TELE- present ORMAN ourselves to our County of …robulna.eu/brains/pdf/EN-13-Teleorman.pdf · still stand there, turned into historical monuments − of Zaharia Stancu in Salcia

The county is situated at the point, where the parallel 44°N and the meridian 250°N intersect. The territory of the county of Teleorman is in the south part of the central Romanian plain, having the Danube in the south, which is the border between Romania and Bulgaria for a distance of 90 km. Within these limits the territory of the county is 5872 km2 or 2,45% of the total national territory. From a territorial-administrative point of view the county of Teleorman has 3 cities: Alexandria − the capital city of the county, Turnu Măgurele and Roșiorii de Vede, two towns, Zimnicea and Videle and 92 rural communes with 231 villages.

The county of Teleorman was established as an administrative unit in 1336, and was organized as a separate county in the times of Mircea cel Bătrân. It was officially recognized for the first time on May 14th 1441 in a document signed by Vlad Dracul. After numerous administrative changes, the county of Teleorman is reorganized in 1968 within new boundaries and with the new administrative center in Alexandria. Settlements in the river valleys along the riversides are found by the rivers Danube and Olt, some of them are Vedea, Teleorman, Călmăţui, Urlui, Glavacioc, etc. In the 14th-18th centuries the economic life in the Teleorman county did not differ much from that of the rest of the Romanian state. At the end of the 18th century the county entered a period of modernisation. Agriculture was still predominant but the towns started to be industrialized. Mills and the first craft workshops opened in Turnu Magurele, Alexandria, Rosiorii de Vede and Zimnicea. In modern times Teleorman, as the rest of the country, has fought for national independence, for liberation and social justice as well as for the rights and the national unity of the Romanian people. This part of the country played crucial role in the revolutions of 1821 and 1848, in the Unification of the principalities in 1859 and in the 1877−1878 Independence War.

Until the last decade of the 20th century the county was considered considered the granary of Romania. In modern times Teleorman has also played a role during the First World war of 1916-1918 for the reintegration of the country, which was realized by the Great Union of December 1st 1918, as well as in the times of World War II (1941-1945) on both the Eastern and the Western fronts. In the inter-war period Teleorman continued producing the biggest crop of wheat throughout the country. The already existing centres for extracting oil, for processing milk and wood, and the mills developed further, while new industries started to imerge. After the Second World War the economy of the county developed after the opening of some new significant companies.

The population of the county of Teleorman in 2002 numbered 397 990 people, 64% of which in the rural areas and only 36% in the cities and towns. 49% of them are men and 51% are women.

The statistical data of the National Statistics Institute show that the density of the population as of July 1st 2010 was 68,7 residents / square kilometer, and the average life expectancy in the Teleorman county for this year was 72, 26 years.

According to the 2002 census the ethnic structure of the population was as follows:

* The percentage proportion was calculated on the bases of the total number of residents given in the first column

Teleorman is a county of rich traditions and cultural sources, and its contribution to the cultural and spiritual heritage of Romania is as big and important as the one of each other part of the country. There are listed more than 56.000 cultural treasures, 7000 of which considered national heritage. There are 570 historical sights in the county, 60 of which are monuments, 316 architectonic monuments, two monument-houses, 8 monuments of art and 15 historical sights in the towns and cities and in the countryside.

The folklore dances of Teleorman are one of the most precious cultural treasures. The children’s ensembles „Muguraşi de Teleorman” and „Florile” that have won numerous national and international competitions and festivals, contribute to the spreading of the Romanian folklore and traditions.

Numberof people421 918

Romanians Roma Othernationalities

96,76% 3,18% 0,06%

TELE-ORMAN

TELE-ORMAN

Let’s meet our neighbours with „Welcome to the

County of Teleorman“

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TELE-ORMAN

TELE-ORMAN

The tourist capital of the county of Teleorman is not impressive; it is predominantly used for traffic of the tourist flow. More picturesque zones are the ones along the riverside of the Danube, near the lakes and by the woods. There are superb conditions for hunting and fishing.

An important lake in the county of Teleorman is the Suhaia Lake, which is a natural lake with a surface of 10,94 square kilometers, a volume of 18 million cubic meters, a length of 5 km and a width of 2 km. Carp fish, pike and sheat-fish live in it. The lake is a favourite place for the migrating birds. The historical monuments in the county of Teleorman demonstrate the continuity and the characteristics of life, habitation and work of the local people, their permanent presence in the fight for the preservation of the defence and the preservation of the Romanian people's unity and self-consciousness and their contribution to the preservation and enrichment of the national heritage.

The Pavliceni Monastery is a historical monument of the Wallachia architecture of the 17th century, and it is distinguished for being an impressive complex situated in the flood area of the Olt River, just in the middle of a centuries old forest, only 34 km away from the former Kaza.

The monument has been erected by Dragomir, great boyar, and his wife, Elena, in 1647. Parts of the inside walls, part of the belfry tower and of the church, connected with a common roof are the only parts to have survived out of the originally built ensemble, which comprised an imposing tower-belfry, massive inside walls, a church in the form of a clover, the abbot's cloister and monastery buildings.

Other tourist sights in the county of Teleorman are: the Danube tourist area, Pasărea, the lakes of Suhaia and Fantana (opportunities for sports fishing), and in Alexandria: the County historical museum, the Cathedral with paintings by Stefan Lucian, the Bust of the ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza, and The museum of the Teleorman heroes of 1941−1945.

Several of the famous Romanian writers were born in the county of Teleorman and their houses still stand there, turned into historical monuments − of Zaharia Stancu in Salcia and the house of Marin Preda in Siliștea-Gumești (Roșiori de Vede), monuments that are worth visiting.

The economy of the county is concentrated mainly in two sectors: agriculture and industry.

Agriculture. The agricultural production of the county is significant, occupying one of the first places in the country concerning the cultivation of the following crops: wheat, rye, barley, corn and sunflower.

The stock-breeding sector is represented by the breeding of cattle, sheep, swine and poultry. The stock-breeding is favoured by an appropriate fodder base and the main products are: pork and beef, eggs, wool, milk.

Fish-farming is practiced along the Danube River and the inside rivers as well as in the lakes and the basins fit specially for it.

Big producers of grain and technical crops are the following companies: S.C. InterAgro S.R.L., SC Boboc SNC, SA Dobroteşti, SA Telegaru Bragadiru, SA Agroind Maldaieni, SA 1907 Slobozia Mandra, and the trade companies engaged in researches in the field of agriculture and of the production of seeds are S.C.D.A.Teleorman, CTS Troianul, Tutunul Tămășești.

Industry. Key branches in the county of Teleorman are: chemical industry, machine building and metal-working, electronics, metallurgy, mining, textile, food-processing and gastronomy, mills and bread-making. As for the main trends in the economical recovery of the county one should record the fact that the industrial production in figures registers a rising trend.

The production of the following goods has increased: edible oils, mixed fodder, beer, biscuits, pasta articles, fertilizers, electro-engines, etc.

The distribution by branches is the following: machines and equipment (31.8%), food (21,8%), metallurgy (11,4%), chemistry (4,8%), textile (3,1%), electric power and fuel (1,9%), petroleum oil and natural gas (1,6%), other branches (23.6%).

The major companies are: The Chemical Works Turnu Măgurele, Electrotel Alexandria, SC Koyo Romania, SC Mopan Turnu Măgurele, S.C. Spicul Rosiorii De Vede, S.C. Electroturris Turnu Măgurele, Comcereal SA, SC Zimtub Zimnicea and SC Lorentz Turnu Măgurele.

Trade and services. There is a well developed trade network in the county of Teleorman, with branches in all settlements of the county, including the villages, comprising more than 2000 shops, 16 of them supermarkets. These are almost all privately owned.

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TELE-ORMAN

TELE-ORMAN

Here are the people, distinguished for their activities in the following fields: literature, music, science, applied arts, theatre, cinema: Anghel Demetrescu − a literature critic, Gerase Dendrino − a composer and conductor, Gala Galaction − an author of novels, short stories and essays, Marin Preda − a writer, Zaharia Stancu − a writer, Nicolae Secăreanu − an actor.

Marin Preda. Life and literature activity.

Marin Preda was born on August 5th 1922 in the village Siliştea Gumeşti, the region of Balaci, the county of Teleorman; he was son of Tudor Călărașu, a „ploughman by profession” and of Joița Preda. The child bore the name of his mother as his parents were not married officially, and this was the only way for Joița Preda to have pension as a soldier’s widow. Joița brought two girls from her first marriage: Maria (called Alboaica − after her husband’s name) and Mița (Tita). Tudor Călărașu also had three girls from his first wife, who had died: Ilie (Paraschiv), Gheorghe (Achim) and Ion (Nilă). Ilinca, Marin and Alexandru are the children born in the family of the spouses. The child Marin Preda spent his childhood in this numerous family, which, despite having two plots of land, had a rather difficult life.

His debut was in 1942, when the Timpul newspaper published his sketch „Părlitu”, on the literature page „Popasuri”, directed by Miron Radu Paraschivescu. His debut at the age of only 20 gave him self-confidence in his gift for writing and he continued publishing sketches and short stories: “The Ghost”, “The Acacia”, “The Horse”, “The Night”, and “In the Fields”.

In September he quit his position as proofreader in Timpul. Then he was employed as a clerk in the Statistical Institute for a short time. On the recommendation of E. Lovinescu, the poet Ion Vinea employed him as a secretary in the office of the Evenimentul Zilei newspaper.

In 1943 "The Hill" was published in the Vremea Războiului newspaper and the sketch “Rotila” in Evenimentul zilei. He then took part in several meetings of the literature circle “Sburătorul” (“The Flier”), led by the critic Eugen Lovinescu, where “The Horse” made quite an impression on the attending people, winning also the respect of Dinu Nicodin, who bought the manuscript for a huge amount of money. The novel was to be included in his debut collection of 1948 „The Meeting between the Lands”. In the short story after which the collection is named, critics immediately recognized the father of the author, who was to be included in the novel “Moromeţii” but with a changed name. In 1980 he published his last novel: „The Most Beloved of the Earthlings” in the publishing house he managed. On May 16th 1980 Marin Preda passed away in the writers’ mansion Mogoşoaia Palace.

Teleorman can have the meaning of mad forest (In Turkish: deli orman). The oldest Oak tree in Romania survived out of the old Wild forest, in the village of Plopi in the north of the county, until June 17th 2012, when a heavy storm uprooted it. It is also possible that Teleorman means „Koumanian forest” or „the forest of the Koumanians”, if one take in consideration the fact that among the names of the Koumanian population one can also meet the less known „tele”. It is supposed that the name was kept from the Koumanians from the times, when the territories of the future principalities of Moldova and Țara Românească could be found in some Middle Ages chronicles and documents under the name "Black Koumania".

Noblemen’s families from Teleorman

The Balaceni family has lived here for more than seven centuries. According to the non-written history of the Balaceni family, the first member of it was a prince from Balaci, Teleorman. Being founders of churches −they have built 16 sanctuaries −and intelligent people, some of them spendthrifts, the Balaceni played a crucial role for the fate of Muntenia. The Prahova branch of the family mentions Emanoil (Manolache) Bălăceanu, who established a “Fourieristic colony” on his land in Scaieni, which is the first socialist experiment in Romania.

The Scaieni property from Prahova was received as a dowery by Elena Greceanu, when she married Atanasie Balaceanu. Their son, Manolache, was an educated person, with a library full of books in Greek, Latin and French.

It is supposed that the son read the works of the socialists-utopists, particularly those of Saint-Simon and Charles Fourier, and embraced their ideas. A non-conformist, an „enthusiastic dreamer, who didn’t live in the real world”, as Ion Ghica described him, of wild nature, intemperate in his words and deeds, Manolache Bălăceanu distinguishes himself in the historical chronicles as founder, together with his friend Teodor Diamant, of the Phalanstery of Scaieni on March 10th 1835, which was named „The Agricultural and crafts community”. In Paris Teodor Diamant became the friend of Charles Fourier, and after his return he was obsessed by the idea of establishing a „Phalanstery” after the model invented by the French utopist. The only one, who agreed to offer his property for the realization of this experiment, was Manolache Bălăceanu, although he was greatly indebted at that time.

“The Colony” that the two men established, was adapted to the Romanian reality and thus was not an exact copy of the model invented by Fourier. Legally, the colony existed on the grounds of a contract for granting on lease, concluded between the first 10 members (“spouses”) and the owner of the property Em. Bălăceanu, who was founder and director of the “Community”. Not long after that the Phalanstery of Scaieni was dissolved. With its closure all the constructions and farm buildings disappeared.

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