Negrești-Oaș (; , Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a town in northwestern

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 ...

, in the county of

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; ; ; or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the region of Maramureș, broadly part of Transylvania ...

. Two villages, Luna (''Lunaforrás'') and Tur (''Túrvékonya''), are administered by the town. The town is the capital of the

Țara Oașului Țara Oașului, lit. 'Oaș Country' in Romanian language, Romanian () is an cultural area, ethnocultural and historical region of Romania located in the north-east part of Satu Mare County, from both Satu Mare and Baia Mare. The total area is abo ...

ethnocultural region.

Geography

Negrești-Oaș is situated at an altitude of , on the banks of the Tur River. It is located in the northeastern part of the county, on the border with

Maramureș County Maramureș County () is a county (județ) in Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian as Мараморо́щ ...

, near the Ukrainian border. The town lies at a distance of east of the county seat,

, and about the same distance north of

Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; ; ; ) is a Municipiu, city along the Săsar, Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramureș, a subregion of Transylvania. It is situated about from Buchare ...

and southwest of

Sighetu Marmației Sighetu Marmației (, also spelled ''Sighetul Marmației''; or ''Siget''; , ; ; ), until 1960 Sighet, is a city in Maramureș County near the Iza River, in northwestern Romania. Geography Sighetu Marmației is situated along the Tisa river o ...

. The town is traversed by

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

, which starts in

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

, runs through

Carei Carei (; , ; /, , ) is a municipiu, city in Satu Mare County, northwestern Romania, near the border with Hungary. The city administers one village, Ianculești (). Geography The municipality of Carei is situated in the north-west of Romania, aw ...

, Satu Mare, and Negrești-Oaș, then crosses the

Inner Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya S ...

at the

Huta Pass Huta Pass (elevation ) is a pass in the Oaș Mountains of the Inner Eastern Carpathians in northern Romania. The pass connects the counties of Maramureș and Satu Mare. The Huta Pass is traversed by national road , which starts in Sighetu Marma� ...

, and ends in Sighetu Marmației.

Population

At the 2021 census, Negrești-Oaș had a population of 14,616. At the 2011 census, there were 11,867 people living within the town; of those, 95% were ethnic

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, while 2.9% were ethnic

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

and 1.9%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. Furthermore, 72.4% were

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

, 12.6%

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

, 4.5%

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

, 3.7%

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 3.4%

Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...

, and 1.6%

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

Natives

* Stelian Baltă, entrepreneur and tech investor * Oana Gregory (born 1996), actress *

Mihai Ștețca Mihai Doru Ștețca (born 7 March 1981) is a Romanian former association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper, currently goalkeeping coach at Liga I club CFR Cluj. Honours ;FCM Târgu Mureș *Liga I ...

(born 1981), footballer

Gallery

File:Port oșenesc.jpeg, Local boys in traditional costume File:Râul Tur, primăvara 2013.jpeg, The river Tur in Negrești-Oaș near its source

References

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