Ocna de Fier

"Vasko" redirects here. For people sharing this as a surname, see Basil (name) § Surname.

Commune in Caraș-Severin, Romania

Ocna de Fier

Commune

Location in Caraș-Severin County

Ocna de Fier

Location in Romania

Coordinates: 45°20′31″N 21°46′35″E﻿ / ﻿45.34194°N 21.77639°E﻿ / 45.34194; 21.77639
Country| Romania
County| Caraș-Severin
Population

(2021-12-01)[1]

| 569
Time zone| EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Vehicle reg.| CS

Ocna de Fier (Hungarian: Vaskő, German: Eisenstein) is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, in the Banat region of southwestern Romania. It is composed of a single village, Ocna de Fier.

## History

[edit]

Along with the Dognecea area, Ocna de Fier is among the few settlements in the world that supported almost continuous mining for some 4000 years.[2]

Archaeological evidence shows that mining in the area dates back to the Bronze Age (1900–1700 BC). The main ore exploited in those times was native copper from the oxidation zone of the deposit. Later on, iron ores brought about a gradual switch from copper to iron mining.

Mining was an activity of the Dacians, the ancient inhabitants of present-day Romania. After the Roman conquest in 106, mining was expanded in the Roman province of Dacia. At Berzovis (present day Berzovia, ten kilometres northwest of Ocna de Fier) a Roman metallurgy school, Schola fabrorum, was established, showing the keen interest the Romans had in metal extraction. At Cracul cu Aur (Romanian for "Golden Tributary"), north of Ocna de Fier, old Roman gold mining galleries can still be seen. They look like the much better preserved ones at Rosia Montana ("Verespatak"), in the Apuseni Mountains.

The Constantin Gruescu Iron Aesthetic Mineralogy Museum is located in Ocna de Fier.[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
2. ^ Nicolescu, S., Cornell, D., Bojar, AV (1999) - Age and tectonic setting of Bocşa and Ocna de Fier – Dognecea, Mineralium Deposita, 34, 743–753
3. ^ [1] Museum Information

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Caraș-Severin County, Romania

Cities|

* Reșița (county seat)
* Caransebeș

Towns|

* Anina
* Băile Herculane
* Bocșa
* Moldova Nouă
* Oravița
* Oțelu Roșu

Communes|

* Armeniș
* Bănia
* Băuțar
* Berliște
* Berzasca
* Berzovia
* Bolvașnița
* Bozovici
* Brebu
* Brebu Nou
* Buchin
* Bucoșnița
* Carașova
* Cărbunari
* Ciclova Română
* Ciuchici
* Ciudanovița
* Constantin Daicoviciu
* Copăcele
* Cornea
* Cornereva
* Coronini
* Dalboșeț
* Doclin
* Dognecea
* Domașnea
* Eftimie Murgu
* Ezeriș
* Fârliug
* Forotic
* Gârnic
* Glimboca
* Goruia
* Grădinari
* Iablanița
* Lăpușnicel
* Lăpușnicu Mare
* Luncavița
* Lupac
* Marga
* Măureni
* Mehadia
* Mehadica
* Naidăș
* Obreja
* Ocna de Fier
* Păltiniș
* Pojejena
* Prigor
* Răcășdia
* Ramna
* Rusca Montană
* Sacu
* Sasca Montană
* Sichevița
* Slatina-Timiș
* Socol
* Șopotu Nou
* Târnova
* Teregova
* Ticvaniu Mare
* Topleț
* Turnu Ruieni
* Văliug
* Vărădia
* Vermeș
* Vrani
* Zăvoi
* Zorlențu Mare

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