Siriu is a commune in
Buzău County,
Muntenia
Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the seldom used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in R ...
,
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 ...
, in the valley of the river
Buzău. It is composed of five villages: Cașoca, Colțu Pietrii, Gura Siriului, Lunca Jariștei (the commune centre) and Mușcelușa.
Geography
Location
Siriu is located in the north-western part of the county, in the
Buzău Mountains, at the Carpathians' curvature, on both sides of the river Buzău. The maximum altitude of the Siriu commune exceeds 1400 m.
The
Siriu Dam, constructed between 1982 and 1994 and its artificial lake are located in the commune.
Lacul Vulturilor
Lacul Vulturilor (Romanian for ''Eagles' Lake'', also known as Lacul Fără Fund, ''The Bottomless Lake'') is a periglacial lake located in the Buzău Mountains, at the Carpathian Mountains south-eastern curvature, at an altitude of 1420 m. The ne ...
is a periglacial lake also located in Siriu.
Flora and fauna
In 1972, 10
chamois
The chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Alps, the Dinarides, the Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Ril ...
were brought to Siriu and released in the wilderness of the mountain ranges. As of 2007, their number has risen to around 60. One of the largest
fir
Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...
s in Romania, measuring 62 meters in height and 2.5 meters in
diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for ...
, grows in a forest in Siriu.
[Siriu website](_blank)
A protected plant,
Drosera rotundifolia, can also be found in the Siriu forests.
History
The oldest attestation of Siriu dates back to the mid-sixteenth century. A document issued by the
voivod of
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
granted ownership of some land in Siriu to ''Petru'' and ''Lupu''.
Economy
Many of the locals work at the Nehoiaşu hydroelectric power plant. Another branch of industry active in Siriu is
wood processing. Other locals grow animals (mostly sheep or bovine), and
fruit trees.
Notes
External links
The Buzău Mountains - SIRIU locality
{{Buzău County
Siriu
Localities in Muntenia