Dâmbovița County

Dâmbovița County (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈdɨmbovitsa] ^ⓘ; also spelt Dîmbovița) is a county (județ) of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Târgoviște, the most important economic, political, administrative and cultural center of the county. It is a traditional administrative unit, first attested in 1512.

Dâmbovița County Județul Dâmbovița
County
Leaota Mountains
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 44.89°N 25.47°E / 44.89; 25.47
Country	Romania
Development region1	Sud
Historic region	Muntenia
Capital city (Reședință de județ)	Târgoviște
Government
• Type	County Council
• President of the County Council	Ștefan Corneliu [ro] (PSD)
• Prefect2	Claudia Gilia [ro]
Area
• Total	4,054 km2 (1,565 sq mi)
• Rank	37th in Romania
Population  (2021-12-01)[1]
• Total	479,404
• Rank	15th in Romania
• Density	120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code	13wxyz3
Area code	+40 x454
Car Plates	DB5
GDP	US$3.153 billion (2015)
GDP per capita	US$6,078 (2015)
Website	County Board County Prefecture
1The development regions of Romania have no administrative role. They were formed just to attract 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 to have any political activity in the first six months after the resignation (or exclusion) from the public functionary 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 utility vehicles, ATVs, etc.), and the ones used outside the county

Demographics

In 2021, it had a population of 479,404 and the population density was 120/km². It is one of the most densely populated counties in Romania.

• Romanians – 87.09% ^[2]
• Roma - 3.96%
• Bulgarians - 0.31%
• Serbians 0.1%
• Others - 0.13%
• Unknown - 8.41%

Year	County population[3][4]
1948	409,272
1956	438,985
1966	453,241
1977	527,620
1992	559,874
2002	541,763
2011	518,745
2021	479,404

Name

The county is named after the Dâmbovița River, which is a name of Slavic origin, derived from Дъб, dâmb, meaning "oak", as it once flowed through the oak forests of the Wallachian Plain.^[5]

Geography

Dâmbovița county has a total area of 4,054 km² (1.7% of the country's surface). It is situated in the south-central part of the country, on the Ialomița and Dâmbovița river basins.

The highest altitude is Omu Peak (2505 m) in the Bucegi Mountains, while the lowest is between 120–125 m, in the Titu Plain. The administrative units of the county are: 2 municipalities, 5 cities, 82 communes, all encompassing an additional 361 villages.

Neighbouring counties

• Brașov County in the North.
• Prahova County in the East.
• Ilfov County in the South-East.
• Teleorman County and Giurgiu County in the South.
• Argeș County in the West.

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DB

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GL

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Economy

One of the biggest steel factories in Romania is located In Târgoviște. Also, oil is extracted and refined in the county.

The predominant industries in the county are:

• Metallurgical industry.
• Oil extraction equipment.
• Food industry.
• Home appliances.
• Textile industry.
• Chemical industry.
• Construction materials industry.

Tourism

The main tourist destinations are:

• The city of Târgoviște – the ancient capital of Muntenia.
• The Pucioasa Resort.
• The Ialomița River Valley - filled with holiday resorts, camping sites, waterfalls and natural reserves.
• The Babele and Bucegi Sphinx.

Trivia

• Glod, a small village in this area, was used to represent Kazakhstan in the filming of the mockumentary movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
• Its capital, Târgoviște, was the seat of Vlad the Impaler, the namesake of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Politics

The Dâmbovița County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections, consists of 34 counsellors, with the following party composition:^[6]

	Party	Seats	Current County Council
	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	17
	National Liberal Party (PNL)	13
	PRO Romania (PRO)	4

Administrative divisions

Târgoviște

Moreni

Dâmbovița County 2 municipalities, 5 towns and 82 communes

• Municipalities
  • Moreni
  • Târgoviște – county seat; population: 79,610 (as of 2011)
• Towns
  • Fieni
  • Găești
  • Pucioasa
  • Răcari
  • Titu

• Communes
  • Aninoasa
  • Băleni
  • Bărbulețu
  • Bezdead
  • Bilciurești
  • Braniștea
  • Brănești
  • Brezoaele
  • Buciumeni
  • Bucșani
  • Butimanu
  • Cândești
  • Ciocănești
  • Cobia
  • Cojasca
  • Comișani
  • Conțești
  • Corbii Mari
  • Cornățelu
  • Cornești
  • Costeștii din Vale
  • Crângurile
  • Crevedia
  • Dărmănești
  • Dobra
  • Doicești
  • Dragodana
  • Dragomirești
  • Finta
  • Glodeni
  • Gura Foii
  • Gura Ocniței
  • Gura Șuții
  • Hulubești
  • I. L. Caragiale
  • Iedera
  • Lucieni
  • Ludești
  • Lungulețu
  • Malu cu Flori
  • Mănești
  • Mătăsaru
  • Mogoșani
  • Moroeni
  • Morteni
  • Moțăieni
  • Niculești
  • Nucet
  • Ocnița
  • Odobești
  • Perșinari
  • Pietrari
  • Petrești
  • Pietroșița
  • Poiana
  • Potlogi
  • Produlești
  • Pucheni
  • Raciu
  • Răscăeți
  • Răzvad
  • Râu Alb
  • Runcu
  • Sălcioara
  • Slobozia Moară
  • Șelaru, Dâmbovița
  • Șotânga
  • Tărtășești
  • Tătărani
  • Uliești
  • Ulmi
  • Văcărești
  • Valea Lungă
  • Valea Mare
  • Văleni-Dâmbovița
  • Vârfuri
  • Vișina
  • Vișinești
  • Vlădeni
  • Voinești
  • Vulcana-Băi
  • Vulcana-Pandele

Historical county

Județul Dâmbovița
County (Județ)
The Dâmbovița County prefecture building from the interwar period, now an art museum.
Coat of arms
Country	Romania
Historic region	Muntenia
Capital city (Reședință de județ)	Târgoviște
Area
• Total	3,440 km2 (1,330 sq mi)
Population  (1930)
• Total	310,310
• Density	90/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Historically, the county was located in the central-southern part of Greater Romania, in the northern part of the historical region of Muntenia. The county included a large part of the present county. It was bordered to the west by the counties of Muscel and Argeș, to the north by Brașov County, to the east by Prahova County, and to the south by the counties of Ilfov and Vlașca.

Administration

Map of Dâmbovița County as constituted in 1938.

The county was originally divided administratively into six districts (plăși):^[7]

1. Plasa Finta, headquartered at Finta
2. Plasa Găești, headquartered at Găești
3. Plasa Pucioasa, headquartered at Pucioasa
4. Plasa Târgoviște, headquartered at Târgoviște
5. Plasa Titu, headquartered at Titu
6. Plasa Voinești, headquartered at Voinești

Subsequently, the territory of the county was reorganized into eight districts by the abolition of Plasa Finta and the establishment of three new districts in its place:

1. Plasa Bilciurești, headquartered at Bilciurești
2. Plasa Bogați, headquartered at Bogați
3. Plasa Ghergani, headquartered at Ghergani

Population

According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 309,676 inhabitants, ethnically divided as follows: 96.9% Romanians, 2.1% Romanies, 0.2% Jews, 0.2% Hungarians, 0.1% Germans, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the population was 98.9% Eastern Orthodox, 0.3% Roman Catholic, 0.3% Jewish, 0.1% Adventist, 0.1% Greek Catholic, as well as other minorities.

Urban population

In 1930, the county's urban population was 33,398 inhabitants, comprising 63.2% Romanians, 2.0% Jews, 1.3% Romanies, 1.2% Hungarians, 0.5% Greeks, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed of 94.8% Eastern Orthodox, 2.1% Jewish, 1.5% Roman Catholic, 0.6% Greek Catholic, 0.3% Calvinist, 0.3% Lutheran, as well as other minorities.