Location of Bistrița-Năsăud County
Tourist Map of Bistrița-Năsăud County
Colibita Lake
The Tower of the Evangelical Church
Dracula Castle Hotel
On March 25, 2016, Hunan Province forged friendly ties with Bistrița-Năsăud County of Romania
I. General Overview
Located in northern Romania, Bistrița-Năsăud County covers an area of 5,355 square kilometres and had a population of 276,077 as of January 2021, with 39.2% residing in urban areas and 60.8% in rural areas.
Bistrița City, the county capital, serves as a pivotal economic, cultural and administrative hub. Năsăud City is an ancient cultural centre renowned for its textile and plastic industries. Beclean City functions as a key railway junction famous for food processing and metallurgy. Sângeorz-Băi is a popular tourist and resort destination featuring curative mineral hot springs.
The county enjoys convenient transportation with several major national highways running through its territory. In terms of railways, Beclean, Saratel and Salva are vital transportation hubs. For air travel, two nearby international airports are accessible: Cluj-Napoca Airport (about 125 kilometres away) and Târgu Mureș Airport (about 100 kilometres away).
II. Geographical Features
Boasting varied and complex landforms, the county resembles a vast natural amphitheatre on the Romanian Plain, consisting mainly of three types of terrain. Surrounding the county are mountainous areas formed by the northern and central ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. Hilly lands, the second major landform, lie mostly in the central and western parts, accounting for two-thirds of the total territory. A complete river system centred on the Mureș River runs across the whole county.
It has a temperate continental climate with seasonal varied precipitation, whose annual average of 630 millimetres is higher than Romania’s national average. The forest coverage rate reaches 35.7%. The largest forest areas are concentrated in Rodna (around 30.9%), Năsăud (around 24.9%) and Bargau (around 15.1%), jointly taking up two-thirds of the total forested land.
III. Economic Profile
As of 2015, the GDP of Bistrița-Năsăud County stood at 1.868 billion US dollars, with a per capita GDP of 6,723 US dollars.
1. Industry
Its major industrial sectors include the manufacture of automotive wires, cables, insulated and non-insulated conductors; automotive aluminium heat exchangers and vehicle batteries; machinery, excavators, environmental protection equipment, steel structures, steel wires and related products, galvanized steel strips as well as complex welded mechanical structures; production of PVC fittings, pipes and components, polyethylene pipes for water and gas delivery, and polyethylene packaging products.
It also covers timber processing including furniture and wooden prefabricated houses, production of acrylic yarn, knitwear and textiles, sandwich panels and steel structures, food manufacturing such as bread and pasta, dairy and meat processing, as well as construction and installation.
2. Agriculture
The county has 298,922 hectares of agricultural land, making up 55.8% of its total territory. Most farmlands are privately owned and dominated by pastures and grasslands. Local agriculture is dominated by animal husbandry, and the majority of arable land is in the southern part. Local enterprises mainly process and trade agricultural and sideline products including dairy products, meat products, bread and flour, and make fresh natural fruit juice from local fruits.
3. Commerce, Service Industry & Tourism
Main export commodities include industrial equipment, textiles and textile products, timber products such as furniture, plastic goods, live livestock and animal by-products.
The service industry is mainly composed of industrial services, construction, transportation, community services, postal services, radio and television, as well as banking and financial services, most of which are operated by individual businesses and private enterprises.
Endowed with superior natural conditions and well-equipped facilities, the county abounds in tourism resources with a well-developed yet partially untapped tourism industry. Its mountainous areas are ideal for leisure, treatment, rehabilitation sightseeing and outdoor sports.
