Onești (; ), formerly known as Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej,
is a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in
Bacău County
Bacău County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania.
Geography
This county has a total area of .
In the western part of the county there a ...
, Romania, with a population of 34,005 inhabitants as of 2021. It is situated in the historical region of
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
.
Administratively, the villages of Slobozia and Borzești form part of Onești.
History
The locality was documentary attested as a village on 14 December 1458. In 1952, the
communist authorities decided to build a large petrochemical industrial platform (
Borzești Petrochemical Plant) and a new related city in the area of Onești and Borzești villages. Borzești, according to legend, was the birthplace of
Stephen III of Moldavia
Stephen III, better known as Stephen the Great (; ; died 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 in a conspiracy organized by his brother an ...
. It is the site of the
Borzești Church
The Oneşti, Borzeşti Church (also known as The Church of the "Assumption of Virgin Mary" in Borzești) is an Orthodox church located in Onești, Bacău County, Romania. It was founded by Ştefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great), with construction la ...
, which was built on his orders in 1493–1494.
At the death of the
Communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
leader
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian politician. He was the first Socialist Republic of Romania, Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ...
in March 1965, Onești was
renamed ''Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej'', but the name was changed back in 1990
shortly after the
Romanian Revolution
The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...
.
Above the borough Malu, on the right-hand side of the river Cașin, were discovered archaeological fragments from a settlement dating from the Neolithic.
Geography
Onești is located in the
Tazlău-Cașin Depression of the
Eastern Carpathians
Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system.
Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya Sy ...
at an average altitude of . It lies at the confluence of the rivers
TrotuÈ™,
Cașin,
Oituz
Oituz (formerly ''Grozești''; ) is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Călcâi (''Zöldlonka''), Ferestrău-Oituz (''Fűrészfalva''), Hârja (''Herzsa''), Marginea, Oituz and Poiana Sărată (' ...
, and
Tazlău, some southwest of the county capital,
Bacău
Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...
. The city is crossed by the
European road E574 and by the national roads DN11A and DN12A that connect it to
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, to the northern part of the country, and to
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 ...
. Rail connections are made through the
Căile Ferate Române
Căile Ferate Române (; abbreviated as the CFR) was the state railway carrier of Romania. The company was dissolved on 1 October 1998 by splitting into several successor companies. CFR as an entity existed from 1880, even though the first ra ...
network, and the proposed A13
Brașov–Bacău Motorway will link the city to the rest of Romania's
highway network as a second connection to the country's major cities.
Demographics
At the
2011 census, Onești had 39,172 inhabitants, of which 90.29% were
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, ...
, 1.39%
Roma, 0.53%
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 0.13%
Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
. At the
2021 census, the city had a population of 34,005; of those, 79.75% were Romanians, and for 19.77% the ethnicity was not known.
Economy
Borzești is a neighborhood in the southeast of Onești, under separate administration until 1968.
The
Borzești Petrochemical Plant is located there.
File:Rafinaria Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej.jpg, No. 10 Oil Refinery ( RAFO Onești) in 1968
File:Combinatul Chimic Borzesti.jpg, Borzești Chemical Plant (Chimcomplex) in the 1960s
File:Combinatul de cauciuc sintetic si produse petrochimice Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (Onesti).jpg, Synthetic Rubber Plant (Carom Onești)
File:Termocentrala Borzesti exterior.jpg, Borzești Power Station
File:Hotelul Trotus Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (Onesti).jpg, Hotel TrotuÈ™ in the 1980s
File:Mercur street, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej.jpg, City in the 1970s
Culture
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...
is the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of the city, whose inhabitants are predominantly
Romanian Orthodox
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...
. St. Nicholas Day, 6 December, is the municipal day of Onești.
Popular tourist attractions are Perchiu Hill and the Hero Cross from atop the aforementioned hill, the Municipal History Museum, a steel monument dedicated to the Romanian national poet
Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanians, Romanian Romanticism, Romantic poet, novelist, and journalist from Moldavia, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Emin ...
, and the city park.
Mayors
* (
PSD), 1996–2012
* Victor-Laurențiu Neghină (
PSD), 2012–2015
* Alexandru Cristea (
UNPR), 2015–2016
* Nicolae Gnatiuc (
PSD), 2016–2020
* Victor-Laurențiu Neghină (
PMP), 2020–2024
Natives
*
Antonio Andrușceac (born 1967), politician
*
Mihail Aslan (1857–1936), general in World War I
*
Gabriel Bruchental (born 1965), footballer
*
Diana Chelaru (born 1993), gymnast
*
Nadia Comăneci (born 1961), gymnast
*
Daniel Dines (born 1972), entrepreneur
*
Teodora Enache (born 1967), jazz singer
*
Georgeta Gabor (born 1962), gymnast
*
Loredana Groza (born 1970), singer
*
Ștefania Jipa (born 2000), handball player
*
Gheorghe Maftei (born 1955), weightlifter
*
Laura Moise (born 1976), judoka
*
Daniel Munteanu (born 1978), football player and manager
*
Alexandru Nazare (born 1980), politician
*
Ana Maria Pavăl (born 1983), wrestler
*
Adrian Rotaru (born 1994), handballer
*
Eduard Tismănaru (born 1987), footballer
*
Dumitrița Turner (born 1964), artistic gymnast
*
Silvia Zarzu (born 1998), artistic gymnast
Twin towns and sister cities
*
Strășeni
Strășeni () is a city and municipality of about 20,000 inhabitants in central Moldova, the administrative center of Strășeni District. The city administers one village, Făgureni.
There are several legends about its name. One tells that t ...
,
Moldova
Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
(2015)
*
Skien
Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...
, Norway
*
Eysines, France
See also
*
CSM Borzești
*
FCM Dinamo Onești
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onesti
1458 establishments
Populated places established in the 1450s
Populated places in Bacău County
Planned communities in Romania
Socialist planned cities
Cities in Romania
Monotowns in Romania
Localities in Western Moldavia