Copșa Mică
Copşa Mica ( Kleinkopisch German, Hungarian Kiskapus ) is a small town in the district of Sibiu in Transylvania, Romania.
Location
The town lies at the mouth of the river Visa ( Weissbach ) in the Târnava Mare (Grand Kokel ) and is 43 kilometers from the county capital Sibiu ( Hermannstadt) and twelve kilometers from Medias ( Medias ) away.
History
The town was first mentioned in 1402 under the name Parva Kabaz. The name suggests a customs station, as in the Hungarian form it means " Little Tor". On the site of today's evangelical church, a watchtower built in the 15th century.
Lasting impact on the social and economic development of the village was the discovery of methane gas in 1913.
Policy
- USL: 9
- PD -L: 3
- PP -DD: 2
- UDMR: 1
Economy and Social
Since 1989, the population of the town has fallen by 23 percent. Many of the remaining people live in modest circumstances. The unemployment rate in 2000 was 56 percent, while there were then 12 percent national average.
After the industrial decline Copşa Mica was declared on 24 November 2000 for ten years for economically disadvantaged region. This active in this area investors and companies are exempted from both customs duties as well as the VAT on the import or purchase of facilities and equipment.
Environmental situation
The area is considered one of the areas in Romania with the highest environmental damage. This was due to the operation of a Rußfabrik and Non-Ferrous Metal from 1939. Having the Romanian state -actuated further large investments in the years 1965 to 1970 Copşa Mica came in the 1980s as a gigantic " devil's " sad to world fame. The traffic loaded the additional people.
The Rußfabrik was shut down in 1993, which has resulted in Copşa Mica and the surrounding area to a decrease of visible dirt. However, the unseen and much more dangerous toxic pollution by heavy metals persist because the Non-Ferrous Metal to 2008 he was operating. Because of the global economic crisis, there has since only maintenance organization; a restoration is not excluded.
The vegetation around Copşa Mica has not suffered past by the then soot one such significant harm that the hills were covered only very thin in the area. In the village itself were and are still a few houses from Rußnebel of time gray to almost black. The massive contamination has been supported by West Wind even into only 12 km away and Medias attended there for at times acrid, sulfurous stench and precipitation for " black rain " or snow. Copşa Mica has therefore already been referred to on the part of various environmental organizations several times as one of the most polluted places in Europe.
Gallery Rußfabrik and non-ferrous metal plant
The following pictures are all taken in 2002. Nature has since continued to recover.
Rußfabrik in Copşa Mica
Rußfabrik in Copşa Mica
Non-ferrous metal plant
Non-ferrous metal plant
Slag heap of non-ferrous metal plant
Blackened houses
Blackened houses
The panorama shows the situation of the place in October 2010 is:
Traffic
The road between Kleinkopisch to Sibiu - now the National Road "DN " 14 - was built in the years 1850-1867. Soon after that, 1872, the district capital was connected by a railway line over Kleinkopisch leading to the Transylvanian rail system. To this day, the town is an important railway junction for the CFR.
Education
In Kleinkopisch there are three kindergartens, three schools with eight classes, a lyceum, a vocational school, a continuing education and a technical school.
Attractions
- The fortified church