Vulcan (; formerly ''Jiu-Vaidei-Vulcan''; , ''Zsilyvajdejvulkán'' (''Zsily-Vajdej-Vulkán''); ) 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 ...

Hunedoara County Hunedoara County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva, Romania, Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as , ...

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 ...

. With a population of 19,772 as of 2021, it is the second-largest city in the

Jiu Valley The Jiu Valley ( , ) is a region in southwestern Transylvania, Romania, in Hunedoara county, situated in a valley of the Jiu River between the Retezat Mountains and the Parâng Mountains. The region was heavily industrialised and the main activity ...

. It administers two villages, Dealul Babii ("Old Woman's Hill" in Romanian; ''Hegyvulkán'') and Jiu-Paroșeni (''Zsilymacesdparoseny'').

Name

The city is named after the Vulcan Pass that connects the Jiu Valley to

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 ...

, itself being derived from Slavic "vlk", meaning "wolf" (even if "vulcan" means "volcano" in Romanian).

Geography

Vulcan is located at the southern extremity of Hunedoara County, about from the county seat,

Deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

, on the border with

Gorj County Gorj County () is a county () of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gornji'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolnji (“lower Jiu”). Demographics At the 2011 census, the count ...

. It is situated in a hilly area north of the

Vâlcan Mountains The Vâlcan Mountains are a chain of mountains in the Southern Carpathians in Gorj County, Romania. They are part of the Retezat-Godeanu Mountains group, and run for approximately . The highest point is Oslea Peak at , and the second highest is ...

, on the banks of the

Jiul de Vest The Jiul de Vest ("Western Jiu", previously also known as ) is a headwater of the river Jiu in Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukr ...

and its tributaries, the rivers

Merișoara The Merișoara is a right tributary of the river Jiul de Vest 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, Hung ...

and

Crevedia Crevedia is a commune in Dâmbovița County, Muntenia, Romania with a population of 8,811 people as of 2021. It is composed of five villages: Cocani, Crevedia, Dârza, Mănăstirea, and Samurcași. The commune is situated in the Wallachian Plain ...

. The city 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 connects it to nearby

Aninoasa Aninoasa ( or ''Aninószabányatelep'') is a town in Hunedoara County in the Transylvania region of Romania. The town is located in the Jiu Valley, which is a coal basin, and many of the towns residents are coal miners. Aninoasa administers one ...

and to

Petroșani Petroșani (; Hungarian: ''Petrozsény''; German: ''Petroschen'') is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania, with a population of 31,044 as of 2021. The city has been associated with mining since the 19th century. History "Pietros" m ...

, to the northeast, and to

Lupeni Lupeni (; German: ''Schylwolfsbach'', Hungarian: ''Lupény'') is a mining city in the Jiu Valley in Hunedoara County, Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. It is one of the oldest and largest cities in the Jiu Valley. It is located ...

, to the west. County road DJ664 leads to the Vulcan Pass, to the south, and on to Schela, Gorj, while county road DJ666 leads north to Dealul Babii village and

Bănița Bănița (, ) is a Commune in Romania, commune in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Bănița, Crivadia (''Krivádia''), and Merișor (''Merisor''). The Grădiștea Muncelului-Cioclovina Natural Park is pa ...

commune. The Vulcan train station serves the CFR Line 214, a railway from Livezeni (in Petroșani) to Lupeni.

History

The coal resources of the region were discovered in 1788 while the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n General Landau defended Vulcan from the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

. One night the soldiers could not put out the camp fire they made, as the piles of coal underneath had caught fire. General Landau thought that he could stop the Turks without a fight by setting piles of coal on fire. The Turks noted the large numbers of fires on the heights and thought that the Austrian army was much larger than theirs and retreated. In 1850, the first mine was set up by the Hoffman brothers of

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

Demographics

At the 2021 census, Vulcan had a population of 19,772. This marked a decrease of 18.2% from the 2011 census, when the city had 24,160 inhabitants; of those, 92.91% 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, ...

, 5.13%

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 ...

, 1.41%

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

, and 0.2%

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

People

* (1911–2002), doctor and member of the Romanian Academy *

Ernő Csíki Ernst Csiki, Ernst Dietl or Ernő Csiki (Csíki) () (22 October 1875 in Vulkan – 7 July 1954 in Budapest) was a Hungarian entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera. Born as Ernst Dietl at Zsilvajdejvulka, Hunyad County, Transylvania (to ...

(1875–1954), Hungarian entomologist *

Andrej Prean Nagy Andrej Prean Nagy (8 September 1923 – 5 September 1997), also referred to as André Nagy or Andras Nagy, was a football player and coach who played for both Ferencváros. Born in Romania, he represented the Hungary national team internationall ...

(1923–1997), Hungarian footballer * Ștefan Onisie (1925–1984), footballer and manager *

Leonard Wolf Leonard Wolf (March 1, 1923 – March 20, 2019) was a Romanian-American poet, author, teacher, and translator. He is known for his authoritative annotated editions of classic gothic horror novels, including ''Dracula'', ''Frankenstein'', '' The ...

(1923–2019), Romanian-American author

Sports

The local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team is CSM Vulcan, currently playing in Liga IV Hunedoara. Its home ground is Stadionul Central.

Twin cities

List of Vulcan's sister and twin cities: *

Bor Bor may refer to: Places Populated places * Bor (Tachov District), a town in Plzeň Region, Czech Republic * Bor, Petnjica, Montenegro * Bor, Russia, the name of many inhabited localities in Russia * Bor District, a district in Serbia ** Bor, Se ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

References

External links

* — the regional portal host of the official Jiu Valley municipal websites Spalatorii de carbuni la mina Vulcan

Populated places in Hunedoara County Localities in Transylvania Jiu Valley Cities in Romania Mining communities in Romania Monotowns in Romania {{Romania-hist-stub