Cuca, Argeș

Cuca is a commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of fourteen villages: Bălțata, Bărbălani, Cârcești, Cotu, Crivățu, Cuca, Lăunele de Sus, Măcăi, Mănești, Sinești, Stănicei, Teodorești, Valea Cucii and Vonigeasa. It was one of the most remote places in Romania. Today, in Romanian language, Cuca Măcăii means "a remote village or place, very difficult to reach".

Cuca
Commune
Cuca
Location in Romania
Coordinates: 44.9326°N 24.5166°E / 44.9326; 24.5166
Country Romania
CountyArgeș
Population
 (2011)[1]
2,108
Time zoneEET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Vehicle reg.AG

History

The oldest document about Cuca[2] is from April 3, 1853, referring to an even older document, from 1537. The commune was formed in 1968 at its current shape by merging the former communes Cuca and Lăunele. Another former commune was Măcăi.[3]

Geography

Cuca is placed in the Getic Platform, subdivision Cotmeana Platform.[4] The relief is segmented by many parallel valleys, while the villages are on the top of the hills, separated by forest areas. The rivers flow from north to south, south-east or south-west. The valleys dry up in summer.[5] The altitude varies from 390 to 530 metres (1,280 to 1,740 ft).[6]

The climate is temperate, with moderate summers and cold winters. The humidity is usually high.[7]

Villages

The commune includes 14 small villages (the largest number in Argeș County).[8]

Village Distance from center Etymology Population
Cuca center Open in the roof for illumination Isolated hill 429
Crivăț 1 km E Winter wind 98
Bălțata 1 km N Bălțatu family name 38
Cârcești 14 km E Cârciu family name 292
Vonigeasa 8 km E Voineagu family name 52
Sinești 6 km S Sin or Sinescu family name 386
Mănești 5 km W Manea or Mănescu family name 49
Măcăi 8 km W founded by Măcău family 100
Stănicei 7 km W Stănică (proper name) 54
Valea Cucii 9 km W Romanian translation: Valley of Cuca 118
Lăunele de Sus 5 km S "la unele" (Romanian translation – to some women) 203
Teodorești 7 km unknown 332
Cotu 9 km unknown 116
Bărbălani 17 km unknown 78

Transportation

There are two national roads close to Cuca:[9]

From these roads, the access way to Cuca is via local county roads:[10]

  • DJ 678a (asphalted) connects Cuca to South with Vâlcea County and DN 67b.
  • DJ 678e (unasphalted) connects Teodorești village with DJ 678a.
  • DJ 703 (asphalted to North and unasphalted to South) connects Cuca with DN 7 to North and with DN 67b to South, in Olt County.

The distances to the nearest towns are:[11]

Economy

Resources

Cuca has two major resources: forests[12] and fruit trees.[13] The forests cover a big part of the commune and all the villages have direct access to the wooded areas. Nearly all the remaining terrain is used for fruit trees (mainly plum trees). The fruits are used to make țuică, a Romanian alcoholic drink.[14]

Firms

There are 21 firms[15] in the commune, including a pharmaceutical point and small local shops. There are no industrial or agricultural companies. The big distances to nearby cities (see #transportation) and the lack of bus lines[16] makes it very difficult for the local population to find a good job.

Problems

The main problem for the economy is isolation (see #Transportation). The second problem is the lack of water.[17] Some people say that in Cuca, water is as precious as in Sahara Desert.[18] The villages are on the top of the hills and the rivers are about 100 m below the villages and they dry up in summer (see #Geography). The phreatic waters are even deeper, so permanent phreatic water exists more than 100 m below the river valleys.[19] Pumping water from such depth is nearly impossible. A water pipeline was constructed to bring water to the villages in Cuca.[20] For this, the pipe had to be longer than 100 km. It drains water from the river Topolog and continues south to other communes with similar water problems.[21]

The legend of Cuca Măcăii

In the Romanian language, Cuca Măcăii defines a remote village or place, very difficult to reach.[22][23] It is still unknown how this expression appeared. However, the Măcăi village is called by the locals Cuca Măcăii. Many people associate the commune Cuca with Cuca Măcăii.[24] The entire commune is formed by small villages, isolated in the forest (see#Villages). In the past, transportation was very difficult. Until 1922 the national road DN 67b did not exist.[25] Older maps[26] show that even the road that connects Pitești and Râmnicu Vâlcea did not exist. Being isolated by sharp valleys and long, parallel hills (see #Geography), the land where Cuca is today must have been a very isolated place.

References
  1. "Populaţia stabilă pe judeţe, municipii, oraşe şi localităti componenete la RPL_2011" (in Romanian). National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-01. Retrieved 2011-09-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2011-09-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Geografia Romaniei". www.ordogborda.hu.
  5. "Google Maps". Google Maps.
  6. Google Maps
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2011-09-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Harta-turistica.ro". www.harta-turistica.ro.
  10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2011-09-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Shell Eurokarte
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-09-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "WALTERS Invest – Arges – Cuca". www.primariaonline.ro.
  15. "Cuca (AG) – harta economică a firmelor". www.listafirme.ro.
  16. "Autogari.RO – Mersul autobuzelor". Autogari.RO.
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2011-09-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. "Cuca Macai, locul unde apa este la fel de pretioasa ca in Sahara". 9AM.
  19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2011-09-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. "Alimentare cu apa pentru 2.300 de locuitori ai comunei Cuca | Pitesti | Ziare.com". www.ziare.com.
  21. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2011-09-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. "Posturi la cuca macaii – Medicina București". www.imed.ro.
  23. "Firma de la Cuca Macaii". Forumul Softpedia.
  24. "Panoramio is no longer available". www.panoramio.com.
  25. Edu, Aspera Pro. "Judeţul Argeș". romaniainterbelica.memoria.ro.
  26. Şomâcu, Cornel (April 14, 2009). "Hotarele Ungrovlahiei în Evul Mediu".
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