Piatra-Olt is a town in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. The town administers five villages: Bistrița Nouă, Criva de Jos, Criva de Sus, Enoșești and Piatra. The town is an important railway station and road intersection.
History
The oldest relics are from the Neolithic, when there was a small settlement. In Antiquity, the local Dacic population built a fortress, Acidava. The Romans conquered the area. The Romans built a road and rebuilt the fortress Acidava. The ruins of the fortress can be seen even today. The area was still inhabited after the retreat of the Roman legios. From the Middle Ages come the first written documents about the villages that now compose the town.
Bistrița Nouă is first attested in 1835. The name comes from the Bistrița Monastery. The land where is the village today was the property of the monastery. The village was also called Fleștenoagele or Fleșcinogele.
Criva, also known as Criva de Jos, was attested on May 26, 1630, as a property of a local boyar, jupan Gorgan biv vel spătar. Part of the village is known as Criva de Sus since 1940. This is the village that hosts the ruins of the Dacic fortress, Acidava.
Enosești, also known as Ienușești, Ienoșești, was officially formed on March 31, 1864, as an independent commune The first notices about the village comes from 1814. This is the village that hosts the Roman fortress Acidava.
Piatra is noticed for the first time on April 14, 1529, as the place where an important boyar, marele ban Pârvu Craioves-cu died. On May 15, 1592, Ștefan Surdu voievod, rooler over Valahia at that time, confirmes that Piatra and several villages around it, are the property of jupânița Neacsa si fiului ei Mihail. Part of the village appear through history as Piatra de Jos and Piatra de Sus.
There are also some village names that are sometimes mentioned, but are no longer used today, like Flestenoaga, Jegălia and Matei Basarab.
In 1878, the railroad Pitești - Vîrciorova was operational and the railway station Piatra Olt was built. This was the beginning of the modern history of the town, as a railway town. Later, other railways were built, along the Olt river. Piatra Olt was officially declared a town in 1989.
Location
The town is situated in the Central-Eastern part of the Romanian Plain, at the eastern border of Oltenia historical provence and in the western part of the Olt County. The nearby towns are in East: Slatina, Pitești ; to West: Balș, Craiova ; to North: Drăgășani, Râmnicu Vâlcea and to South Caracal ) and Corabia ). Note that these are intermediate values between road and railway distances.
General
The main village, Piatra, is placed near the train station and expands to South-East. It is divided into two parts: the eastern part and the western part, near the station, called Gară. Enoșești is placed East from Piatra, on the 64 national road and is the road access way to Piatra. Criva is placed South-East from Piatra and has a small railway station. Bistrița Nouă is at North from Piatra, at 2 km by foot and more than 7 km by road.
Geography
The town is at the North-Eastern end of the Romanați Plain. The average altitude is 100 to 120 meters. Despite the relatively high altitude and a big number of valleys and smooth hills, the aria is very good for agriculture. The town is placed near the Olt River, on a terrace that protects it from floods. There are several dams on the river. There are some other small rivers, that sometimes dry up in summer, like Vaslui and Oltișor. They are all tributaries of the Olt and are formed near Piatra Olt.
Climate
Like all the southern part of Romania, Piatra Olt has a temperate climate. Usually, summers are hot and with little precipitations, while winters have moderate temperatures, with occasional wind intensifications. Sometimes, snow can cause several blockades on the roads and railways.
Demographics
At the 2002 census, 90.6% of inhabitants were Romanians and 9.4% Roma. 97.7% were Romanian Orthodox and 1.6% Seventh-day Adventist. There are ethnic conflicts between the Romanian and Gipsy groups. In 2007, it was required forced intervention to calm down the population and avoid vioent conflicts.
Transportation
The main way to get to Piatra Olt is by train. There are 4 railways that lead to Piatra Olt:
201 railway connects Piatra Olt with Sibiu and Râmnicu Vâlcea.
901 railway connects Piatra Olt with the towns Slatina, Pitești and Bucharest.
901 railway continues the eastern sector from Piatra Olt to Craiova. Several trains pass from Bucharest to Craiova, while others have the last station at Piatra Olt.
910 railway connects Piatra Olt with Caracal and Corabia. The sector between Caracal and Corabia is used by a private railway company.
The town is also an important road intersection. The intersection is in fact in the nearby commune, Găneasa. The access way to Piatra Olt is the county road DJ 677. There are 5 km from Piatra Olt to Găneasa on the road and only 2 km on a sharp line. All national roads are asphalted, while the county road is a concrete road, like other smaller roads in the town. The roads follow nearly the same path like the railways:
The national road DN 64 connects to South Găneasa with Caracal and Corabia. To North, it continues to Rânicu Vâlcea.
The national road DN 65, also known as E 574 connects Găneasa to East with Pitești and to West to Craiova.
Economy
The main occupation is related to the railway maintenance and transportation. There are 66 trains traveling every day through the station. However, Agriculture is well represented There are big companies that work in the agricole sector. The Industry is based on textiles, metallic and concrete products, alimentar industry and a wood mill. There are a lot of firms that have their headquarters in other places but develop business in Piatra Olt.
Institutions
The institutions are placed near the train station. The town hall is on Florilor street, not far from the police station. Every village except Bistrița Nouă has its own church. There is also an Adventist church. There are schools and a high school.
Other places
The town has a stadium and a football team. There is a park with a musical fountain. There is a small market and there are small shops that provide goods for the local population, including human and veterinarian pharmaceutical points.
Tourism
There are many touristic objectives that can be seen in the town. The following objectives can be visited in a few hours, so a traveller can see them while waiting to catch a train.
The ruins of Acidava are still visible. Many artefacts can be seen at the local museum or at the Olt County Museum in Slatina.
The local museum contains artefacts from Acidava fortress and has a section about the railroad history. The museum is not far from the train station.
The haunted house of Piatra Olt is a ruin of an old boyar house, where people say there are ghosts.
Piatra Olt railroad complex includes a vast number of buildings, aligned along the railway. The most impressive and old is the trainyard.
There are other touristic objectives that can be seen nearby:
The Olt River, with its large artificial lakes, is an important destination for fishing and a beautiful landscape. There are also several fishing lakes around the town.
The Brâncoveni Monastery is 15 km to the South, with both access by road and railway.
Piatra Olt is the gateway to many touristic destinations, like Călimănești, a resort station on the Olt river.
