Maramures County
As far back as the antiquity, this county was recognised as a centre
of ore exploitation. Baia Mare, which is the county seat, Baia Sprie,
Cavnic and Baia Borsa developed on the basis of mining. In 1884 lead
refining was started at Firiza, near Baia Mare, while zinc started
being refined at the Phoenix factory in 1920. The area of the historical
Maramures preserves many of the old Romanian traditions, including
the utilisation of wood in constructions and the cottage industry,
as well as the exquistite traditional costumes villagers wear on feast
days.
[ back to TOP ]
Geographical
Outline
Maramures is situated in North-West Romania, close to the border with
Ukraine. About two-thirds of the territory is mountainous, and the
topsoils are poor. The climate is temperate continental, with average
annual temperatures of +9.4°C. Thermal inversion is strong in the
Maramures Depression. Rainfall ranges between 700 and 1400 mm annually,
being more frequent in the north and north-western part.
[ back to TOP ]
Touristic
Information
The Maramures
county, situated at the Northern border of Romania with Ukraine,
consists in the old "lands" of Maramures, Chioarul,
Lapus and Baia Mare Depressions. Thanks to its richness in gold,
silver, lead, copper, salt, its large pastures and natural hay
fields, forests and agricol fields, its fauna and flora, this
county was inhabited many millenaries ago. The municipality
of Baia Mare is the capital city of this county. Now, the population
consists in Romanians (81 percent), Magyars (10.5 percent),
Ukrainians (6.8 per cent), Gypsies (1.3 per cent), Germans (0.6
per cent) a.o. Of this surface of 6,215 sq. km, 43 per cent
is a mountain zone with the Rodna Mountains and their Pietrosul
Massif (2.303 m) - the highest one in the Oriental Carpathians
and volcanic zones with the Gutai and Jibles Mountains (1.300
up to 1.800 m above sea); 30 per cent are hills, plateaus and
piedmonts and 27 per cent are depression, meadows and terraces.
In the middle of the Maramures, Rodna, Gutai and Tibles Mountains
there is the Maramures Depression, the largest one in Romania
(75 km long and 20 km wide). Up the mountains the winter reigns
till May-June. The picturesque lakes situated near by the town
of Baia Sprie are visited thanks to their beauty: Bodi-Ferneziu,
Bodi-Suior, Nistru Lakes, the Blue Lake, the man-made lake of
Firiza. Characteristically to this county of Romania are the
hydromineral sources (over 100 springs) especially the ones
near by Baia Borsa, Viseu de Sus. Baiut and Poiana Botizii.
The Maramures county has 62 hunting grounds with a surface of
587,000 ha. There are also eight zones of natural reservation.
The county is rich in ethnographic and folk elements. The folk
art is preserved here as a very original form: houses, gates
in wood, tools, textures, pottery, churches built in wood uniqually
in the world, distinct customs. The Maramures county has its
gates opened to the tourists who want to know its original folk
culture: the museums in Baia Mare and Sighetu Marmatiei; over
200 monuments of folk architecture, the Borsa, Izvoarele and
Mogosa Spas. Very original are also the villages situated on
the Iza, Mara, Viseu and Tisa Valleys, forming real open-air
museums. Unique in the world is the Merry Graveyard from the
village of Sapanta. In this county there are eight museums,
67 historical monuments and sites, 363 architectural monuments
and piles as well as 13 historic zones in towns and villages.
[ back to TOP ]
Economy
Profile
[ back
to TOP ]
Copyright (C) 1999-2000 SC Computer Club SRL. All rights reserved.
[Please send any comments to webmaster@clubromania.ro.]
|
