Moneasa () is a commune in

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( județ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Its administrative surface stretches over and it is composed of two villages, Moneasa and Rănușa (''Kisróna'').

Geography

The commune is located in the northeastern part of Arad County, on the border with

Bihor County Bihor County (, ) is a county (județ) in western Romania. With a total area of , Bihor is Romania's 6th largest county geographically and the main county in the historical region of Crișana. Its capital city is Oradea (Nagyvárad). Toponymy ...

. It lies on the banks of the

Moneasa River The Moneasa is a river in Bihor County and Arad County, Romania. At its confluence with the river Dezna in the village Dezna, the river Sebiș Sebiș () is a town in Arad County, western Transylvania, Romania. Situated from the county capital, ...

, at the foot of the

Codru-Moma Mountains The Codru-Moma Mountains (Munții Codru-Moma) are a part of the Apuseni Mountains. They are specifically located in the Arad and Bihor counties, within the Western Romanian Carpathians of Crișana, Romania Romania is a country located at ...

. The nearest town is

Sebiș Sebiș () is a town in Arad County, western Transylvania, Romania. Situated from the county capital, Sebiș is one of the most important urban centres in the Crișul Alb valley. It administers three villages: Donceni (''Dancsfalva''), Prunișor ...

, to the southwest; the county seat, Arad, is away.

Population

According to the 2002 census, the population of the commune counts 1,056 inhabitants, out of which 97.7% are Romanians, 1.7% are Hungarians and 0.6% are of other or undeclared nationalities.

History

Traces of inhabitance on this area dating back to the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

and

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

have been found in the caverns called "Hoanca" and "Izoi". The first documentary record of Moneasa dates back to 1597, while Rănușa was first mentioned in 1556.

Economy

Moneasa is one of the county's communes that have a high economic potential. The exploitation of black and red marble, the springs of mineral waters with bicarbonate (calcic, sodic, oligomineral, and semi-thermal), valorized already in 1866, lumbering and conversion of timber, as well as the exploitation of other touristic resources are the mainstays of the local economy.

Tourism

The commune's primary touristic place is the Moneasa health resort. It is working all year round and it is recommended for treatment of different diseases, mainly rheumatic ones, as well as digestive and gynaecological troubles. The cavern named "''Valea Morii''", a natural reservation of national interest, along with the one called "''Liliecilor''", the water fall "''Boroaia''", the "''Momuța''" peak and the ruins of the blast furnace are the top sights of the commune.

References

*România ghid turistic, Editura Sport-turism, 1983 *Râurile României, București, 1971 Moneasa spa building

Communes in Arad County Localities in Crișana Spa towns in Romania Ski areas and resorts in Romania {{arad-geo-stub