Gorj County is a county (județ) of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. Gorj comes from the Slavic Gor(no)-Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolj (“lower Jiu”).

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the county had a population of 334,238 and its population density was 59.66 PD/km2. At the 2021 census, Gorj County had a population of 314,685.

Geography

Gorj County has a total area of 5602 km2. The North side of the county consists of various mountains from the Southern Carpathians group. In the West there are the Vâlcan Mountains, and in the East there are the Parâng Mountains and the Negoveanu Mountains. The two groups are split by the Jiu River. To the South, the heights decrease through the hills to a high plain at the Western end of the Wallachian Plain. The main river, which collects all the smaller rivers, is the Jiu River; its tributaries include the Tismana, Gilort, and Motru rivers.

Neighbours

Economy

The predominant industries in the county are: In the North of the county, coal is extracted near Motru and Rovinari. There are two big thermo electrical power plants at Rovinari and Turceni, and some hydro-electrical power plants. The county is the biggest electricity producer in Romania, with 36% of the country's electricity. Due to the decrease in mining activity, the county has one of the highest unemployment levels in the country.

Tourism

The main tourist destinations are:

Politics

The Gorj County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections, consists of 32 counsellors, with the following party composition:

Administrative divisions

Gorj County has 2 municipalities, 7 towns and 61 communes

Historical county

Historically, the county was located in the southwestern part of Greater Romania, in the northern part of the historical region of Oltenia. Its capital was Târgu Jiu. The interwar county territory comprised a large part of the current Gorj County. It was bordered to the west by Mehedinți County, to the north by the counties of Hunedoara and Sibiu, to the east by Vâlcea County, and to the south by Dolj County.

Administration

The county was originally divided into four administrative districts (plăși): Subsequently, two more districts were established:

<li>Plasa [Amaradia](https://bliptext.com/articles/hurezani), headquartered at [Amaradia](https://bliptext.com/articles/hurezani)</li> <li>Plasa Ocolu, headquartered at [Ocolul](https://bliptext.com/articles/t-rgu-jiu)</li> </ol> # [Map of Gorj County as constituted in 1938. | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/1938///map///of///interwar///county///Gorj.jpg]

Population

According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 206,339 inhabitants, ethnically divided as follows: 97.9% Romanians, 1.7% Romanies, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the population was 99.6% Eastern Orthodox, as well as other minorities.

Urban population

In 1930, the county's urban population was 13,030 inhabitants, comprising 90.0% Romanians, 4.6% Romanies, 1.1% Germans, 0.9% Hungarians, 0.8% Jews, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed of 95.8% Eastern Orthodox, 2.2% Roman Catholic, 0.8% Jewish, as well as other minorities.

Industry

In the county capital of Târgu Jiu, there was a factory producing roof tiles as of 1931.