| Bacău County | |
| Native Name: | Județul Bacău |
| Settlement Type: | County |
| Shield Link: | Coat of arms of Bacău County |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Development region1 |
| Subdivision Name1: | Nord-Est |
| Subdivision Type2: | Historic region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Western Moldavia |
| Subdivision Type3: | Capital city (Reședință de județ) |
| Subdivision Name3: | Bacău |
| Government Type: | County Council |
| Leader Party: | PSD |
| Leader Title: | President of the County Council |
| Leader Title1: | Prefect2 |
| Area Total Km2: | 6621 |
| Area Rank: | 14th in Romania |
| Coordinates: | 46.42°N 26.78°W |
| Population Rank: | 9th in Romania |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | EET |
| Utc Offset: | +2 |
| Timezone Dst: | EEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +3 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal Code |
| Postal Code: | 60wxyz3 |
| Area Code: | +40 x344 |
| Blank Name: | Car Plates |
| Blank Info: | BC5 |
| Blank1 Name: | GDP |
| Blank1 Info: | US$3.495 billion (2015) |
| Blank2 Name: | GDP per capita |
| Blank2 Info: | US$5,672 (2015) |
| Footnotes: | 1The development regions of Romania have no administrative role and were formed in order to manage funds from the European Union. 2As of 2007, the Prefect is not a politician, but a public functionary who is not allowed to be a member of a political party, and is banned from engaging in any political activity in the first six months after the resignation (or exclusion) from the public functionary corps. 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 utility vehicles, ATVs, etc.), and the ones used outside the county |
| Website: | County Council County Prefecture |
Bacău County (pronounced as /ro/) is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania.
This county has a total area of .
In the western part of the county there are mountains from the Eastern Carpathian group. Here, along the valleys of the Oituz River and Trotuș River, there are two important links between Moldavia and Transylvania. On the East side, the heights decrease and the lowest point can be found on the Siret River valley which crosses the county from North to South down the middle. On the East side there is the Moldavian Plateau crossed by many small rivers.
Bears, wolves, foxes, wild boars, and squirrels inhabit Bacău County's mountains, particularly in its rural Slănic-Moldova region; the remnants of the local deer are preserved in Mănăstirea Cașin.[1]
The county of Bacău was one of the most industrialized regions in the communist period and it remained Moldavia's most important industrial center ever since. There are two large oil refineries at Onești and Dărmănești. Following the collapse of the communist regime, Bacău continued to be the region's most important GDP supplier, but the county became more famous for the controversial figures involved in the local economy than for its performance.
The predominant industries in the county are:
In Bacău County there are important reserves of oil and salt. Also coal is exploited.
The main tourist destinations in the county are:
| Year | County population[2] | Romanians | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 414,996 | ||||
| 1956 | 507,937 | ||||
| 1966 | 598,321 | ||||
| 1977 | 667,791 | ||||
| 1992 | 737,512 | ||||
| 2002 | 706,623 | 113 / km2 | 97.5% | 1.7% | 0.7% |
| 2011[3] | 616,168 | 93 / km2 | 96.1% | 1.7% | 0.68% |
| 2021 | 601,387 | 91 / km2 |
Some estimates put the total number of Csángós at around 70,000 in 1987.[4]
The Bacău County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections, consists of 36 councillors, with the following party composition:[5]
| Party | Seats | Current County Council | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party (PSD) | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| National Liberal Party (PNL)-Save Romania Union (USR) Alliance | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| People's Movement Party (PMP) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| PRO Romania (PRO) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
Bacău County has 3 municipalities, 5 towns, and 85 communes
Bacău became famous after electing Ilie Ilașcu of the Greater Romania Party as their Senator, while he was held in prison in Transnistria.
| Official Name: | Județul Bacău |
| Settlement Type: | County (Județ) |
| Subdivision Type2: | Historic region |
| Subdivision Type3: | Capital city (Reședință de județ) |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Title2: | Ceased to exist |
| Area Total Km2: | 4410 |
| Population As Of: | 1930 |
| Population Total: | 260781 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Utc Offset: | +2 |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +3 |
Between the world wars, Bacău County had a different territorial extent. The county was located in the east central part of Greater Romania, in the center of Moldavia. Its territory included the central part of the current Bacău County. It bordered on the west with the counties of Trei Scaune and Ciuc, in the north with Neamț and Roman counties, in the east with the counties of Tutova and Tecuci, and in the south with Putna County.
The county was originally divided into five districts (plăși):[6]
Subsequently, two more districts were established:
According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 260,781, comprising 88.6% Romanians, 5.3% Jews, 3.3% Hungarians, as well as other minorities.[7] From the religious point of view, 75.8% were Eastern Orthodox, 18.1% Roman Catholics, 5.5% Jewish, as well as other minorities.[8]
In 1930, the county's urban population was 50,342, of which 70.1% were Romanians, 23.9% were Jews, 2.2% were Hungarians, as well as other minorities. From a religious point of view, the urban population consisted of 64.9% Eastern Orthodox, 24.4% Jewish, 9.3% Roman Catholic, as well as other minorities.