HUNEDOARA COUNTY - Geography and history
Hunedoara county is placed in south-western Transylvania, on the middle course of the Mures river. It is the 9th county by size, with an area of 7 063 km2, representing 3% of the country's area. As of 31 December 2000, the administrative organisation of this county's territory was the following: 9 towns and 5 municipalities, 55 communes and 457 villages. The county's capital city is Deva. It is surrounded by the following counties Alba (in the north and east), Vâlcea, Gorj (in the south), Caras-Severin, Timis and Arad (in the west).
The geography is accidental and various, mostly mountainous, with elevations descending from 2 500 m in the south, to 200 m in the Mures Valley. Between the the Retezat, Parâng and Surianu mountainous Massifs, with the most important peaks at Parângu Mare (2 518 m) and Peleaga (2 509 m) and the northern ones of Poiana Rusca Mountains and the Metaliferi Mountains, there are depressions with plains and high terraces, and a larger depression area along the Mures river.
In general, the climate is temperate-continental, wetter and chilly in the higher areas with less rainfall and higher temperatures in the depression areas.
The hydrographical network is vast and complex, including the Mures river crossing the county on 100 km and its influents, the Strei, Cerna and Râu Mare rivers, and in the southern part, the Jiu and Crisu Alb rivers in the north.
There are several thermal springs and 80 alpine-glacial lakes in the Retezat Mountains.
Archaeological relics demonstrate that the county's territory was intensely populated ever since the Stone Age, over 100 000 years ago. Material traces of the Palaeolithic man, most of them in stone, and some human fossil and animal remains were discovered in the Ohaba-Ponor, Cioclovina, Nandru, Craciunesti Caves. Also, the most important Neolithic settlement of the county was discovered at Turdas.
The present county's territory faced the Bobâlna Riot (1437), the peasant war led by Gheorghe Doja (1514), the riot led by Horia, Closca and Crisan (1784), and the revolutionary movements for social rights and national freedom, led by Avram Iancu (1848).
The Dacian ruins in the Orastie Mountains, mainly those at the Gradistea de munte, Costesti, Blidaru and the relics around these areas attest to the existence of an advanced Dacian civilisation before the Roman occupation. Traces of the Roman culture are present all over the county's territory, herein including the relics of the Dacian-Roman capital city - Ulpia Trajana Sarmisegetusa - the roads, mines, and camps of those times.
The variety of the soil and subsoil resources - coal ores in the Jiu Valley Basin, iron ores in the Poiana Rusca Mountains, non-ferrous and rare metal ores in the Metalici Mountains, stone quarries, forests, water resources, mineral and thermal springs, the flora and fauna - are significant of the county.
The county is placed on a front position in gold and silver ores resources.
Forests and other forest vegetation lands represent 44% of the county's area, which led to the existence of several valuable natural reservations, as follows: the Simeria Dendrological Park, the Bejan Forest, the Deva City Forest, the Slivut-Hateg Forest (with an aurochs reservation) and the biggest reservation in Romania - the Retezat National Park, having an area of over 15 000 ha.
Economy
The natural resources, mainly the mineral ores, influenced the economic structure of the county. Under these conditions, industry is best represented (especially the mining industry). In 2000 there were 6 709 active companies, 98% with private capital. By their main activity, industry accounted for 12%, while services represented 82.4% of the total active companies.
In 2000 Hunedoara's industry occupied one of the first positions in the hierarchy of the counties, with reinforced concrete prefabricated pieces (1st position), raw steel (3rd position), beer (9th position), beech timber (10th position), lime (10th position), meat products (10th position), leather front side footwear (13th position), woollen and woollen-like yarns textiles (14th position).
Hunedoara is also an important producer and supplier of electricity, iron, copper and other ores, rolled metal, wooden products, cement and marble. Other basic products of the county come from the enterprises dealing with the food and beverage industry, textile, leather and fur clothes, machinery, and tool industry.
Agriculture is less developed at a county level, as a consequence to the geography unfavourable for cereal crops, and the livestock is relatively reduced. The cultivated areas in 2000 were 12 199 ha of wheat and rye, 26 313 ha of corn, 8 455 ha of potatoes, 4 142 ha of vegetables, with the following average productions: 2 514 kg/ha for wheat and rye, 2 739 kg/ha for corn beans, 11 956 kg/ha for potatoes.
In 2000 there were in Hunedoara county 67.3 thousand cattle, 58.7 thousand pigs, 138.0 thousand sheep and 1 394 thousand poultry, under the 1996 figures by 9.7 thousand cattle, 32.3 thousand pigs, 29 thousand sheep and 88 thousand poultry.
The population's households owned 98.7% of cattle livestock, 89.1% of pigs, 99.1% of sheep and 53.1% of poultry.
The animal production obtained in 2000 was 30 581 thousand tons of meat, 1 217 thousand hl of milk, 370 tons of wood, and 97 million eggs.
In 2000 Hunedoara county had 3 096 km of public roads, with a density of 43.8 km/100 km2, of which 678 km were modernised roads. The railway network was 340 km long, with a density of 48.1 km/1 000 km2.
As of 31 July 2000, there were 68 tourist structures, with an accommodation capacity of 4 335 places, of which 2 088 were places in 19 hotels. A significant number of the places were also available in 17 villas (495 places), 12 chalets (472 places) and 5 school camps (714 places). The net usage index of the functional capacity was 22.2%, low compared to the country's average of 35.2%.
Population and social environment
As of 1 July 2000, Hunedoara county had 523 073 inhabitants, 20 775 fewer than as of 1 July 1996.
The county's population represents 2.3% of Romania's total population, and the density is 74.1 inhabitants/km2, under the country's average.
Of the county's total population, males represent 49% and females 51%, and 76% are living in the urban area and 24% in the rural one. This is the most urbanised county of Romania, after Bucharest. At county level, one can notice a population aging process. The number of inhabitants under 25 years decreased from 209 696 in 1980 to 193 963 in 1996 and to 172 040 in 2000. On the other hand, the population over 65 years increased from 42 699 (8%) in 1980 to 50 019 (10.3%) in 1996 and 60 423 (11.6%) in 2000.
Hunedoara county's population average age was 36.9 years, 0.3 years under the country's average.
The birth rate in 2000 was 9 per 1 000 inhabitants, under the country's average.
The overall mortality rate of 11.4 deaths per 1 000 inhabitants in 2000 determined a negative naturl growth of -2.4 persons per 1 000 inhabitants.
The infant mortality rate was 15.1 deaths of children under 1 year per 1 000 live births, under the country's average (18.6).
The marriage rate in 2000 was 5.7 per 1 000 inhabitants (7.5 in 1996) and the divorce rate was 2.5 per 1 000 inhabitants (2.79 in 1996).
The life expectancy between 1998 and 2000 was 66 years for males and 73.3 years for females, under the country's average, for both females and males.
Between 1996 and 2000 the number of the employees decreased, except for 2000, when it increased slightly.
At the end of 2000, the labour force totalled 317 thousand persons, and the county's labour force activity rate was 75.2%.
The employed civil population was 199.1 thousand persons. A third of the employed persons were working in industry. In Hunedoara county there almost 16% (22.2 thousand persons) of the mining industry employees in the country. Agriculture represents 29.5% of the employed civil population and services represent 31.4%. The employees of Hunedoara county earned in 2000 more than the average of the West Region (+16.7%) and of the country (+11.4%), and the average monthly net salary was 2 382.5 thousand lei.
The unemployment rate at the end of 2000 was 16.4% compared to 10.8% in 1996, the county taking the second place after Neamt county. Females represented 48.9% of the registered unemployed, and approximately three quarters of the unemployed are living in the urban area.
The education, in the 2000/2001 school year developed by means of an institutional infrastructure of 56 kindergartens, 383 primary and secondary schools, 34 high schools, 2 vocational schools, 2 post-high-school and apprentice units and 1 higher-education unit.
The population's healthcare was provided in 2000 by an institutional network of 775 specialised units, of which 13 hospitals, 4 clinics, 34 medical consultation centres, 3 health centres, 143 pharmacies, 278 medical cabinets (individual, associate, and civil companies) and 30 private medical offices.
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