Scărișoara () is a commune located in

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is composed of fourteen villages: Bârlești, Botești (''Botesbánya''), Fața-Lăzești, Florești, Lăzești (''Lezest''), Lespezea, Maței, Negești, Preluca, Runc, Scărișoara, Sfoartea, Știuleți, and Trâncești.

Geography

The commune is situated in the

Țara Moților Țara Moților (), also known as ''Țara de Piatră'' ("The Stone Land") is an ethnogeographical region of Romania in the Apuseni Mountains, on the upper basin of the Arieș and Crișul Alb River rivers. It covers parts of the Alba, Arad, Bi ...

ethnogeographical region of the

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...

, at the foot of the Bihor Massif. Most of the component villages lie at an altitude of over , with Preluca at and Runc at . The surface area is , with about 75% forested land and 20% agricultural land. Scărișoara is located in the northwestern corner of Alba County, on the border with

Cluj County Cluj County () is a county () of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat is Cluj-Napoca. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Kolozs megye''. Under the Kingdom of Hungary, a county with an identical name (Kolozs County, ) existed s ...

and near the border with

Bihor County Bihor County (, ) is a county (județ) in western Romania. With a total area of , Bihor is Romania's 6th largest county geographically and the main county in the historical region of Crișana. Its capital city is Oradea (Nagyvárad). Toponymy ...

. The nearest town is

Câmpeni Câmpeni (German: ''Topesdorf''; Hungarian: ''Topánfalva'') is a town in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. The town administers 21 villages: Boncești, Borlești, Botești (''Botesbánya''), Certege (''Csertés''), Coasta Vâscului, Dănduț ...

, to the southeast; the county capital,

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 ...

is some further away, in the same general direction. The commune is crossed by

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

, which runs from a major junction in

Turda Turda (; , ; ; ) is a Municipiu, city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the European route E81, and from nearby Câmpia ...

, Cluj County, through Câmpeni and Scărișoara, and on to

Ștei Ștei () is a town in Bihor County, Crișana, Romania. Between 1958 and 1996, it was named ''Dr. Petru Groza'', after the Romanian socialist leader who died in 1958. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county, and lies on the b ...

, Bihor County, where it connects to

European route E79 European route E 79 is a road part of the International E-road network. It begins in Miskolc, Hungary and ends in Thessaloniki, Greece, also running through Romania and Bulgaria. The road is long. Itinerary The E 79 routes through ...

. The

Scărișoara Cave Scărișoara Cave (, ), is one of the biggest ice caves in the Apuseni Mountains of Romania, in the western part of the Romanian Carpathians. It is considered a show cave and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Romania, natural wonders of Romania. ...

is some to the northwest, on the territory of the neighboring commune of

Gârda de Sus Gârda de Sus (; ) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 1,415 as of 2021, and is composed of seventeen villages: Biharia, Dealu Frumos, Dealu Ordâncușii, Dobrești, Gârda de Sus, Gârda Seacă (''Al ...

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the commune had a population of 1,661, of which 82% 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, ...

and 15.29%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. As of the 2021 census, the population had decreased to 1,391, of which 85.48% were ethnic Romanians and 10.28% Roma.

References

External links

Scărișoara on ''www.ghidulprimariilor.ro''Scărișoara on ''www.sate-comune.ro''

Biserica din ScarisoaraAB

Communes in Alba County Localities in Transylvania {{Alba-geo-stub