Mehedinți County
Județul Mehedinți
County
Rock sculpture of Decebalus
Rock sculpture of Decebalus
Coat of arms of Mehedinți County
Coat of arms
Administrative map of Romania with Mehedinți county highlighted
Coordinates: 44°38′N 22°53′E / 44.63°N 22.88°E / 44.63; 22.88
CountryRomania
Development regionSud-Vest
Historical regionOltenia, Banat
CapitalDrobeta-Turnu Severin
Area
 • Total4,933 km2 (1,905 sq mi)
 • Rank30th
Population
 (2021-12-01)[1]
 • Total234,339
 • Rank39th
 • Density48/km2 (120/sq mi)
Telephone code(+40) 252 or (+40) 352[2]
ISO 3166 codeRO-MH
GDP (nominal)US$ 1.278 billion (2015)
GDP per capitaUS$ 5,024 (2015)
WebsiteCounty Council
Prefecture

Mehedinți County (Romanian pronunciation: [meheˈdint͡sʲ] ⓘ) is a county (Romanian: județ) of Romania on the border with Serbia and Bulgaria. It is mostly located in the historical province of Oltenia, with one municipality (Orșova) and three communes (Dubova, Eșelnița, and Svinița) located in the Banat. The county seat is Drobeta-Turnu Severin.

Name

The county's name is Méhed or Mehádia in Hungarian. The Romanian form originates from the first one, and a third originates from the Romanian: Mehedinc. The territory was famous for its apiaries, that's why it was named from the Hungarian méh word meaning bee.[3]

Demographics

In 2011, it had a population of 254,570 and the population density was 51.6/km2.

Year County population[5]
1948 304,788 Steady
1956 304,091 Decrease
1966 310,021 Increase
1977 322,371 Increase
1992 332,091 Increase
2002 306,732 Decrease
2011 254,570 Decrease
2021 234,339 Decrease

Geography

Bulba River at Baia de Aramă

This county has a total area of 4,933 km2.

In the North-West there are the Mehedinți Mountains with heights up to 1500 m, part of the Western end of the Southern Carpathians.

The heights decrease towards the East, passing through the hills to a high plain - the Western end of the Romanian Plain.

In the South the Danube flows, forming a wide valley, with channels and ponds. Another important river is the Motru River in the East side, an affluent of the Jiu River. Also, in the West side there is the Cerna River forming a passage between the Oltenia region and the Banat region.

Neighbours

Economy

The energetic sector is highly developed in the county, on the Danube being two big hydro electrical power plants (Iron Gates I and Iron Gates II). Also in NE of Drobeta-Turnu Severin there is a heavy water complex (Romag Prod).

The predominant industries in the county are:

  • Chemical industry.
  • Food and beverages industry.
  • Textile industry.
  • Mechanical components industry.
  • Railway and ship equipment industry.
  • Wood and paper industry.

In the North, coal and copper are extracted.

The South is mainly agricultural, suited for growing cereals on large surfaces. Also vegetables are cultivated and there are important surfaces of wines and fruit orchards.

Tourism

1715 coat of arms of Argeș, Teleorman and Mehedinți counties on the frontispice of the Antim Monastery

The main tourist destinations are:

Politics

The Mehedinți County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections, consists of 30 counsellors, with the following party composition:[6]

    Party Seats Current County Council
  Social Democratic Party (PSD) 15                              
  National Liberal Party (PNL) 11                              
  PRO Romania (PRO) 2                              
  People's Movement Party (PMP) 2                              

Administrative divisions

Ruins of Trajan's Bridge, Drobeta-Turnu Severin
Drobeta-Turnu Severin
Orșova

Mehedinți County has 2 municipalities, 3 towns and 61 communes

Historical county

Județul Mehedinți
County (Județ)
The Mehedinți county court building of the interwar period.
The Mehedinți county court building of the interwar period.
Coat of arms of Județul Mehedinți
Coat of arms
Country Romania
Historic regionOltenia
Capital city (Reședință de județ)Turnu Severin
Area
 • Total5,320 km2 (2,050 sq mi)
Population
 (1930)
 • Total303,878
 • Density57/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Historically, the county was located in the southwestern part of Greater Romania, in the western part of the historical region of Oltenia. Its capital was Târgu Jiu. The interwar county territory comprised a large part of the current Mehedinți County. At present, its territory comprises a large part of the current territory of Mehedinţi County except for the northern part belonging to Gorj County, while a small part of the former Severin County where Orsova was located is currently part of Mehedinti County.

It was bordered on the west by the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, in the northwest by Severin County, to the north by Hunedoara County, to the east by the counties of Gorj and Dolj, and in the south by the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

Administration

Map of Mehedinți County as constituted in 1938.

The county was originally divided into four administrative districts (plăși):[7]

  1. Plasa Câmpul
  2. Plasa Cloșani, headquartered at Cloșani
  3. Plasa Motru, headquartered at Motru
  4. Plasa Ocolul, headquartered at Turnu Severin

Subsequently, Plasa Câmpul was disbanded and replaced with five more districts:

  1. Plasa Bâcleș, headquartered at Bâcleș
  2. Plasa Broșteni, headquartered at Broșteni
  3. Plasa Cujmir, headquartered at Cujmiru
  4. Plasa Devesel, headquartered at Devesel
  5. Plasa Vânju Mare, headquartered at Vânju Mare

Population

According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 303,878 inhabitants, ethnically divided as follows: 98.7% Romanians, 1.2% Romanis, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the population was 99.0% Eastern Orthodox, 0.5% Roman Catholic, 0.2% Jewish, as well as other minorities.

Urban population

In 1930, the county's urban population comprised 91.3% Romanians, 2.5% Germans, 1.3% Romanies, 1.3% Jews, 1.1% Serbs and Croats, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed of 92.9% Eastern Orthodox, 4.3% Roman Catholic, 1.5% Jewish, 0.4% Greek Catholic, 0.4% Lutheran, as well as other minorities.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mehedinți County.
  1. ↑ "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
  2. ↑ The number used depends on the numbering system employed by the phone companies on the market.
  3. ↑ Faragó, Imre (2021). Zentai, László; Török, Zsolt (eds.). "Az ezredéves térkép tájnevei" [The names of physical geographical regions on a thousand-year-old map] (PDF). Studia Cartologica (in Hungarian). Budapest: CC Printing Kft. 16: 131. ISSN 0495-1719.
  4. ↑ National Institute of Statistics, "Populația după etnie" Archived August 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ National Institute of Statistics, "Populația la recensămintele din anii 1948, 1956, 1966, 1977, 1992 și 2002" Archived September 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "Rezultatele finale ale alegerilor locale din 2020" (Json) (in Romanian). Autoritatea Electorală Permanentă. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  7. ↑ Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Mehedinți
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