Gorj County


Gorj County is a county of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu.

Demographics

In 2011, it had a population of 334,238 and its population density was 59.66/km2.
YearCounty population
1948280,524
1956 293,031
1966 298,382
1977 348,521
1992 400,100
2002 387,308
2011 334,238

Geography

This county has a total area of 5,602 km2.
The North side of the county consists of various mountains from the Southern Carpathians group. In the West there are the Vulcanului Mountains, and in the East there are the Parâng Mountains and the Negoveanu Mountains. The two groups are split by the Jiu River.
To the South, the heights decrease through the hills to a high plain at the Western end of the Romanian Plain.
The main river, which collects all the smaller rivers, is the Jiu River.

Neighbours

The predominant industries in the county are:
In the North of the county coal is extracted, near Motru and Rovinari. There are two big thermo electrical power plants at Rovinari and Turceni, and some hydro-electrical power plants. The county is the biggest electricity producer in Romania with 36% af the country's electricity.
Due to the decrease in mining activity, the county has one of the highest unemployment levels in the country.

Tourism

The main tourist destinations are:
The Gorj County Council, elected at the 2016 local government elections, is made up of 33 counselors, with the following party composition:

Administrative divisions

Gorj County has 2 municipalities, 7 towns and 61 communes
Historically, the county was located in the southwestern part of Greater Romania, in the northern part of the historical region of Oltenia. Its capital was Târgu Jiu. The interwar county territory comprised a large part of the current Gorj County.
It was bordered to the west by Mehedinți County, to the north by the counties of Hunedoara and Sibiu, to the east by Vâlcea County, and to the south by Dolj County.

Administration

The county was originally divided into four administrative districts :
  1. Plasa Gilort, headquartered at Gilort
  2. Plasa Jiu, headquartered at Jiu
  3. Plasa Novaci, headquartered at Novaci
  4. Plasa Vulcana, headquartered at Vulcana
Subsequently, two more districts were established:

  1. Plasa Amaradia, headquartered at Amaradia
  2. Plasa Ocolu, headquartered at Ocolul

Population

According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 206,339 inhabitants, ethnically divided as follows: 97.9% Romanians, 1.7% Romanies, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the population was 99.6% Eastern Orthodox, as well as other minorities.

Urban population

In 1930, the county's urban population was 13,030 inhabitants, comprising 90.0% Romanians, 4.6% Romanies, 1.1% Germans, 0.9% Hungarians, 0.8% Jews, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed of 95.8% Eastern Orthodox, 2.2% Roman Catholic, 0.8% Jewish, as well as other minorities.

Industry

In the county capital of Târgu Jiu, there was a factory producing roof tiles as of 1931.