Maramureș County

Maramureș
Maramureș
	— County —
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
Country	Romania
Development region	Nord-Vest
Historic region	Maramureș
Capital	Baia Mare
	Area
• Total	6,304 km2 (2,434 sq mi)
Area rank	15th
	Population (2006)
• Total	516,562
• Rank	17th
• Density	82/km2 (210/sq mi)
Telephone code	(+40) 262 or (+40) 362
ISO 3166 code	RO-MM
Website	County Council; Prefecture

Maramureș (Romanian pronunciation: [maraˈmureʃ]) is a county (județ) of Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare.

Văleni, overlooking Valea Izei

Name [edit]

In Hungarian, it is known as Máramaros megye, in Ukrainian as Мараморо́щина, and in German as Kreis Maramuresch.

History [edit]

The 10th century frontier county of Borsova was founded by Stephen I of Hungary. Since then Máramaros served as the north-eastern border of the Hungarian Kingdom until 1920, the Trianon Peace Treaty.
11th century historical Maramureș counties separation from Borsova (Rom. Borşa)
1241 Tartar invasion decimated about half of the local population
14th century Duke (knyaz) Bogdan of Maramureș said to be founder of Moldova
In the Middle Ages, the historical region of Maramureș was known for its salt mines and later for its lumber
In 1920 after the Treaty of Trianon, the northern part of the county became part of newly formed Czechoslovakia. The southern part (including Sighetu Marmației) became part of Romania.
For more information regarding the history see Máramaros, referring the historical Hungarian name of the county.

Demographics [edit]

In 2011, the county had a population of 461,290 and a population density of 73.17 inhabitants per square kilometre (189.5 /sq mi).

Romanians - 82.38% (or 380,018)^[3]
Hungarians - 7.53% (or 34,781)
Ukrainians - 6.77% (or 31,234)
Roma - 2.73% (or 12,638)
Germans - 0.27% (or 1,243), and others.

In 1910, 18.4% of the county were Jewish.

Year	County population^[4]
1948	321,287
1956	367,114
1966	427,645
1977	492,860
1992	540,099
2002	510,110
2011	461,290

Geography [edit]

This county has a total area of 6,304 square kilometres (2,434 sq mi), of which 43% is covered by the Rodna Mountains, with its tallest peak, Pietrosul, at 2,303 metres (7,556 ft) altitude. Together with Gutâi and Țibleș mountain ranges, the Rodna mountains are part of the Eastern Carpathians. The rest of the county are hills, plateaus, and valleys. The county is crossed by Tisa River and its main tributaries: Iza, Vișeu, and Mara rivers.

Neighbours [edit]

Suceava County to the East.
Satu Mare County to the West.
Ukraine to the North - Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and Zakarpattia Oblast.
Sălaj County, Cluj County and Bistrița-Năsăud County to the South.

Economy [edit]

Maramureș is known for its pastoral and agricultural traditions, largely unscathed by the industrialisation campaign that had been carried on during Romania's communist period. Ploughing, planting, harvesting, and hay making and handling are mostly done through manual labour. The county is also home to a strong mining industry of extraction of metals other than iron. The industrial plants built around Baia Mare during the communist period heavily polluted the area in the past, but recently, due to the decline of the city's industrial activity, the area is less polluted.

Tourism [edit]

Typical Wooden Church in Maramureş

The region is known for its beautiful rural scenery, local small woodwork and craftwork industry as well as for its churches and original rural architecture. There are not many paved roads in rural areas, and most of them are usually accessible.

The county's main tourist attractions: