Arad County

Arad County (Romanian pronunciation: [aˈrad] ⓘ) is an administrative division (judeţ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative center of the county lies in the city of Arad. The Arad County is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion.

This article is about the modern Romanian county. For the former county of the Kingdom of Hungary, see Arad County (former).
Arad County
Județul Arad
County
Aerial view of Aradi vár
Aerial view of Aradi vár
Flag of Arad County
Flag
Coat of arms of Arad County
Coat of arms
Location of Arad County in Romania
Location of Arad County in Romania
Coordinates: 46.36°N 21.8°E / 46.36; 21.8
CountryRomania
Development region1Vest
Historic regionCrișana
Capital city (Reședința de județ)Arad
Județul Arad1968
Government
 • TypeCounty Council
 • President of the County BoardIustin Cionca (PNL)
 • Prefect2Călin Bibarț
Area
 • Total7,754 km2 (2,994 sq mi)
 • Rank5th in Romania
Elevation
1,486 m (4,875 ft)
Population
 (2021-12-01)[1]
 • Total410,143
 • Rank21st in Romania
 • Density53/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code
31wxyz3
Area code+40 x574
Car PlatesAR5
GDPUS$ 8.825 billion (2022)
GDP per capitaUS$ 21,350 (2022)
WebsiteCounty Council
County Prefecture
1 The development regions of Romania have no administrative role and were formed in order to manage funds from the European Union.
2 as of 2007, the Prefect is not a politician, but a public functionary. He (or she) is not allowed to be a member of a political party, and is banned from having any political activity in the first six months after his resignation (or exclusion) from the public functionaries' corps.
3w, x, y, and z are digits that indicate the city, the street, part of the street, or even the building of the address
4x is a digit indicating the operator: 2 for the former national operator, Romtelecom, and 3 for the other ground telephone networks
5used on both the plates of the vehicles that operate only in the county limits (like utilitary vehicles and ATVs, etc.), and the ones used outside the county

Name

In Hungarian, it is known as Arad megye, in Serbian as Арадски округ, and in German as Kreis Arad. The county was named after its administrative center, Arad.

Geography

The county has a total area of 7,754 km2 (2,994 sq mi), representing 3.6% of national Romanian territory. The terrain of Arad County is divided into two distinct units that cover almost half of the county each. The eastern side of the county has a hilly to low mountainous terrain (Dealurile Lipovei, Munții Zărandului, Munții Codru Moma) and on the western side it's a plain zone consisting of the Arad Plain, Low Mures Plain, and The High Vinga Plain. Taking altitude into account we notice that it follows a stepped pattern as it drops as we go from the east to the west of the county from 1489 m to below 100 m. In the east there are the Zarand Mountains and the Codru Moma Mountains, all subdivisions of the Apuseni Mountains, a major group of the Western Carpathians.

Neighbours
Romanian Counties

Climate and precipitation

In terms of climate, the characteristics of Arad county have a typical temperate continental climate with oceanic influences, with a circulation of air masses with a predominantly western ordered direction visible from west to east, with increasing altitude. Average annual temperatures range from 10 °C in the lowlands, the hills and piedmonts 9 °C, 8 °C and 6 °C in the low mountains in the area of greatest height. Average amounts of precipitation is between 565 and 600 mm (22.2 and 23.6 in) annually in the lowlands, 700 and 800 mm (28 and 31 in) annually in the hills and piedmonts and 800 and 1,200 mm (31 and 47 in) annually in the mountainous area.

Hydrographic network

The hydrographic network is composed of the two main rivers plus their tributaries and channels.

Lakes, ponds and channels

Economy

Along with Timiș County it forms one of the most developed regions in Romania. Due to its proximity to the border, it attracts a great number of foreign investments. The agricultural potential is greatly put into value, Arad plains being considered one of the most important cereal and vegetable producing basins.

The predominant industries in the county are:

  • Machine and automotive components
  • Food
  • Textiles

Natural resources in Arad, are worthy to be taken into account as there are oil and associated gases, points of extraction in the west of the county, molibden mines in the Săvârșin area, marble quarries at Căprioara and Moneasa, mineral waters at Lipova, Moneasa, Dorobanți, Curtici, Macea and uranium deposits in the NE part of the county.

Tourism

The main tourist destinations are:

  • The city of Arad;
  • The Mureș Natural Floodplain Park;
  • Bezdin Monastery;
  • Hodoș-Bodrog Monastery (est. 1177);
  • Lipova resort and city;
  • Șoimoș, Dezna, and Șiria stone citadels;
  • Moneasa resort;
  • The areas around Săvârșin, Petriș, Macea, and Pecica.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, the county had a population of 410,143 and the population density was 52.9/km2 (137.0/sq mi).[2]

Ethnic composition of Arad County (2021)

  Romanians (86.14%)
  Hungarians (6.98%)
  Romani (4.54%)
  Slovaks (0.90%)
  Germans (Banat Swabians) (0.54%)
  Ukrainians (0.26%)
  Serbs (0.14%)
  Bulgarians (0.14%)
  Others (0.37%)

Religious composition of Arad County (2021)

  Romanian Orthodox (73.08%)
  Pentecostals (9.19%)
  Roman Catholics (7.54%)
  Baptists (3.42%)
  Reformed (2.06%)
  Adventists (1.13%)
  Greek Catholics (0.83%)
  Lutherans (0.73%)
  Others (1.17%)
  Irreligious,atheist and agnostic (0.86%)
Year County population[3]
1948 476,207 Steady
1956 475,620 Decrease
1966 481,248 Increase
1977 512,020 Increase
1992 487,370 Decrease
2002 461,791 Decrease
2011 430,629 Decrease
2021 410,143 Decrease








Politics

The Arad County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections, consists of 32 counsellors, with the following party composition:[4]

    Party Seats Current County Council
  National Liberal Party (PNL) 17                                  
  Save Romania Union (USR) 5                                  
  Social-Liberal Christian Platform (PSD) 3                                  
  PRO Romania (PRO) 3                                  
  People's Movement Party (PMP) 2                                  
  Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) 2                                  

Administrative divisions
Arad
The border town of Nădlac

Arad County has 1 municipality, 9 towns and 68 communes with approximately 180 villages.

Municipalities
  • Arad - capital city; population: 172,827 (as of 2002)
Towns
Communes

Historical county
Județul Arad
County (Județ)
Coat of arms of Județul Arad
Coat of arms
Country Romania
Historic regionCrișana
Capital city (Reședință de județ)Arad
Ceased to exist1950
Area
 • Total6,248 km2 (2,412 sq mi)
Population
 (1930)
 • Total423,469
 • Density68/km2 (180/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Administration

In 1930, the county was divided into nine districts (plăși):[5]

  1. Plasa Aradul-Nou (comprising 22 villages)
  2. Plasa Chișineu-Criș (comprising 19 villages)
  3. Plasa Hălmagiu (comprising 45 villages)
  4. Plasa Ineu (comprising 15 villages)
  5. Plasa Pecica (comprising 12 villages)
  6. Plasa Sfânta Ana (comprising 13 villages)
  7. Plasa Sebiș (comprising 37 villages)
  8. Plasa Șiria (comprising 11 villages)
  9. Plasa Radna (comprising 36 villages)

Subsequently, a tenth district was established having been carved out of Plasa Ineu:

  1. Plasa Târnova (comprising 16 villages)

Administration was re-organized in 1947, comprising 13 districts:[6]

  1. Plasa Aradul-Nou
  2. Plasa Chișineu-Criș
  3. Plasa Curtici
  4. Plasa Gurahonț
  5. Plasa Hălmagiu
  6. Plasa Ineu
  7. Plasa Pecica
  8. Plasa Radna
  9. Plasa Săvârșin
  10. Plasa Sebiș
  11. Plasa Sfânta Ana
  12. Plasa Șiria
  13. Plasa Târnova

Population

According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 423,469 inhabitants, 61.0% Romanians, 19.5% Hungarians, 12.3% Germans (Banat Swabians), 2.8% Slovaks, 2.1% Jews, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, 55.8% declared Eastern Orthodox, 26.5% Roman Catholic, 5.5% Reformed, 4.2% Greek Catholic, 3.2% Lutherans, 2.4% Jewish, 1% Baptists, as well as other minorities.[7]

Urban population

In 1930, the county's urban population was 77,181 inhabitants, 39.3% Romanians, 38.8% Hungarians, 9.1% Jews, 7.1% Germans (Banat Swabians), 1.7% Serbs and Croats, 1.4% Slovaks, as well as other minorities. In the urban area, languages were Hungarian (53.3%), Romanian (37.0%), German (6.0%), Serbian (1.4%), Yiddish (0.9%), as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed of Roman Catholics (38.5%), Eastern Orthodox (33.8%), Jewish (10.1%), Reformed (9.9%), Greek Catholics (4.0%), Lutherans (2.6%), as well as other minorities.[7]

Industry

The county's capital, Arad, was the location of Romania's first automotive factory. During the 1920s, Astra cars and commercial vehicles were made at Arad.[8] ASTRA Arad manufactured automobiles from 1922 to 1926.[9] The factory had an output of 2 automobiles per working day as of 1922.[10]

See also

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arad County.
  1. "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
  2. "Rezultate definitive: Caracteristici etno-culturale demografice". Recensamantromania.ro. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  3. National Institute of Statistics, "Populaţia la recensămintele din anii 1948, 1956, 1966, 1977, 1992, 2002 şi 2011" Archived 2006-09-22 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Rezultatele finale ale alegerilor locale din 2020" (Json) (in Romanian). Autoritatea Electorală Permanentă. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  5. Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Arad
  6. Arhivele Naționale ale României - Prefectura județului Arad 1867-1947
  7. Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 525-528
  8. Gerald Taylor Bloomfield, David and Charles, 1978, The World Automotive Industry, p. 243
  9. Georgano, George Nick, New York: Dutton Press, 1982, The New Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present (3rd ed.), p. 59
  10. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce, 1922, Commerce Reports, Volume 1, p. 105
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