SHORT HISTORY OF THE VALEA CHIOARULUI COMMUNE

 

 Valea Chioarului is situated in the south-west of Maramures county, in the north of Romania, and is an essential part of the ethnographical area of Chioar. The commune is placed on the national road E58, 30 km away from Baia Mare and 120 km away from Cluj Napoca, and has on its sides the following hills: "Big Hill (Dealul Mare)", "Chioarului Hill (Dealul Chioarului)" and "Halau Hill (Dealul Halau)", at the altitude of 130 - 300 m.  

 

 Valea Chiorarului is composed of the following villages, acoording to the year of documentary attestation:  

 

 Mesteacan - certified in the year 1424, included in the commune in 1968;  

 

 Varai - certified in the year 1456;  

 

 Curtuiusu Mare - certified in the year 1566;  

 

 Fericea - certified in the year 1603;  

 

 Durusa - certified in the year 1733.  

 
The commune is crossed from south to north by the Barsau River.
The flora and fauna are rich and diverse. Beginning with April the following flowers appear : cowslips, snowdrops, etc. The forests are rich in venison: deers, stags, pheasants, wild boars, partridges, quails, foxes, rabitts and bears. The predominat species of trees in the communes' forests are: the beech, the hornbeam, the birch. These trees regenerate themselves in a natural way.
  

 
In the underground there are resources of bentonite, limestone, mica and clay.
  

 

 The climate is temperate.  

 
The village Valea Chioarului was certified in a document in the year 1405.