Maramureş County

Maramureş () is a county (judeţ) of Romania, in Maramureş, with the capital city at Baia Mare.

Neighbours

Suceava County in the East.
Satu Mare County in the West.
Ukraine in the North - Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and Zakarpattia Oblast.
Sălaj County, Cluj County and Bistriţa-Năsăud County in the South.

Demographics

In 2002, it had a population of 510,110 and the population density was 81/km².

Romanians - 82.02% (or 418,405)
Hungarians - 9.07% (or 46,300)
Rromas - 1.74% (or 8,913)
Ukrainians - 6.67% (or 34,027)
Germans - 0.39% (or 2,012), and other.

official statistics

edrc

Hungarians refer to Maramures county with the name Máramaros.

Geography

This county has a total area of 6,304 km². 43% of this surface is being occupied by the Rodna Mountains with the tallest peak is the Pietrosul with 2303m, and Gutâi and Ţibleş Mounaints all part of the Eastern Carpathians. The rest are either hills and plateaus or valleys. The region is crossed by Tisa River and some of its affluents: Iza, Viseu, Mara.

Economy

Maramureş is known for the persistence of its agricultural traditions, largely unaffected by industrialisation. The region escaped collectivisation under Communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, with the result that local people retain a very close relationship with the land. Ploughing, planting, harvesting, hay-making and almost every demand of farming are met by manual labour.

The region is a strong mining region - generally metals other than iron; around Baia Mare some industrial complexes were built during the communist period which heavily pollute the area.

Tourism

The region is known for its strong Romanian traditions, kept generally in the rural area. It is well known for its woodworks: Impressive churches, houses and gates. The rural areas of the region have few roads, which are often impassable to all but horsecarts or determined walkers.

The main tourist attractions in the county are:

The cities of Baia Mare and Sighetu Marmaţiei.
The villages from the Iza, Mara and Vişeu valley.
- Wooden Churches of Maramureş
- Merry Cemetery of Săpânţa
The Rodna Mountains.

Administrative divisions

The county has 2 municipalities, 6 towns and 62 communes.

Municipalities

Baia Mare - capital city; population: 149,735
Sighetu Marmaţiei

Towns

Communes

History

10th century frontier county Borsova founded by Stephen I of Hungary
11th century historical Maramures counties separation from Borsova (city name Borşa shows connection with this)
1241 Tartar invasion killed 50% of the population
14th century Duke (knyaz) Bogdan of Maramrues founded Moldova
In the Middle Ages historical Maramures county was known for its rich salt mines and later for its lumber resources.
As a result of decisions taken at the Paris Peace Conference (Treaty of Trianon, 1920), the historical county Maramures was divided, with about three-fifths of its territory going to Czechoslovakia and the remainder, south of the Tisa River (its left bank), going to Romania.

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