Zlatna (; ; ) 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 ...

, central

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 ...

. The town administers eighteen villages: Botești (''Golddorf''; ''Botesbánya''), Budeni (''Higendorf''), Dealu Roatei (''Rotberg''), Dobrot, Dumbrava, Feneș (''Wildendorf''; ''Fenes''), Galați (''Galz''; ''Ompolygalac''), Izvoru Ampoiului (''Gross-Ompeil''; ''Nagyompoly''), Pârău Gruiului (''Gruybach''), Pătrângeni (''Peters''; ''Ompolykövesd ''), Pirita (''Pfirth''), Podu lui Paul (''Pauls''), Runc (''Goldrücken''), Ruși (''Rusch''), Suseni (''Oberdorf''), Trâmpoiele (''Trempojel''; ''Kénesd''), Valea Mică (''Kleinwasser''), and Vâltori (''Waldrücken''; ''Vultur'').

Geography

Zlatna is located north-west of the county seat,

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 ...

, on the border with

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 , ...

. Situated in the Zlatna depression, between the

Metaliferi Mountains Metaliferi Mountains (; ), meaning Ore Mountains, are in the Carpathian Mountain Range and are a division of the Apuseni Mountains. Peaks The highest peak is , with an elevation of . The range also includes the '' Detunatele'', a pair of basalt ...

and the

Trascău Mountains The Trascău Mountains () are located in the Apuseni mountain range of the Western Romanian Carpathians, in Romania. The Trascău Mountains are crossed by the picturesque Arieș River valley. The highest elevation in the massif is Dâmbău Peak, ...

, the town lies at the confluence of the Ampoi River with Valea Morilor creek.

History

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...

settlement has existed in the area since Roman times, when it was known as a

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

under the name of ''Ampellum''. The name ''Zlatna'' (derived from the Slavic term for gold) was first recorded in a 1347 document. In 1387, it was awarded town status. During 1619-1620

Gabriel Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen (; 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of the whole kingdom. Bethlen, sup ...

, brought to Zlatna a few hundred

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Slovak settlers for mining work.

Tellurium Tellurium is a chemical element; it has symbol Te and atomic number 52. It is a brittle, mildly toxic, rare, silver-white metalloid. Tellurium is chemically related to selenium and sulfur, all three of which are chalcogens. It is occasionally fou ...

was first discovered in a Zlatna mine in 1782 by Austrian mineralogist

Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein Franz-Joseph Müller, Freiherr von Reichenstein or Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein (1 July 1740 or 4 October 1742 – 12 October 1825 or 1826) was an Austrian mineralogist and mining engineer. Müller held several positions in the Habsburg ...

. Zlatna regained its town status in 1968, after a time when it was officially a commune.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, Zlatna had 7,182 inhabitants; 89.59% of those 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, ...

and 4.59%

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 ...

. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 6,652, of which 85.6% were Romanians and 5.11% Roma.

Natives

Cornelia Emilian Cornelia Emilian (; 1840–1910) was an Imperial Austrian-born Romanian journalist and women's rights activist. She was born in Zlatna, in the Principality of Transylvania, to a noble family.Ionela Băluță, "Apariția femeii ca actor social - a ...

(1840–1910), journalist and women's rights activist *

László Lukács László Lukács de Erzsébetváros (, 24 November 1850, Zlatna, Zalatna – 23 February 1932) was a Hungarians, Hungarian politician who served as List of Prime Ministers of Hungary, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1912 to 1913 ...

(1850–1932), Hungarian politician *

Andrei Mărginean Iulius Andrei Mărginean (born 3 July 2001) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or a centre-back for Liga I club Dinamo București. Club career Messina Andrei made his senior debut for Messina on 12 Septem ...

(born 2001), footballer * (1926–2010), film and theater director *

Virgil Popescu Virgil Popescu (1 December 1916 – 15 February 1989) was a Romanian footballer and later coach. In Yugoslavia, he was known as Stanislav Popesku. Career He was born in 1916 during the First World War, in the Transylvanian town of Zlatna,

(1916–1989), footballer

Climate

Zlatna 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 ...

Points of interest

*A high chimney, interconnected with a smoke duct with a copper

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron, copper, silver, tin, lead and zin ...

(not in use any more) in the town.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Alba County Localities in Transylvania Towns in Romania Roman sites in Romania Mining communities in Romania Monotowns in Romania Place names of Slavic origin in Romania