Caraș-Severin County

Caraș-Severin (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈkaraʃ seveˈrin] (listen)) is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Serbia. The majority of its territory lies within the historical region of Banat, with a few northeastern villages considered part of Transylvania. The county seat is Reșița. The Caraș-Severin county is part of the Danube-Kris-Mures-Tisza Euroregion.

Caraș-Severin County

Județul Caraș-Severin
County
Coat of arms
Caraș-Severin county, territorial location
Coordinates: 45.15°N 22.07°E / 45.15; 22.07
Country Romania
Development region1Vest
Historic regionBanat
Capital city (Reședință de județ)Reșița
Government
 • TypeCounty Board
 • President of the County BoardSorin Frunzăverde (Democratic-Liberal Party)
 • Prefect2Ioan Anton Paulescu
Area
 • Total8,514 km2 (3,287 sq mi)
Area rank3rd in Romania
Population
 (2011)
 • Total274,277
 • Rank32nd in Romania
 • Density39/km2 (100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code
32wxyz3
Area code(s)+40 x554
Car PlatesCS5
GDPUS$ 1.906 billion (2015)
GDP per capitaUS$ 6,95 (2015)
WebsiteCounty Council
County Prefecture
1The development regions of Romania have no administrative role. They were formed to correspond to NUTS-II level subdivisions of the European Union member states and are the basis for development funding under the cohesion and convergence objectives of the EU's regional policy
2 as of 2007, the Prefect is not a politician, but a public functionary. He (or she) is not allowed to be a member of a political party, and is banned from any political activity in the first six months after resignation (or exclusion) from the public functionary corps
3w, x, y, and z are digits that indicate the city, the street, part of the street, or even the building of the address
4x is a digit indicating the operator: 2 for the former national operator, Romtelecom, and 3 for the other ground telephone networks
5used on both the plates of the vehicles that operate only in the county limits (like utility vehicles, ATVs, etc.), and the ones used outside the county

Name

In Serbo-Croatian, it is known as Karaš Severin/Караш Северин or Karaš-Severinska županija, in Hungarian as Krassó-Szörény megye, in German as Kreis Karasch-Severin, and in Bulgarian as Караш-Северин (translit. Karash-Severin).

Demographics

The county is part of the Danube-Kris-Mureș-Tisza euroregion.

In 2011, it had a population of 274,277 and a population density of 33.63/km2.

The majority of the population (89.23%) are Romanians. There are also Roma (2.74%), Croats (1.88%), Germans - Banat Swabians (1.11%), Serbs (1.82%), Hungarians (1.19%) and Ukrainians (0.94%).[1]

Year County population[2]
1948 302,254
1956 327,787
1966 358,726
1977 385,577
1992 375,794
2002 333,219
2011 274,277

Geography

With 8,514 km2, it is the third largest county in Romania, after Timiș and Suceava counties. It is also the county through which the river Danube enters Romania.

The mountains make up 67% of the county's surface, including the Southern Carpathians range, with Banat Mountains, Țarcu-Godeanu Mountains and Cernei Mountains and elevations between 600 and 2100 meters. Transition hills between mountains and the Banat Plain lie in the western side of the county.

The Danube enters Romania in the vicinity of Baziaș, bordering Serbia. Timiș, Cerna, Caraș and Nera cross the county, some of them through spectacular valleys and gorges.

Neighbours

History and economy

In 1718 the county was part of the Habsburg Monarchy, part of the province of Banat. In 1771 the county seat, Reschitz (Reșița) became a modern industrial center under Austrian rule. The area received considerable attention due to its mining industry. In 1855, the entire Banat area, with its supplies of mineral deposits and timber, was transferred from the Austrian Treasury to a joint Austrian-French mining and railroad company named StEG. StEG built the Oravița-Baziaș line, Romania's oldest railroad track.

After World War I, StEG, Banat and most Austro-Hungarian property were taken over by a company named UDR. During the last years of World War II, when Romania was an ally of Nazi Germany, a partisan group, led by Ștefan Plavăț, was active in the mountainous area of the county.[3] The arrival of the communist regime in Romania after World War II and that regime's campaign of nationalization of the mining industry brought tremendous social upheaval in the area.

Tourism

Archaeological findings show the area has been populated since Paleolithic times. There is a County Museum of History in Reșița, displaying archeological artifacts, and, in the town of Ocna de Fier, the Constantin Gruiescu Mineralogical Collection. The county hosts the regional daffodil and lilac festivals in the Spring. Sites worth visiting:

Politics
  • President of the County Council – Romeo-Dan Dunca (National Liberal Party)
  • Vice-presidents of the County Council - Dan Stan and Ovidiu Rădoi (both National Liberal Party)

The Caraș-Severin County Council, elected at the 2016 local government elections, is made up of 31 counselors, with the following party composition:[4]

    Party Seats Current County Council
  Social Democratic Party 14                            
  National Liberal Party 13                            
  People's Movement Party 4                            

Administrative divisions
Reșița
Caransebeș
Băile Herculane
Bocșa

Caraș-Severin County has 2 municipalities, 6 towns and 69 communes

Historic county
Județul Caraș-Severin
County (Județ)
The Caraș-Severin prefecture building from the interwar period.
Coat of arms
Country Romania
Historic regionBanat
Capital city (Reședință de județ)Lugoj
Established1919
Ceased to exist1926
Area
 • Total11,080 km2 (4,280 sq mi)
Population
 (1920)
 • Total424,254
 • Density38/km2 (99/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

The territory of the county was transferred to the Romania from the Kingdom of Hungary in 1920 under the Treaty of Trianon. The county was located in the southwestern part of Greater Romania, in the south and east region of the Banat. The county seat was Lugoj. Its territory consisted entirely of the current territory of the county, but also parts of the current counties of Timiș, Arad, and Mehedinți. It bordered on the west with Timiș-Torontal County and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, to the south with Yugoslavia, to the east with the counties Mehedinți and Hunedoara, and to the north by Arad County. The county had a total area over 11,000 square kilometres (4,200 sq mi), making it the largest county geographically of interwar Romania. Its territory corresponded to the former Hungarian division of Krassó-Szörény County. The county existed for seven years, being divided in 1926 into Caraș County and Severin County.

Administration

The county was divided administratively into fourteen districts (plăṣi). There were five urban municipalities (cities): Lugoj (capital), Caransebeș, Reșița, Oravița and Orșova.[5][6]

Population

According to the census data of 1920, the total population of the county was 424,254 inhabitants. The population density was 38 inhabitants/km2.

References
  1. National Institute of Statistics, "Populația după etnie" Archived 16 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. National Institute of Statistics, "Populația la recensămintele din anii 1948, 1956, 1966, 1977, 1992 și 2002" Archived 22 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Covaci, Maria (1969). "Ștefan Plavăț" in Anale de Istorie, Vol. XV, Nr. 4. Institutul de Studii Istorice și Social-Politice de pe lîngă C.C. al P.C.R, Bucharest. p. 145.
  4. "Mandate de CJ pe judete si competitori" (in Romanian). Biroul Electoral Central. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  5. Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Caraș
  6. Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Severin
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