Ocnele Mari

Ocnele Mari is located in the southern foreland of the Transylvanian Alps . The district capital Râmnicu Vâlcea is about 6 km northeast. The largest salt deposits in Wallachia are located near the city.

history

The area of the present city has probably been populated since the end of the Neolithic . The Dacians built in pre-Roman times by the stream Sărat a fortress, which has become a regional economic, military and religious center. Some Romanian researchers locate the Dacian fortress Buridava described by Claudius Ptolemaeus after Ocnele Mari. It is possible that the Dacian king Burebista was born here. After the conquest of Dacia by the Romans, they built the Stolniceni military camp about five kilometers away , used the nearby salt deposits and exported the salt to other areas of the empire. Several coin finds date from this period.

In the Middle Ages there are indirect written references to the place from the year 1373, the mention of the current name took place in 1402. The salt mining also played a special role during this time. Several Wallachian rulers donated a total of 16 churches and monasteries here.

From 1812 Ocnele Mari developed the spa business. In 1933 it was officially named a city and a health resort. From then until the outbreak of the Second World War , Ocnele Mari experienced its greatest heyday.

After the war and the communist seizure of power, a prison for political prisoners was established in Ocnele Mari .

Even today, salt is still obtained by extraction from aqueous solutions. The pumping of the liquid from the ground caused dangerous subsidence of the ground, which may even threaten the very existence of the city in its current form.

The most important branches of industry are tourism and salt production.

population

In 1930 there were about 7200 residents in the area of today's city. The 2002 census counted 3563 inhabitants in Ocnele Mari, including 3531 Romanians and 20 Roma .

traffic

Ocnele Mari has no rail connection. There are regular bus connections to many larger cities in the country, including Bucharest.

Attractions

Remains of the Dacian fortress Buridava (2nd century BC to 1st century AD)
numerous churches and monasteries (16th - 18th century)

Others

During the solar eclipse of August 11, 1999 , the center of maximum totality was in Ocnele Mari; here complete coverage of the sun took 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

Web links

Commons : Ocnele Mari - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ 2011 census in Romania at citypopulation.de
↑ ^a ^b Petre Iordache et al .: Strategia de dezvoltare locală a orasului Ocnele Mari pentru perioada programatică 2007 - 2013
↑ ^a ^b Birgitta Gabriela Hannover: Discovering Romania: Art treasures and natural beauties Trescher Verlag, 2007. Issue 3. P. 262/263. ISBN 978-3-89794-104-5
↑ Alexandru Daniel Popescu: Petre Țuțea : between sacrifice and suicide. Ashgate Publishing, 2004. pp. 71/72
↑ David Turnock: Aspects of independent Romania's economic history with Particular reference to transition for EU accession Ashgate Publishing, 2007. pp 241. ISBN 978-0-7546-5892-4
^ Map of the 1930 census , accessed July 21, 2009
↑ 2002 census, accessed July 21, 2009

[1] 2011 census in Romania at citypopulation.de

[str-2] Petre Iordache et al .: Strategia de dezvoltare locală a orasului Ocnele Mari pentru perioada programatică 2007 - 2013

[brg-3] Birgitta Gabriela Hannover: Discovering Romania: Art treasures and natural beauties Trescher Verlag, 2007. Issue 3. P. 262/263. ISBN 978-3-89794-104-5

[tit-4] Alexandru Daniel Popescu: Petre Țuțea : between sacrifice and suicide. Ashgate Publishing, 2004. pp. 71/72

[5] David Turnock: Aspects of independent Romania's economic history with Particular reference to transition for EU accession Ashgate Publishing, 2007. pp 241. ISBN 978-0-7546-5892-4

[6] Map of the 1930 census , accessed July 21, 2009

[7] 2002 census, accessed July 21, 2009