Peștișani

Peștișani
Commune
Wooden church in Peștișani
Location in Gorj County
Peștișani Location in Romania
Coordinates: 45°04′N 23°02′E
Country	Romania
County	Gorj
Subdivisions	Boroșteni, Brădiceni, Frâncești, Gureni, Hobița, Peștișani, Seuca
Government
• Mayor (2020–2024)	Cosmin Pigui[1] (PSD)
Area	216.87 km^2 (83.73 sq mi)
Elevation	256 m (840 ft)
Highest elevation	1,946 m (6,385 ft)
Lowest elevation	200 m (700 ft)
Population  (2021-12-01)[2]	3,535
• Density	16/km^2 (42/sq mi)
Time zone	EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Postal code	217335
Area code	+(40) 253
Vehicle reg.	GJ
Website	www.pestisani.ro

Peștișani (Romanian: [peʃtiˈʃanʲ] ^ⓘ) is a commune in Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania. It is composed of seven villages: Boroșteni, Brădiceni, Frâncești, Gureni, Hobița, Peștișani, and Seuca.

Hobița village is the birthplace of sculptor Constantin Brâncuși.

Peștișani is attested by the Romanian Government as a tourist resort of local interest.[3]

Geography

Peștișani is located 20 km (12 mi) west of Târgu Jiu, the seat of Gorj County, on the national road DN67D. Positioned in the southern part of the Carpathian Mountains, specifically in the Getic Subcarpathians, on the Bistrița River, Peștișani has a Mediterranean climate. Its altitude ranges from 200 m (660 ft) in the southern part to close to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in the northern part, where we can find the Oslea Peak [ro] (1,946 m), the highest point in the Vâlcan Mountains.

Demographics

At the 2021 census, the commune had a population of 3,535, of which 95,36% were Romanians.[4] The population density is about 16 people per square kilometre.

History

Constantin Brâncuși memorial house in Hobița

Peștișani is mentioned through its name for the first time in a document of Vladislav II of Wallachia, dated 5 August 1451, but its lands and territories are also mentioned in a 1385 document of Dan I of Wallachia (Dan Vodă).[5][6] The village Boroșteni (originally called Borăsul, then Borăști, and eventually Boroșteni) is mentioned for the first time in a document in 1509, Brădiceni in 1518, Frâncești in 1584, Gureni in 1525, Hobița (originally called Chobița) in 1518, and Seuca in 1586.[5][6]

Roman vestiges, ceramic/bronze figurines, and coins dating secol I-II have been found in Boroșteni (in a place known as "Scaunul Turcului", next to "Conacul Brăiloaiei"), in Brădiceni (in a place known as "Beciuri"), in Frâncești (in a place known as "Seninul"), and in Gureni (in a place known as "Ciocanul Ursului").[5]

Crow's Cave (Peștera Cioarei), located in Boroșteni, was inhabited by Neanderthal more than 50,000 years ago, making it the oldest paleolithic habitat from Romania and one of the oldest in Europe.[7][5]

References

1. "Results of the 2020 local elections". Central Electoral Bureau. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
2. "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
3. "Ministerului Economiei, Energiei și Mediului de Afaceri". Archived from the original on 2020-07-20. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
4. "Populația rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (in Romanian). INSSE. 31 May 2023.
5. Vasile Arimia, Moise Bojincă, Constantin Codiță. Monografia comunei Peștișani. Târgu-Jiu, Academica Brâncuși, 2015.
6. Nicolae N. Tomoniu. Istoricul comunei Peștișani. Primăria Peștișani.
7. Marin, C.; Moncele, M.-H.; Anghelinu, M.; Cârciumaru, R. (2002). "The Cioarei-Boroșteni Cave (Carpathian Mountains, Romania): Middle Palaeolithic finds and technological analysis of the lithic assemblages". Antiquity. 76 (293): 681–690. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00091122. S2CID 130918977.