Râmnicu Vâlcea (formerly ''Râmnic'', ) is a city in

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 south-central part of the country, in the historical province of

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 ...

, it is the seat of

Vâlcea County Vâlcea County (also spelt ''Vîlcea''; ) is a county (județ) that lies in south-central Romania. Located in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (which are separated by the Olt (river), Olt River), it i ...

and its main urban settlement. According to the

2021 Romanian census The 2021 Romanian census () was a census held in Romania between 1 February and 31 July 2022, with the reference day for the census data set at 1 December 2021. The census was supposed to be done in 2021, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 ...

, it has a population of 93,151.

Geography

Râmnicu Vâlcea is situated in the central-southwestern area of Romania and is the county capital of Vâlcea County. Set at the foothills of the

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ; ) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Prahova River in the east and the Timiș and ...

, the town is located at about from the Cozia Mountains and about from the Făgăraș and Lotrului Mountains. The southern limit of the city is formed by the Getic Plateau () and the

Olt River The Olt ( Romanian and Hungarian; ; or ', , ''Alytos'') is a river in Romania. It is long, and its basin area is . It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its average discharge at the mouth is . It originates in the Hă ...

valley. The city is crossed by national roads DN7 (part of European route E81), , and . The serves the CFR Line 201, which runs along the Olt River from Podu Olt, Sibiu County, to Piatra-Olt, Olt County.

Climate

According to

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 ...

, the climate of the town is defined as Dfa (humid continental with hot summers) bordering Cfa (humid subtropical). Precipitation amount is higher in the summer, although not high enough in order to be a "Dwa" type climate, winters are not dry enough for Dwa classification, either. There are on average 30.3 days annually with snow depth reaching or exceeding . The table below highlights climate data for Râmnicu Vâlcea between 1991 and 2020, detailing the average high temperature, the average low temperature, the average precipitation (in mm/inches) as well as the sum of mean monthly sunshine hours.

History

The area has been inhabited since

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

n and Roman times, and was the site of a

castrum ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

(known as ''Buridava'' or ''Burridava'', previously a Dacian town). A new fortress was built on the location during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Râmnicu Vâlcea was first attested during the rule of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Mircea cel Bătrân, as "the princely town of Râmnic" (4 September 1388), and confirmed as the seat of a Vâlcea County during the same period (8 January 1392). The town seal dates to 1505. ''Cetățuia'', the actual fortress, served as the residence of Oltenian Bans and, from 1504, of the Orthodox

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s of the Râmnic Diocese; in 1529, Prince Radu of Afumați was killed in ''Cetățuia'' by a

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

conspiracy. During the rules of

Matei Basarab Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was the voivode (prince) of Wallachia from 1632 to 1654. Reign Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1 ...

and Constantin Brâncoveanu, it became an important cultural center. It was here where the first

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

and

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

in Romania were built (''see Anthim the Iberian''). The town was heavily damaged during the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

's takeover of Oltenia which lasted between 1718 and 1739, and its purpose was again reduced to that of a fortress. During the Wallachian Revolution, on 29 July 1848, ''

Deșteaptă-te, române! "" (; ) is the national anthem of Romania. It originated from a poem written during the Wallachian Revolution of 1848. The lyrics were composed by Andrei Mureșanu and published during the Wallachian Revolution of 1848, 1848 revolution, initiall ...

'' (the current

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

of Romania), with lyrics written by Andrei Mureșanu and music composed by Anton Pann (whose memorial house lies in the center of the town), was sung for the first time in Râmnicu Vâlcea. Gheorghe Magheru gathered his military force in Râureni, now part of the town, in an attempt to face the anti-revolutionary forces of

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In the 1980s, the town was completely rebuilt in a style combining socialist realism with local vernacular architecture of Brâncovenesc style. The town was the center and peak point of the path of total darkness of the Solar eclipse of 11 August 1999. Around 2005, the town gained notoriety as a centre of

cybercrime Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or Computer network, networks. It has been variously defined as "a crime committed on a computer network, especially the Internet"; Cyberc ...

Politics

The mayor of Râmnicu Vâlcea is Mircia Gutău of the Romanian Ecologist Party (PER), following the

2020 Romanian local elections Local elections were held in Romania on 27 September 2020. Initially planned for June 2020, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic led the Government of Romania to postpone the elections to a date no later than 31 December 2020, and extending al ...

. The Râmnicu Vâlcea Municipal Council, elected at the 2020 local elections, consists of 23 councillors, with the following party composition:

Sports

Râmnicu Vâlcea is home to

SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea Sport Club Municipal Râmnicu Vâlcea (), commonly known as SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea or Râmnicu Vâlcea, is a Romanian association football, football team from Râmnicu Vâlcea, Vâlcea County. The club is currently playing in Liga III, after spendi ...

, which is a women's handball club that competes traditionally in the

EHF Champions League The EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the men's com ...

. At football, the town was previously known for its now dissolved local football club

Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea was a Football (soccer), football club based in Râmnicu Vâlcea, Vâlcea County, Vâlcea County, Romania. It was founded in 1946 and dissolved in 2004. It won one Romanian Cup, in 1972–73 Cupa României, 1973. History ...

which won one

Romanian cup Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

. It briefly participated in the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

/European Cup Winners' Cup during one season (namely in 1973–1974) for just one round (more specifically the first one) against Northern Irish side Glentoran F.C. which subsequently went on to the quarter-finals.

Villages

The city administers thirteen villages: Aranghel, Căzănești, Copăcelu, Dealu Malului, Fețeni, Goranu, Lespezi, Poenari, Priba, Râureni, Săliștea, Stolniceni, and Troian. Goranu, Fețeni, Lespezi, and Săliștea were a separate commune, ''Goranu'', until 1996, when they were merged into the town.

Notable people

* Radu Berceanu (born 1953), engineer and politician * Dan Burghelea (born 1943), mathematician * Florin Cîțu (born 1972), politician who served as Prime Minister * Bogdan-Daniel Deac (born 2001), chess grandmaster * Doru Dudiță (born 1977), footballer * Ion Emanuel Florescu (1819–1893), general who served as Chief of the General Staff and Prime Minister * Gheorghe I. Lahovary (1838–1909), engineer and writer *

Gabriel Liiceanu Gabriel Liiceanu (; b. May 23, 1942, Râmnicu Vâlcea) is a Romanian philosopher. He graduated from the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Philosophy in 1965, and from Faculty of Classical Languages in 1973. He earned a doctorate in philosoph ...

(born 1942), philosopher * Nicolae Manolescu (born 1939), literary critic * Marian-Jean Marinescu (born 1952), politician * Maria Marinela Mazilu (born 1991), skeleton racer * Horia Moculescu (born 1937), pianist and composer * Mihail Oromolu (1875–1945), magistrate and politician * Alexandru Papadopol (born 1975), actor * Napoleon Pop (1945–2023), economist and politician * Ilie Purcaru (1933–2008), journalist and poet * Dem Rădulescu (1931–2000), theatre, film, and television actor, and academic * Magdalena Rădulescu (1902–1983), painter, illustrator *

Peter Stoica Peter (Petre) Stoica (born 23 July 1949) is a researcher and educator in the field of signal processing and its applications to radar/sonar, communications and bio-medicine. He is a professor of Signals and Systems Modeling at Uppsala University ...

(born 1949), electrical engineering professor * Dorel Zugrăvescu (1930–2019), geophysicist

Gallery

File:La ville de Ramnic Valtcha.jpg, Râmnicu Vâlcea at the turn of the 20th century File:Primaria Ramnicu Valcea.jpg, Râmnicu Vâlcea town hall at the beginning of the 20th century File:Primăria municipiului Râmnicu Vâlcea. Monument de arhitectură.jpg, Râmnicu Vâlcea town hall in September 2020 File:Ramnicu Valcea.jpg, Revolution Square File:Colegiul „Alexandru Lahovari” antebelic (1) 02.jpg, Alexandru Lahovari National College (then secondary school) at the beginning of the 20th century File:Colegiul Lahovari VL-II-m-B-09608.jpg, Alexandru Lahovari National College File:2019 Ansamblu de locuințe „Str. Vasile Olănescu” Rm.VL 07.jpg, Historical house on Vasile Olănescu Street File:2019 Ansamblu urban „Str. Gabriel Stoianovici” 03.jpg, Historical house on Gabriel Stoianovici Street File:2019 Casa memorială „Anton Pann” 05.jpg, Anton Pann memorial house File:2019 Casa N. Balotescu Rm.VL 11.jpg, Nicolae Balotescu memorial house File:2019 Ansamblu urban „Str. Tudor Vladimirescu” Rm.VL 03.jpg, Historical house on Tudor Vladimirescu Street File:2019 Casa Tetoianu Rm.VL 05.jpg, Constantin Tetoianu historical house

References

External links

Râmnicu Vâlcea City Hall official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramnicu Valcea Cities in Romania Populated places in Vâlcea County Capitals of Romanian counties Localities in Oltenia