Zlatna (; ; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Alba County Alba County () is a county (județ) of Romania located in the historic region of Transylvania. Its capital is Alba Iulia, a city with a population of 63,536. Name "Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of the ...

, central

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

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 ...

. The town administers eighteen villages: Botești (''Golddorf''; ''Botesbánya''), Budeni (''Higendorf''), Dealu Roatei (''Rotberg''), Dobrot, Dumbrava, Feneș (''Wildendorf''; ''Fenes''), Galați (''Galz''; ''Ompolygalac''), Izvoru Ampoiului (''Gross-Ompeil''; ''Nagyompoly''), Pârău Gruiului (''Gruybach''), Pătrângeni (''Peters''; ''Ompolykövesd ''), Pirita (''Pfirth''), Podu lui Paul (''Pauls''), Runc (''Goldrücken''), Ruși (''Rusch''), Suseni (''Oberdorf''), Trâmpoiele (''Trempojel''; ''Kénesd''), Valea Mică (''Kleinwasser''), and Vâltori (''Waldrücken''; ''Vultur'').

Geography

Zlatna is located north-west of the county seat,

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

, on the border with

Hunedoara County Hunedoara County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva, Romania, Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as , ...

. Situated in the Zlatna depression, between the Metaliferi Mountains and the Trascău Mountains, the town lies at the confluence of the Ampoi River with Valea Morilor creek.

History

A gold mining settlement has existed in the area since Roman times, when it was known as a

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

under the name of ''Ampellum''. The name ''Zlatna'' (derived from the Slavic term for gold) was first recorded in a 1347 document. In 1387, it was awarded town status. During 1619-1620 Gabriel Bethlen, brought to Zlatna a few hundred German and Slovak settlers for mining work. Tellurium was first discovered in a Zlatna mine in 1782 by Austrian mineralogist Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein. Zlatna regained its town status in 1968, after a time when it was officially a commune.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, Zlatna had 7,182 inhabitants; 89.59% of those were

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, ...

and 4.59% Roma. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 6,652, of which 85.6% were Romanians and 5.11% Roma.

Natives

* Cornelia Emilian (1840–1910), journalist and women's rights activist * László Lukács (1850–1932), Hungarian politician * Andrei Mărginean (born 2001), footballer * (1926–2010), film and theater director * Virgil Popescu (1916–1989), footballer

Climate

Zlatna has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Cfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Points of interest

*A high chimney, interconnected with a smoke duct with a copper

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron, copper, silver, tin, lead and zin ...

(not in use any more) in the town.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Alba County Localities in Transylvania Towns in Romania Roman sites in Romania Mining communities in Romania Monotowns in Romania Place names of Slavic origin in Romania