Bistrița-Năsăud County Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Bistrița-Năsăud County

Județul Bistrița-Năsăud

County

Colibița Lake, Bistrița-Năsăud County

Coat of arms

Location of Bistrița-Năsăud County in Romania

Country

Romania

Development region¹

Nord-Vest

Historic region

Transylvania

Capital city (Reședință de județ)

Bistrița

Government

• Type

County Board

Area

• Total

5,355 km² (2,068 sq mi)

Area rank

26th in Romania

Population

(1st of December 2021)

• Total

295,988

• Rank

32nd in Romania

• Density

55.273/km² (143.157/sq mi)

Time zone

UTC+2 (EET)

• Summer (DST)

UTC+3 (EEST)

Postal Code

42wxyz³

Area code(s)

+40 x63⁴

Car Plates

BN⁵

GDP

US$1.868 billion (2015)

GDP per capita

US$6,723 (2015)

Website

County Council
County Prefecture

¹The developing regions of Romania have no administrative role, but were formed in order to manage funds from the European Union
² as of 2007, Romanian prefects are not politicians, but public functionaries. They are not allowed political party membership, and are banned from political activity for six months after resigning (or being excluded) from the public functionaries' corps.
³w, x, y, and z are digits that indicate the city, the street, part of the street, or even the building of the address
⁴x is a digit indicating the operator: 2 for the former national operator, Romtelecom, and 3 for the other ground telephone networks
⁵used on both the plates of the vehicles that operate only in the county limits (like utility vehicles, ATVs, etc.), and the ones used outside the county

Bistrița-Năsăud is a county in Romania. It is located in the beautiful region of Transylvania. The main city and capital of this county is Bistrița.

About the Name
Geography of Bistrița-Năsăud
- Neighboring Counties
Population and People
How the County is Governed
Towns and Villages
Famous People from Bistrița-Năsăud
Images for kids
See also

About the Name

In Hungarian, this county is called Beszterce-Naszód megye. In German, it is known as Kreis Bistritz-Nassod. The name is similar to an older county from 1876. This older county was part of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Geography of Bistrița-Năsăud

Bistrița-Năsăud County covers an area of about 5,355 square kilometers. Imagine an area about the size of a small country!

A big part of the county, about one-third, is covered by mountains. These are part of the Eastern Carpathians. Some of these mountains include the Țibleș, Rodna, Bârgău, and Călimani Mountains. The rest of the county is part of the Transylvanian Plateau. This is a high, flat area.

The main river flowing through the county is the Someșul Mare. There is also a large dam and a lake on the Bistrița River.

Neighboring Counties

Bistrița-Năsăud County shares borders with other counties:

To the East, it borders Suceava County.
To the West, it borders Cluj County.
To the North, it borders Maramureș County.
To the South, it borders Mureș County.

Population and People

According to the 2021 census, about 295,988 people live in Bistrița-Năsăud County. A census is like a big count of all the people living in an area. The county's population density is about 55 people per square kilometer. This means there are 55 people for every square kilometer of land.

Most people living here are Romanians. There are also groups of Romani and Hungarians. A small number of Germans, also known as Transylvanian Saxons, live here too.

Ethnic composition of Bistrița-Năsăud County (2021) Romanians (91.63%) Romani (4.11%) Hungarians (4.08%) Germans (Transylvanian Saxons) (0.10%) Others (0.18%)

Religious composition of Bistrița-Năsăud County (2021) Romanian Orthodox (82.45%) Pentecostals (9.04%) Reformed (3.50%) Greek Catholics (1.58%) Roman Catholics (0.88%) Baptists (0.68%) Others (1.44%) Irreligious,atheist and agnostic (0.42%)

The population of the county has changed over the years. Here's how it looked at different times:

Year	County population
1948	233,650
1956	255,789
1966	269,954
1977	286,628
1992	327,238
2002	311,657
2011	277,861
2021	295,988

How the County is Governed

The Bistrița-Năsăud County Council helps run the county. It's like a local government. This council has 30 members, called counsellors. They are chosen in local elections. These counsellors work together to make decisions for the county.

Here's how the seats in the County Council are divided among different political parties:

	Party	Seats	Current County Council
	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	14
	National Liberal Party (PNL)	12
	People's Movement Party (PMP)	4

Towns and Villages

Bistrița-Năsăud County has different types of settlements. These include one municipality, three towns, and 58 communes.

A municipality is usually a larger city.
A town is smaller than a municipality but bigger than a commune.
A commune is a group of villages, often with a main village.

Here are the main towns:

Municipalities
- Bistrița – This is the capital city. About 70,493 people lived here in 2011.
Towns
- Beclean
- Năsăud
- Sângeorz-Băi

Here is a list of the communes in the county:

Communes
- Bistrița Bârgăului
- Braniștea
- Budacu de Jos
- Budești
- Căianu Mic
- Cetate
- Chiochiș
- Chiuza
- Ciceu-Giurgești
- Ciceu-Mihăiești
- Coșbuc
- Dumitra
- Dumitrița
- Feldru
- Galații Bistriței
- Ilva Mare
- Ilva Mică
- Josenii Bârgăului
- Leșu
- Lechința
- Livezile
- Lunca Ilvei
- Maieru
- Matei
- Măgura Ilvei
- Mărișelu
- Miceștii de Câmpie
- Milaș
- Monor
- Negrilești
- Nimigea
- Nușeni
- Parva
- Petru Rareș
- Poiana Ilvei
- Prundu Bârgăului
- Rebra
- Rebrișoara
- Rodna
- Romuli
- Runcu Salvei
- Salva
- Sânmihaiu de Câmpie
- Șieu
- Șieu-Odorhei
- Șieu-Măgheruș
- Șieuț
- Șintereag
- Silivașu de Câmpie
- Spermezeu
- Șanț
- Târlișua
- Teaca
- Telciu
- Tiha Bârgăului
- Uriu
- Urmeniș
- Zagra