Caras-Severin County
The mountainous zone of the Banat expanse, included in its majority
in the present administrative territory of the county of Caras-Severin,
was characterised, during its first stage of development, by a prevalence
of primary industries (mining, metallurgy) resulting from the geological
particularities of the region consisting in very rich resources: ferrous
metals, non-ferrous-metals, coal, non-metal ores. The riches of the
region were known and capitalised upon from very ancient times, the
mines worked during the Roman and the Ottoman rules being telling
proofs thereof. A systemic approach and development of industry started
only at the beginning of the 18th century, once Banat became a province
of the Austrian Empire (1718). Thus, while non-ferrous metals (gold,
silver and copper) used to be mined at first, with rudimentary technology,
economic interests soon called for iron ore exploitation as well,
using the technology known at that time. The mines at Sasca, Ciclova,
Oravita, Dognecea, Ocna de Fier (to mention just a few of them) are
mentioned both by travellers visiting the region and by mineralogy
papers of the time (Franceso Griselini, J.J. Esmarch, Bernhard von
Cotta, etc.). The set-up of the works at Bocsa (1721), and especially
of that in Resita (1771) represented an institutionalisation of industry
in the mountainous Banat, although the outset was rather modest as
dimension, payroll and output. By 1855, the entire mining, metallurgical
and forest assets in the area had been property of the Austrian Imperial
Treasury. The first coal deposits were discovered at that time as
well, in 1790, first at Anina and then in another two localities,
which allowed both further modernisation of the metallurgy of iron
and the use of coal for steam engines (for navigation, railway transport,
etc.). In time, as material resources diminished, higher processing
methods were adopted by increasing the value of the finished goods.
Thus, in 1855, the entire Banat domain was bought by STEG, a multinational
Austrian-French company specialising in railway construction and exploitation,
related equipment and plant included. The Oravita-Bazias coal railway
line was built at that time (21 August 1854), the oldest railway line
in Romania, destined to the transport of coal and metallurgical products
originating in the Oravita-Anina zone. New facilities were opened
at Resita and Anina, production being developed in fields not necessarily
related to raw products: railway tyres, railway tracks, as well as
complex equipment such as steam engines (1846), railway bridges (1870),
locomotives (1872), road bridges, metal structures, arms, etc. The
second half of the 19th century was characterised by an approximation
of the technological programme of the time, the latest endowments
and process technologies being adopted, by an extensive development
of production units, as well as by meeting international standards
in output rates and access to more rapid communication means. The
metallurgical-mining compound of the mountainous region of Banat became
thus the largest industrial entity in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire,
enjoying a well-established repute. After the shock of WW I, a multinational
society, UDR Uzinele de fier si domeniile Resita, was established
and it started expanding, developing entirely new branches and process
lines: locomotives, electric machines, welded structures, oil equipment,
several types of arms and ammunition. UDR evolution is marked by several
industrial outbreaks in the south-east of Europe made possible by
the expertise and well-conduct of the company personnel, leaders in
the Romanian economy of the time. Technical results were followed
by economic ones, which made UDR the biggest tax payer of all Romanian
companies. The prestige the UDR products enjoyed was remarkable, as
were the latest technologies employed. After WW II, when an economic
peak was registered despite the vicissitudes of the time, UDR was
confronted with several foul hits: the burdensome payments made pursuant
to the armistice convention, the 1948 nationalisation and the set-up
of companies such as Sovrom, resulted from UDR (1949), concurrently
with the changeover to the command economy. Deep-going changes followed,
both in terms of organisation and as far as production capacity and
profile are concerned, until the present structure was built up. Industry
in the mountainous region of Banat has always been characterised by
a higher degree of vertical concentration and heterogeneity, which
conferred it flexibility diminished, to a very large extent, over
the past fifty years and an important part to play in the Romanian
economy. The commercial companies come out of UDR specialise at present
in the production of railway tyres, railway tracks and heavy shapes
(Resita), Diesel engines for railway locomotives and ships, hydropower
equipment and plant, big and special electric motors (Resita), engine
bogies (Caransebes), welded structures (Bocsa, Resita, Caransebes),
land and stationary reducers (Resita), to mention just a few of the
major products put out by the heavy industry developed in this expanse.
As far as the present output level is concerned, mention should be
made that it is biased by the general wane manifest in the capital
assets industry, as well as by the hindrances inherent to the changeover
to the market economy. Hopes for the better still exist, though, likely
to help overcome the drawbacks of the moment and induce economic upsurge.
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Geographical
Outline
The county of Caras-Severin is situated in the south-west of Romania,
in the ancient province of Banat. The county borders Yugoslavia (Serbia)
to the west and south, and the Danube and the Serbian border to the
extreme south. The county area is 8,153 sq. km, i.e. 3.6 per cent
of total Romanian territory, which makes Caras-Severin the second
largest Romanian county, yet one of the less populated it places
31st in terms of population, with 376,000 inhabitants. The reduced
number of inhabitants is due to the relief features mostly mountains
and hills, and forests covering a large part of the county territory.
The county is located at an economic and cultural cross-roads. Romanians,
representing 90 per cent of total population, live in good neighbourhood
and work-together with Germans, Hungarians, Serbs, Croats and other
nationalities. About 56 per cent of the population (210,000) live
in the eight towns of the county, the balance 44 per cent (166,000)
living in 68 communes and 281 villages. Resita is the most important
town of the county, the administrative, economic and cultural centre
of Caras-Severin. The history of the town is inter-related with its
development as an industrial centre. The town history starts in 1769
when the Imperial Court of Vienna decided to build a metallurgical
works at Resita. The conclusion in 1771 of a first stage of the construction
makes the metallurgical works of Resita one of the most famous in
Europe, along with other still operational suchlike facilities: Krupp
(Essen, Germany, founded 1811), Skoda (Plsen, Czech Republic, founded
1859-1860), the works at Donawitz, Austria, founded 1836. Resita is
at present a powerful Romanian industrial centre, with a ferrous metallurgy
works (CRS Combinatul siderurgic Resita S.A.) and one of the largest
mechanical engineering and metallurgical works (UCMR Uzina constructoare
de masini Resita S.A.). They are the oldest suchlike facilities in
Romania and take pride in a long-standing tradition in the field.
A very modern works R.R.R. S.A., Reductoare Renk-Resita, a joint
venture in which German capital holds the controlling interest is
also operational in Resita. It produces a wide range of reducers that
find applications in varied fields: transport, shipbuilding, industrial
and civil engineering, others. Resita also has a higher education
institution, the Eftimie Murgu University, training experts in several
local-interest fields (mechanical engineering, welding equipment and
technologies, metallurgy, electromechanics, civil and administrative
law, marketing). Caransebes, a town rich in cultural traditions, is
first mentioned in a document in the 13th century. It is the second
most important town in Caras-Severin. The town has a modern industrial
platform for furniture and wooden articles production, Mocars S.A.,
as well as a metal structures works, Caromet S.A., specialising in
the production of railway equipment, hydro-mechanical equipment, metal
structures, etc. The town is also an important railway junction for
the transit of passenger and freight traffic. An airport is also operational
in Caransebes for inland flights. Bocsa is located 25
km away from Resita. A long-standing industrial centre, trail-blazer
in nonferrous metallurgy in the Banat expanse (the first foundries
are mentioned in 1719), Bocsa is an important producer of metal structures
(CMB Uzina de constructii metalice Bocsa S.A.). A mining company,
a forest exploitation facility and a furniture mill are also operational
at Bocsa. The food industry is represented by Avicola S.A. Bocsa,
a joint-stock company specialising in the production of poultry and
eggs. Otelu-Rosu, located in the north-east of the county, is a ferrous
metallurgy centre where Socomet S.A. (rolled steel) and Romflex S.A.
(flexible tubing) develop their activity. Anina is a mining centre
(extraction of baking coal), as well as a zone of forest exploitation.
The outskirts of the town represent an important yet undercapitalised
tourist potential. Oravita, situated in the south-east of the county,
boasts long-standing cultural traditions a theatre has existed here
since 1817. Food industry facilities and forest exploitation companies
develop their activity at Oravita. Moldova-Noua, located in the south
of the county only four kilometres away from the Danube, is a copper
and other non-ferrous metals mining and ore dressing centre, as well
as a wine-growing centre. Baile Herculane, an ancient balneal resort,
is the smallest town in Caras-Severin, located on the Cerna river
valley, a zone with calcareous relief. The resort is more than 2000
years old and it has been renowned for its curative resources ever
since Roman times. The town has adequate hotels, restaurants, treatment
facilities and a casino.
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Touristic
Information
According to the numerous archaeological discoveries in this zone
(Pestera Hotilor, Baile Herculane) - cave paintings, statues,
stone-carves sanctuaries - this county has a multimillenary history.
There are important proves date especially from the Dacian and
Roman periods. Situated in the South-Western extremity, where
the Danube River meets the Romanian land for the first time, the
Caras-Severin county has a surface of 8,514 sq.km being the third
county of Romania from this point of view after the Suceava and
Timis ones. The climate is mildly with gentle winters and warm
summers. The relief of this county is characterized by a lot of
formations. The mountains are the Banat Mountains which are a
part of the Western Carpathians, and the Jarcu-Godeanu and Cerna
Mountains which are part of the Meridional Carpathians. The heights
rise from the West to the East, from 1,600 m up to 2.200 m above
sea. In the Timis-Cerna pass, ramifications to the Bistra Valley,
which marks the boundary between the Meridional Carpathians and
the Western ones, the Timis-Cerna, Belareca, Mehadia and Bistra
Rivers created a system of terraces which are inhabited intensely
now. The lowest form of relief is the plain. which has a limited
area in the Timis Plain. The Cerna, Timis, Barzava. Caras Rivers
and their tributaries form the main hydrographic network, and
in the Southern part of the county, the Danube River created one
of the most spectacular European narrow path which in 60 km long.
The natural lakes of the Caras-Severin county are small being
in a tight connection with the karst and ice relief in this area.
The Lake of Devil; with a surface of 700 sq. m is situated near
by the cave with the same name. The Banat karst has also a lot
of under ground lakes created by closing up some cave galleries.
Large surface of this county with a special landscape an declared
natural reservation and now they are natural parks as: Domogled-Cerna
Valley, Semenic - Cheile Carasului, Cheile nerei - Beusnita and
Portile de Fier. The capital city of this county is the municipality
of Resita. Here in 1771, in summer, the first two furnace were
put into operation, opening in this way an industrial center which,
along the time became the fame of the Romanian industry. The oldest
and the most important medieval monument of Resita is Hall-Church
situated on the Ogasele Hill. The County Museum of History hosts
important archaeological exhibits of mining and metallurgy. Also
in this town there is the Museum of steam railway engines. A point
of interest is also the "C. Gruiescu" mineralogical
Collection in the town of Ocna de Fier, the Pharmaceutics Museum
in the town of Oravita, the Icons and old books Collection of
the Orthodox Rector in Resita. The Spa-town of Baile Herculane
has also a multimillenary history. The numerous archaeological
discoveries prove an uninterrupted habitation since the Paleolithic
Era. During the about 165 years of Roman domination in Dacia,
the Herculane Spa was known all over the Roman Empire. The stone-carved
sanctuaries show that here came representatives of the Roman aristocracy,
the place becoming a holidays center of the Empire. A number of
six statues were discovered; they are dedicated to Hercules whose
name was given to this spa. A bronze replica of one of them, moulded
in 1874, can be seen in the Herculane Spa as its landmark. In
our days, this spa is visited thanks to its natural elements of
cure: thermal sulphurous, chlorous, sodium, calcium, magnesic,
oligomineral, hypotonic waters and to the high negative ionization
of air with favourable effects on the human body. Other zones
of tourist interest situated in the Caras-Severin county are:
the tourist zone of Semenic for winter sports; zones of Breazova-Crivina,
Trei Ape, Secu for tourism and sports around the lakes with the
same names; the Cerna valley for its rich flora and fauna in the
Domogled-Valea Cernei National Park; the Anina Mountains with
its tourist spas and quays of a wild beauty: the tourist zone
of Portile de Fier (Iron Gates) with the Valea Mare reservation
as well as the archaeologic reservations from Pojejena, Gornea,
Libcova and Divici. Caras Severin is a county with very rich ethnographic
and folk traditions: costumes, textures, embroideries, sings and
dances, customs ocassioned by different seasons and main moments
of a people's life. Of a special interest are the daffodils and
lilac feasts. The daffodils is the symbol of this county too.
A lot of hotels, resting houses, motels, chalets and camping grounds
wait for their guests in all seasons.
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Economy
Profile
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