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Anina | |
|---|---|
 Anina Iron Works | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location in Caraș-Severin County | |
  Anina Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates:45°5′30″N21°51′12″E / 45.09167°N 21.85333°E /45.09167; 21.85333 | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Caraș-Severin |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2024) | Gheorghe Românu[2] (PNL) |
Area | 145.53 km2 (56.19 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 600 m (2,000 ft) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[1] | 5,521 |
| • Density | 37.94/km2 (98.26/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 325100 |
| Area code | (+40) 02 55 |
| Vehicle reg. | CS |
| Website | www |
Anina (Romanian pronunciation:['anina];[3]German:Steierdorf;Hungarian:Stájerlakanina) is a town in theBanat region ofRomania, inCaraș-Severin County, with a population of 5,521 in 2021. The town administers one village, Steierdorf (German:Steierdorf, Hungarian:Stájerlak).
Anina represents one of the most important localities in theSouthern Carpathians for Jurassic fossils, both plants and animals, as the geological heritage here is particularly diverse and well preserved (Popa, 2001, 2005). Anina is a fossil-Lagerstatte for Early Jurassic biota, the Hettangian-Sinemurian terrestrial Steierdorf Formation recording an extremely rich floral association, vertebrate and invertebrate tracks, traces and burrows. This paleontological heritage was uncovered also by significant mining works, such as underground mines and open cast mines, such works permitting the three-dimensional studies of the continental deposits, a unique opportunity in Europe and in the world, until the unfortunate closing of the last major mine in 2006. Still, the sterile dumps of the former mines and the former open cast mines of Ponor and Colonia Cehă very are rich in plant material, and they represent the subject of local conservation, as preserved sites or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The Early Jurassic (Hettangian - Sinemurian) flora is represented by Bryophytes (Hepaticae), Pteridophytes (Filicopsida, Sphenopsida, Lycopsida) andGymnosperms (Pteridospermopsida, Ginkgopsida, Cycadopsida, Coniferopsida), with numerous coal generators (Givulescu, 1998, Popa and Van Konijnenburg - Van Cittert, 2005). Very rare vertebrate tunnels were recently described (Popa and Kedzior, 2006), such burrows being formerly reported only from three occurrences in the world (South Africa, Arizona and Argentina), tetrapod tracks such asBatrachopus cf.deweyi (Popa, 2000), and sauropod tracks ofParabrontopodus sp. type (Pienkowski et al., 2009).
The Middle Jurassic marine formations are also extremely rich in marine invertebrates and drifted floral remains, while the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous units display basinal and carbonate platform features (Bucur, 1997).
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | 11,837 | — |
| 1966 | 14,063 | +18.8% |
| 1977 | 11,478 | −18.4% |
| 1992 | 11,329 | −1.3% |
| 2002 | 10,594 | −6.5% |
| 2011 | 7,485 | −29.3% |
| 2021 | 5,521 | −26.2% |
| Source: Census data | ||
In 2002, the oldest modern human remains inEurope were discovered in a cave near Anina. Nicknamed"Ion din Anina" (John of Anina), the remains (the lower jaw) are some 40,000 years old.
The coal mining industrial heritage is significant, with Austrian industrial architecture and pits still preserved, such as the Northern Pit (Anina Pit I), Pit II, Pit IV (next to the Terezia Valley). Coal mining activities began in 1792, after the first coal outcrop was discovered by Matthew Hammer.
The Anina-Oravița railway built in 1863 is still in use today for touristic purposes. It is one of the most beautiful railways in Europe due to very picturesque landscapes, viaducts and long tunnels. The railway preserves many aspects of the original design and, as such, it does not comply with manyUIC standards and it needs special, more powerful locomotives and shorter rail coaches to operate.
Anina has ahumid continental climate (Cfb in theKöppen climate classification).
| Climate data for Anina | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 1 (34) | 2.8 (37.0) | 7.5 (45.5) | 13.3 (55.9) | 17.7 (63.9) | 21 (70) | 23 (73) | 23.3 (73.9) | 18.3 (64.9) | 13.5 (56.3) | 8.3 (46.9) | 2.5 (36.5) | 12.7 (54.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.3 (27.9) | −0.9 (30.4) | 3.2 (37.8) | 8.7 (47.7) | 13.3 (55.9) | 16.7 (62.1) | 18.6 (65.5) | 18.7 (65.7) | 14.1 (57.4) | 9.1 (48.4) | 4.5 (40.1) | −0.7 (30.7) | 8.6 (47.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.6 (21.9) | −4.4 (24.1) | −1.2 (29.8) | 3.7 (38.7) | 8.3 (46.9) | 11.8 (53.2) | 13.7 (56.7) | 13.9 (57.0) | 9.9 (49.8) | 5.3 (41.5) | 1.4 (34.5) | −3.5 (25.7) | 4.4 (40.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 66 (2.6) | 62 (2.4) | 68 (2.7) | 90 (3.5) | 93 (3.7) | 110 (4.3) | 92 (3.6) | 75 (3.0) | 79 (3.1) | 65 (2.6) | 63 (2.5) | 74 (2.9) | 937 (36.9) |
| Source:https://en.climate-data.org/europe/romania/caras-severin/anina-15645/ | |||||||||||||
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