Bacău County

Bacău County Județul Bacău
County
Slănic-Moldova Casino Ghika Palace, Dofteana Târgu Ocna town hall County Prefecture, Bacău
Coat of arms
Location of Bacău County in Romania
Coordinates: 46.42°N 26.78°E / 46.42; 26.78
Country	Romania
Development region^1	Nord-Est
Historic region	Western Moldavia
Capital city (Reședință de județ)	Bacău
Government
• Type	County Council
• President of the County Council	Valentin Ivancea [ro] (PSD)
• Prefect^2	Claudiu-Augustin Ilișanu [ro]
Area
• Total	6,621 km^2 (2,556 sq mi)
• Rank	14th in Romania
Population  (2021-12-01)[1]
• Total	601,387
• Rank	9th in Romania
• Density	91/km^2 (240/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code	60wxyz^3
Area code	+40 x34^4
Car Plates	BC^5
GDP	US$3.495 billion (2015)
GDP per capita	US$5,672 (2015)
Website	County Council County Prefecture
^1The development regions of Romania have no administrative role and were formed in order to manage funds from the European Union. ^2As of 2007, the Prefect is not a politician, but a public functionary who is not allowed to be a member of a political party, and is banned from engaging in any political activity in the first six months after the 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

Bacău County (Romanian pronunciation: [baˈkəw] ^ⓘ) is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania.

Geography

This county has a total area of 6,621 km² (2,556 sq mi).

In the western part of the county there are mountains from the Eastern Carpathian group. Here, along the valleys of the Oituz River and Trotuș River, there are two important links between Moldavia and Transylvania. On the East side, the heights decrease and the lowest point can be found on the Siret River valley which crosses the county from North to South down the middle. On the East side there is the Moldavian Plateau crossed by many small rivers.

Flora and fauna

Bears, wolves, foxes, wild boars, and squirrels inhabit Bacău County's mountains, particularly in its rural Slănic-Moldova region; the remnants of the local deer are preserved in Mănăstirea Cașin.^[2]

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

• Vaslui County in the East.
• Harghita County and Covasna County in the West.
• Neamț County in the North.
• Vrancea County in the South.

Economy

The county of Bacău was one of the most industrialized regions in the communist period and it remained Moldavia's most important industrial center ever since. There are two large oil refineries at Onești and Dărmănești. Following the collapse of the communist regime, Bacău continued to be the region's most important GDP supplier, but the county became more famous for the controversial figures involved in the local economy than for its performance.

The predominant industries in the county are:

• The chemical and oil industry.
• Food industry.
• Construction materials industry.
• Wood and paper industry.
• Textile industry.
• Mechanical components industry.
• Aeronautics industry.

In Bacău County there are important reserves of oil and salt. Also coal is exploited.

Tourism

The main tourist destinations in the county are:

• The cities of Bacău and Onești.
• The resorts:
  • Poiana Sărată
  • Poiana Uzului
  • Slănic-Moldova
  • Târgu Ocna
• The Nemira Mountains [ro].

Demographics

Year	County population[3]	Population density	Romanians	Romani people	Hungarians
1948	414,996
1956	507,937
1966	598,321
1977	667,791
1992	737,512
2002	706,623	113 / km^2	97.5%	1.7%	0.7%
2011[4]	616,168	93 / km^2	96.1%	1.7%	0.68%
2021	601,387	91 / km^2

Some estimates put the total number of Csángós at around 70,000 in 1987.^[5]

Politics

The Bacău County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections, consists of 36 councillors, with the following party composition:^[6]

	Party	Seats	Current County Council
	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	17
	National Liberal Party (PNL)-Save Romania Union (USR) Alliance	13
	People's Movement Party (PMP)	3
	PRO Romania (PRO)	3

People

• Gabriela Adameșteanu
• Vasile Alecsandri
• George Bacovia
• Radu Beligan
• Nadia Comăneci
• Loredana Groza
• Ioan Măric
• Vasile Pârvan
• Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu
• Radu R. Rosetti
• Tristan Tzara

Administrative divisions

The coat of arms used until 3 March 2008^[7]

Bacău

Onești

Bacău County has 3 municipalities, 5 towns, and 85 communes

• Municipalities
  • Bacău – capital city; population: 136,087 (as of 2021)
  • Moinești
  • Onești
• Towns
  • Buhuși
  • Comănești
  • Dărmănești
  • Slănic-Moldova
  • Târgu Ocna

• Communes
  • Agăș
  • Ardeoani
  • Asău
  • Balcani
  • Berești-Bistrița
  • Berești-Tazlău
  • Berzunţi
  • Bârsănești
  • Blăgești
  • Bogdănești
  • Brusturoasa
  • Buciumi
  • Buhoci
  • Cașin
  • Căiuți
  • Cleja
  • Colonești
  • Corbasca
  • Coțofănești
  • Dămienești
  • Dealu Morii
  • Dofteana
  • Faraoani
  • Filipeni
  • Filipești
  • Găiceana
  • Ghimeș-Făget
  • Gârleni
  • Glăvănești
  • Gioseni
  • Gura Văii
  • Helegiu
  • Hemeiuș
  • Huruiești
  • Horgești
  • Izvoru Berheciului
  • Itești
  • Letea Veche
  • Lipova
  • Livezi
  • Luizi-Călugăra
  • Măgirești
  • Măgura
  • Mănăstirea Cașin
  • Mărgineni
  • Motoșeni
  • Negri
  • Nicolae Bălcescu
  • Odobești
  • Oituz
  • Oncești
  • Orbeni
  • Palanca
  • Parava
  • Pâncești
  • Parincea
  • Pârgărești
  • Pârjol
  • Plopana
  • Podu Turcului
  • Poduri
  • Prăjești
  • Racova
  • Răcăciuni
  • Răchitoasa
  • Roșiori
  • Sascut
  • Sănduleni
  • Sărata
  • Săucești
  • Scorțeni
  • Secuieni
  • Solonț
  • Stănișești
  • Strugari
  • Ștefan cel Mare
  • Tamași
  • Tătărăști
  • Târgu Trotuș
  • Traian
  • Ungureni
  • Urechești
  • Valea Seacă
  • Vultureni
  • Zemeș

Politics

Bacău became famous after electing Ilie Ilașcu of the Greater Romania Party as their Senator, while he was held in prison in Transnistria.

Historical county

Județul Bacău
County (Județ)
The building of the Bacău Prefecture from the interwar period
Coat of arms
Country	Romania
Historic region	Moldavia
Capital city (Reședință de județ)	Bacău
Area
• Total	4,410 km^2 (1,700 sq mi)
Population  (1930)
• Total	260,781
• Density	59/km^2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Between the world wars, Bacău County had a different territorial extent. The county was located in the east central part of Greater Romania, in the center of Moldavia. Its territory included the central part of the current Bacău County. It bordered on the west with the counties of Trei Scaune and Ciuc, in the north with Neamț and Roman counties, in the east with the counties of Tutova and Tecuci, and in the south with Putna County.

Administration

The county was originally divided into five districts (plăși):^[8]

1. Plasa Bistrița
2. Plasa Muntele, headquartered in Moinești
3. Plasa Oituz, headquartered in Oituz
4. Plasa Siret, headquartered in Siret
5. Plasa Tazlău, headquartered in Tazlău

Subsequently, two more districts were established:

6. Plasa Răcăciuni, headquartered in Răcăciuni
7. Plasa Traian, headquartered in Traian

Map of Bacău County as it existed in 1938

Population

According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 260,781, comprising 88.6% Romanians, 5.3% Jews, 3.3% Hungarians, as well as other minorities.^[9] From the religious point of view, 75.8% were Eastern Orthodox, 18.1% Roman Catholics, 5.5% Jewish, as well as other minorities.^[10]

Urban population

In 1930, the county's urban population was 50,342, of which 70.1% were Romanians, 23.9% were Jews, 2.2% were Hungarians, as well as other minorities. From a religious point of view, the urban population consisted of 64.9% Eastern Orthodox, 24.4% Jewish, 9.3% Roman Catholic, as well as other minorities.

References

1. "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
2. Network of small rural communities of energetic neutrality (RURENER) (Archived from the original), Slănic-Moldova - RURENER Case Study, European Commission, retrieved 24 July 2019. Archived at the Wayback Machine
3. National Institute of Statistics, "Populația la recensămintele din anii 1948, 1956, 1966, 1977, 1992, 2002 și 2011" Archived 22 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
4. "Comunicat de presă: 2 februarie 2012 privind rezultatele provizorii ale Recensământului Populației și Locuințelor – 2011" (PDF). Recensamantromania.ro. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
5. 1987 estimate published in: Tennant, Chris (transl.) (1994) The Hungarian minority’s situation in Ceaușescu's Romania. Boulder: Social Science Monographs. p. 33.
6. "Rezultatele finale ale alegerilor locale din 2020" (Json) (in Romanian). Autoritatea Electorală Permanentă. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
7. Bacău County Council - Heraldică
8. Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Bacău
9. Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 30
10. Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 536-541