Ocna Mureș (; , , ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Alba County Alba County () is a county (județ) of Romania located in the historic region of Transylvania. Its capital is Alba Iulia, a city with a population of 63,536. Name "Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of the ...

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 ...

, located in the north-eastern corner of the county, 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, a town in Alba Cou ...

. 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.

History

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 which uses the salty water from the former mines. The spa is again open to the public, due to new investments made by the city and county in a new building with spa, salty basins, medical treatments, and sports facilities. The chemical plant in town was lastly purchased by an Indian company from a company based in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

. Currently, the plant has ceased activity and the old buildings were demolished to make room for new enterprises.The majority of high school students attend either Liceul Teoretic Petru Maior or the 'Industrial Highschool,' where many are trained to later work in mechanics, electrical and IT. Exceptional students progress onto university studies, generally in nearby

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

, the county capital. The town’s salt mine was flooded in 1978 and the ground became unstable and collapsed. Now this area is filled with more than 4 large, salty and very deep ponds which are projected to become an big natural park. The center of the town and city hall are located at the base of a large hill, the 'Banța.'

Demographics

According to the census from 2011, the town had a total population of 13,036; of those, 83.46% were ethnic

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, 9.31% ethnic

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

, and 7% ethnic Romani. At the 2021 census, Ocna Mureș had a population of 12,480, of which 80.03% were Romanians, 6.38% Romani, and 6.19% Hungarians.

Natives

* Tiberiu Bălan (born 1981), footballer * János Barlabássy (1482–1560), Hungarian prelate * Leonard Barlabássy (1455–1525), Hungarian nobleman, Vice-voivode of Transylvania from 1501 to 1525 * Rareș Bogdan (born 1974), politician, member of the European Parliament * Mihaela Botezan (born 1976), long-distance runner * Gheorghe Cacoveanu (1935–2001), footballer * Gabriella Csire (born 1938), writer * Adrian Gongolea (born 1975), footballer * Ovidiu Maier (born 1971), footballer * Bazil Marian (1922–2008), football player and coach * Alexandru Moldovan (born 1950), football player and manager * Ioachim Moldoveanu (1913–1981), footballer * Mircea Stanciu (born 1975), footballer

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 cold ...

(''Cfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

References

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