Vulcan (Romanian pronunciation: [vulˈkan]; formerly Jiu-Vaidei-Vulcan; Hungarian: Vulkán, Zsilyvajdejvulkán (Zsily-Vajdej-Vulkán); German: Wolkendorf, Wulkan) is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. With a population of 19,772 as of 2021, it is the second-largest city in the Jiu Valley. It administers two villages, Dealul Babii ("Old Woman's Hill" in Romanian; Hegyvulkán) and Jiu-Paroșeni (Zsilymacesdparoseny).

Vulcan
Mihai Viteazul Boulevard, the main street in Vulcan
Mihai Viteazul Boulevard, the main street in Vulcan
Coat of arms of Vulcan
Location in Hunedoara County
Location in Hunedoara County
Vulcan is located in Romania
Vulcan
Vulcan
Location in Romania
Coordinates: 45°22′52″N 23°17′29″E / 45.38111°N 23.29139°E / 45.38111; 23.29139
CountryRomania
CountyHunedoara
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2024) Cristian-Ion Merișanu[1] (PRO)
Area
87.31 km2 (33.71 sq mi)
Elevation
603 m (1,978 ft)
Population
 (2021-12-01)[2]
19,772
 • Density230/km2 (590/sq mi)
Time zoneEET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Postal code
336200
Area code(+40) 02 54
Vehicle reg.HD
Websitewww.e-vulcan.ro

Name

edit

The city is named after the Vulcan Pass that connects the Jiu Valley to Oltenia, itself being derived from Slavic "vlk", meaning "wolf" (even if "vulcan" means "volcano" in Romanian).

Geography

edit

Vulcan is located at the southern extremity of Hunedoara County, about 100 km (62 mi) from the county seat, Deva, on the border with Gorj County. It is situated in a hilly area north of the Vâlcan Mountains, on the banks of the Jiul de Vest and its tributaries, the rivers Merișoara and Crevedia.

The city is crossed by national road DN66A [ro], which connects it to nearby Aninoasa and to Petroșani, 11 km (6.8 mi) to the northeast, and to Lupeni, 7 km (4.3 mi) to the west. County road DJ664 leads to the Vulcan Pass, 8 kilometres (5 mi) to the south, and on to Schela, Gorj, while county road DJ666 leads north to Dealul Babii village and Bănița commune.

The Vulcan train station serves the CFR Line 214, a 17 km (11 mi) railway from Livezeni (in Petroșani) to Lupeni.

History

edit

The coal resources of the region were discovered in 1788 while the Austrian General Landau defended Vulcan from the Ottoman Turks. One night the soldiers could not put out the camp fire they made, as the piles of coal underneath had caught fire. General Landau thought that he could stop the Turks without a fight by setting piles of coal on fire. The Turks noted the large numbers of fires on the heights and thought that the Austrian army was much larger than theirs and retreated.

In 1850, the first mine was set up by the Hoffman brothers of Brașov.

Demographics

edit
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1956 14,859—    
1966 21,979+47.9%
1977 28,664+30.4%
1992 34,524+20.4%
2002 33,186−3.9%
2011 24,160−27.2%
2021 19,772−18.2%
Source: Census data

At the 2021 census, Vulcan had a population of 19,772.[3] This marked a decrease of 18.2% from the 2011 census, when the city had 24,160 inhabitants; of those, 92.91% were Romanians, 5.13% Hungarians, 1.41% Romani, and 0.2% Germans.

People

edit

Sports

edit

The local football team is CSM Vulcan, currently playing in Liga IV Hunedoara. Its home ground is Stadionul Central.

Twin cities

edit

List of Vulcan's sister and twin cities:[4]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Results of the 2020 local elections". Central Electoral Bureau. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
  3. ^ "Populația rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (in Romanian). INSSE. 31 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Grad Bor 3. oktobra slavi svoj dan. Dolaze gosti iz Ukrajine, Makedonije i Rumunije, ali ne i Francuzi, Crnogorci i Kinezi" (website). Istmedia. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
edit
  • "Jiu Valley Portal". www.jiuvalley.org. — the regional portal host of the official Jiu Valley municipal websites
 
Coal preparation plant in Vulcan