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40-462: This Hunedoara County location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a specific mine is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Hunedoara County Hunedoara County ( Romanian pronunciation: [huneˈdo̯ara] ) is a county ( județ ) of Romania , in Transylvania , with its capital city at Deva . The county

80-541: A factory town , an image that would endure through 1999. The plant, known during this period as the Hunedoara Steel Works ( Combinatul Siderurgic Hunedoara ; CSH), employed workers from surrounding villages as well as peasants from Moldavia and Muntenia driven to settle in the city as part of the forced industrialization drive of the decade-old Communist regime . They spurred the city's growth from 4800 residents in 1930 to almost 90,000 in 1990, making it

120-534: A capacity of some 330,000 tons of steel a year, was shut down, as well as three furnaces at steel plant #2. In mid-1999, steel plant #2 was gradually shut down: first sintering was halted, then coking and finally on June 12, 115 years to the day after the works were inaugurated, the cast iron-producing furnaces. A further shutdown occurred in the spring of 2003, and some 5300 workers were laid off. The company became Mittal Steel Hunedoara in September 2003 as part of

160-524: A cast iron mould and a Martin furnace; a 400- hp hydropower plant; a funicular network for carrying materials; a mill; and workshops for agricultural and other types of tools. Starting in 1926, engineers and economists insisted, through proposals they made and carried out, on increased output up to the maximum level. For instance, one plan from that year, by the head mine inspector of the Jiu Valley , called for high growth to be achieved both by using

200-401: A continuous turning mechanism and eccentric bottom tap-holes. There were also two open hearth furnace steel mills. The first had five 100-ton ovens with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons a year, and a rolling mill for up to 450,000 tons of light profiles a year, used for making special products. The second Siemens-Martin steel mill had a production capacity of some 3.2 million tons per year and

240-509: A day; and the fifth, which could generate 80–150 tons a day, in 1903. The first three burned charcoal, while the last two ran on coke . Iron ore was extracted from the mine near the Ghelari plant some 16 km away, and was brought there on a ropeway conveyor built at the same time as the first furnace. Increased production of cast iron had led to a greater demand for iron ore, which in turn caused intense extraction of deep deposits in

280-676: A privatization program completed the following April, when it was acquired from the Romanian government by a subsidiary of the Mittal Steel Company . It took on the name of ArcelorMittal Hunedoara in 2006, following the takeover of Arcelor by Mittal to form ArcelorMittal . After the fall of communism, production and employment fell by a factor of ten. As of 2007, the works produced billets for pipes; heavy, medium and light profiles; reinforced concrete ; wire; and special profiles, including mine gallery supports. Later on,

320-500: A rolling plant for light profiles (440,000 tons a year), heavy profiles (1,130,000 tons a year) and wire (280,000 tons a year). Stainless steel for bearings was also produced. The Communist regime fell in 1989 , and the transition to a market economy found the works ill-equipped to survive, with their technology not having been upgraded since the late 1970s. In 1991, the works became a state-owned joint-stock company , Siderurgica Hunedoara. The following year, steel plant #1, with

360-417: A total capacity of 90,000 tons of steel ingots per year. The alloy loaded into the furnaces was 75% cast iron and 25% scrap iron, and the hall where they were located was fitted with a mixer for 200 tons of liquid cast iron, to be used during production. Second, the 5 ton-per-load electric furnace produced special steels for tools, including alloys of chromium and tungsten , up to 6000 tons a year. Later, this

400-424: A year; a workshop for moulding cast iron pieces with a 1500 ton-a-year capacity; a forge equipped with two steam hammers ; a machine workshop for preparing 500–600 tons per year of moulded or forged pieces; a cinder block workshop putting out up to 1,200,000 bricks each year; a limestone quarry at Bunila ; a number of coal depots manufacturing charcoal for the furnaces; a tall blast furnace at Govăjdia equipped with

440-558: Is a steel mill in the Transylvanian city of Hunedoara , Romania . Several factors led to the establishment of the works, which were located in an area that was then part of Austria-Hungary : late 19th-century technological development that resulted in increased steel production through new techniques, spurred by the serious need of metal for the Austro-Hungarian Army ; the aged and unprofitable methods used by

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480-498: Is located at Mintia . The Jiu Valley , located in the south of the country, has been a major mining area throughout the second half of the 19th century and the 20th century, but many mines were closed down in the years following the collapse of the communist regime. The city of Hunedoara has also suffered significantly from the 1990s onwards - under communism it contained the largest steel works in Romania (until Galați took

520-615: Is now city property remains contaminated. Since 2004, Mittal has taken steps to filter exhaust and to treat waste water. The plant's administrative headquarters, which functioned as a school for workers prior to the Communist era, is considered a historic building, but once abandoned in the years after 1990, it entered a state of disrepair. Its stairs, cables, floors and furniture were stolen and sold by local Roma , its interior, sheltering stray dogs, strewn with documents and remaining furniture wrecked by those searching for valuables within,

560-726: Is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion . In Hungarian , it is known as Hunyad megye , in German as Kreis Hunedoara , and in Slovak as Huňadská župa . The county got its name from the city of Hunedoara ( Hungarian : Vajdahunyad ), which is the Romanian transliteration of the Hungarian Hunyadvár ( lit.   ' Castle of Hunyad ' , archaic: Hwnyadwar ), old name of

600-426: Is the most urbanized county in Romania (75% of the population is urban - in 2011) it does not contain any city of more than 100,000 people. Also, following the de-industrialization after the communism fall, the major urban centres in the county, particularly Hunedoara and Petroșani , suffered significant population decline . Historically, the county was located in the central-western part of Greater Romania , in

640-460: Is traditionally a coal-mining region, and its high level of industrialisation drew many people from other regions of Romania in the period before the fall of the communist regime. Ethnic composition of Hunedoara County (2021) The Hunedoara County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections , consists of 32 counsellors, with the following party composition: Hunedoara County has 7 municipalities, 7 towns and 55 communes. Although Hunedoara County

680-554: The Govăjdia Blast Furnace remained active as late as 1918. In 1886, the practice of turning cast iron into steel began at Hunedoara, using new technologies. The cast iron was shipped to steel works at Cugir , Podbrezová and Diósgyőr , but the technical and economic results were unsatisfactory. Experiments within the Hunedoara works had failed due to deficiencies in the craftsmanship of the improvised equipment, and this

720-502: The Great Recession . By 2011, there were 820 employees. That year, eight exhaust chimneys, each over 90 m high and built in 1957, were demolished. These had become a symbol of the city, each of the ovens they served producing 400 tons of steel in one charge prior to 1990, but had become degraded. The chimney of blast furnace #4, itself demolished in 2004, remains standing. In the two years preceding this demolition, around 70% of

760-541: The Poiana Ruscă Mountains . Industrial-scale quarrying began at Ghelari in 1863, followed by shaft mining from 1881. As the ropeway conveyor could no longer handle a significantly enlarged capacity, the 16-km Ghelari-Hunedoara narrow gauge railway was built between 1890 and 1900. Also in the same area were built the 18-km Govăjdia - Bătrâna River funicular for charcoal transport and the 14-km Govăjdia- Bunila one for bringing charcoal and limestone . The latter

800-644: The municipality . That most likely originated from the Hungarian huny verb meaning 'to close' or 'to die', but may also come from wear the name of the Huns , who were headquartered near for a time and were the first to establish solid rule over the land since the Dacians . This county has a total area of 7,063 km . Mainly, the relief is made up of mountains, divided by the Mureș River valley which crosses

840-641: The North side Crișul Alb River also forms a valley in the Apuseni Mountains - Zarand region. In the South side along the Jiu River with its two branches Jiul de Vest and Jiul de Est , there is a large depression, and an accessible route towards Southern Romania - Oltenia .. Hunedoara County was one of the most industrialised areas during the communist period, and was very negatively affected when

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880-481: The Orăştie Mountains. The main tourist attractions in the county are: According to the 2021 census , the county had a population of 361,657 and the population density was 51.2/km (132.6/sq mi). The population of Hunedoara county is the second eldest of all Romanian counties, with an average age of the residents of 45.5 years, only behind Teleorman County (46.3 years). Hunedoara's Jiu River Valley

920-571: The Orăștie Mountains and the Corvin Castle . The predominant industries in the county are: In the 1990s, a large number of mines were closed down, leaving Hunedoara county with the highest unemployment rate in Romania, of 9.6%, in comparison to the national average of 5.5%. Retezat National Park and other picturesque regions makes it one of the most beautiful counties in Romania. Also there can be found Dacian and Roman complexes in

960-517: The area's iron workshops; the building of a railroad; and the enlargement of the market due to increased metal consumption in Transylvania's mechanical plants. Building started in August 1882, with two blast furnaces 14.40 m high and 110 m in volume. The third furnace, with a capacity of 40–50 tons per day, started to be built in 1884; the fourth was started in 1885 and could produce 10–150 tons

1000-525: The census data of 1930, the county's population was 332,118, of which 82.0% were Romanians, 11.3% Hungarians, 2.5% Germans, 1.5% Romanies, 1.4% Jews, as well as other minorities. In the religious aspect, the population consisted of 64.2% Eastern Orthodox, 18.5% Greek Catholic, 9.1% Roman Catholic, 4.5% Reformed, as well as other minorities. In 1930, the urban population of the county was 41,234, of which 52.8% were Romanians, 30.4% Hungarians, 6.7% Germans, 6.6% Jews, 1.6% Romanies, as well as other minorities. From

1040-431: The country's largest city dependent on a single industry. Unlike other Romanian cities that were just starting to industrialize with the beginning of Nicolae Ceauşescu 's rule in 1965, the process was completed earlier in Hunedoara, which by the 1960s already had the sense of a unified community, and by 1970 had reached the height of its urban and industrial development. Production reached its peak in 1982–84, stalling during

1080-521: The county from East to West. To the North side there are the Apuseni Mountains and to the South side there are mountains from the Southern Carpathians group, Parâng Mountains group and Retezat-Godeanu Mountains group : Orastie and Surianu Mountains (South-East), Retezat Mountains (South), Poiana Ruscai Mountains (South-West). Except from the Mureș River with its tributaries Strei , Râul Mare and Cerna which forms wide valleys, in

1120-437: The disused buildings were taken down, including a 1950s power plant that took seven years of attempts to destroy and was considered cursed. As of 2010, hundreds of individuals were making a living by carting off and selling iron and copper from disused portions of the works. Metallurgical activity caused substantial air, water and soil pollution in Hunedoara, especially before 1990. Close to 140 ha of industrial land that

1160-429: The focus was defined as remaining on steel products and long hot-rolled bars. In 2011, there were plans for the installation of a new rolling machine producing up to 400,000 tons of europrofile cylinder locks a year, starting in 2012. The drastic production reduction was followed by a surge in unemployment—from 20,000 workers in 1993, only less than 700 were counted in 2011-because while some younger workers emigrated,

1200-417: The industry collapsed after the fall of the communist regime. The industry in the Hunedoara county is linked with the mining activity in the region. In the mountains, from ancient times, metals and coal have been exploited. Nowadays, there is one large industrial complex at Hunedoara owned by Mittal Steel . Also energy related enterprises are located in the county - one of the biggest thermoelectric plant

1240-490: The lead), but activity gradually diminished after the fall of communism due to the loss of the market. This was a blow to the overall prosperity of the town, which is now recovering through new investments. Agricultural activities also take place in Hunedoara county, which include livestock raising, and fruit and cereal cultivation. The county also has touristic potential, especially through the Dacian Fortresses of

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1280-420: The majority stayed in the city and by 2011 faced serious difficulties in finding new work or took early retirement. In 2008, the number of employees had fallen to 1260, following a wave of compensated early retirements. For several months at the end of that year and into the next, the works entirely stopped production for the first time in 80 years: most of its output went abroad, due to a drop in orders during

1320-753: The others, started production in August 1895, reaching its planned capacity of 109 tons per day within a month. Transylvania united with Romania in 1918, with the works passing into the ownership of the Romanian government the following year. After 1920, they were now known as the Hunedoara Ironworks ( Uzinele de Fier Hunedoara ; UFH) and continued as a mining and steel-making center, with considerable holdings of raw materials and output capacity: iron ore mines at Ghelari , Arănieş and Vadu Dobrii ; mining concessions at Lunca Cernii de Jos , Alun , Sălciua de Jos , Trascău , Runc and one near Odorheiu Secuiesc ; five tall furnaces producing 119,000 tons

1360-473: The plant to its fullest capacity; and by refining cast iron to a higher degree, first into steel and then into laminated products, by using upgraded equipment. Between 1937 and 1940, a modern steel production and rolling section was built, with machinery imported from Nazi Germany , covering 8500 m and fitted with four special components. First, the four Siemens-Martin open-hearth furnaces, heated by six gas generators, could each fit 25 loads of tons, with

1400-428: The regime's last years. Hunedoara was the leading Romanian producer of long steel profiles, made in two electric arc furnaces . The first, with a capacity of 150,000 tons per year, two 50-ton furnaces and two 20-ton ones for alloyed steels shaped into ingots, featured vacuum degasification and electro-slag remelting . The second, turning out up to 400,000 tons a year, had two 100-ton secondary treatment furnaces with

1440-497: The religious point of view, the urban population was made up of 42.0% Eastern Orthodox, 25.7% Roman Catholic, 10.5% Greek Catholic, 9.9% Reformed, 6.9% Jewish, 3.5% Lutheran, 1.0% Unitarian, as well as other minorities. Hunedoara steel works The Hunedoara steel works , formally ArcelorMittal Hunedoara and formerly the Hunedoara Ironworks ( Romanian : Uzinele de Fier Hunedoara ), Hunedoara Steel Works ( Combinatul Siderurgic Hunedoara ), Siderurgica Hunedoara and Mittal Steel,

1480-570: The southwestern part of Transylvania . It included a large part of the present Hunedoara County. After the administrative unification law in 1925, the name of county remained as it was, but the territory was reorganized. It was bordered on the west by the counties of Severin and Arad , to the north by Turda County , to the east by the counties of Sibiu and Alba , and to the south by the counties of Gorj and Mehedinți . The county originally consisted of ten districts ( plăși ): Subsequently, two other districts were established: According to

1520-415: Was also supplied from local quarries and carried in by harnessed pack animals. The works were officially opened on June 12, 1884. The following May, the second blast furnace went into operation, and it was in the years after that Hunedoara became the area's steel-producing center. The factory administration moved there, and the old iron, forging and machine workshops gradually lost their importance, although

1560-407: Was modernized and moved to the foundry. Third, the foundry room with pits for shaping steel into ingots. Fourth, seven sliding bridges: two 50-ton ones; one 3-ton one; one 7.5-ton bridge fitted with electromagnets ; two 7.5.-ton cantilever bridges ; and one featuring a gripping mechanism for transporting finished ingots. By 1957, Hunedoara had more than 36,000 residents and was coming to be seen as

1600-544: Was purpose-rebuilt in 1887. However, once they started operating again, a fire destroyed them, after which the 1887 cast iron moulding hall and the experimental Bessemer converter were rebuilt, operating for six months. The opening of the third furnace in June 1890 led to a renewed decision to start producing steel; this happened in 1892 after two 12-ton Martin open hearth furnaces and two Bessemer converters were installed. A fourth furnace, 288 m in volume and 3.3 m higher than

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