Balș () is a town in

Olt County Olt County () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt River, Olt river). The capital city is Slatina, Roma ...

Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. The town administers three villages: Corbeni, Româna, and Teiș.

Geography

The town is situated on the

Wallachian Plain The Romanian Plain () is located in southern Romania and the easternmost tip of Serbia, where it is known as the Wallachian Plain (). It is part of the larger Eurasian Steppe. It is located in the historical region of Wallachia, and bordered by ...

and lies on the banks of the river

Olteț The Olteț is a right tributary of the river Olt in Romania. It discharges into the Olt in Fălcoiu. Its total length is , and its drainage basin area is . Towns and villages The following towns and villages are situated along the river Olte� ...

. It is located in the northwestern part of the county, on the border with

Dolj County Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)-Jiu River, Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to ''Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova. Demographics In 2011, ...

, west of the county seat, Slatina.

Etymology

There are three hypotheses about the town's name: # The locality was named after the Balșița brook. # The name comes from the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

word "Baliş" (honey), as there is a large apiculture area there. # A

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

named Balș settled here in the 5th or 6th century.

Population

At the 2002 census, the town had a population of 21,195; there were 20,552

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, 619

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, and 27 others. Listed by religion: 21,043 were

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

, 47

Seventh-Day Adventists The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabba ...

, 36

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, 19

Pentecostalists Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

, 8 Roman-Catholics, 5

Atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 32 other religions. At the 2021 census, Balș had a population of 16,114; of those, 81.73% were Romanians and 6.32% Roma.

History

* 1450 – The estimated date when Balș was established. * 1564 – First mention of Balș in a document

Natives

Nicușor Bănică Nicușor Răzvan Bănică (born 7 January 1984) is a Romanian former footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Metalurgistul Cugir. In his career, he also played for teams such as FC U Craiova, Poiana Câmpina, FC Drobeta Turnu-Severin or Me ...

(born 1984), footballer *

Eugen Căpățînă Marian Eugen Căpăţână (born 18 June 1986) is a Romanian rugby union footballer. He plays the position of Hooker. He played for Steaua București during the 2011/12 season. He has been playing for Timișoara Saracens since 2012, in the Supe ...

(born 1986), rugby player *

Claudia Constantinescu Claudia Maria Constantinescu (born 18 June 1994) is a Romanian handballer who plays for SCM Craiova. Achievements *Cupa României: **''Winner'': 2019 * Liga Națională: **''Golden Medalist'': 2022 **''Silver Medalist'': 2019 **''Bronze M ...

(born 1994), handballer *

Ion Dumitra Ion Dumitra (born 30 January 1976) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for teams such as Bihor Oradea, Jiul Petroșani, Minerul Lupeni Clubul Sportiv Viitorul Minerul Lupeni, commonly referred to as Mineru ...

(born 1976), footballer *

Cornel Feruță Cornel Feruță (born 21 August 1975) is a Romanian diplomat. Born in Balș, Olt County, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest and a Master of ...

(born 1975), diplomat *

Petre Pandrea Petre Pandrea, pen name of Petre Ion Marcu, also known as Petru Marcu Balș (26 June 1904 – 8 July 1968), was a Romanian social philosopher, lawyer, and political activist, also noted as an essayist, journalist, and memoirist. A native of rural ...

(1904–1968), social philosopher, memoirist, and political activist *

Cerasela Pătrașcu Cerasela Pătrașcu (born 23 December 1992 in Balș, Olt County, Romania) is a Romanian artistic gymnast. She is a bronze world medalist and a gold European medalist with the team. Early life and gymnastic career Cerasela was a member of the nat ...

(born 1992), artistic gymnast *

Daniel Stana Ionel Daniel Stana (born 2 December 1982) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a left midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders ...

(born 1982), footballer

References

Towns in Romania Populated places in Olt County Localities in Oltenia Monotowns in Romania {{Olt-geo-stub