Roșia Montană

The place Roșia Montană is also known under the old Romanian names Roșia Abrudului and Roșia de Munte , the German name Rotseifen and the Latin Alburnus Maior .

Geographical location

Location of the Roșia Montană municipality in the Alba district

Roșia Montană is located on the county road (Drum județean) DJ 742 (7 km from Drum național 74A ), in the Transylvanian Ore Mountains (Munții Metaliferi) - part of the Apuseni Mountains - in western Transylvania. The nearest larger city Abrud (Großschlatten) is 10 kilometers to the west, the district capital Alba Iulia (Karlsburg) about 80 kilometers (43 km as the crow flies) to the southeast. With its 16 villages and hamlets, Roșia Montană is part of the historic Motzenland .

history

Abandoned miner's house under monument protection

Center of Roșia Montană

Old copper mine from communist times with workers' accommodation, behind Roșia Montană

Resettlers' houses in the Recea district in Alba Iulia

Roșia Montană is one of the oldest and most important gold deposits in Europe. Gold has been mined here for over 2000 years, Herodotus already mentions the gold mining of the Agathyrsen - a related tribe of the Scythians - in the region. Because of these rich gold deposits, among other things, Emperor Trajan made the areas north of the lower Danube Dacia a Roman province in AD 106 . Many tons of gold were brought over the navigable river Mureș (Mieresch) to the Danube, from there to the Black Sea and to Rome. The protection of the local gold mines of Alburnus Maior was the responsibility of the garrison of Abrud Fort . After the invasion of the Visigoths , Emperor Aurelian had to give up the province around 270 AD . The economic facilities and infrastructure fell into disrepair in late antiquity and in the Middle Ages. The restless border situation and the stormy migration period did not allow a profitable promotion of the mining industry.

The place Roșia Montană was first mentioned in 1592. In the Middle Ages , the place was part of the Saxon mining settlement Großschlatten . At the brook Roșia (Rotseifenbach) - a right tributary of the Abrud - 12 punch mills were in operation in 1752. The gold-bearing ore was washed in over 100 small reservoirs. At the end of the 19th century there were around 400 punch mills in operation.

Boom in the late Middle Ages

It was not until the late Middle Ages that the immigration measures of the Hungarian kings took hold, bringing German “ Saxons ”, Hungarian settlers and resettled Szekler into the country, and there was a calming down and a modest mining industry, which, however, could never match its earlier size. Only after the Turkish threat had been averted was Maria Theresa able to put mining on a larger basis. As one of the largest mines of the monarchy, Roșia Montană became the financial support of the empire and the ruling house. The mines were expanded with the help of German miners, which also shaped the landscape: mountain villages in the style of the former homeland adorned the Carpathian landscape.

After the fall of the monarchy, the mine became the financial backbone of independent Romania. Now a small day mining is operated.

future

A project by the Canadian company Gabriel Resources is currently causing concern in the mining town and causing worldwide protests: two valleys are to be converted into craters and around 2,000 people are to be resettled for a modern open-cast mine . According to the latest estimates, mining 10 million tons of rock annually would yield approximately 411,000 ounces of gold (at a cost of $ 113 / ounce). The reserves are approximately 17.1 million ounces of gold and 81.1 million ounces of silver.

After the mining company had received a concession from the Romanian government to operate an open pit mine in Roșia Montană during the tenure of President Ion Iliescu , the removal of houses and land, as well as demolition work, began. However, public opposition began to rise against this project because of the planned use of sodium cyanide in the extraction of gold. In 2000, another gold mine in the north of the country, which used the same extraction technology, broke a dam that led to a serious environmental disaster (see: Baia Mare dam breach ). Environmental organizations from Western Europe and neighboring Hungary therefore opposed the project. The critical film made by the Hungarian documentary filmmaker Tibor Kocsis “New Eldorado. Gold. The Curse of Rosia Montana. ”Attracted international attention and won several awards at festivals. In Romania, however, this initially led to nationalist counter-reactions in politics and the media, as there are historical tensions with the neighboring country to the west. Later, however, resistance also arose in the country itself and Romanian environmental activists organized a "FânFest" protest festival in Roșia Montană from 2004 to 2007, at which well-known Romanian and international bands performed free of charge, including Shukar Collective , Vița de Vie and Zdob și Zdub . The protest of the non-governmental organizations “Alburnus Maior” and “Centrul Independent pentru Dezvoltarea Resurselor de Mediu” ( Independent National Center for the Development of Environmental Resources ) was also joined by the Romanian Orthodox and Catholic Churches in Romania. The new Romanian President Traian Băsescu , elected in December 2004, was also critical of the project and delayed further work. Romania's accession to the EU in 2007 also changed the legal situation, since an environmental impact assessment that had previously been missing was necessary under EU law . The project was now completely on hold.

In the meantime, however, the mining company Gabriel Resources tried to focus on the possible positive effects of the project on regional development and the Romanian labor market. A media campaign was launched, including advertisements on the Romanian Discovery Channel and Romanian National Geographic magazine. Gabriel Resources also sponsored various cultural projects, including the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF). The residents of Roșia Montană themselves were promised generous compensation and, after they moved away, modern new houses in nearby Alba Iulia, some of which had already been completed. According to the Canadian mining company, it is planned to remove at least three mountains and channel the waste water into a 185-meter-deep reservoir using the cyanide leaching method.

In 2010 the planned open pit gold mine project got new momentum. Due to the ongoing financial crisis in Romania and the successful lobbying of the mining company, various stakeholders turned away from their critical stance and an early commissioning of the mine now seemed more likely than in previous years. In a press release dated May 31, 2011, the Canadian mining company - which now has 80.46% shares; Romanian company Minvest Deva owns 19.31% of Roșia Montană Gold Corporation - with the fact that a Bucharest court (Curtea de Apel București) has "definitively and irrevocably" rejected an application to suspend Roșia Montană Gold Corporation's 2010 plans .

In June 2011, 48 business associations, trade unions, civil societies and personalities, such as the rectors of the state universities in Alba Iulia and the one in Petroșani , met to support the open-cast mining project in the Apuseni Mountains.

On the occasion of a visit by the Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta to Finland in September 2013, he asked for technical assistance on the open pit mine project for gold mining, with the President Traian Băsescu pleading for the project to be lifted due to numerous resistance from the population.

For almost 20 years, the residents of Roșia Montană have been fighting against the gold mining project that would have destroyed their homes and the surrounding environment. In a remarkable demonstration, they appealed to the Romanian courts and they managed to stop operations. Now the Canadian company is suing Romania in the arbitration tribunal ISDS for investments and demanding compensation for lost profits of 5.7 billion US dollars - almost three percent of the Romanian economy .

archeology

Silver-rich free gold, sheet-metal - place of discovery: Roșia Montană

Gold in quartz, found in: Roșia Montană, dimensions 4.3 x 2.7 x 1.3 cm.

In the area of the municipality - called Orlea and Piatra Corbului by the locals - many archaeological finds are associated with Roman times .

The extensive underground Roman galleries, which have an excellent natural ventilation system, are impressive. They are now accessible and one of the most impressive testimonies to ancient mining.

From a legal historical point of view, 25 wax tablets that were found in the tunnels in 1820 and 1855 are of the greatest importance . The oldest tablet dates from the year 131. As Roman law - thanks to the codification by Emperor Justinian - has been extensively researched, we only know everyday legal life in antiquity as the papyrus from the Roman province of Egypt and precisely from the Transylvanian wax tablets. They are thus some of the few testimonies to ancient - daily - legal life and invaluable sources of social and economic history. In addition to loan and rental agreements, there is also a miner's employment contract.

These wax tablets also show what position the settlement of Alburnus Maior at that time might have had within the Roman Empire : the actors on these wax tablets made use of legal institutions that were only reserved for Roman citizens. From this it can be concluded that Roșia Montană must have been vicus or at least pagus ; but at least should have had its own legal status. The contents of the wax tablets in the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum III, page 921 ff., Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum III, 260-1277 are best accessible .

population

The population of the entire municipality developed as follows:

census		Ethnic composition
year	population	Romanians	Hungary	German	other
1850	5,756	4,651	669	261	175
1910	5,165	3,623	1,515	8th	19th
1941	5,409	4,557	651	123	78
1977	4,393	4,060	157	7th	169
2002	3,872	3,518	55	6th	293
2011	2,656	2,239	6th	-	411

The highest population of today's municipality - and at the same time that of Romanians and Germans - was determined in 1850. The highest number of Hungarians was registered in 1910 and that of Roma (334) in 2011. In addition, one resident called himself a Ukrainian in 1930, one each in 1890, 1900 and 2002, and two in 1910 as Serbs , one in 1890 and four in 1930 as Slovaks .

Attractions

The Romanian Orthodox Church, Adormirea Maicii Domnului , 1741; the vestibule built in the 19th century is a listed building.
In the place Roșia Montană there are about 40 houses (built from 1700-1900) under monument protection.
The mining museum Muzeul Mineritului , with an open-air section and exhibits from antiquity to the present day. An approx. 400 meter long Roman tunnel with all accessories that follows a vein of gold. After two and a half years of renovation at a price of 150,000 euros, house No. 325 (built in 1874) was opened as the Museum Aurul Apusenilor on February 23, 2010 . Funded by Roșia Montană Gold Corporation (RMGC), the museum offers its visitors free entry.
In the incorporated village of Cărpiniş (ung. Abrudkerpenyes ) the home of Ioan Orgă (1747–1785) called Cloşca - one of the leaders of the peasant uprising of 1784 - and his bronze bust.

Former Hungarian school (2007)
Former reformed rectory (2007)
The Cloşca Memorial House in Cărpiniş

literature

Little Pauly . Lexicon of antiquity. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 1979, ISBN 3-423-05963-X , Volume 1, Column 237, 761ff., 1355ff., Volume 5, 1266, (cited there: Istoria Romaniei I, 190, 358.369.383.402, Fig 95 Parvan Getica 272 ff.).
Lexicon of the Middle Ages . Volume 7: Planudes to City (Rus'). Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-423-59057-2 , column 1840ff.
Uwe Wesel : History of Law. From the early forms to the present. 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Verlag CH Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-47543-4 .

Web links

Commons : Roșia Montană, Alba - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ 2011 census in Romania ( MS Excel ; 1.3 MB)
↑ Mayoral elections 2016 in Romania ( MS Excel ; 256 kB)
^ Dictionary of the localities in Transylvania
↑ ^a ^b Heinz Heltmann, Gustav Servatius (Ed.): Travel Guide Siebenbürgen. Kraft-Verlag, Würzburg 1993, ISBN 3-8083-2019-2 .
^ Website of Gabriel Resources Ltd. ( Memento from November 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
^ Protests by Greenpeace against the construction of a new gold mine ( Memento from September 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
^ Romania News Watch, October 22, 2008, accessed October 22, 2008
^ Mark Lange: How one mine could save a Romanian town , February 6, 2006.
↑ Information on the Roșia Montană project at gabrielresources.com ( Memento from April 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
↑ The non-governmental organization lose the battle for Roșia Montană , on € Fin.ro, accessed on June 23, 2011 (Romanian)
↑ Claudiu Pădurean: Support for the Roșia Montana project , from June 23, 2011 on RomâniaLiberă.ro, accessed on June 23, 2011 ( Memento from June 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (Romanian)
^ The cooperation through the declaration of the Prime Minister Victor Ponta at rosiamontana.org, on September 25, 2013 ( Memento from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Romanian)
↑ Andi Manciu: Băsescu: It is not necessary for 200,000 people to take to the streets to deal with the Roșia Montană problem , on September 16, 2013 at mediafax.ro (Romanian)
↑ Investor situation on Romanian gold mine , on June 24, 2019 , from "weed" (World Economy, Ecology & Development) , accessed on January 20, 2020.
↑ Lawsuit against the toxic gold mine: Gabriel Resources v. Romania at 10isdsstories.org, accessed on January 20, 2020.
↑ ^a ^b ^c List of historical monuments of the Romanian Ministry of Culture, updated 2010 (PDF; 7.10 MB)
↑ Census, last updated October 30, 2008, p. 147 (Hungarian; PDF; 1.2 MB)
^ First step towards restoring the historical center of Roșia Montană , pictures and description of the museum opening on February 25, 2011 on Descoperă lumea ta.ro, accessed on June 23, 2011 (Romanian)
↑ The first renovated building in the center of Roșia Montană, from February 24, 2010 at Financiarul.ro, accessed on May 14, 2010 (Romanian)

[1] 2011 census in Romania ( MS Excel ; 1.3 MB)

[2] Mayoral elections 2016 in Romania ( MS Excel ; 256 kB)

[3] Dictionary of the localities in Transylvania

[hsrs-4] Heinz Heltmann, Gustav Servatius (Ed.): Travel Guide Siebenbürgen. Kraft-Verlag, Würzburg 1993, ISBN 3-8083-2019-2 .

[5] Website of Gabriel Resources Ltd. ( Memento from November 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive )

[6] Protests by Greenpeace against the construction of a new gold mine ( Memento from September 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive )

[7] Romania News Watch, October 22, 2008, accessed October 22, 2008

[8] Mark Lange: How one mine could save a Romanian town , February 6, 2006.

[9] Information on the Roșia Montană project at gabrielresources.com ( Memento from April 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (English)

[10] The non-governmental organization lose the battle for Roșia Montană , on € Fin.ro, accessed on June 23, 2011 (Romanian)

[11] Claudiu Pădurean: Support for the Roșia Montana project , from June 23, 2011 on RomâniaLiberă.ro, accessed on June 23, 2011 ( Memento from June 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (Romanian)

[12] The cooperation through the declaration of the Prime Minister Victor Ponta at rosiamontana.org, on September 25, 2013 ( Memento from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Romanian)

[13] Andi Manciu: Băsescu: It is not necessary for 200,000 people to take to the streets to deal with the Roșia Montană problem , on September 16, 2013 at mediafax.ro (Romanian)

[14] Investor situation on Romanian gold mine , on June 24, 2019 , from "weed" (World Economy, Ecology & Development) , accessed on January 20, 2020.

[15] Lawsuit against the toxic gold mine: Gabriel Resources v. Romania at 10isdsstories.org, accessed on January 20, 2020.

[rokultm-16] List of historical monuments of the Romanian Ministry of Culture, updated 2010 (PDF; 7.10 MB)

[17] Census, last updated October 30, 2008, p. 147 (Hungarian; PDF; 1.2 MB)

[18] First step towards restoring the historical center of Roșia Montană , pictures and description of the museum opening on February 25, 2011 on Descoperă lumea ta.ro, accessed on June 23, 2011 (Romanian)

[19] The first renovated building in the center of Roșia Montană, from February 24, 2010 at Financiarul.ro, accessed on May 14, 2010 (Romanian)