Bistra, Alba

Commune in Alba, Romania

Coat of arms

Location in Alba County

(2020–2024) Traian Gligor (PNL)Area

118.38 km² (45.71 sq mi)Elevation

556 m (1,824 ft)Population

(2021-12-01)^[1]

4,340 • Density37/km² (95/sq mi)Time zoneEET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)Postal code

517115

Area code+40 x58Vehicle reg.ABWebsitebistra.ro

Bistra (German: Bistrau; Hungarian: Bisztra) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 4,340 as of 2021. It is composed of 35 villages: Aronești, Bălești, Bălești-Cătun, Bârlești, Bistra, Cheleteni, Ciuldești, Crețești, Dâmbureni, Dealu Muntelui, Durăști, Gănești, Gârde, Hodișești, Hudricești, Lipaia, Lunca Largă, Lunca Merilor, Mihăiești, Nămaș, Novăcești, Perjești, Poiana, Poiu, Rătitiș, Runcuri, Sălăgești, Ștefanca, Țărănești, Tolăcești, Tomnatec, Trișorești, Vârși-Rontu, Vârșii Mari, and Vârșii Mici.

The commune is situated in the northwest corner of Alba County. It covers a surface of 138 km² (53 sq mi) (about 1.8% of the total area of the county), making it the largest commune in Romania by surface area.^[2] Bistra is crossed from West to East for a length of 7 km (4.3 mi) by the Arieș River. It is surrounded to the SE by the Trascău Mountains, the SW by the Metaliferi Mountains and to the NE by the Gilău Mountains, with Muntele Mare [ro] as the highest peak, at 1,826 m (5,991 ft).

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1850	3,140	—
1900	3,755	+19.6%
1930	4,501	+19.9%
1966	5,576	+23.9%
1977	5,688	+2.0%
2002	5,066	−10.9%
2011	4,540	−10.4%
2021	4,340	−4.4%
Source: INS, Census data

Natives

Petru Pavel Aron (1709–1764), Bishop of Făgăraș and Primate of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church

References

^ "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
^ Țimonea, Dorin (November 18, 2019). "Cele mai întinse și cele mai mici orașe din România. Câți oameni trăiesc în localități de sute de kilometri pătrați". Adevărul (in Romanian). Retrieved May 9, 2020.