General Information

Historical Summary

The first signs of settlement in Vulcan date from 1462, making Vulcan the oldest settlement on West Jiu River. Vulcan was avowed as town in 1954.
The current city of Vulcan was formed from two mountain villages: Crevedia and Vaidei. Next to these villages a small colony sprouted containing workers who served as border guards necessary for the security and the control of the Valcan mountain pass; which was the main custom point towards Tara Ramaneasca, a region to the southeast. . The name of the town is coming from Valcan Passing which is a bond between the Jiu Vallley and the Nord of Oltenia.

On March 5, 1859, "capitanatul minier", an official mining organization, originally acknowledged in document number 543 the first mining area with six plots. After this the region transformed into a Transylvanian "El Dorado", where many people came to get rich. The people who rushed to come here included: Romanians, Germans, Czechs, Italians, Austrians, and Poles, all with the similar goal of becoming rich.

Around 1870 when the Simeria-Petrosani railway was built, because so many people desired to come to this region, the State created a law limiting the number of people who could enter the Valley in an effort to control the influx of immigrants. Not even the cholera epidemic of 1873, which transformed "The Coal Valley" into a "The Crying Valley", could stop newcomers from pouring in to test their luck. New mines continued to open during this era of prosperity.

Demographics

Total population: 32.000

Population structure (by gender):
- Men: 15.402
- Women: 14.798

Population structure (by nationality):
- Romanians: 90%
- Hungarians: 7%
- Gypsies: 1%
- Germans: 0.2%
- Others: 1.8%

Birth rate:
- in 2002: 352 births
- in 2001: 342 births
- in 2002: 302 births

Death rate:
- in 2000: 204 deaths
- in 2001: 239 deaths
- in 2002: 159 deaths

Source: DEEP