Hunedoara

Hunedoara

Hunedoara, Hungarian Vajdahunyad, German Eisenstadt, city, Hunedoara judeƫ (county), west-central Romania, in the eastern foothills of the iron-ore-bearing Poiana Ruscăi Mountains, 185 miles (300 km) northwest of Bucharest. The ore deposits at nearby Ghelari and Teliucu were known in Roman times. Hunedoara Castle, west of the city, was completed in 1453 on the ruins of a 13th-century predecessor; it was later expanded by Matthias I Corvinus.

The first major development of the iron- and steelworks did not take place until 1884. After World War II, their expansion and modernization included blast furnaces, open-hearth furnaces, electric ore furnaces, coking and chemical works, a sintering plant, rolling mills, and related facilities. The city has become a major metallurgical production centre. Pop. (2007 est.) 71,207.