Berbești is a town located in

Vâlcea County Vâlcea County (also spelt ''Vîlcea''; ) is a county ( județ) of Romania. Located in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (which are separated by the Olt River), it is also part of the wider Wallachia region. Its capital city is R ...

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

, about 78 km south-west from

Râmnicu Vâlcea Râmnicu Vâlcea (also spelled ''Rîmnicu Vîlcea'' or, in the past, ''Rîmnic-Vâlcea'', ) (population: 92,573 as per the 2011 Romanian census) is the county capital ( ro, Reședință de județ) and also the largest town of Vâlcea County, cent ...

, in the historical region of

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 ...

. It was granted town status by law in October 2003. As of January 2009, it has a population of 5,635. The town administers five villages: Dămțeni, Dealu Aluniș, Roșioara, Târgu Gângulești and Valea Mare.

Geography and climate

Set on the lower course of the river Tărâia, a tributary of the

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 .45th parallel north The 45th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the ...

. Berbești is bordered by Mateești commune to the north, Sinești commune to the south, Alunu to the west and Copăceni to the east.

Economy

The main economic activity is

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

that began in the 1970s. Following the economic reforms in the late 1990s, Berbești saw an economic downturn similar to most of the mono-industrial towns in

Notes

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