Ilfov (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈilfov]) is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of Communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, which act like suburbs or satellites of Bucharest. The gentrification of the county is continuing, with many towns in Ilfov, such as Otopeni, having some of the highest GDP per capita levels in the country.
The county has experienced rapid demographic growth in the 21st century, being the fastest growing Romanian county between 2011 and 2021.[3]
The population density is 230.09 per km2. 40% of the population commutes and works in Bucharest, although, in recent years, many industrial plants were built outside Bucharest, in Ilfov county. It has an annual growth of about 4%.
The base occupation used to be the agriculture. Nowadays, due to the economical growth in Bucharest, many companies have opened their offices, production facilities or warehouses in the nearby villages, situated in the Ilfov County, thus making it the most developed county in Romania.
The county has a large surface covered with forests and also due to its lakes, it is a frequent week-end and holiday destinations for the inhabitants of Bucharest.
Most of today's Ilfov County used to be covered by Codrii Vlăsiei, a thick forest, but there were several Dacian settlements, most important being Argedava, on the right bank of the Argeș River in what is now Popești, which was the capital of king Burebista.
The thick forests were useful for retreat during the migration age because they were not easy to cross on horseback. In fact, the name of the forest means "the Forests of the Vlachs" (Romanians), a name given by the Slavs who inhabited the nearby plains.
The county was named after the Ilfov River and it appears for the first time in a 1482 donation act of voivode Vlad Călugărul to the monastery of Snagov. In earliest documents, it was known as Elhov. The name is of Slavic origin (еlьха, alder; -ov, possessive suffix), referring to a river which flowed through an alder forest.[8]
The county has 8 towns and 32 communes. The largest settlements by population are Popești-Leordeni, Voluntari, Chiajna, Bragadiru, Pantelimon, Buftea, Otopeni.[9] These are the only settlements with more than 20.000 residents. Unlike most other areas of Romania, the population in Ilfov County is increasing, as many of the settlements here are seen as suburbs of Bucharest and are increasingly attracting upper-class families. At the 2011 census, 43% of the county's population was defined as urban.[10]
Popești-Leordeni is the largest settlement in Ilfov county, with a population of 53,431 at the 2021 census (representing an increase of 31,536 people since 2011, this being the largest population increase of any settlement in Romania between 2011 and 2021).[11]
Voluntari is the second largest settlement, with a population of 47,366 at the 2021 census.[12] It has experienced rapid population growth in recent years. There were serious debates about the city level awarded to Voluntari in 2004, as it is alleged that it was given in regard to the city's political affiliation, rather than population, development or any other objective features. Despite this, Voluntari did have a population of 30,000 at that time, and many other localities with this population have been given city-status in the past.
Otopeni was transformed into a town under the communist regime, as part of Nicolae Ceaușescu's systematization policy, with semidetached houses being replaced by four-storey blocks of flats.[13]
Before 1972, Ilfov County used to be one of the largest counties of Romania, but parts of it were added to neighbouring counties and nowadays it is the smallest (excluding the city of Bucharest, which has a special status). Between 1981 and 1997, it was called "Sectorul Agricol Ilfov" and it was not a separate county, but subordinate to the capital.
Ilfov County is the only county that has its capital outside of its territorial area, in Bucharest, which is not part of the actual county. Initially, right after the 1968 reform of the public administration in communist Romania, Ilfov was a larger county, that comprised its present-day territory, the entire Giurgiu County, Bucharest and the western parts of Călărași and Ialomița counties. Later during the communist period, its territory was reduced to its current size and it became one of the sectors of Bucharest. It became again a county in 1997, when its capital was designated to be Bucharest.[14][15]
However, in 2005, some plans were proposed that would merge Bucharest with 90 other communes located to up to 40 km outside the city, in Ilfov County and other nearby counties into a "metropolitan area" of Bucharest, similar to Greater London.[16] As of 2011, these plans did not happen, while a debate on the general administrative division of Romania was under way.
Historical county
County in Romania
Județul Ilfov
County (Județ)
View of the center of Bucharest in 1928. Bucharest was the capital of the Kingdom of Romania and of Ilfov County in the interwar period.
The county included the cities of Bucharest and Oltenița, and originally seven administrative districts (plăși):[17]
Plasa Băneasa, headquartered at Băneasa (with 39 villages)
Plasa Bolintin, headquartered at Bolintin (with 38 villages)
Plasa Budești, headquartered at Budești (with 31 villages)
Plasa Fierbinți, headquartered at Fierbinți (with 51 villages)
Plasa Oltenița, headquartered at Oltenița (with 25 villages)
Plasa Sărulești, headquartered at Sărulești (with 54 villages)
Plasa Vidra, headquartered at Vidra (with 28 villages)
Subsequently, the county established three more districts:
Plasa Buftea, headquartered at Buftea (with 50 villages)
Plasa Domnești, headquartered at Domnești (with 44 villages)
Plasa Pantelimon, headquartered at Pantelimon (with 43 villages)
Population
According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 999,562 inhabitants, ethnically divided as follows: 84.3% Romanians, 7.0% Jews, 2.5% Hungarians, 1.7% Romanies, 1.5% Germans, as well as other minorities.[18] From the religious point of view, the population was 84.5% Eastern Orthodox, 7.7% Jewish, 3.7% Roman Catholic, 1.3% Greek Catholic, 1.2% Lutheran, as well as other minorities.[19]
Urban population
In 1930, the county's urban population was 649,429 inhabitants, comprising 77.7% Romanians, 10.8% Jews, 3.7% Hungarians, 2.2% Germans, 1.2% Romanis, as well as other minorities.[18] From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed of 76.4% Eastern Orthodox, 11.8% Jewish, 5.6% Roman Catholic, 2.0% Greek Catholic, 1.9% Lutheran, 1.1% Reformed, as well as other minorities.[19]
References
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