Mainly, the relief is made up of mountains, divided by theMureș River valley which crosses the county from East to West. To the North side there are theApuseni Mountains and to the South side there are mountains from theSouthern Carpathians group,Parâng Mountains group andRetezat-Godeanu Mountains group: Orastie and Surianu Mountains (South-East), Retezat Mountains (South), Poiana Ruscai Mountains (South-West).
Hunedoara County was one of the most industrialised areas during the communist period, and was very negatively affected when the industry collapsed after the fall of the communist regime.[4]
The industry in the Hunedoara county is linked with the mining activity in the region. In the mountains, from ancient times, metals and coal have been exploited.
Energy-related enterprises are located in the county - one of the biggestthermoelectric plant is located atMintia.
TheJiu Valley, located in the south of the country, has been a majormining area throughout the second half of the 19th century and the 20th century, but many mines were closed down in the years following the collapse of the communist regime.
The city ofHunedoara has also suffered significantly from the 1990s onwards - under communism itcontainedthe largest steel works in Romania (untilGalați took the lead), but activity gradually diminished after the fall of communism due to the loss of the market. This was a blow to the overall prosperity of the town, which is now recovering through new investments.
Agricultural activities also take place in Hunedoara county, which include livestock raising, and fruit and cereal cultivation. The county also has touristic potential, especially through theDacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains and theCorvin Castle.
The predominant industries in the county are:
Metallurgy.
Construction materials.
Textile industry.
Mining equipment.
Food industry.
In the 1990s, a large number of mines were closed down, leaving Hunedoara county with the highest unemployment rate in Romania, of 9.6%, in comparison to the national average of 5.5%.
Retezat National Park and other picturesque regions makes it one of the most beautiful counties in Romania. Also there can be foundDacian andRoman complexes in the Orăştie Mountains.
The population of Hunedoara county is the second eldest of all Romanian counties, with an average age of the residents of 45.5 years, only behindTeleorman County (46.3 years).[6] Hunedoara'sJiu River Valley is traditionally a coal-mining region, and its high level of industrialisation drew many people from other regions ofRomania in the period before the fall of the communist regime.
Hunedoara County has 7 municipalities, 7 towns and 55 communes. Although Hunedoara County is the most urbanized county in Romania (75% of the population is urban - in 2011)[9] it does not contain any city of more than 100,000 people. Also, following thede-industrialization after the communism fall, the major urban centres in the county, particularlyHunedoara andPetroșani, suffered significantpopulation decline.
Historically, the county was located in the central-western part ofGreater Romania, in the southwestern part ofTransylvania. It included a large part of the present Hunedoara County.
After the administrative unification law in 1925, the name of county remained as it was, but the territory was reorganized. It was bordered on the west by the counties ofSeverin andArad, to the north byTurda County, to the east by the counties ofSibiu andAlba, and to the south by the counties ofGorj andMehedinți.
According to the census data of 1930, the county's population was 332,118, of which 82.0% were Romanians, 11.3% Hungarians, 2.5% Germans, 1.5% Romanies, 1.4% Jews, as well as other minorities. In the religious aspect, the population consisted of 64.2% Eastern Orthodox, 18.5% Greek Catholic, 9.1% Roman Catholic, 4.5% Reformed, as well as other minorities.[11]
In 1930, the urban population of the county was 41,234, of which 52.8% were Romanians, 30.4% Hungarians, 6.7% Germans, 6.6% Jews, 1.6% Romanies, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was made up of 42.0% Eastern Orthodox, 25.7% Roman Catholic, 10.5% Greek Catholic, 9.9% Reformed, 6.9% Jewish, 3.5% Lutheran, 1.0% Unitarian, as well as other minorities.[11]
^The number used depends on the numbering system employed by the phone companies on the market.
^Kuun, Géza; Torma, Zsófia; Téglás, Gábor (1902). "Hunyadvármegye története" [The history of Hunyad County].Irodalmi Szemle (in Hungarian).I. Budapest: 353.
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