Copșa Mică
Copșa Mică (German: Kleinkopisch; Hungarian: Kiskapus) is a town in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania, located north of Sibiu, 33 km east of Blaj, and 12 km southwest of Mediaș. It is on the route of the Via Transilvanica long-distance trail.[3]
Copșa Mică | |
|---|---|
.JPG.webp) | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location in Sibiu County | |
  Copșa Mică Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates: 46°6′45″N 24°13′50″E | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Sibiu |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2024) | Daniel-Tudor Mihalache[1] (PNL) |
| Area | 25.90 km2 (10.00 sq mi) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[2] | 4,570 |
| • Density | 180/km2 (460/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3) |
| Vehicle reg. | SB |
| Website | www |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 6,156 | — |
| 1977 | 6,194 | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 5,332 | −13.9% |
| 2002 | 5,157 | −3.3% |
| 2011 | 5,201 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 4,570 | −12.1% |
| Source: Census data | ||
Demographics
The town's population of 5,201 (as of 2011) is significantly lower compared to its previous level in 1989, the year communism collapsed in Romania. At the 2011 census, 78.8% of inhabitants were Romanians, 11.9% Roma, and 8.7% Hungarians.
Pollution
The town is best known for its status (dating to the 1990s) as one of the most polluted in Europe. This was due to the emissions of two factories in the area:
- One, open from 1935 to 1993, produced carbon black for dyes; its emissions permeated the area for nearly sixty years, leaving soot on homes, trees, animals, and everything else in the area. The stain from these decades of deposits are still visible.
- The other source of the pollution, less visible but with even more serious effects to the health of the town's residents, was Sometra, a smelter whose emissions have contributed to significantly higher incidence of lung disease and impotence, along with a life expectancy nine years below Romania's average.
Administration and local politics
Town council
The town's current local council has the following political composition, according to the results of the 2020 Romanian local elections:[4]
| Party | Seats | Current Council | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Liberal Party (PNL) | 8 | |||||||||
| Save Romania Union (USR) | 3 | |||||||||
| Social Democratic Party (PSD) | 2 | |||||||||
| Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) | 1 | |||||||||
| Independent politician (Muntean Vasile-Sorin) | 1 | |||||||||
Natives
- Dan Tăpălagă, journalist
References
- "Results of the 2020 local elections". Central Electoral Bureau. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
- "Terra Saxonum | Via Transilvanica". www.viatransilvanica.com (in Romanian). Retrieved 2023-08-14.
- "Rezultatele finale ale alegerilor locale din 2020" (Json) (in Romanian). Autoritatea Electorală Permanentă. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
External links
- Town's official website (in Romanian)
- 1993 project funded by UNIDO to assist in the establishment of cleaner production practices at Sometra
- Satellite photos of Copșa Mică in 1986 and 2004
- fragilecologies.com: The People and Pollution of Copșa Mică, Romania
- Copșa Mică's Past and Future: Can Europe's Most Polluted Town Go Green?
