BUZAU COUNTY - Geography and history
Geography and history
The Buzau county is located in the South-East of Romania and has an area of 6 103 km2, representing more than 2.5% of the country's area. As of 31 December 2000, the administrative organisation of this county's territory was the following: 2 towns, 2 municipalities, 81 communes, and 482 villages. The county's capital city is Buzau.
It is neighboured by the following counties: Brasov and Covasna to the north-east, Vrancea to the north-east, Braila to the east, Ialomita to the south and Prahova to the west.
The county occupies the largest area of the hydrographical basin of the Buzau river, harmoniously embracing all geographical forms: mountains in the northern part, plains in the south, and between those a Sub-Carpathian hilly area.
The mountain area includes the Buzau and the Vrancea Mountains.
The Buzau Mountains - mostly located on the territory of this county - include five massifs: the Penteleu, the Podu Calului, the Siriu, the Monteoru and the Ivanetu.
The hilly area is known as the Buzau Sub-Carpathians, consisting in a succession of hilly crests and depressions; the elevation varies between 400 and 800 m.
The plain area has an elevation varying between 40 and 100 m. The passage from the hilly area is slow to the east of the Buzau river and abrupt to the west of the river. The plains superposed on the area of this county are the Gherghita Plain, the middle Plain of Baragan, the Buzau-Calmatui Plain and the Râmnic Plain.
The climate of this county is temperate-continental, similar to entire Romania. Due to the diverse geography, there are three types of climate: mountainous, hill and plain climate.
The main waterway is the Buzau river, followed by the Râmnic and Calmatui rivers.
There are many lakes, differentiated by their origin: periglacial lakes (Vulturilor Lake), lakes of natural barrage, carstoline and artificial barrage lakes. Fluvial landforms are located on the left-hand side of the Buzau river, known as Balta Alba and Amara.
The geological configuration, the soil and the subsoil richness and the presence of several waterways made possible the emergency of many settlements on the county's territory from earliest times. Buzau county was attested in documents for the first time in 372 AD, in "The Passions of Saint Savva", a Patristic letter preserved in the Vatican Archives, which narrates the martyrdom of Savva the Goth in the Mousaius (Buzau) river.
The city of Buzau is mentioned in documents dating from 1431, which describe it as a trading and manufacture centre.
The subsoil of the county is rich in deposits of organic origin (oil, coal, yellow amber, and limestone) and mineral origin (salt, sandstone, clay, sands, quartz sands, diatomite, and gravels).
The mineral waters are abundant and various. The main areas with sulphurous and ferruginous waters rich in sodium and chlorine are at Siriu, Nehoiu, Monteoru, Fisici, Balta Alba, Strejeni, Nifon, and Lopatari. The herb named "gardurarita", which grows in the area of the Muddy Volcanoes, is specific to this county, the unique place in Europe were this plant can be found.
The county has 15 natural reservations with a total area of 1 780 ha.
Economy
The economy of the county is supported by 6 760 active companies, more than 99% with private capital. Of the total number of active companies, by main activity industry accounts for 13.1%, while services represent 79%.
The development of the industrial activity started between the two World Wars. Refineries, wood processing, , textiles, oil, alcohol, meat and cigars processing companies appeared in Buzau, Râmnicu Sarat, Nehoiu and in other localities.
In 2000, the county was Romania's sole producer of railway equipment and devices. Most of the metallic bands, coils and reels are produced here. The local economy produces welding electrodes, windscreens for vehicles, air and oil filters for vehicles, hand-made glass decorative objects, furniture, textiles, hosiery, sugar, oil, and wine. The county has two oil fields.
The agriculture has been the main branch of the county's economy for a long time.
The agricultural land, at the end of 2000, totalled 402.4 thousand ha, as follows: arable land 256.6 thousand ha, pastures and meadows 118.4 thousand ha, and vineyards and orchards 27.4 thousand ha.
In plain, where chernozem is predominant, there are favourable conditions for crops of cereals, sunflower, sugar beet, potatoes and vegetables (located in two large basins: Sageata and Costesti-Gheraseni). Vineyards are present in the hilly area: Dealu Mare, Pietroasele and Dealul Câlnaului, specialised in the production of red wines. Apples, plums, cherries and apricots are cultivated in the valleys of the Buzau, Slanic and Râmnic rivers.
The cereal crops obtained in 2000 amounted to 380.3 thousand tons, of which wheat and rye 128.7 thousand tons, barley and two-row barley 8.6 thousand tons, and grain corn 241.9 thousand tons.
The favourable conditions of the county created the possibility to develop farming. At the end of 2000, there were 86.3 thousand cattle, 109.6 thousand pigs, 249.8 thousand sheep and goats, and 2,608 thousand poultry.
The county has two ranches for breeding pure-blooded horses - Cislau and Rusetu, a station for research and cattle breeding (Dulbanu - Amaru) and a station for research and sheep breeding (Rusetu).
Buzau county has an area of forests and other forest vegetation of 163.7 thousand ha. Forests shelter a rich and various hunting fund (brown bears, deer, does, and foxes).
Located at the intersection of the three large Romanian provinces, the Buzau county benefited early from a good communication network. A railway connecting the country's capital with Moldova was built in the 19th century. The Buzau station (build in 1873-1874 and extended in 1889-1890) is an important railway joint, with lines stretching to the counties of Braila, Galati, Constanta, and Brasov. There is also a local railway along the Bucharest - Buzau - Bacau - Suceava highway.
In 2000, the railway network was 232 km long. Public roads totalled 2 648 km, of which national roads measured 322 km and county and communal roads represented 2 326 km.
The capacity for tourist accommodation, as of 31 July 2000, was 2 750 places, with 1 309 places in hotels and motels.
Additionally, there are a large number of agro-touristic pensions built recently, with a traditional architecture and cuisine.
Population and social environment
As of 1 July 2000, the county's population was 504 540, decreasing by 1.2% compared to 1 July 1996. The population density in 2000 was 82.7 inhabitants per km2, compared to 94.1 at a national level; the urbanization degree was 41.1%.
The young population (0-24 years) had in 2000 a share of 32.2%, under the national average, and lower than in 1996 (34.3%). The population of 65 years and over had a share of 16.4% as compared to the 13.3% national average; compared to 1996 (14.8%), the population is older.
The average age of the local population was 39, by 1.8 years over the national average.
In 2000, the birth rate was 10.1 per 1 000 inhabitants, an increase compared to 1996 (10.0 per 1 000 inhabitants), but under the national average. The overall mortality of 12.3 deaths per 1 000 inhabitants in 2000 determined a negative natural growth of 2.2 persons per 1 000 inhabitants. The infant mortality rate was 19.4 deaths in children under 1 year per 1 000 live births, 4.3% higher compared to the national average (18.6 per 1 000 live births).
In 2000, the marriage rate was 5.5 per 1 000 inhabitants, (6.3 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1996), and the divorce rate was 1.39 per 1 000 inhabitants (1.61 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1996).
The life expectancy between 1998 and 2000 was 67.8 years for males and 75.4 years for females, over the national average for both males and females.
In 2000, the civil labour force of the county was 216 thousand persons: 188.6 thousand employed persons and 27.4 thousand unemployed persons.
The activity rate was 74.7%, and the employment rate was 65.2%. From the total employed civil population, 49.3% were females. The employees were 40.3% of the civil employment, with a male predominance (52.6%). The monthly net salary was 1 958 thousand lei, 8.5% under the national average and 9.7% under the regional average.
Compared to 1996, the employment decreased by 8.2%, and the number of unemployed increased by 62.1%. At the end of 2000, the unemployment rate was 12.7%, 5.1 percentage points higher than in 1996.
In the school year 2000/2001, the education was carried out through a network of 767 units, most of them for the pre-school education (47.1%) and for the primary and secondary education (48.1%).
The healthcare system in 2000 included 849 physicians (93 dentists), 105 pharmacists, and 2 091 medical staff with medium training.
|
|