Boldești-Scăeni

Boldeşti-Scăeni
Town

Former Boldeşti-Scăeni town hall

Coat of arms

Location of Boldeşti-Scăeni
Coordinates: 45°1′48″N 26°1′48″E / 45.03000°N 26.03000°E / 45.03000; 26.03000Coordinates: 45°1′48″N 26°1′48″E / 45.03000°N 26.03000°E / 45.03000; 26.03000
Country  Romania
County Prahova County
Status Town
Government
 • Mayor Constantin Bucuroiu (PSD)
Area
 • Town 34.90 km2 (13.47 sq mi)
Population (2002)
 • Town 11,485
 • Urban 10,433
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Website http://pbs.infoprimarie.ro/

Boldeşti-Scăeni (Romanian pronunciation: [bolˈdeʃtʲ skəˈjenʲ]) is a town in Prahova County, southern Romania, with a population of 11,485 as of 2002. Located about 15 km north of Ploieşti, it is an important oil-extraction center.

History

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1977 9,681—    
1992 11,757+21.4%
2002 11,505−2.1%
2011 10,811−6.0%
Source: Census data

The town was created in 1968 by the unification of two neighbouring communes, Boldeşti and Scăeni. One village, Seciu, is administered by the town.

The phalanstère

Main article: Scăieni Phalanstery

Scăeni was the location of the only attempt to create a Charles Fourier-type phalanstère in Romania. In 1835, Theodor Diamant, a utopian socialist who had met Fourier in Paris, created the phalanstère, named The Agronomy and Manufacturing Society, on a patch of land provided by Emanoil Bălăceanu, a local land-owner. The Wallachian authorities saw this enterprise as a threat and took a stand against it. Therefore, the phalanstère was disbanded in 1836, a year and a half after it came into existence, with Diamant and Bălăceanu sent into exile.[1]

World War II

During World War II, the area was extensively bombed, as part of Operation Tidal Wave. Air-raid shelters can still be found on the wooded hills around Boldeşti.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Boldeşti-Scăeni depicts a thistle (in Romanian, scai or scaiete) which refers to the name of the old Scăeni commune, as well as a grape, which represents the vineyards on the Seciu hills.[2] The shaking hands is a reminder of the 19th century Scăieni phalanstère experiment,[2] but could also refer to the 1968 union of the Boldeşti and Scăieni communes.

The "Crama Seciu" restaurant in Boldeşti-Scăeni, surrounded by vineyards

Economy

The town's economy revolves around oil-extraction as well as winemaking. Almost half of the town's surface is cultivated with vine. The Seciu winecellars are located in the direct vicinity of Boldeşti.

Industry developed in the town after 1968, with a glass factory open in Scăeni. Many people who live in Boldeşti-Scăeni also work in the neighbouring city of Ploieşti.

Trivia and Historical monuments

The utopian experiment by Theodor Diamant was featured in the movie "Falansterul" ("The Phalanstere"), directed by Savel Stiopul in 1979. Historical monuments in the city Boldeşti-Scaeni includes 6 historic monuments (3 in town Seciu and 3 city itself), plus 3 new modern statues sculpted by Academician Prof. Cristian Petru Balan from the United States. They are "Glass Breaker", a stainless steel statue, 6 m high, built in 2010, a single replica in the country "Statue of Liberty" in New York, worked in fiberglass reinforced concrete (5 m from ground) and statuary group "Mihai Eminescu and Veronica Micle" in front of the Culture House "Mihai Eminescu", two busts on a common base (2.5 m), all molded fiberglass and reinforced concrete. Last two monuments were erected in July 2014. Since ancient monuments only one is classified as a monument of national importance, that being "Casa Rusescu" in Seciu, built in 1826.

Notes

  1. ↑ Scrisori către Vasile Alecsandri
  2. 1 2 H.G. 1697/2004

References

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