"Pietros" means "stony, rocky" in Romanian. The city of Petroșani was founded in the 17th century (around 1640) with the name Petrozsény. In 1720, an Austrian cartographer mentions that the entire Jiu Valley was intensely populated and settlements could be seen from one end to the other.
At the 1818 census, Petroșani had 233 inhabitants, while the entire Valley counted 2,550. During this time, the main activity of the people was shepherding and no urban settlement had appeared yet. Around 1840, coal surface mining began in Petroșani, Vulcan, and Petrila.
After Romania joined the Allies of World War I in 1916, Romanian troops attacked the town during the Battle of Transylvania. A battalion of miners defended Petroșani in a last stand battle, refusing to give up the town. The Romanian occupation, however, did not last long: the united Austro-Hungarian and German troops regained control of the town shortly, in which guerrilla warfare, led by the local Viktor Maderspach, played an important role.
The population experienced massive growth only in the 20th century during the communist government, as many workers were brought in from other parts of the country.
As other cities from the Jiu Valley, throughout the second half of the 19th century and most of the 20th century, most activities in the city revolved around the mines. But after the fall of the communist regime, many mines were closed, and the city, just like the whole valley, was forced to diversify the economy. This has also led to a significant population decline: Petroșani is one of the Romanian cities which has experienced the fastest population loss from the 1990s onwards.[4]
Geography
Petroșani is located in the Jiu Valley, which is the entrance to the Retezat National Park and provides access to the Vâlcan, Parâng, and Retezat mountains. The city administers four villages: Dâlja Mare (Nagydilzsa), Dâlja Mică (Kisdilzsa), Peștera (Zsupinyászuvölgy) and Slătinioara (Szlatinova községrész).
Landmarks
Sfinții Arhangeli Church ("Holy Archangels Church"), built in the 18th century.
The Jiul Shopping Center, re-opened in December 2007 after renovation, initially built in the early 1980s
Social events
The following social events take place in Petroșani:
the Dramatic Theater offers a wide variety of performance every week
the annual international folklore festival
the Folk Music Festival Cântecul Adâncului... ("Song of the Deep")
artistic summer camps organized by the Petroșani University
art, numismatic and caricatures exhibitions
piano and violin recitals, offered by the Music School
the Petroșani Days festival, usually organized in autumn
the annual Underground Valley Graffiti Fest
Demographics
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1850
581
—
1880
2,096
+260.8%
1900
7,765
+270.5%
1910
12,193
+57.0%
1930
15,405
+26.3%
1948
14,138
−8.2%
1956
23,052
+63.0%
1966
35,187
+52.6%
1977
40,664
+15.6%
1992
52,390
+28.8%
2002
45,447
−13.3%
2011
34,331
−24.5%
2021
31,044
−9.6%
Source: Census data
In 1850, Petroșani was a small village, the vast majority of its 581 inhabitants being Romanian.[5]
According to the 1910 census, from 12,193 inhabitants 7,748 (63.54%) were Hungarian, 3,250 Romanian (26.65%) and 831 (6.82%) German.[5] At the 2002 census, 83.3% of the city's inhabitants were Romanian Orthodox, 7.2% Roman Catholic, 3.7% Reformed, 2.2% Pentecostal, 0.8% Greek-Catholic, and 0.9% belonged to another religion. At the 2011 census, 90.59% of inhabitants were Romanians, 6.54% Hungarians, 1.82% Roma, and 0.35% Germans. At the 2021 census, Petroșani had a population of 31,044.[6]