In Hungarian, it is known as Hunyad megye, in German as Kreis Hunedoara, and in Slovak as Huňadská župa. The county got its name from the city of Hunedoara (Hungarian: Vajdahunyad), which is the Romaniantransliteration of the HungarianHunyadvár (lit.'Castle of Hunyad', archaic: Hwnyadwar), old name of the municipality. That most likely originated from the Hungarianhuny verb meaning 'to close' or 'to die', but may also come from wear the name of the Huns, who were headquartered near for a time and were the first to establish solid rule over the land since the Dacians.[3]
Mainly, the relief is made up of mountains, divided by the Mureș River valley which crosses the county from East to West. To the North side there are the Apuseni Mountains and to the South side there are mountains from the Southern Carpathians group, Parâng Mountains group and Retezat-Godeanu Mountains group: Orastie and Surianu Mountains (South-East), Retezat Mountains (South), Poiana Ruscai Mountains (South-West).
Hunedoara County was one of the most industrialised areas during the communist period, and was very negatively affected when the industry collapsed after the fall of the communist regime.[4]
The industry in the Hunedoara county is linked with the mining activity in the region. In the mountains, from ancient times, metals and coal have been exploited. Nowadays, there is one large industrial complex at Hunedoara owned by Mittal Steel. Also energy related enterprises are located in the county - one of the biggest thermoelectric plant is located at Mintia.
The Jiu Valley, located in the south of the country, has been a major mining area throughout the second half of the 19th century and the 20th century, but many mines were closed down in the years following the collapse of the communist regime.
The city of Hunedoara has also suffered significantly from the 1990s onwards - under communism it
contained the largest steel works in Romania (until Galați took the lead), but activity gradually diminished after the fall of communism due to the loss of the market. This was a blow to the overall prosperity of the town, which is now recovering through new investments.
Agricultural activities also take place in Hunedoara county, which include livestock raising, and fruit and cereal cultivation. The county also has touristic potential, especially through the Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains and the Corvin Castle.
The predominant industries in the county are:
Metallurgy.
Construction materials.
Textile industry.
Mining equipment.
Food industry.
In the 1990s, a large amount of mines were closed down, leaving Hunedoara county with the highest unemployment rate in Romania, of 9.6%, in comparison to the national average of 5.5%.
Retezat National Park and other picturesque regions makes it one of the most beautiful counties in Romania. Also there can be found Dacian and Roman complexes in the Orăştie Mountains.
The population of Hunedoara county is the second eldest of all Romanian counties, with an average age of the residents of 45.5 years, only behind Teleorman County (46.3 years).[6] Hunedoara's Jiu River Valley is traditionally a coal-mining region, and its high level of industrialisation drew many people from other regions of Romania in the period before the fall of the communist regime.
Hunedoara County has 7 municipalities, 7 towns and 55 communes. Although Hunedoara County is the most urbanized county in Romania (75% of the population is urban - in 2011)[9] it does not contain any city of more than 100,000 people. Also, following the de-industrialization after the communism fall, the major urban centres in the county, particularly Hunedoara and Petroșani, suffered significant population decline.
Historically, the county was located in the central-western part of Greater Romania, in the southwestern part of Transylvania. It included a large part of the present Hunedoara County.
After the administrative unification law in 1925, the name of county remained as it was, but the territory was reorganized. It was bordered on the west by the counties of Severin and Arad, to the north by Turda County, to the east by the counties of Sibiu and Alba, and to the south by the counties of Gorj and Mehedinți.
Administration
Map of Hunedoara County as constituted in 1938.
The county originally consisted of ten districts (plăși):[10]
According to the census data of 1930, the county's population was 332,118, of which 82.0% were Romanians, 11.3% Hungarians, 2.5% Germans, 1.5% Romanies, 1.4% Jews, as well as other minorities. In the religious aspect, the population consisted of 64.2% Eastern Orthodox, 18.5% Greek Catholic, 9.1% Roman Catholic, 4.5% Reformed, as well as other minorities.[11]
Urban population
In 1930, the urban population of the county was 41,234, of which 52.8% were Romanians, 30.4% Hungarians, 6.7% Germans, 6.6% Jews, 1.6% Romanies, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was made up of 42.0% Eastern Orthodox, 25.7% Roman Catholic, 10.5% Greek Catholic, 9.9% Reformed, 6.9% Jewish, 3.5% Lutheran, 1.0% Unitarian, as well as other minorities.[11]
^The number used depends on the numbering system employed by the phone companies on the market.
^Kuun, Géza; Torma, Zsófia; Téglás, Gábor (1902). "Hunyadvármegye története" [The history of Hunyad County]. Irodalmi Szemle (in Hungarian). I. Budapest: 353.
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