Hunedoara

Hunedoara (Romanian: [huneˈdo̯ara] ; German: Eisenmarkt; Hungarian: Vajdahunyad [ˈvɒjdɒhuɲɒd] ) is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boș (Bós), Groș (Grós), Hășdat (Hosdát; Hochstätten), Peștișu Mare (Alpestes), and Răcăștia (Rákosd). The city includes the most important Gothic-style secular building in Transylvania: the Hunyad Castle, which is closely connected with the Hunyadi family. The castle was destroyed by fire five times, but underwent many reconstructions from Austro-Hungarian and later Romanian authorities. Besides the castle, the town developed as a production center for iron and a market for the mountain regions nearby. During the 20th century, Hunedoara's population increased to 86,000 inhabitants. The city contained the largest steel works in Romania (until Galați took the lead), but activity gradually diminished after the Romanian revolution of 1989 due to the loss of the market. This was a blow to the overall prosperity of the town, which is now recovering through new investments. The population consists of a Romanian majority, with Hungarians and Roma as the most important minorities. The city contains numerous parks, with poplars and chestnut trees flanking the streets. There are many tourist attractions, including a large dam with tourist facilities, located in the mountains a few kilometers from the city.