Alba County

Alba County Județul Alba
County
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Alba County in Romania
Country	Romania
Development region1	Centru
Historic region	Transylvania
County seat	Alba Iulia
Government
• Type	County Council
• President of the County Council	Ion Dumitrel [ro] (PNL)
• Prefect2	Nicolae Albu [ro]
Area
• Total	6,242 km2 (2,410 sq mi)
• Rank	16th in Romania
Population  (2021-12-01)[1]
• Total	325,941
• Rank	29th in Romania
• Density	52/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code	51wxyz3
Area code	+40 x584
Car Plates	AB5
GDP	US$ 2.940 billion (2015)
GDP per capita	US$ 8,970 (2015)
Website	County Council County Prefecture
1The developing regions of Romania have no administrative role. They were formed to draw funds from the European Union 2 as of 2007, the Prefect is not a politician, but a public functionary. He or she is not allowed to be a member of a political party, and is banned from any political activity in the first six months after the resignation (or exclusion) from the public functionaries corp 3w, x, y, and z are digits that indicate the city, the street, part of the street, or even the building of the address 4x is a digit indicating the operator: 2 for the former national operator, Romtelecom, and 3 for the other ground telephone networks 5used on both the plates of the vehicles that operate only in the county limits (like utilitary vehicles & ATVs, etc.) and the ones used outside the county

Alba County (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈalba]) 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.^[2]

"Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of the city of Alba Iulia. In Hungarian, the county is known as Fehér megye (fehér also meaning white), and in German as Kreis Karlsburg.

AB

AR

AG

BC

BH

BN

BT

BV

BR

BZ

CS

CL

CJ

CT

CV

DB

DJ

GL

GR

GJ

HR

HD

IL

IS

IF

MM

MH

MS

NT

OT

PH

SM

SJ

SB

SV

TR

TM

TL

VS

VL

VN

B

This county has a total area of 6,242 km² (2,410 sq mi), with mountains occupying about 59% of its surface.

The Apuseni Mountains are in the northwest; the northeastern side of the Parâng Mountains group – the Șureanu and Cindrel mountains – are in the south. In the east there is the Transylvanian Plateau with deep but wide valleys. The three main elements are separated by the Mureș River valley.

The main rivers are the Mureș River and its tributaries, the Târnava, the Sebeș, and the Arieș.

• Sibiu County and Mureș County to the east.
• Bihor County and Arad County to the west.
• Cluj County to the north.
• Hunedoara County to the southwest.
• Vâlcea County to the south.

The predominant industries in the county are:

• Food industry
• Textile industry
• Wood industry
• Mechanical components
• Paper and packaging materials industry
• Chemical industry

The mineral resources exploited in Alba county are metals (gold, silver, copper), salt, and construction materials, including marble and granite.

The main tourist attractions in the county are:

• The city of Alba Iulia
• The Apuseni Mountains
  • Scărișoara karst complex
  • Maidens' Fair on the Găina Mountain [ro]
  • The Dealul cu melci ("Snail Hill") west of Vidra
  • Barren Detunata and Shaggy Detunata (Detunatele)
• The Câlnic Citadel and the castle of Gârbova
• The towns and churches of Sebeș and Aiud
• The Ocna Mureș resort
• The Țara Moților ethnographical area. Situated in the Apuseni Mountains, Țara Moților is a region with strong and distinct Romanian traditions.
• Roșia Montană Mining Cultural Landscape - Mining began 2000 years ago on Mt. Kirnik (Cârnic), with well-preserved Roman galleries. A Canadian company attempted an open-pit mine, but abandoned the project around 2007. Roșia Montană is a famous locality among mineral collectors for fine native gold specimens.^[3][4]
• The Via Transilvanica hiking and biking trail

According to the 2021 census, the county had a population of 325,941 and the population density was 52.2/km² (135.2/sq mi).^[5]

Year	County population[6]
1948	361,062
1956	370,800
1966	382,786
1977	409,634
1992	414,227
2002	382,747
2011	327,224
2021	325,941

The Alba County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections, consists of 32 county councillors, with the following party composition:^[7]

Alba County has 4 municipalities, 7 towns, and 67 communes.

• Municipalities:
  • Aiud
  • Alba Iulia – county seat; pop. 58,761 (as of 2011)
  • Blaj
  • Sebeș

• Towns:
  • Abrud
  • Baia de Arieș
  • Câmpeni
  • Cugir
  • Ocna Mureș
  • Teiuș
  • Zlatna

Județul Alba
County (Județ)
The Alba County Prefecture building of the interwar period, currently the headquarters of the Alba County Schools Inspectorate.
Coat of arms
Country	Romania
Historic region	Transylvania
Capital city (Reședință de județ)	Alba-Iulia
Established	1925
Area
• Total	2,433 km2 (939 sq mi)
Population  (1930)
• Total	213,795
• Density	88/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Historically, Alba de Jos County was located in the central-western part of Greater Romania, in the southwestern part of Transylvania, with a territory identical with the old Alsó-Fehér County of Hungary. After the administrative unification law in 1925, the name of the county changed to Alba County and the territory was reorganized. It was bordered on the west by Hunedoara County, to the north by Turda County, and to the east by the counties of Sibiu and Târnava-Mică. Its territory included the central part of the current Alba County.

The county originally consisted of seven districts (plăși):^[8]

1. Plasa Abrud (headquarters at Abrud)
2. Plasa Aiud (headquarters at Aiud)
3. Plasa Ighiu (headquarters at Ighiu)
4. Plasa Ocna Mureș (headquarters at Ocna Mureș)
5. Plasa Sebeș (headquarters at Sebeș)
6. Plasa Teiuș (headquarters at Teiuș)
7. Plasa Vințu de Jos (headquarters at Vințu de Jos)

Subsequently, Plasa Ighiu was abolished and two other districts were established, leaving these:

1. Plasa Abrud (seven villages, headquarters at Abrud)
2. Plasa Aiud (thirty-three villages, headquarters at Aiud)
3. Plasa Alba Iulia (eighteen villages, headquarters at Alba Iulia)
4. Plasa Ocna Mureș (twenty-one villages, headquarters at Ocna Mureș)
5. Plasa Sebeș (twenty-one villages, headquarters at Sebeș)
6. Plasa Teiuș (twenty villages, headquarters at Teiuș)
7. Plasa Vințu de Jos (thirteen villages, headquarters at Vințu de Jos)
8. Plasa Zlatna (eighteen villages, headquarters at Zlatna)

There were four towns: Alba Iulia, Abrud, Aiud, and Sebeș.

According to the census data of 1930, the county's population was 212,749, of which 81.5% were Romanians, 11.3% Hungarians, 3.6% Germans, 1.8% Romanies, 1.4% Jews, as well as other minorities. In the religious aspect, the population consisted of 50.1% Eastern Orthodox, 31.6% Greek Catholics, 7.5% Reformed (Calvinists), 3.4% Roman Catholics, 3.3% Evangelical (Lutherans), 1.2% Unitarians, and other minorities.^[9]

In 1930, the urban population of the county was 33,365, of which 58.8% were Romanians, 23.0% Hungarians, 8.2% Germans, 6.2% Jews, 1.6% Romanies, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was made up of 38.3% Eastern Orthodox, 21.4% Greek Catholic, 14.7% Reformed (Calvinist), 7.2% Evangelical (Lutheran), 6.5% Jewish, as well as other minorities.^[9]

After the 1938 Administrative and Constitutional Reform, this county merged with the counties of Ciuc, Odorhei, Sibiu, Târnava Mare, and Târnava Mică to form Ținutul Mureș. The county was re-established in 1940, but dissolved again in 1950. It was re-established in 1968 in its current borders.

Notable natives include:

• Ion Agârbiceanu
• Lucian Blaga
• Avram Iancu
• Sofronie of Cioara
• Ioan Suciu

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alba County.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Alba County.

• (in Romanian) Alba County on memoria.ro

46°08′00″N 23°32′00″E / 46.1333°N 23.5333°E / 46.1333; 23.5333