Târgu Lăpuș (; Hungarian: ''Magyarlápos''; german: Laposch) is a town in

Maramureș County Maramureș County () is a county (județ) in Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare. Name In Hungarian it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian as Мараморо́щина, in German as ''Kreis Marmarosch' ...

, northern

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

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 ...

. It administers thirteen villages: Boiereni (''Boérfalva''), Borcut (''Borkút''), Cufoaia (''Kohópatak''), Dămăcușeni (''Domokos''), Dobricu Lăpușului (''Láposdebrek''), Dumbrava (''Kisdebrecen''), Fântânele (until 1960 ''Poiana Porcului''; ''Lápospataka''), Groape (''Groppa''), Inău (''Ünőmező''), Răzoare (''Macskamező''), Rogoz (''Rogoz''), Rohia (''Rohi''), and Stoiceni (''Sztojkafalva'').

Geography

The town is situated at the northwestern edge of the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau ( ro, Podișul Transilvaniei; hu, Erdélyi-medence) is a plateau in central Romania. The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the East ...

, at the foot of the

Lăpuș Mountains The Lăpuș Mountains (, ) are a group of mountains in the Eastern Carpathians, located in the northern Romanian regions of Maramureș and Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буков ...

. It lies on the banks of the river Lăpuș and of its tributary, the river Suciu, which flows into the Lăpuș in Dămăcușeni village. The -long is a protected area on the western side of the town, between the villages of Răzoare and Remecioara. is a reservoir in the southeastern part of the town; with a surface area of , it is stocked with

common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

, crucian, and

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

carp,

Alburnus ''Alburnus'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae, the carps and minnows. They are known commonly as bleaks. A group of species in the genus is known as shemayas. The genus occurs in the western Palearctic realm, and the center of diversit ...

rudd ''Scardinius'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for individual species, particularly the common rudd (''S. erythrophthalmus''). T ...

, and

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Per ...

. Târgu Lăpuș is located in the southern part of Maramureș County, on the border with

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , ...

and Sălaj counties. It is the center of the ethnographic region. The town is crossed by

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

, which runs from the county seat,

Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; hu, Nagybánya; german: Frauenbach or Groß-Neustadt; la, Rivulus Dominarum) is a municipality along the Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramur ...

, to the northwest, to

Cășeiu Căşeiu ( hu, Alsókosály; german: Koschal) is a commune in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of ten villages: Cășeiu, Comorâța, Coplean (''Kapjon''), Custura (''Dumbráva''), Gârbău Dejului (''Désorbó''), Guga (''Guga'') ...

commune (near Dej), to the south.

Sights

The Church of the Holy Archangels in Rogoz village is one of eight

Wooden Churches of Maramureș The wooden churches of Maramureș in the Maramureș region of northern Transylvania are a group of almost one hundred Orthodox churches, and occasionally Greek-Catholic ones, of different architectural solutions from different periods and areas. Th ...

listed by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. Among the town's historic buildings are also the Roman Catholic church (1752), the Calvinist church (1839), the Orthodox church (1906–1912), the old school (1858), and the old town hall, now a dispensary (19th century). Rohia Monastery is also located within the town limits. The Union Monument is an obelisk located behind the

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

. The monument commemorates the 21 inhabitants of Târgu Lăpuș who were massacred by Hungarian troops in December 1918 while celebrating the Union of Transylvania with Romania.

Demographics

In 2011, Târgu Lăpuș had a population of 11,744. Of these, 86.5% were

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Romania ...

, 12.4%

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 ...

, and 1%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

. 74.5% belonged to the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...

, 10.1% to the

, 7.3% were

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movement Greek-Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

, and 2.7%

Roman Catholic 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 let ...

Natives

* (1745–1816), cleric and mineralogist *

Grigore Leșe Grigore Leșe (born in 1954) is a Romanian musician. Biography Leşe was born in 1954 in Stoiceni village, Maramureș County in northern Romania. He graduated from the Music College in Baia Mare, followed by the Music Academy in Cluj. In 200 ...

(b. 1954), musician * Remus Ludu (1914–1982), gymnast * (b. 1955), politician * Onișor Nicorec (b. 1986), footballer * Vasile Oană (b. 1972), footballer

Economy

Răzoare is an old mining village, with

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...

and

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of ...

(as well as

muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula K Al2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavag ...

bentonite Bentonite () is an absorbent swelling clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite (a type of smectite) which can either be Na-montmorillonite or Ca-montmorillonite. Na-montmorillonite has a considerably greater swelling capacity than Ca-m ...

, and

kaolinite Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahed ...

) being exploited here since 1770. Other minerals found in the area are

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula Fe2+Fe3+2O4. It is one of the oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself. With ...

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different ...

, dannemorite,

beryl Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several ...

tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline Silicate mineral, silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is a gemstone and can be found in a wide variety o ...

, leucophoenicite, ribbeite, sodalite, and

alleghanyite Alleghanyite is a moderately rare humite mineral with formula Mn5(SiO4)2(OH)2, belonging to the nesosilicates class. In general its occurrences are related with metamorphic (metamorphosed) manganese deposits. The mineral is named after Alleghany ...

. The Răzoare mine opened in 1988; its closure in 2006 was a heavy blow to the local economy and led to a drop in the town's population.

Education

The town has two high schools: the Petru Rareș Theoretical High School and the Grigore C. Moisil Technological College.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Targu Lapus Towns in Romania Populated places in Maramureș County Localities in Transylvania