Hunedoara
Hunedoara | |
|---|---|
Hunyadi Castle Bust of Avram Iancu in front of Hunedoara City Hall Roman Catholic Church Hunedoara by night, after a snowfall | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location in Hunedoara County | |
  Hunedoara Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates: 45°46′11″N 22°55′13″E / 45.76972°N 22.92028°E | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Hunedoara |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2024) | Dan Bobouțanu[1] (PSD) |
| Area | 97.30 km2 (37.57 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 278 m (912 ft) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[2] | 50,457 |
| • Density | 520/km2 (1,300/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3) |
| Postal code | 331006–331167 |
| Area code | (+40) 02 54 |
| Vehicle reg. | HD |
| Website | www |
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Hunedoara (Romanian:
The city includes the most important
The population consists of a Romanian majority, with Hungarians and Roma as the most important minorities. The city contains numerous parks, with poplars and chestnut trees flanking the streets. There are many tourist attractions, including a large dam with tourist facilities, located in the mountains a few kilometers from the city.
Etymology
The name of the town seems inexorably linked to the name of the Hunyadi family (also known as Corvinus). The most probable explanation for the Romanian name "Hunedoara" is the transliteration of the Hungarian name "Hunyadvár" meaning "Castle of Hunyad", as many Hungarian towns have this suffix. Historically, the following names were recorded: Hungnod (1265), Huniad (1278), Hwnyadwar (1409), Vayda Hunyadi (1575). The latter Hungarian name Vajdahunyad (voivode Hunyad) is a direct referral to John Hunyadi.
History
After Dacia was conquered around 106 AD and turned into a Roman province, the iron-rich region attracted the attention of the Romans, who began to exploit it by building furnaces. A "Villa Rustica" emerged in Teliuc, a Roman fortification on Sanpetru hill, outpost of the famous
After the Roman military and administrative retreat during the
There is an ongoing scholarly debate over the ethnicity of Transylvania's population before the Hungarian conquest (see Origin of the Romanians). After 1000, as part of the Kingdom of Hungary, under Slavic influence small political feuds grew (ruled by knjazes). South of the Carpathians the Pechenegs and Cumans held political power, and Hunedoara acted as a buffer zone for the Hungarian Crown. In time, the Vlach populations in the mountains nearby developed an original highlander culture. Their land is called "Țara Pădurenilor" (Woodlanders Country) and they began to dominate the area demographically. The region also had a sizable population of German Saxons, colonizers brought by the Hungarian Crown after the Mongol Invasion and later, Romani who migrated from the Indian subcontinent.
The first recorded evidence of the city was made in 1265 under the name Hungnod as a hub for
The city has been known since the 14th century mainly as the residence of the
John Hunyadi was a leading military leader in the growing confrontation with the
In 1457 Matthias gave permission to the Wallachian serfs to build an Orthodox church, beautifully decorated with paintings and preserved until today. He continued to consolidate the castle and the feudal domain of Hunedoara. The castle of Hunedoara became one of the biggest in the medieval world, standing as a witness to the greatness of his family of noble warriors and statesmen, in an era of war and despair for the region, as the Ottoman Empire approached Central Europe. In the times of Hunyadi rule, Hunedoara became a market (opiddum) for iron. Matthias Corvinus named the city a tax-free area, and this privilege lasted until the 17th century. The population varied between 784 people in 1512 and 896 people in the 17th century. After Matthias died, Hunedoara passed to his son,
In 1514, during the peasant revolt of
The town and the castle survived relatively unharmed by the Counter-Reformation of Giorgio Basta, general of the Habsburg Empire. By 1618, ownership of the castle passed to the Bethlen family. Gabriel Bethlen Voivode of Transylvania consolidated and enlarged the castle, and gave it to his nephew Stephen Betlen who lived here with his wife Mary Széchy, famed for her beauty.
The
Most of current Hunedoara was at that time a lush plain through which the Cerna river was meandering. The first blast furnace was built by 1603,[citation needed] followed by another four. The modern iron operations began at the foot of Saint Peter hill (Sanpetru), close to the most distant tower of the castle called Nebojša, (Serbian for "have no fear", a tower that was the furthest away from the castle in medieval times, to provide last refuge in the case of a siege; cf. Nebojša Tower). The mine shaft can still be viewed. Iron manufactures were also situated nearby.
In 1667 there was already a steel mill on the Cerna river producing 490 tons of pig iron and 66 tons of iron by 1699. In 1714 Georg Steinhilbert made a second one and a third was made in 1727. In 1743 the operations were handled directly by the Treasury. Of the mills mentioned, one was located under the main bridge and its walls are now in ruins.
The first tall industrial furnace in the world for iron extracting, it has been argued,[
In the 18th and part of the 19th century, as the town of Hunedoara became more and more industrialized, peasants from regions nearby began to move to the city and the population increased. Only the German, Hungarian and Székelys of Transylvania were represented in the Diet (see
The castle in Hunedoara gave refuge to the local nobility, and it was its last function as military defense. Later representatives from the region were sent to the Romanian national assemblies held in Blaj during the
During World War I the Romanians from Hunedoara county actively supported the Romanian Army and the Romanian National Assembly declared the Union of Transylvania with Romania in 1918. After the ending of the war Transylvania became part of Romania. The Romanian populations in and around the city quickly earned political rights and representation, and industrial development continued at an ever-increasing rate.
During World War II the steel works were part of the war effort for the Axis. The Romanian Army lost 700,000 soldiers on the Eastern Front and the Allies, an additional 400,000 soldiers fighting against the Axis.
After the Soviet occupation and the subsequent communist regime, industry was favored, and Hunedoara had for a time the biggest steel-producing plant in Romania and the
The
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 1,937 | — |
| 1912 | 4,520 | +133.4% |
| 1930 | 4,600 | +1.8% |
| 1948 | 7,018 | +52.6% |
| 1956 | 36,498 | +420.1% |
| 1966 | 68,207 | +86.9% |
| 1977 | 79,719 | +16.9% |
| 1992 | 81,337 | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 71,380 | −12.2% |
| 2011 | 60,525 | −15.2% |
| 2021 | 50,457 | −16.6% |
| Source: Census data | ||
Before modern times, the ethnic balance of Hunedoara was more diverse, as was the case elsewhere in the region. During the rise of nationalism in the region the Romanians already had a solid majority and there was little of the ethnic friction that were to be found elsewhere in Transylvania (see Magyarization and Romanianization).
The 1850 census registered 1,937 residents, consisting of 1,275 Romanians, 248 Hungarians, 237 Germans, 101 Slovaks and 86 Roma. The religious denominations included 992 Orthodox, 370 Greek Catholics, 316 Roman Catholics, 181 Reformed, 42 Evangelic and 36 Jews. The 1900 census registered 4,419 residents, consisting of 1,987 Romanians, 1,896 Hungarians, 365 Germans, and 101 Slovaks.
The number of Hungarians dwindled after the
During the Communist era, as the Steel Works were functioning the population peaked at 89,000, as workers moved in from the surrounding countryside as well as Oltenia and Moldavia. In the transition era that followed the fall of communism, a large percentage of the Romanian population lost their jobs and many left the town in search for better opportunities elsewhere. According to the latest census, from 2021, there were 50,457 people living within the city of Hunedoara.[4] At the 2011 census, the city had a population 57,524,[5] making it the 32nd largest city in Romania. The ethnic makeup was as follows:
- Romanians: 92.13%
- Hungarians: 5.19%
- Roma: 1.74%
- Others (mostly Transylvanian Saxons): 0.85%
Natives
- Mihaela Miroiu (born 1955), political theorist and feminist philosopher
- Siegfried Mureșan (born 1981), economist and politician
- Marius Stan, (born 1957), football player and politician
- Iuliu Winkler (born 1964), engineer, economist, and politician
Surroundings and attractions
Hunyadi / Corvin Castle
The
The impressive size and architectural beauty sets it among the most impressive monuments of medieval art, with subsequent developments added
The castle history is mostly related to the Hunyadi family, being the place where John Hunyadi spent his childhood. Today the castle is being cared for by the municipality, as there are no recorded descendants of the Hunyadi that could pledge for it. Vlad Dracul, the ruler of Wallachia, the father of the notorious Vlad Dracula, was imprisoned here, as he had fallen into disgrace with Hunyadi, not providing the help promised (Dracula, who had once been traded as a hostage to the Ottomans by his own father, later became a protégé of Hunyadi, and took over Wallachia shortly before his mentor's death of fever). The castle and surroundings are often used by international film companies for the production of movies about medieval times.
The Iron Museum
The Iron Museum closed in 2004.
Oak Forest of Chizid
Standing on a hill near Hunedoara, is a spot to get a view of the city.
Hunedoara Zoo
Located near the forest of Chizid, the zoo houses, among other animals, lions, bears, and wolves.
Cincis Accumulation Lake
Built in the 1958–1964 to supply industrial water for the steel mill in Hunedoara on the Cerna river, it covers the remains of five villages: Cinciş Cerna, Valea Ploştii, Banea Lui Crai, Moara Ungurului, Ciuleni. Before flooding the area, the villages were relocated uphill from the lake. The remains of the villages are still under water: foundations, walls of houses, churches wells, etc. Today the lake developed into a small resort for Romanian and foreign tourists.
The Poiana Ruscă Mountains
Vast and easily accessible by foot or by car, the mountains are inhabited by an ancient population of Romanians, called pădureni (woodlanders). They have retained their culture and a sense of identity, and hold a number of festivals annually. The Romans mined marble in the nearby quarry.
The Nandru Caves
The caves contain cultural artefacts and burial grounds of
The Peștiș Roman Ruins
Hunedoara locates several ancient Roman ruins, including the city
The Paleontological Natural Reservation of Buituri and Nandru
The natural reservation contains fossilized snails and fish.
Sports
Hunedoara boasts one of Europe's most modern bowling alleys, that hosted the 2002 Bowling World Cup. Other sports facilities include red-clay tennis courts and an indoor swimming pool. Some of the notable athletes originating from Hunedoara include
Maria Neculita: Olympic bronze-medallist,
References
- ^ "Results of the 2020 local elections". Central Electoral Bureau. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
- ^ The White Knight of Wallachia
- ^ "Populația rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (in Romanian). INSSE. 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Ethno-demographic Structure of Romania". The Ethnocultural Diversity Resource Center. Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
External links
Hunedoara travel guide from Wikivoyage- Interesting places near Hunedoara
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