Petrila
town in Hunedoara County, Romania
Petrila (Romanian pronunciation: [peˈtrila]; Hungarian: Petrilla) is a town in the Jiu Valley, Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located near the confluence of the rivers Jiul de Est, Taia, and Jieț.
The town administers four villages: Cimpa (Csimpa), Jieț (Zsiec), Răscoala (Reszkola), and Tirici.
History
A Romanian town in the Carpathian Mountains, Petrila is an ancient settlement, but its existence was not documented until 1493 in a donation letter between Vladislav the First, King of Hungary and a Romanian prince named Mihai Cande.
The name of the town was noted in 1733 as coming from the Latin word “petrinus” ("pietros" in Romanian), which can be translated into English to mean “of stone”, a reference to the large coal deposits in the area that would become a profitable export in the Industrial Revolution. The exploitation of coal deposits in and around Petrila made the town grow as a single-industry town, revolving either around the mining of coal or the processing of the coal mined there, which is listed under the grade “Pitcoal”. Mining operations began in 1840, but the town would remain sparsely populated until the arrival of Western Moldavian workers forced to relocate by the former president of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu under Communist rule. The restructuring of the economy since the Romanian Revolution of 1989 has led to a decrease in production and supply for the region, including Petrila.
It was the site in recent times of the Petrila Mine disaster, wherein two methane gas explosions in a coal mine on November 15, 2008 killed at least 12 miners and/or rescue workers. This is not the first time this millennium a coal mine in Petrila has suffered such an incident; another similar incident occurred in 2001.
The public source identifies “Petrila” as town in Hunedoara County, Romania. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Petrila, town and Hunedoara.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Petrila”, the useful work is to connect “town in Hunedoara 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 May 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q390156. The first chronological checks are 1493, 1733, 1840 and 1989.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. 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
- Jurisdictional context
- 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 “Petrila”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Petrila primary sources, Petrila archive and Petrila 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
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Petrila”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Petrila” 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.