BIHOR COUNTY - Geography and history
Bihor county is located in the north-west of the country, with an area of 7 544 km2. Its neighbours are the counties of Satu-Mare and Salaj to the north and north-east, Cluj county to the east, the counties of Arad and Alba to the south and south-east, and the Hungarian border to the west. The administrative structure of the county, as of 31 December 2000, included 1 municipalities and 8 towns, 86 communes and 435 villages. The county's capital city is Oradea.
The geography is gradual: high peaks in Bihor (the Bihor Peak, 1 849 m) and the Vladeasa Mountains, lower peaks and hills in Codru Moma, Padurea Craiului and Plopis, with elevations between 500 and 900 m, and the Tisa plain as the lowest level.
The climate is continental-moderate, with wet air contributions from the west and north-west. The multiannual average isotherms vary between 6° and 10.5°C, and the annual rainfall volumes are between 550 and 1 000 mm. The main winds are blowing from the west, north-west and south-west.
The hydrographical network includes rivers, natural and artificial lakes, among which the most important are: the Crisul Repede river, with a length of 101 km, the Crisul Negru river - 136 km, and the Barcau river - 68 km, the natural lake of Taul Mare, the fishery lakes in Inand - Tamasda and the Lesu accumulation lake in Valea Iadului.
The land of Bihor has inhabited by people even since the prehistoric period. The presence of human settlements is proven by the archaeological discoveries at Oradea, Sacueni and Sântandrei, going back to the Stone Age. During the Roman occupation of Dacia, this land remained outside the Roman conquest and continued to be inhabited by the free Dacians (the Dacian treasury of Oradea). The first pre-state formation in the county was the principality of Menumorut in the 10th century, attested by the "earth citadel" of Biharea.
The municipality of Oradea was formed through the union, in the 11th century, of several pre-feudal and feudal settlements. The Tatar attack in 1241 destroyed the citadel of Oradea and most of the settlements in the county, described by bishop Rogerius in his journal named Carmen miserabile (Sad Song). The citadel of Oradea, rebuilt during the 15th and 16th centuries, became one of the most important strongholds against the Ottomans. After the 1660conquest , it became the administrative centre of an Ottoman province. Escaping the Ottoman domination in only 32 years, Oradea and the other settlements in the county enjoyed intense economic and social development for several centuries. In 1762, Empress Maria Theresa acknowledged the independence of the professional guilds.
Between 1875 and 1914, downtown Oradea was extensively rebuilt, resulting in the current urban configuration.
The county's soil has a large diversity of resources such as: bauxite, poly-metallic ore, brown coal, oil and natural gas, refractory clay, marble, and chalk for the steel and cement industry.
The rich and famous resources of geothermal and mineral waters complete the natural resources of the county.
The counties of Bihor, Alba and Cluj share the Natural Reservation of the Western Carpathians, with an area of 75,8 thousand ha.
The mountainous area of Bihor county is rich in carstic sites: the Bears Cave, the Meziad Cave, the intermittent isbuk of Ponoare, the Winds Cave and others.
Economy
The active companies in 2000 totalled 11 749, more than 99% with private capital. Of them, 11.7% carried out an industrial activity and 82.8% rendered services.
In 2000 the active companies of the county generated a turnover of 39 203.3 billion lei. Of this, more than 38% were generated by industries and 57% by services.
The county has electricity, heat, gas and water distribution companies, light industries (textiles, fabrics, skin processing, and footwear) and food processing companies. In 2000, the main industrial products manufactured in the county were alcoholic and soft beverages, cement, electricity and heat, textiles and leather products, chemicals, machinery, and tools.
The county's agriculture is relatively well endowed with tractors and agricultural equipment, with 41 ha arable land per tractor in 2000.
In 2000, the agricultural production amounted to 4 618.7 billion lei, with 9.2 billion lei for 1 000 ha agricultural land (2.6 billion in 1996). The total cereal production was 279.0 thousand tons, of which 93.7 thousand tons of wheat and rye, 19.6 thousand tons of barley, and 151.4 thousand tons of grain corn, 13.2 thousand tons of sunflower, 29.2 thousand tons of sugar beet, 94.5 thousand tons of potatoes, 63.9 thousand tons of vegetables, 38.5 thousand tons of fruits, and 21.6 thousand tons of grapes.
The livestock at the end of 2000 included 106.8 thousand cattle, 205.7 thousand pigs, 128.0 thousand sheep and goats, and 2 003 thousand poultry. Regarding the animal production, the figures of 2000 were 44.5 thousand tons of meat (from slaughters), 1 682 thousand hl of milk, 274 tons of wool, and 161 million eggs.
Sme 460 dwellings were commissioned in 2000, and 2 176 between 1996 and 2000.
At the end of 2000 the railway network's length was 474 km. The public roads totalled 2 664 km, with 610 km (22.9%) modernised roads. During the same period, there were 15 ,628 registered vehicles for goods and 76 951 for passengers.
Regarding tourism, the Bihor county had, as of 31 July 2000, 60 tourist accommodation units (with 22 hotels) with a total capacity of 10 472 places, 669 places less than in 1996. The 2000 operational capacity was 2 908.5 thousand places. The utilisation index of the functional capacity was 37.6%, the highest in the North-West Region and also above the national average (35.2%).
Population and social environment
As of 1 July 2000, the population of the county was 620 517. With a density of 82.3 inhabitants per km2, 49.5% of county's population lives in municipalities and towns and 50.5% in the rural area.
The population continued to decrease between 1996 and 2000, with a general aging trend. As compared to 1996, the county's population in 2000 fell by 7 984, of which 4 340 in the municipalities and towns and 3 644 in the rural area. The live births per 1 000 inhabitants reached 10.9 compared to 10.7 in 1996. The number of deaths per 1 000 inhabitants was 13.1, with oscillations during the last years between 13.1 and 14.8 per 1 000 inhabitants. This determines a reduction of population between by 1.5 housand and 2.5 thousand persons.
The infant mortality also varied during the above mentioned period, from 25.4 deaths of children under 1 year per 1 000 live births in 1996, to 24.7 in 2000. The aging trend also refers to the decrease of the youth from year to year. As compared to 1996, the share of the young population (0-24 years) fell from 36% to 34%, and the share of the elderly population increased from 18.5% to 19% in 2000.
Between 1999 and 2001 the average life expectancy was 69.5 years per total, 66.2 for males and 72.9 for females. As compared to the period between 1995 and1997, the average life duration increased by 2.3 years; 2.9 years for males and 1.5 years for females.
The marriage rate is falling from year to year; in 2000 the marriage rate was 6 marriages per 1 000 inhabitants, compared to 6.2 in 1996. The divorce rate increased from 0.63 to 1.08 divorces per 1 000 inhabitants.
The active civil population at the end of 2000 was 294.8 thousand, with 281.2 thousand of employed persons and 13.6 thousand unemployed, resulting in an overall activity rate of 47.5% (48.2% for males and 46.8% for females). The employment rate of the labour force was 80% (77.8% for males and 82.2% for females). Of the total employed civil population, 126.9 thousand persons were working in agriculture and forestry, 66.5 thousand in industry (4.2 thousand in mining, 57.3 thousand in processing industry and 5 thousand in electricity, heat production, gas and water industries), 7.3 thousand in construction, 27.6 thousand in trade and 52.9 thousand in transportation and other services.
The educational activity in 2000/2001 included 1 014 educational units: 458 kindergartens, 503 primary and secondary schools, 49 highschools and 4 higher education institutions. The gross enrollment rate was 73% (6.1 points more than in 1996), with significant variations by levels: 69.6% in the pre-school system, 96.1% in the primary and secondary schools, 77.1% in high schools. The number of children in the pre-school education was 18 558. The number of students was 17 557.
The 2000 health system employed 1 580 physicians (including dentists), 297 pharmacists, 3 525 medical staff with medium training level. The patient-to-physician ratio (including the dentists) was 393, 101 persons less than in 1996. The county had 17 hospitals, 6 clinics (with 4 private clinics), 25 medical consultation centres, 199 pharmacies (181 private) and other medical centres.
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