Râmnicu Vâlcea

Râmnicu Vâlcea
—  County capital  —
Coat of arms
Location of Râmnicu Vâlcea
Coordinates: 45°6′17″N 24°22′32″E / 45.10472°N 24.37556°E / 45.10472; 24.37556Coordinates: 45°6′17″N 24°22′32″E / 45.10472°N 24.37556°E / 45.10472; 24.37556
Country	Romania
County	Vâlcea
Status	County capital
Government
– Mayor	Romeo Rădulescu (interim)[1] (Democratic Liberal Party)
Area
– Total	89.5 km2 (34.6 sq mi)
Population (2002)[2]
– Total	107,726
– Density	1,203/km2 (3,115.8/sq mi)
– July 1, 2004	111,497
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website	http://www.primariavl.ro/

Râmnicu Vâlcea (also spelled Rîmnicu Vîlcea, Romanian pronunciation: [ˈrɨmniku ˈvɨlt͡ʃe̯a]) (population: 107,726) is the capital city of Vâlcea County, Romania (in the historical province of Oltenia).

Geography and climate

Râmnicu Vâlcea is situated in the central-south area of Romania. Set at the foothills of the Southern Carpathians, the city is located at about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) the Cozia Mountains and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the Făgăraş and Lotrului Mountains. The southern limit of Râmnicu Vâlcea is formed by the Getic Plateau and the Oltului Valley.

The Olt River crosses the town of Râmnicu Vâlcea as well as the E81 road of European interest and one of the main national railway routes.

History

A market in Râmnicu Vâlcea, 1869 watercolor by Amedeo Preziosi

Romanian War of Independence monument (built 1915)

The area has been inhabited since Dacian and Roman times, and was the site of a castrum. A new fortress was built on the location during the Middle Ages. Râmnicu Vâlcea was first attested during the rule of Prince Mircea cel Bătrân, as "the princely town of Râmnic" (September 4, 1388), and confirmed as the seat of a Vâlcea County during the same period (January 8, 1392).

The town seal dates to 1505. Cetăţuia, the actual fortress, served as the residence of Oltenian Bans and, from 1504, of Orthodox bishops; in 1543, Prince Radu de la Afumaţi was killed in Cetăţuia by a boyar conspiracy.

During the rules of Matei Basarab and Constantin Brâncoveanu, it became an important cultural center. It was here where the first paper mill and printing press in Romania were built (see Anthim the Iberian). The city was heavily damaged during the Habsburg takeover of Oltenia between 1718 and 1739, and its purpose was again reduced to that of a fortress.

During the Wallachian Revolution, on July 29, 1848, Deşteaptă-te, române! (the national anthem of Romania), with lyrics written by Andrei Mureşanu and music composed by Anton Pann (whose memorial house lies in the center of the town), was sung for the first time in Râmnicu Vâlcea. Gheorghe Magheru gathered his military force in Râureni, now part of the city, in an attempt to face the anti-revolutionary forces of Imperial Russia and the Ottoman Empire.

In the 1980s, the city was completely rebuilt in a style combining Socialist realism with local vernacular architecture.

Râmnicu Vâlcea has gained some notoriety as an alleged global centre for cybercrime more recently.^[3][4][5]

Politics

The mayor of Râmnicu Vâlcea is Romeo Rădulescu, former Democratic Party candidate, now independent, and two deputy mayors, Eusebiu Veţeleanu, also independent, and Monceanu Constantin, from National Liberal Party. The Râmnicu Vâlcea Municipal Council, elected in the June 2004 local government elections, is made up of 23 councillors, with the following party composition:

	Party	Seats	Current Council
	National Liberal Party	8
	Democratic Party	8
	Social Democratic Party	5
	Greater Romania Party	2

Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999

Special 2,000 Romanian leu banknote made from a plastic film for the 1999 total eclipse of the sun, showing the eclipse path over the nation map.

Râmnicu Vâlcea (45°06′N 24°18′E / 45.1°N 24.3°E / 45.1; 24.3) was the center and peak point of the path of total darkness of the 1999 Solar Eclipse at noon of August 11.

Natives

• Anton Pann
• Eugen Angelescu
• Mircea Angelescu
• Ion Emanuel Florescu
• Victoraş Iacob
• Gabriel Liiceanu
• Nicolae Manolescu
• Marian-Jean Marinescu
• Alexandru Papadopol
• Dem Rădulescu
• [(Adrian Foltea)]

Sport

Râmnicu Vâlcea is home to CS Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea is a women handball club which competes in the Liga Naţională and the Women's Champions League.

Villages

The city administers thirteen villages: Aranghel, Căzăneşti, Copăcelu, Dealu Malului, Feţeni, Goranu, Lespezi, Poenari, Priba, Râureni, Săliştea, Stolniceni and Troian. Goranu, Feţeni, Lespezi and Săliştea were a separate commune, Goranu, until 1996, when they were merged into the city.

References

1. ^ Mir, Sergiu (1 februarie 2010). "Râmnicu Vâlcea: Romeo Rădulescu, primar interimar în locul lui Gutău" (in Romanian). Adevărul. http://www.adevarul.ro/locale/ramnicu-valcea/Romeo_Radulescu-primar_interimar_in_locul_lui_Gutau_0_200380309.html. 
2. ^ National Institute of Statistics, Population of counties, municipalities and towns, July 1, 2004
3. ^ Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (31 January 2011). "How a Remote Town in Romania Has Become Cybercrime Central". Wired magazine{. http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/01/ff_hackerville_romania/all/1. 
4. ^ Rosenberg, Eli (7 February 2011). "Romanian Mountains: Seedy Epicenter of Global Cybercrime". Atlantic Wire. http://www.theatlanticwire.com/features/view/feature/Romanian-Mountains-Seedy-Epicenter-of-Global-Cybercrime-3156. 
5. ^ Wylie, Ian (26 December 2007). "Romania home base for EBay scammers". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/26/business/fi-ebay26. 

External links