archaeologists near the nearby village of Jupa, a castrum which later grew to be a full city. Tibiscum is considered one of the gates of Christianity in Dacia, having an important role also in the Romanization of the local people.
After railroads began to appear, the role of Caransebeș grew continuously. In the late 19th century, the Romanian people of the settlement elected to the Parliament of Hungary the Hungarian Lajos Mocsáry, who was a progressive democratic politician fighting for the cultural and administrative rights of all nationalities (including the Romanians) living in the Hungarian Kingdom of that time.
In late October 1918, near the close of World War I, a Romanian National Committee was established in Caransebeș. It formed the core of the largest Banat delegation to Alba Iulia, where the Union of Transylvania with Romania was proclaimed on December 1. Meanwhile, the entire Banat was occupied by the Serbian Army following the Armistice of Belgrade. The Serbs withdrew from the Caransebeș area in January 1919, and were replaced by the French Army. Romania began administering the Banat in late July, with troops moving in during the following weeks. In August 1919, during the Paris Peace Conference, the Banat was divided between the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Greater Romania, with Caransebeș assigned to the latter.[5]
After the rise of the communist regime in 1947, an airport and an airbase were built close to the city. However, the airport did not remain operational for long after the 1989 Revolution.