Motru () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Gorj County Gorj County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gor(no)-'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolj (“lower Jiu”). Demographics In 2011, the county had a ...

. It is situated on the river

Motru Motru () is a city in Romania, Gorj County. It is situated on the river Motru in western Oltenia. The county capital Târgu Jiu is located about 35 km northeast. The city administers eight villages: Dealu Pomilor, Horăști, Însurăței, ...

in western

Oltenia Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...

. The county capital

Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polata, ...

is located about 35 km northeast. The city administers eight villages: Dealu Pomilor, Horăști, Însurăței, Leurda, Lupoița, Ploștina, Roșiuța and Râpa.

History

Motru was created by an administrative decision on the day of 24 May 1966 on the territory of the former Ploștina commune, which, together with seven other villages, became part of the new city. The reason behind the decision to create a city was the development of several coal deposits. The region is at least since the time of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

inhabited, in Leurda in 1964, some silver coins from the era of Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211) were found. The oldest documented settlement in the territory of present-day town Ploștina (1385 is mentioned). The

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...

n town

Amutria Amutria (''Amutrion'', ''Amutrium'', ''Admutrium'', ''Ad Mutrium'', ''Ad Mutriam'', grc, Ἀμούτριον) was a Dacian town close to the Danube and included in the Roman road network, after the conquest of Dacia. The name is homonymous with ...

is mentioned in ancient sources like

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

's Geographia (c. 150 AD) and Tabula Peutingeriana (2nd century AD), and potentially placed here. The name is homonymous with the ancient name of Motru river. After the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

conquest of

, Amutria was part of an important road network, between Drubetis and Pelendava. In 1981, Motru was the site of riots from miners who were working in the mines of the city. The riots, which took place between 17 and 19 October of that year, were triggered by poor work conditions, tight control of legislative organizations and the general exhaustion of the miners, further exacerbated by a decree that limited consumption of bread only to the dwellers of the city. During the riots, Emil Bobu visited the city, where he was attacked by angry crowds with potatoes; when he returned to Bucharest, he ordered the army to intervene in the city after 2 days of protests from the local populace. At the time, the inexpensive Motru bread attracted many workers and farmers into the city, who carried the bread loafs in sacks and arrived in the town by local trains known as "trains of hunger". Nowadays the bread factory is in ruins.

Present

In today's incorporated villages were partially free farmers, others were in the monastery Tismana submissive. Motru was declared a municipiu in 2000. Mining is the city's main industry; agriculture and livestock are also important, especially in its attached villages. At the 2011 census, the population was 18,142, including 17,988

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

, 38 Hungarians, 83 Roma and 3 Germans.

Transportation

Motru is the terminus of a railway line that branches off the main line Bucharest–Craiova–Lugoj at

Strehaia Strehaia () is a town in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania. It is situated on the Motru River valley, in the eastern part of the county. Forests in the vicinity are home to the largest Hermann's tortoise colonies in Oltenia. Nine villages ar ...

, which was put into operation in 1962. Several times a day commuter trains travel to

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

. In addition, there are bus connections with the district capital of Târgu Jiu. Motru is on the National Road 67 from

Drobeta-Turnu Severin Drobeta-Turnu Severin (), colloquially Severin, is a city in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania, on the northern bank of the Danube, close to the Iron Gates. "Drobeta" is the name of the ancient Dacian and Roman towns at the site, and the modern ...

to Râmnicu Vâlcea.

Natives

Gabriel Cruceru Gabriel Cruceru (born 6 June 1989) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a right back for teams such as Jiul Petroșani, Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, FC U Craiova or Minerul Motru Clubul Sportiv Minerul Motru, commonly known as Minerul ...

Dorel Mutică Dorel Mutică (born 14 March 1973) is a Romanian former professional footballer and currently a manager. He played mainly as a defender for teams such as: UTA Arad, Rapid București, CSM Reșița, Steaua București or Lombard Pápa, among oth ...

Notes

References

* {{Gorj County Populated places in Gorj County Localities in Oltenia Cities in Romania Mining communities in Romania Monotowns in Romania Planned cities in Romania Socialist planned cities Populated places established in 1966 1966 establishments in Romania