Ocna Mureș (; la, Salinae, hu, Marosújvár, german: Miereschhall) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Alba County,

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 ...

, located in the north-eastern corner of the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, near the

Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'') * Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania See also * Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County * Ocna Mureș Ocna Mureș (; la, Sali ...

. The town is situated next to a large deposit of salt, mined in the past until the ceiling of the mines collapsed from water infiltration in 1978. Ocna Mureș has a chlorosodic products plant, a salt extraction plant and a

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

which uses the salty water from the former mines. The town administers five villages: Cisteiu de Mureș (''Magyarcsesztve''), Micoșlaca (''Miklóslaka''), Războieni-Cetate (''Székelyföldvár''), Uioara de Jos (until 1960 ''Ciunga''; ''Csongva'') and Uioara de Sus (''Felsőmarosújvár''). Its former name is ''Uioara'', and was called ''Ocna Mureșului'' from 1925 to 1956. The spa is no longer running. The chemical plant in town was lastly purchased by an Indian company from a company based in Timișoara. Currently, the plant has ceased activity. The majority of high school students attend either Liceul Teoretic Petru Maior or the 'Chemistry School,' where many are trained to later work for the factory in town. Exceptional students progress onto university studies, generally in nearby

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historical ...

, the county capital. The downtown was relocated after the mine was flooded as the ground became unstable. Now this area is filled with more than 4 large, very deep lakes. The center of town is now at the base of a large hill, the 'Banța.'

Climate

Ocna Mureș has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Cfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

Demographics

According to the census from 2011 there was a total population of 13,036 people living in this town. Of this population, 83.46% are ethnic

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 ...

, 9.31% are ethnic

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

, and 7% ethnic

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

Natives

Ovidiu Maier Ovidiu Maier (born 2 February 1971) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays for CS Ocna Mureş. A precocious talent, Maier was given the nickname ''Motanul'' (The Tomcat), a name that stuck with him throughout his career. In summer 2022 ...

- professional footballer *

Rareș Bogdan Rareș Bogdan (born 17 September 1974 in Ocna Mureș, Alba County, Romania) is a Romanian politician who has been a PNL member of the European Parliament for Romania since 2019. He was the leader of the National Liberal Party's electoral list ...

- journalist and politician

References

Towns in Romania Populated places in Alba County Localities in Transylvania Mining communities in Romania Monotowns in Romania {{Alba-geo-stub