Vulcan, Hunedoara
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (March 2015) |
 |
Vulcan | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Country |  Romania |
| County | Hunedoara County |
| Status | Municipality |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Gheorghe Ile (Conservative Party) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 87.31 km2 (33.71 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 22,906 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Website | http://www.vulcan-vj.ro/ |
Vulcan (Romanian pronunciation: [vulˈkan]; formerly Jiu-Vaidei-Vulcan; Hungarian: Vulkán, Zsilyvajdejvulkán (Zsily-Vajdej-Vulkán); German: Wolkendorf, Wulkan) is a city in Hunedoara county, Romania. With a population of 22,906, 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).
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).
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
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | 14,859 | — |
| 1966 | 21,979 | +47.9% |
| 1977 | 28,664 | +30.4% |
| 1992 | 34,524 | +20.4% |
| 2002 | 33,186 | −3.9% |
| 2011 | 22,906 | −31.0% |
| Source: Census data | ||
- Romanians: 92.91%
- Hungarians: 5.13%
- Romani: 1.41%
- Germans: 0.2%
People
See also
External links
- Jiu Valley Portal - the regional portal host of the official Jiu Valley municipal websites
 | This Hunedoara County location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
  | This Hungarian history article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |