Bacau COUNTY - Geography and history
Located in the eastern part of Romania (central Moldova), Bacau county has an area of 6,621 km2 (2.8% of national territory). It is surrounded by the following counties: Neamt - to the north; Vaslui - to the east; Vrancea - to the south; Covasna and Harghita - to the west. The administrative organisation of the territory, as of 31 December 2000, was as follows: 2 municipalities, 6 towns, 79 communes and 490 villages.
The geography of the Bacau county is complex. The west side has mountains while the east features hilled plateaus.
Bacau county has a continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers, and a predominant atmospheric circulation from north and north-west.
The hydrographical resources of the county are rich and include rivers, lakes and underground waters. The entire hydrographical network is related to Siret river. Other important rivers are Trotus, Bistrita, Tazlau, Casin, Oituz, etc. There are two types of lakes, taking into account their origin: natural (Balatau) and artificial dam (Uz).
Located in central Moldova, the territory of Bacau county has provided for proper conditions for the formation and development of human settlements several millenniums ago. Many archaeological discoveries proved the existence of human settlements in Bacau county back from the Palaeolithic. Following the Thracian and Dacian history and civilisation, in the time of the Roman occupation over part of Dacia, the territory of Bacau county harboured the Carpic world that created an interesting civilisation in the second and third centuries A.D.
The migratory gentiles - the groups of Goths (between 300 and 376/381), the raids of the Huns and Ostrogoths (between 376-420) and the penetration of some Slavic tribes in the second half of the fifth century and beginning of the sixth century A.D. still could not disrupt the strong indigenous population. The first written sources regarding the administrative and territorial organisation of this area come from the 15th and 16th centuries and they mention the land of Bacaului (1458) and Trotusului (1466). These two regions were distinct administrative and territorial units until the end of the 17th century, when they merged and formed the county of Bacau.
The union of Moldova and Muntenia and the consequent reforms carried out by Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza resulted in the development of the Romanian industry. Solont, in March 1858, had the first gas factory. The capital city of this county had, before 1864, several enterprises that produced candles, oils, bricks, beer, vegetal oil, and soap. There was also a skin processing factory.
The mineral (chlorosodic, ferrous and sulphur) water springs are located in Slanic Moldova, Târgu Ocna, Sarata Bacau, and Moinesti. Potassium salt deposits were found in some communes of the county. The useful rocks and construction materials include sands and gravels that are worked out in the meadows of Siretului, Bistritei and Trotusului rivers, gypsum closed to the city of Onesti, brownstone at Slanic Moldova and Ghimes Faget, clay at Magura and Dofteana, and tuff at Racatau, Cleja, and Buhoci.
Although it has an assorted geography with rich fauna and flora, Bacau county has only a few natural reservations. They include the natural reservation of Darmanesti, the underground sanatorium of Târgu Ocna, Dealul Perchiu, the arboreta of Dofteana and Hemeius.
Economy
Concerning the industrial development, Bacau county is among the top ones of Romania. The activity of 2000 was performed through 7 792 active companies, out of which 13% in the industrial field and 80% in the field of servicing.
The county has important crude oil companies of a high technical and professional level, such as: SC Foraje Sonde Total SA in Moinesti, founded 1950. SC Foraj Sonde SA in Târgu Ocna, founded 1952, has to-date more than 650 medium and high depth wells.
The coal mining, represented in Bacau county by the coal mine of Comanesti, has a long tradition and the high quality coal it produces is used by the power and heating plants.
Salt extraction is an old activity in the county, even since the beginning of the 16th century. The current facilities have a capacity of 370 thousand tons per year, with modern equipment and machinery that yield high quality products for the domestic and foreign market. Sodium chlorine content for all gem salt products is 97.5% at least.
The processing industry has the largest share in the county's production and has the following branches: crude oil processing, chemical processing, food, wood and cellulose and paper processing, light industry, machine building, and power and heat production.
The agricultural land of Bacau county was 323 595 ha in 2000, representing 48.9% of total county area. The arable soil (184 657 ha) accounts for 57.1% of the agricultural area, 27.1% is occupied by pastures, vineyards and orchards (11 087 ha) accounting for 3.4% of the same area.
Woods and other forested lands account for 40.3% of the total county area.
In 2000, the production of grains was 216.3 thousand tons, of which wheat and rye 24 thousand tons and corn 186.7 thousand tons. The county had 108.7 thousand cattle, 162.3 thousand pigs, 194.8 thousand sheep and goats, and 3 262 thousand poultry.
At the end of 2000, the railways network measured 226 km, with 191 km of electric railway. There is a dense road network, most of them being modernised. The total length of public roads was 2 454 km at the end of 2000, as follows: 17.6% national roads, 40.7% county roads and 41.7% communal roads. Passenger air transportation was provided through the airport of Bacau, which has capabilities to organise the passenger traffic for national and international flights, and also has a runway for cargo planes.
The resort of Slanic-Moldova is the main tourist attraction, which draws in visitors for both recreation and treatment. The resort is internationally known for its therapeutic factors and beautiful landscape, and is rightfully named "The Pearl of Moldova". Close to Slanic-Moldova there are the salt mines of Tg.-Ocna. The salt mine is a precious natural location for the treatment of certain illnesses.
As of 31 July 2000, the accommodation capacity of the tourism units of the county was 4 116 places, with 2 102 places in 13 hotels.
Population and social environment
In 2000, the population density of Bacau county, calculated as the ratio between the stable population (752 761 persons) and the total area, was 113.7 inhabitants/km2, 20.8% higher than the country's average. The urban population accounted for 49.8% as of 1 July 2000.
The natural movement of the population is best shown by the rates per 1 000 inhabitants. In 2000, Bacau county had a birth rate of 11.9 per 1 000 inhabitants, ranking the fifth in the North-East Region after Vaslui, Botosani, Iasi, and Suceava counties, and 13.3% above the national birth rate. As compared to 1996, this indicator is 1.7% lower . Regarding the mortality rate, Bacau county is the second in the region, on the same position with Suceava county and after Iasi county, with a rate of 10.1 per 1 000 inhabitants, 11.4% under the national average, and 7.3% lower than in 1996. The infant mortality rate (deaths under 1 year per 1 000 live births) at 28.3 per 1 000 live births is 52.2% above the national level. With a marriage rate at 6.3 per 1 000 inhabitants in 2000 (3.3% higher than the national average), Bacau county ranks 4th in the North-East Region, after the counties of Suceava, Iasi, and Neamt. The marriage rate decreased every year, being 7.4% lower in 2000 than in 1996. This county has the highest divorce rate in the region, 46.7% above the national average. Unfortunately, between 1996 and 2000 this indicator registered a converse development compared to the marriage rate: the latter was 2.01 per 1 000 inhabitants in 2000, 13.6% higher than in 1996, but 11.1% lower compared to 1999.
The life expectancy between 1998 and 2000 was 67.3 years for males and 73.7 for females.
The county's labour force at the end of 2000 was 454.5 thousand persons, 2.2% higher compared to 1996. Between 1996 and 2000 the civilian active population (276 thousand in 2000) had a decreasing trend (-13.7% in 2000 compared to 1996).
The number of registered unemployed persons was 26.2 thousand at the end of 2000 and the unemployment rate was 9.5%. The maximum figure was reached at the end of 1999 - 36.5 thousand persons and an unemployment rate of 13.2%.
The educational system in the school year of 2000/2001 included: 89 kindergartens, 538 primary and secondary schools, 32 high-schools, 8 vocational schools, 3 post-high-schools and professional units and 2 universities.
The health services were provided in 2000 through a network of 8 hospitals, 5 clinics, 23 medical consulting centres, one health centre, 13 nurseries, 155 pharmacies and over 590 other healthcare units.
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