Novaci is a town in
Gorj County,
Oltenia
Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...
,
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, situated at the foothills of the
Parâng Mountains, on the river
Gilort. It administers four villages: Bercești, Hirișești, Pociovaliștea, and Sitești.
The river traditionally divided the Oltenian settlement of ''Novacii Români'' from ''Novacii Străini'', populated mainly by shepherds coming from over the mountains, from
Sibiu County in
Transylvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
. The differences between the two segments of the town are obvious in the traditional vernacular architecture: the low fences of Oltenia are replaced by tall gates and hidden-away courtyards in the Novacii Străini.
The population has been steadily decreasing since the 1990s, mainly because of the migration of the young, educated inhabitants to bigger cities.
Only from Novaci, passing the
Transalpina (DN67C) road is
Rânca ( altitude), a newly developed resort surrounded by mountain peaks and tremendous beauty. From this place is a view of the
Parângu Mare peak and when the weather is good you can see the
Peleaga peak of the
Retezat Mountains. During winter there are two ski slopes with low and medium difficulty.
Natives
*
Alin Mituța (born 1984), politician
*
Cristian Dumitru Popescu
Cristian Dumitru Popescu (born 1964) is a Romanian-American mathematician at the University of California, San Diego. His research interests are in algebraic number theory, and in particular, in special values of L-functions.
Education and ca ...
(born 1964), mathematician
References
Populated places in Gorj County
Localities in Oltenia
Towns in Romania
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