Onești (Romanian pronunciation: [oˈneʃtʲ]; Hungarian: Ónfalva), formerly known as Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej,[3] is a city in Bacău County, Romania, with a population of 34,005 inhabitants as of 2021. It is situated in the historical region of Moldavia.
Onești | |
|---|---|
View from Perchiu Hill Borzești Church Heroes Monument Salt Crystal artesian well Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location in Bacău County | |
  Onești Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates: 46°15′31″N 26°46′09″E / 46.25861°N 26.76917°E | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Bacău |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2024–2028) | Adrian Jilcu[1] (PSD) |
Area | 52.48 km2 (20.26 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 210 m (690 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 398 m (1,306 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 180 m (590 ft) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[2] | 34,005 |
| • Density | 648.0/km2 (1,678/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 601003–601159 |
| Area code | (+40) 0234 |
| Vehicle reg. | BC |
| Website | www |
Administratively, the villages of Slobozia and Borzești form part of Onești.
History
edit
The locality was documentary attested as a village on 14 December 1458. In 1952, the communist authorities decided to build a large petrochemical industrial platform (Borzești Petrochemical Plant) and a new related city in the area of Onești and Borzești villages. Borzești, according to legend, was the birthplace of Stephen III of Moldavia. It is the site of the Borzești Church, which was built on his orders in 1493–1494.[4]
At the death of the Communist leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej in March 1965, Onești was renamed Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, but the name was changed back in 1990[3] shortly after the Romanian Revolution.
Above the borough Malu, on the right-hand side of the river Cașin, were discovered archaeological fragments from a settlement dating from the Neolithic Age.[5]
Demographics
edit- Romanians (79.8%)
- Other ethnicities (0.49%)
- Unknown (19.8%)
- Orthodox (69.4%)
- Roman-Catholics (7.87%)
- Other religions (2.00%)
- Unknown (20.7%)
At the 2011 census, Onești had 39,172 inhabitants, of which 90.29% were Romanians, 1.39% Roma, 0.53% Hungarians, and 0.13% Greeks. According to the 2021 census, the population of the municipality of Onești amounts to 34,005 inhabitants, a decrease compared to the previous census in 2011, when 39,172 inhabitants were recorded. The majority of the residents are Romanian (79.75%), while for 19.77%, their ethnic affiliation is unknown. From a confessional point of view, the majority of inhabitants are Orthodox (69.43%), with a Roman Catholic minority (7.87%), and for 20.69%, their confessional affiliation is unknown.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 3,828 | — |
| 1956 | 11,253 | +194.0% |
| 1966 | 35,663 | +216.9% |
| 1977 | 41,738 | +17.0% |
| 1992 | 58,810 | +40.9% |
| 2002 | 51,681 | −12.1% |
| 2011 | 39,172 | −24.2% |
| 2021 | 34,005 | −13.2% |
| Source: Census data | ||
Economy
editOnești is an industrial city with a well-developed economic structure centered around several industrial branches, particularly petrochemical processing on the Borzești Petrochemical Platform. On the city's industrial
_serele_Borzesti.jpg)
platform, garment manufacturing, woodworking, the food industry, and other services are other important branches.
In 1842, a mill was built, worked by the slaves of the landowner Alecu Aslan, followed later by other small watermills. There were also two boyar distilleries for manufacturing grain brandy, as well as two blacksmith shops and two inns for marketing the alcoholic beverages produced in the area.[6]
Chemical and Petrochemical Industry
- RAFO Onești (former Refinery No. 10 Onești), defunct
- CAROM (former Onești Synthetic Rubber and Petrochemical Plant), defunct
- Chimcomplex (former Borzești Chemical Plant)
- Aroma Rise (former Elon), synthetic perfumes and food flavorings
Electric and Thermal Energy Industry
- Sucursala Electrocentrale Borzești (Borzești Power Plant Branch), including the Borzești Power Station and Borzești II Power Station[7]
- Transelectrica, via the Gutinaș 400/220/110 kV transformer substation
- Termon
Machine Building Industry
- UTON (former Borzești Chemical Equipment Enterprise, established in 1974),[8] defunct unit
- GOSPOMAS (former Borzești Manufacturing Center, former CRCCFMS, spun off from the Bacău Agricultural Mechanization Station (SMA) in 1983),[9] an enterprise for agricultural machinery, hydraulic pumps, and auto parts, defunct unit
Textile Industry
- MODEON (former garment factory, established in 1976),[10] clothing factory operating under the lohn (cut-make-trim) system
- „Flacăra” SOCOM (National Union of Handicraft Cooperatives), a handicraft cooperative society
- Maremod
- Autoliv
Food Industry
- Croco
- Albrau Group
- Panimon (former bakery factory, established in 1978),[2] bakery products factory
- Agricultorul Group
- The Milk Factory, defunct
- SERON and SERE ONEȘTI (former Onești Greenhouses and Borzești Greenhouses), vegetable greenhouses established in 1963.[11] The greenhouses inside the city were transformed into a Pa&Co factory, while those on Red Hill were demolished.
- The Ice and Juice Factory, defunct
Wood Industry
- Barlinek (former Forestry Exploitation and Transport Enterprise, privatized as Diana Forest), solid and engineered wood flooring factory
- Rich Forest, logging/wood exploitation (Chinese citizen Li Ning, the company's director, was declared undesirable for 10 years in December 2012 along with other compatriots due to organized crime offenses).[12]
- Pa&Co International, doors and engineered wood flooring factories
- Smart Wood (former Pa&Co flooring), wooden sticks factory[13]
Construction Industry
- Tehnocin (former Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Industrial Construction Trust), defunct
- MECON (former Heavy Equipment and Transport Enterprise for Construction, IUGTC/SUGTC), defunct
- Energoconstrucția, defunct
- Confer Group, civil engineering works
- DMC AG, civil and industrial construction
- Gironap
Glass Industry
- SART GLASS (former glass factory), established in 1973.[14] Defunct.
- Fredi
Geography
editOnești is located in the Tazlău-Cașin Depression of the Eastern Carpathians at an average altitude of 210 metres (690 ft).[15] It lies at the confluence of the rivers Trotuș, Cașin, Oituz, and Tazlău, some 60 km (37 mi) southwest of the county capital, Bacău. The city is crossed by the European road E574 and by the national roads DN11A and DN12A that connect it to Bucharest, to the northern part of the country, and to Transylvania. Rail connections are made through the Căile Ferate Române network, and the proposed A13 Brașov–Bacău Motorway will link the city to the rest of Romania's highway network as a second connection to the country's major cities.[16]
Climate
editThe climate of Onești is temperate-continental, with temperatures ranging from -25 °C (though in recent decades this value is rarely recorded) in winter to +35 °C in summer, with an average annual temperature of 9.2°C, and annual precipitation totaling 654 mm. The most frequent winds blow from the west and south-west. The vegetation is specific to the temperate-continental zone: conifers, deciduous trees, and climbing plants, as well as rare plants found in the Perchiu reserve (SCI site), a protected natural area included in the site of community importance - Dealul Perchiu.[17] The microclimate of Onești is significantly shaped by the foehn effect, a consequence of the city's location within the Tazlău-Cașin Depression at the leeward eastern foothills of the Eastern Carpathians. When prevailing westerly air masses ascend the western slopes of the Ciuc and Berzunți mountains, they cool and shed their moisture as precipitation.
The highest recorded temperature is +40.8 °C (105.4 °F), on 5 July 1916, and the lowest is -29.6 °C (−21.3 °F) on 25 January 1942. On the 17th December 1989, Onești recorded a temperature of 23.3 °C (73.9 °F), just 0.1°C lower than Romania's national record of 23.4 °C (74.1 °F), set at Câmpina in 1985.[18][19][20]
| Climate data for Onești (1980–2026) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 20.5 (68.9) |
22.7 (72.9) |
27.2 (81.0) |
31.7 (89.1) |
33.2 (91.8) |
36.3 (97.3) |
40.8 (105.4) |
38.5 (101.3) |
36.6 (97.9) |
32.5 (90.5) |
26.8 (80.2) |
23.3 (73.9) |
40.8 (105.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 4.8 (40.6) |
7.1 (44.8) |
11.9 (53.4) |
17.3 (63.1) |
21.9 (71.4) |
27.1 (80.8) |
29.1 (84.4) |
29.4 (84.9) |
24.1 (75.4) |
17.4 (63.3) |
10.2 (50.4) |
6.4 (43.5) |
17.2 (63.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.4 (32.7) |
2.4 (36.3) |
6.5 (43.7) |
11.3 (52.3) |
15.9 (60.6) |
21.1 (70.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.7 (72.9) |
18.0 (64.4) |
11.7 (53.1) |
5.9 (42.6) |
2.6 (36.7) |
11.8 (53.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.1 (24.6) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
1.1 (34.0) |
5.2 (41.4) |
9.9 (49.8) |
15.1 (59.2) |
16.5 (61.7) |
16.1 (61.0) |
11.8 (53.2) |
5.9 (42.6) |
1.6 (34.9) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
6.3 (43.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −29.6 (−21.3) |
−23.0 (−9.4) |
−17.6 (0.3) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
4.8 (40.6) |
7.5 (45.5) |
7.0 (44.6) |
0.5 (32.9) |
−8.2 (17.2) |
−19.9 (−3.8) |
−22.3 (−8.1) |
−29.6 (−21.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 23.6 (0.93) |
17.0 (0.67) |
35.2 (1.39) |
44.2 (1.74) |
81.9 (3.22) |
105.7 (4.16) |
75.2 (2.96) |
67.3 (2.65) |
50.9 (2.00) |
47.6 (1.87) |
40.0 (1.57) |
31.2 (1.23) |
619.8 (24.40) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 4.4 | 4.5 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 10.1 | 10.9 | 8.9 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 5.3 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 81.4 |
| Source: Meteomanz (2014-2026)[21]; Infoclimat (1980-2017)[22] | |||||||||||||
Culture
editSaint Nicholas is the patron saint of the city, whose inhabitants are predominantly Romanian Orthodox. St. Nicholas Day, 6 December, is the municipal day of Onești.[5]
Popular tourist attractions are Perchiu Hill and the Hero Cross from atop the aforementioned hill, the Municipal History Museum, a steel monument dedicated to the Romanian national poet Mihai Eminescu, and the city park.[23]
Administration and politics
editThe municipality of Onești is administered by a mayor and a local council composed of 19 councilors. The mayor, Adrian Jilcu, from the Social Democratic Party, has been in office since 1 November 2024. Following the 2024 local elections, the local council has the following composition by political party:
| Party | Councilors | Council Composition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party | 10 | 10 / 19 | |
| National Liberal Party | 5 | 5 / 19 | |
| Save Romania Union | 2 | 2 / 19 | |
| Alliance for the Union of Romanians | 2 | 2 / 19 |
Mayors
editNotable people
edit- Nadia Comăneci (born 1961), gymnast
- Stephen the Great (born 1433 or 1440), Voivode of Moldavia from 1457 until 1504
- Antonio Andrușceac (born 1967), politician
- Mihail Aslan (born 1857), general in World War I
- Gabriel Bruchental (born 1965), footballer
- Diana Chelaru (born 1993), gymnast
- Daniel Dines (born 1972), entrepreneur
- Teodora Enache (born 1967), jazz singer
- Georgeta Gabor (born 1962), gymnast
- Loredana Groza (born 1970), singer
- Ștefania Jipa (born 2000), handball player
- Gheorghe Maftei (born 1955), weightlifter
- Laura Moise (born 1976), judoka
- Daniel Munteanu (born 1978), football player and manager
- Alexandru Nazare (born 1980), politician
- Ana Maria Pavăl (born 1983), wrestler
- Adrian Rotaru (born 1994), handballer
- Eduard Tismănaru (born 1987), footballer
- Dumitrița Turner (born 1964), artistic gymnast
- Silvia Zarzu (born 1998), artistic gymnast
Twin towns and sister cities
edit
See also
editNotes
edit- ↑ "Conducere Primăria Municipiului Onești". onesti.ro (in Romanian). Onești City Hall. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ↑ "2021 Romanian census". National Institute of Statistics. 1 December 2021.
- 1 2 "Onești | Romania". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ↑ Rozalia & Teodor Verde (July 2003). Monografia Municipiului Onești – în date și evenimente. Onești. p. 12.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - 1 2 "Onesti Online". www.onestionline.ro. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
- ↑ Strategia ..., Primăria Onești, 2016, p. 26
- ↑ Spătaru, Alexandru, Ing. (1983). Centrala Electrică de Termoficare Borzești.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Strategia ..., Primăria Onești, 2016, p. 26
- ↑ Bursa de Valori București, „Raport anual conform Regulamentului CNVM nr. 1/2006 și Legii nr.297/2004, GOSPOMAS SA”, București, 2014, p. 1
- ↑ Strategia ..., Primăria Onești, 2016, p. 26
- ↑ „Revista de horticultură și viticultură”, Volumul 12, Ministerul Agriculturii, Industriei Alimentare și Apelor din Republica Populară Română, București, 1963, p. 9
- ↑ "Directorul firmei Rich Forest din Oneşti, declarat indezirabil de autorităţile române". adevarul.ro (in Romanian). 20 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ↑ "Un angajator din ONEȘTI plătește orele suplimentare cu 200%. Și are LOCURI DE MUNCĂ DISPONIBILE!". Unu pe Trotus (in Romanian). 7 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ↑ "SART GLASS". www.sartglass.ro. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ↑ "Anuarul statistic al județului Bacău" (PDF). INSSE. 2019. p. 27.
- ↑ "Autostrada A13 Sibiu - Brasov - Bacau". www.130km.ro. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ "Dealul Perchiu" (PDF). ananp.gov.ro. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ↑ "climate-data.org, 1999-2019".
- ↑ "Strategia de dezvoltare a orașului Târgu Ocna 2021-2027" (PDF). www.orasul-targuocna.ro. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- ↑ "Relevés météo archivés du dimanche 17 décembre 1989 à Tirgu Ocna - Roumanie | archived weather records in Tirgu Ocna - Infoclimat". www.infoclimat.fr. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
- ↑ https://meteomanz.com/sy3?l=1&ind=15194&m1=07&y1=2014&m2=02&y2=2026
- ↑ https://www.infoclimat.fr/climatologie/annee/1980/tirgu-ocna/valeurs/15194.html
- ↑ "Info Tour. www.infotour.ro. Retrieved 2026-01-23".
- ↑ "Municipiul Onești s-a înfrățit cu orașul Streșeni din Republica Moldova". Timpul (in Romanian). 23 August 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
External links
edit
Media related to Onești at Wikimedia Commons
