VRANCEA COUNTY - Geography and history
With an area of 4 857 km2, Vrancea county is framed between the territory of Bacau county in the north, Covasna county in the west, Buzau county, in the south-west, and Braila county in the South-East, the territory of Galati county in the east and Vaslui county in the north-east. The administrative organisation of the county, as of 31 December 2000, was as follows: 3 towns and 2 municipalities, 59 communes and 331 villages. The city of Focsani is the county's capital city.
The main area of the Carpathian curve is on the county's territory. Vrancea county has a large variety of geography, from the high crests of Cozia, Giurgiu and Goru, to the large areas of the Siret Plain. The succession of almost parallel depressions gives to the Vrancea area the appearance of a natural amphitheatre, having a general west-to-east bend which includes three main geography types: mountains (27.2% of the county's area) - the Vrancea Mountains, hills (43.9%) - the Curve Subcarpathians and plains (28.9%) - the Siret Plain.
In the Subcarpathian depression of Vrancea there is the most powerful seismic activity of Romania and often earthquake epicentres are here. Vrancea county, as old as time itself, spreads its settlements and dreamy beauties in the eastern part of the Carpathian Mountains. "Miorita", a beautiful pastoral poem, and a masterpiece of the Romanian folklore, was created in this area.
By its location, Vrancea county's is placed at the intersection between an area with continental climate and the area with mountain climate. The climate is temperate-continental with glacial winters and warm and dry summers. Due to the high temperatures in the summer, the lack of precipitations and the intensity of winds, the phenomenon of dryness is present here, with negative influences on the agricultural production.
From a hydrographical point of view, the Siret river is the most important waterway, all other rivers of the county being influenced by this one, including the Trotus in the north, the Putna and Rîmnic rivers, and also the Zabala river. Waters and lakes cover 140.3 km2, representing 2.9% of the county's area, ranking 14th with the most important area covered by water in Romania.
As an ancient Romanian land (in 1431 it is mentioned in documents as "Varancha"), Vrancea constitutes a bridge between the three main historical Romanian countries - Moldova, Walachia and Transylvania. As an authentic historical reservation where the ancient pastoral transhumance manifests its presence in attenuated forms even nowadays, this county was, at the beginning of the 20th century, the subject of several multilateral investigations, led by the sociologist H. Stahl. "Devalmasia vrânceana", testifier of the social archaeology, kept up with time and the archaism of the social life maintained several ethnographical and folkloric facts, marked by ancestral magical practices and ancient pre-Christian customs (the magic theatre of Nereju).
The Vrancea men of the 10th Dorobanti Regiment led by Gh. Sontu and Valter Maracineanu, changed, at the cost of their lives, the course of the Independence War of 1877. The love for the country inherited from their ancestors also motivated the heroes of the First World War in the battle of Marasti-Marasesti with the slogan: "No passage by here!" The mausoleums of Focsani, Marasesti, Marasti and Soveja are the testimony to their memory.
The natural resources are salt, raw materials for constructions, clay and ceramic, mineral sources (Soveja, Vizantea-Livezi) and in a lower proportion oil, natural gas and coal.
The 18 natural reservations, which cover 2 878 ha and are home to six species of animals, ten species of birds and plants were declared natural monuments.
Economy
In 2000 there were 4 267 active companies, more than 99% with private capital. By their main activity, industry accounted for 13.2% while services represented 79%.
At the end of 2000, agriculture covered 255.5 thousand ha, representing 52.6% of the county's area. This also represented 1.7% of the agricultural lands of Romania. Most of the agricultural areas of the county (57.8%) are arable land, and 10.9% (27.8 thousand ha) are vineyards and nursery gardens for grape vines, being the largest and most productive vine-growing area in Romania. As of 31 December 2000, the private sector held 98.3% of the county's agricultural land. The forests and forest vegetation covered 181.6 thousand ha (2.8% of the forested area of Romania), representing 37.4% of the county's area.
In 2000, Vrancea had an average crop production for barley and two-row barley of 2 545 kg/ha, for sunflower 1 072 kg/ha, wheat and rye 2 295 kg/ha, for tomatoes 14 302 kg/ha. For the production of grapes, the county hold the first place for both total production 243 189 tons, accounting for 18.8% of the national grape production, and average production per ha 8 802 kg/ha. The geography of the county is advantageous for farming, and at the end of 2000 the county had 57 thousand cattle, 48 thousand pigs, 155 thousand sheep, 14 thousand goats, 22 thousand horses and 1 379 thousand poultry. As a result, the milk production was 1 019 thousand hl, the wool production was 326 tons, and the meat production was 29 248 tons.
The industry is another important economic activity in Vrancea. Of the industrial activities, food processing and garments industry play an important role in the economy of the county. The representative products of the county are: garments, drinks, wood products, paper and cardboard, plastic products, raw materials for constructions, and domestic products.
In 2000 the railway network was 169 km long, of which electric lines accounted for 102 km. The network of public roads measured 1 785 km, of which 769 km were modernised. Of the total public roads, 209 km were national and 1 576 km were county and communal roads.
Vrancea county has a various and attractive balneal-tourist potential. The religious monuments, among which the 16 wood churches of the 18th and 19th centuries, represent interesting objects for the devotees of ancient art.
The Soveja baths, with a picturesque and unpolluted landscape and a specific microclimate, similar to that of the Herculane area, could be included, through efforts for the modernisation of accommodation structures and advertising, in the tourist circuit.
The rural tourism is carried out in certified village pensions, included in the circuit of Eurogites, an organisation covering all Europe.
In order to increase the value of the wines of this region and to promote them on the European and international market, the Bacchus Festival is organised annually in autumn.. The authorities are interested in establishing a Wine Fair in Focsani.
As of 31 July, the county's tourist capacity of accommodation was 2 116 places.
Population and social environment
As of 1 July 2000, the county's population was 391 220 (1.7% of the population of Romania). The female population represents 50.9% of county's population. The population density was 80.5 inhabitants/km2 in 2000, a decrease compared to 1996 (80.8 inhabitants/km2). The urban population represented in 2000, 37.9% of the county's population, lower than in 1996 (38.7%). The average age of population was 37.5 years.
In 2000, the birth rate was 11.1 per 1 000 inhabitants, lower than in 1996 (11.2 per 1 000 inhabitants), but under the national average. The overall mortality rate of 11.7 deaths per 1 000 inhabitants in 2000 led to a negative natural growth of 0.6 persons per 1 000 inhabitants. The infant mortality rate was 22.0 deaths of children under 1 year per 1 000 live births, 18.2% over the national average (18.6 per 1 000 live births).
The marriage rate in 2000 was 5.9 per 1 000 inhabitants (7.0 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1996), and the divorce rate was 1.70 per 1 000 inhabitants (2.17 per 1 000 inhabitants in 1996).
The life expectancy between 1998 and 2000 was 67.9 years for males and 75.4 years for females, above the national average for both males and females.
At the end of 2000, the labour force totalled 227.5 thousand persons, and the activity rate of the labour force was 73.4% (higher for females 76.3%).
The employed civil population was 156.8 thousand persons, of which more than a half (57.8%) worked in agriculture. Females represented 51.8% of the county's employed civil population and 61.3% of the population employed in processing industry, as a result of the development of garment industry.
The unemployment rate continuously decreased since 1997 and is the lowest in the Moldova area and one of the lowest in the country. As of 31 December 2000, the unemployment rate was 6.1% (4.5% for females). The number of unemployed persons represented 1.0 % of the national figure.
The education system in the school year 2000/2001 had an institutional structure of 613 units: 272 kindergartens, 317 primary and secondary schools, 22 high-schools, 2 apprentice schools and postgraduate schools. At the end of 2000, there were 2 higher education institutions in Vrancea county.
In 2000, the healthcare system operated with 8 hospitals, one clinic, 8 medical consultation centres, 3 health centres, 3 nurseries, 109 pharmacies and over 320 other healthcare units.
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