Cugir | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location in Alba County | |
  Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates:45°50′37″N23°21′49″E / 45.84361°N 23.36361°E /45.84361; 23.36361 | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Alba |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2024–2028) | Adrian Ovidiu Teban[2] (PNL) |
Area | 354.1 km2 (136.7 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 300 m (980 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 700 m (2,300 ft) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[1] | 19,473 |
| • Density | 54.99/km2 (142.4/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 515600 |
| Area code | +40) 02 58 |
| Vehicle reg. | AB |
| Website | www |
Cugir (Romanian pronunciation:[kuˈd͡ʒir];German:Kudsir, Kudschir,Hungarian:Kudzsir) is a town inAlba County,Romania. Declared a town in 1968, it administers seven villages: Bocșitura (HungarianBoksiturahavas, GermanPotschitur), Bucuru (Bukuruhavas/Bukur), Călene (Kalenihavas/Kalleney), Fețeni (Fecehavas/Fetzeberg), Goașele (Goaselehavas/Eisenhammer), Mugești (Mugestihavas/Kudschirstallen), and Vinerea (Felkenyér/Oberbrodsdorf).
The central settlement of theBreadfield region, the town lies on the banks of theCugir River, at the confluence ofheadwatersRâul Mare andRâul Mic. It is situated 300 metres (980 feet)above sea level, at the base of theȘureanu Mountains.
Cugir is located in the southwestern part of Alba County, about 31 kilometres (19 miles) fromSebeș and 37 km (23 mi) fromAlba Iulia, the capital of the county. It lies on the border withHunedoara County, 17 km (11 mi) fromOrăștie and 41 km (25 mi) fromDeva.
Throughout the history the name of the town is mentioned in many documents under different names in different languages, therefore the old settlement "villa Kunentum" becomes in 1493 villa Kudzyr, in 1566 Kwczyr, in 1599 – Kuchir, in 1656 – Kuchjir, in 1673 – Kucsir, in 1733 – Kuser, in 1750 – Kudsier, 1760–1762 – Kudzser, in 1805 Kudsir and in 1850 – Kusir.
Numerous archeological discoveries prove that life in the region flourished as early as theBronze Age, around the 10th century BC, Cugir being part of the territory known as "TheIron Gates of Transylvania", a region famous for its natural iron resources. In 88–44 BC, kingBurebista, the most powerful of the kings ofThrace, according to the historianAcronion, established the new capital in the area, atSarmizegetusa Regia (located in theȘureanu Mountains, west of Cugir). In this period the settlement of Cugir (villa Kunentum) was an important center for metal extracting and processing, with renowned workshops producing tools, weapons, and coins.
Cugir has a complex political history with periods under thePrincipality of Transylvania, theHabsburg monarchy, theKingdom of Hungary, and theKingdom of Romania.
In the mid-18th century theHabsburg Empire authorities established the "Frontier Police" in Transylvania. They also tried to recruit Romanians from southern Transylvania betweenBaraolt andOrăștie, but the locals put up a fierce resistance against the enrollment. The population revolted due to a policy of forced removal and deportation used to convince the peoples to join in, and a bloody massacre took place in the place known today as the old market of the town. Severe clashes occurred again in the area when the authorities decided to "brake" the neighboring villages Șibot and Vinerea to establish the 4th company. Finally, after severe conflicts and pressure, in 1764, 6 regiments were established and in 1768 another battalion was formed so that the frontier police in Transylvania was of approximatively 17,000 soldiers.
After the loss ofSilesia, the authorities and the Austrian business began investing funds into the mining and manufacturing industry in Transylvania. In 1764 EmpressMaria Theresa of Austria gave long-term loans without interest to concessionaires that pledged to exploit the mines and the state and concessionaire manufactories used free workers brought fromStyria,Carinthia,Tyrol,Upper Hungary orDalmatia, but the local peasants represented the main work force. Due to industrialisation, a great number of Romanian villages and their grounds, pastures, agricultural land and forest were seized. At the end of the 18th century factories for metal processing were founded in Cugir andSibișel, just 15 years after the suppression of theRevolt of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan to exploit the mineral resources and also to bolster obedience towards the Empire. According to documents, the "Iron and Steel factory" was established in Cugir in the year 1799, one of the first factories in Transylvania and since then the history of the town has revolved around it.
After theAustro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, it became part of theKingdom of Hungary withinAustria-Hungary up until the end ofWorld War I. From that time, it has been part ofRomania, which was acknowledged internationally by theTreaty of Trianon in 1920.
Thereafter the factory became owned by the Romanian state and duringWorld War II its production was seized byNazi Germany for war purposes. Since 1946 theCugir Arms Factory oriented its production towards military components and house appliances, especially washing machines. It became the top Romanian producer of sewing machines for industrial and private purposes.
During theRomanian Revolution, Cugir was the first locality in Alba County and the fourth in the country where protests against thecommunist regime ofNicolae Ceaușescu occurred, on December 21, 1989.[3]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 15,575 | — |
| 1977 | 26,773 | +71.9% |
| 1992 | 31,877 | +19.1% |
| 2002 | 30,244 | −5.1% |
| 2011 | 21,376 | −29.3% |
| 2021 | 19,473 | −8.9% |
| Source: Census data | ||
At the2021 census, Cugir had a population of 19,473. According to thecensus from 2011, the town had a total population of 21,376; of those, 95.4% wereRomanians, 3.4%Roma, 0.9%Hungarians, and 0.2%Germans.[4]
Cugir has ahumid continental climate (Cfb in theKöppen climate classification).
| Climate data for Cugir | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 1.3 (34.3) | 3.2 (37.8) | 7.6 (45.7) | 13.6 (56.5) | 18 (64) | 21.2 (70.2) | 23.1 (73.6) | 23.5 (74.3) | 18.5 (65.3) | 13.7 (56.7) | 8.6 (47.5) | 2.8 (37.0) | 12.9 (55.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.5 (27.5) | −0.8 (30.6) | 3 (37) | 8.6 (47.5) | 13.3 (55.9) | 16.8 (62.2) | 18.6 (65.5) | 18.8 (65.8) | 14 (57) | 9.1 (48.4) | 4.5 (40.1) | −0.8 (30.6) | 8.6 (47.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.8 (21.6) | −4.5 (23.9) | −1.4 (29.5) | 3.3 (37.9) | 8.1 (46.6) | 11.7 (53.1) | 13.6 (56.5) | 13.9 (57.0) | 9.7 (49.5) | 5.2 (41.4) | 1.2 (34.2) | −3.8 (25.2) | 4.3 (39.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 60 (2.4) | 57 (2.2) | 72 (2.8) | 100 (3.9) | 115 (4.5) | 133 (5.2) | 119 (4.7) | 95 (3.7) | 93 (3.7) | 69 (2.7) | 61 (2.4) | 68 (2.7) | 1,042 (40.9) |
| Source:https://en.climate-data.org/europe/romania/alba/cugir-44398/ | |||||||||||||
The town is a heavy industrialised one, with at least half of the total working age population engaged in industrial activities, and around 30 percent engaged in lumbering activities. TheCugir Arms Factory is the main employer in town and it has diversified its production to include along the traditional products automotive components and firearms, and a large part of its production is destined for export.[5] Another employer is Star Transmission Cugir S.A., aDaimler company that produces gearbox parts.
The town has a high school (the David Prodan Theoretical High School[6]), one technical school (the Ion D. Lăzărescu Technical College[7]), 3 middle schools, and 6 kindergartens.
The local football team,Metalurgistul Cugir, plays in theLiga III national division.
