Maramureș County

Maramureș
—  County   —
Coat of arms
Country	Romania
Development region	Nord-Vest
Historic region	Maramureș
Capital	Baia Mare
Area
– Total	6,304 km2 (2,434 sq mi)
Area rank	15th
Population (2006)[1]
– Total	516,562
– Rank	17th
– Density	81.9/km2 (212.2/sq mi)
Telephone code	(+40) 262 or (+40) 362[2]
ISO 3166 code	RO-MM
Website	County Council Prefecture

Maramureș (Romanian pronunciation: [maraˈmureʃ]; Hungarian: Máramaros; Ukrainian: Мараморо́щина) is a county (județ) of Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare.

Văleni, overlooking Valea Izei

History

• The 10th century frontier county of Borsova was founded by Stephen I of Hungary. Since then Máramaros served as the north-eastern border of the Hungarian Kingdom until 1920, the Trianon Peace Treaty.
• 11th century historical Maramureș counties separation from Borsova (Rom. Borşa)
• 1241 Tartar invasion decimated about half of the local population
• 14th century Duke (knyaz) Bogdan of Maramureș said to be founder of Moldova
• In the Middle Ages, the historical region of Maramureș was known for its salt mines and later for its lumber
• In 1920 after the Treaty of Trianon, the northern part of the county became part of newly formed Czechoslovakia. The southern part (including Sighetu Marmației) became part of Romania.
• For more information regarding the history see Máramaros, referring the historical Hungarian name of the county.

Demographics

In 2002, the county had a population of 510,110 and a population density of 81 inhabitants per square kilometre (210 /sq mi).

• Romanians - 82% (or 441,288)^[3]
• Hungarians - 9.1% (or 46,300)
• Ukrainians - 6.7% (or 34,027)
• Roma - 1.7% (or 8,913)
• Germans - 0.4% (or 2,012), and others.

In 1910, 18.4% of the county were Jewish.

Year	County population[4]
1948	321,287
1956	367,114
1966	427,645
1977	492,860
1992	540,099
2002	510,110

Geography

This county has a total area of 6,304 square kilometres (2,434 sq mi), of which 43% is covered by the Rodna Mountains, with its tallest peak, Pietrosul, at 2,303 metres (7,556 ft) altitude. Together with Gutâi and Țibleș mountain ranges, the Rodna mountains are part of the Eastern Carpathians. The rest of the county are hills, plateaus, and valleys. The county is crossed by Tisa River and its main tributaries: Iza, Vișeu, and Mara rivers.

Neighbours

AB

AR

AG

BC

BH

BN

BT

BV

BR

BZ

CS

CL

CJ

CT

CV

DB

DJ

GL

GR

GJ

HR

HD

IL

IS

IF

MM

MH

MS

NT

OT

PH

SM

SJ

SB

SV

TR

TM

TL

VS

VL

VN

B

• Suceava County to the East.
• Satu Mare County to the West.
• Ukraine to the North - Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and Zakarpattia Oblast.
• Sălaj County, Cluj County and Bistrița-Năsăud County to the South.

Economy

Maramureș is known for its pastoral and agricultural traditions, largely unscathed by the industrialisation campaign that had been carried on during Romania's communist period. Ploughing, planting, harvesting, and hay making and handling are mostly done through manual labour. The county is also home to a strong mining industry of extraction of metals other than iron. The industrial plants built around Baia Mare during the communist period heavily polluted the area in the past, but recently, due to the decline of the city's industrial activity, the area is less polluted.

Tourism

Typical Wooden Church in Maramureş

The region is known for its beautiful rural scenery, local small woodwork and craftwork industry as well as for its churches and original rural architecture. There are not many paved roads in rural areas, and most of them are usually accessible.

The county's main tourist attractions:

• The cities of Baia Mare and Sighetu Marmației.
• The villages on the Iza, Mara, and Vișeu Valleys.
  • The Wooden Churches of Maramureş
  • The Wooden Churches of Lăpuş
  • The Wooden Churches of Chioar
  • The Merry Cemetery of Săpânța
• The Rodna Mountains.
• The landscape of Cavnic.

Administrative divisions

Maramureș County has 2 municipalities, 11 towns and 63 communes.

• Municipalities
  • Baia Mare - county seat; population: 149,735 (as of 2008)
  • Sighetu Marmației

Towns Baia Sprie Borșa

Cavnic Dragomirești

Săliştea de Sus Seini

Şomcuta Mare Târgu Lăpuş

Tăuţii-Măgherăuş Ulmeni

Vişeu de Sus

Communes Ardusat Ariniş Asuaju de Sus Băiţa de sub Codru Băiuţ Bârsana Băseşti Bicaz Bistra Bocicoiu Mare Bogdan Vodă

Boiu Mare Botiza Budeşti Călineşti Câmpulung la Tisa Cerneşti Cicârlău Coaş Coltău Copalnic-Mănăştur Coroieni

Cupşeni Deseşti Dumbrăviţa Fărcaşa Gârdani Giuleşti Groşi Groşii Ţibleşului Ieud Lăpuş Leordina

Mireşu Mare Moisei Oarţa de Jos Ocna Şugatag Onceşti Petrova Poienile de sub Munte Poienile Izei Recea Remetea Chioarului

Remeţi Repedea Rona de Jos Rona de Sus Rozavlea Ruscova Săcălăşeni Săcel Sălsig Săpânţa

Sarasău Satulung Şieu Şişeşti Strâmtura Suciu de Sus Vadu Izei Valea Chioarului Vima Mică Vişeu de Jos

References

1. ^ INSSE Statistic
2. ^ The number used depends on the numbering system employed by the phone companies on the market.
3. ^ National Institute of Statistics, "Populaţia după etnie"
4. ^ National Institute of Statistics, "Populaţia la recensămintele din anii 1948, 1956, 1966, 1977, 1992 şi 2002"

External links

• Photos from Maramures
• Maramures- Information from an English family that live there
• Sighetu Marmaţiei Online News
• Portal of Sighetu Marmaţiei
• [1] More about Maramureş history
• Photos from around the county in the dedicated Flickr group
• (Romanian) Poienile de sub Munte -- a website dedicated to this village

Coordinates: 47°40′22″N 24°00′18″E / 47.67278°N 24.005°E / 47.67278; 24.005