Cuca, Argeș


Cuca is a commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of fourteen villages: Bălțata, Bărbălani, Cârcești, Cotu, Crivățu, Cuca, Lăunele de Sus, Măcăi, Mănești, Sinești, Stănicei, Teodorești, Valea Cucii and Vonigeasa. It was one of the most remote places in Romania. Today, in Romanian language, Cuca Măcăii means "a remote village or place, very difficult to reach".

History

The oldest document about Cuca is from April 3, 1853, referring to an even older document, from 1537. The commune was formed in 1968 at its current shape by merging the former communes Cuca and Lăunele. Another former commune was Măcăi.

Geography

Cuca is placed in the Getic Platform, subdivision Cotmeana Platform. The relief is segmented by many parallel valleys, while the villages are on the top of the hills, separated by forest areas. The rivers flow from north to south, south-east or south-west. The valleys dry up in summer. The altitude varies from.
The climate is temperate, with moderate summers and cold winters. The humidity is usually high.

Villages

The commune includes 14 small villages.
VillageDistance from centerEtymologyPopulation
CucacenterOpen in the roof for illumination Isolated hill429
Crivăț1 km EWinter wind98
Bălțata1 km NBălțatu family name38
Cârcești14 km ECârciu family name292
Vonigeasa8 km EVoineagu family name52
Sinești6 km SSin or Sinescu family name386
Mănești5 km WManea or Mănescu family name49
Măcăi8 km Wfounded by Măcău family100
Stănicei7 km WStănică 54
Valea Cucii9 km WRomanian translation: Valley of Cuca118
Lăunele de Sus5 km S"la unele" 203
Teodorești7 kmunknown332
Cotu9 kmunknown116
Bărbălani17 kmunknown78

Transportation

There are two national roads close to Cuca:
From these roads, the access way to Cuca is via local county roads:
The distances to the nearest towns are:

Resources

Cuca has two major resources: forests and fruit trees. The forests cover a big part of the commune and all the villages have direct access to the wooded areas. Nearly all the remaining terrain is used for fruit trees. The fruits are used to make țuică, a Romanian alcoholic drink.

Firms

There are 21 firms in the commune, including a pharmaceutical point and small local shops. There are no industrial or agricultural companies. The big distances to nearby cities and the lack of bus lines makes it very difficult for the local population to find a good job.

Problems

The main problem for the economy is isolation. The second problem is the lack of water. Some people say that in Cuca, water is as precious as in Sahara Desert. The villages are on the top of the hills and the rivers are about 100 m below the villages and they dry up in summer. The phreatic waters are even deeper, so permanent phreatic water exists more than 100 m below the river valleys. Pumping water from such depth is nearly impossible. A water pipeline was constructed to bring water to the villages in Cuca. For this, the pipe had to be longer than 100 km. It drains water from the river Topolog and continues south to other communes with similar water problems.

The legend of ''Cuca Măcăii''

In the Romanian language, Cuca Măcăii defines a remote village or place, very difficult to reach. It is still unknown how this expression appeared. However, the Măcăi village is called by the locals Cuca Măcăii. Many people associate the commune Cuca with Cuca Măcăii. The entire commune is formed by small villages, isolated in the forest. In the past, transportation was very difficult. Until 1922 the national road DN 67b did not exist. Older maps show that even the road that connects Pitești and Râmnicu Vâlcea did not exist. Being isolated by sharp valleys and long, parallel hills, the land where Cuca is today must have been a very isolated place.