Baia de Arieș
town in Alba County, Romania
Baia de Arieș (Hungarian: Aranyosbánya or Offenbánya; German: Offenburg) is a town in Alba County, Romania. It administers five villages: Brăzești (Berzesd), Cioara de Sus (Felsőcsóra), Muncelu (Muncsal), Sartăș (Szártos), and Simulești. With a population of 3,035 in 2021, it was until 2004 a mining centre extracting, mainly for base metals but also arsenopyrite and pyrite-rich concentrate containing gold.
The first writing about it is in a document of Charles I of Hungary since 1325. In the beginning of the 15th century it was declared free town. It lost town status later, but regained it in 1998.
Baia de Arieș's tourist objectives are the monument of nature tree known as the "Emperor's beech" and the Muncel Monastery.
Demographics
According to the census from 2011, the town had a total population of 3433; of those, 99.3% were ethnic Romanians, 0.55% ethnic Hungarians, and 0.19% ethnic Romani. At the 2021 census, Baia de Arieș had a population of 3,035, of which 91.37% were Romanians.
Climate
Baia de Arieș has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb in the Köppen climate classification).
The public source identifies “Baia de Arieș” as town in Alba County, Romania. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Baia, Arieș and town.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Baia de Arieș”, the useful work is to connect “town in Alba County, Romania” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q775799. Authority coordinates are 46.379, 23.280. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2021, 2004, 1325 and 1998.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Baia de Arieș”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Baia de Arieș primary sources, Baia de Arieș archive and Baia research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Baia de Arieș” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.