Onești (; ), formerly known as Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, is a city in Bacău County, Romania, with a population of 34,005 inhabitants as of 2021. It is situated in the historical region of Moldavia.
Administratively, the villages of Slobozia and Borzești form part of Onești.
Etymology Nine settlements named Onești were recorded in the Principality of Moldavia between the 14th and 17th centuries:Alexandru I. Gonța, „Documente privind istoria României: A. Moldova, veacurile XIV-XVII, 1384-1625. Indicele numelor de locuri”, Editura Academiei Române, București, 1990, p. 180
Onești on the Cobâle (likely Misihănești, Bacău County): Documented in 1436 as a gift from the Prince to Dan Mesehnă.Mihai Costăchescu, „Documente moldovenești dela Ștefan cel Mare”, Institutul de Arte Grafice „Brawo”, Iași, 1933, p. 9 Onești on the Ciuhur and Trebnih (modern-day Onești, Edineț District, Moldova) Onești on the Prut (near Slobozia Oancea, Galați County): Granted to Fetina, daughter of Hărman; now a vanished settlement. Onești on the Miletin (modern-day Onești, Iași County): Granted to Zanfira, later redeemed by Ionașcu Stroici from the High Chamberlain Bernat. Onești on the Gârbovăț (modern-day Neamț County): Located on the border with Tălpălăcești; now a vanished settlement. Onești in Strășeni District, Moldova: A surviving village in its historical location. Onești (Oinești) in Cârligătura (near Hăușești, Iași County): Located on the border with Balosin. It historical passed through several hands, including protopope Ioil, Giurgiu the scribe, priest Petre, Vlădica the cupbearer, Neaniul the deacon, and eventually High Vornic Ureche; now a vanished settlement. Onești on the Trotuș (Bacău County): The historical precursor to the modern city of Onești. It was granted to the Bistrița Monastery, with parts later confirmed to Baloș Ciortan and others. Onești on the Sărata (near Berești, modern-day Ungheni District, Moldova): Noted for a pond confirmed to Toader Dragotă; now a vanished settlement.
The first documentary mention of Onești on the Trotuș dates to December 14, 1458, during the reign of Stephen the Great.Monografia ..., Verde, 2003, p. 11 The settlement was recorded in a royal land charterMihai Costăchescu, „Documente moldovenești de la Ștefan cel Mare”, Institutul de Arte Grafice „Brawo”, Iași, 1933, p. 9, which documented a donation made by Marușca, the daughter of court official Andrieș Slujascul and wife of Negrilă. In this act, she gifted several estates to the Bistrița Monastery, including Onești, Maluri, Lăbășești, Horgul's Well (the site of her father's monastery), and a half-share of both a watermill and the village of Slujești, where her father's court had been located.Leon Șimanschi (coordonator), Georgeta Ignat, Dumitru Agache (colaboratori), „Documenta Romaniae Historica, A. Moldova, Volumul II”, Academia de Științe Sociale și Politice a Republicii Socialiste România, Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, București, 1976, p. 115
The second historical mention of the settlement dates to April 5, 1488Bogdan F. Romandaș, Vasile Jenică Apostol, Vilică Munteanu, „O istorie a Oneștiului. Restituiri (1458 – 1921)”, Editura „Magic Print”, Onești, 2018, , p. 11, when the regional governor Duma was granted an unpopulated settlement site on the Trotuș River by Stephen the Great. This site was previously associated with an individual recorded as "Oana from Moișa."„Documente privind istoria Romîniei: Veacul XV, A. Moldova, Vol. II (1476–1500)”, Academia Republicii Populare Romîne, Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, București, 1854, p. 95
While local folk traditions popularized the myth that the city was named after a daughter of Stephen the Great named Oana, historians generally agree that the name derives from an early male landowner named Oană (or Oana) and his descendantsMonografia ..., Verde, 2003, p. 12, dating back to the foundation period of Moldavia. Scholars Ioan BogdanIoan Bogdan, „Documentele lui Ștefan cel Mare: vol. I: Hrisoave și cărți domnești (1457–1492)”, Atelierele Grafice Socec & Co., Societate Anonimă, București, 1913, p. 344 and Mihai Costăchescu concluded that the "Oana" referenced in early texts was explicitly "Oană de la Moișa."Bogdan F. Romandaș, Vasile Jenică Apostol, Vilică Munteanu, „O istorie a Oneștiului. Restituiri (1458 – 1921)”, Editura „Magic Print”, Onești, 2018, , p. 12 During this era, Oană was a common male name among the Moldavian nobility, many of whom were rewarded with large estates for their military service to the ruling princes. This widespread usage explains why multiple villages named Onești emerged across historical Moldavia. Contemporary documents show the name used exclusively for men, including references to "Oana, brother of Chirilă" and a royal decree freeing a royal Tatar servant named Oana.
Alternative etymological theories suggest a Turkic origin for the name. Historian Neagu Djuvara argued that Oană is a Cuman name, along Tocsabă. Prior to this, historian Nicolae Iorga had highlighted the Cuman origins of the name Basarabă, as well as that of a Cuman nobleman named Tâncabă (the namesake of Tâncăbești in Ilfov County).Nicolae Iorga, „Imperiul cumanilor și domnia lui Băsărabă: un capitol din colaborația româno-barbară în Evul Mediu”, Academia Română, Memoriile Secțiunii Științifice, Seria III, Tomul VIII, Mem. 3, Cultura Națională, București, 1928, p. 100 Within the Trotuș region, several local toponyms reflect the historical presence of Eurasian steppe nomads. These include the Trotuș River itself (traditionally interpreted as "the river of the Tatars"), the Uz Valley (derived from the Oghuz Turks, known locally as uzi), and the town of Comănești (derived from the Cumans). Additionally, the nearby village of BorzeștiNicolae Iorga, „Istoria românilor, vol. III Ctitorii”, București, 1937, p. 32 is named after BorzulNicolae A. Constantinescu, „Dicționar onomastic romînesc”, Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, București, 1963, p. 211 (also recorded as Bortz or Borč)András Pálóczi-Horváth; Pechenegs, Cumans, Iasians: steppe peoples in medieval Hungary, Wellingborough, Corvina, 1990, pag. 48, a Cuman chieftain documented in 1211.
According to ethnographer Gábor Lükő, the root on- in the name is a personal name of Turkic origin, suggesting that the earliest inhabitants of the settlement may have been of Tatar-Cuman descent.Péter Halász; Zboară praful pe străzile din Onești..., în Moldvai Magyarság, 4 (323), 2020, pag. 10
While several Hungarian authors historically referred to the town as Ónfalva, modern Hungarian inhabitants do not use this term. Researcher Péter Halász noted that even the phonetic variant Onyest was historically rare in local Hungarian.
In the modern era, following the death of Romania's communist leader, the city was renamed Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej on March 22, 1965.Monografia ..., Verde, 2003, p. 50 It retained this official name until 1990, when it reverted to Onești following the Romanian Revolution.
History
The locality was documentary attested as a village on 14 December 1458. In 1952, the communist authorities decided to build a large petrochemical industrial platform (Borzești Petrochemical Plant) and a new related city in the area of Onești and Borzești villages. Borzești, according to legend, was the birthplace of Stephen III of Moldavia. It is the site of the Borzești Church, which was built on his orders in 1493–1494.
At the death of the Communist leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej in March 1965, Onești was renamed Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, but the name was changed back in 1990 shortly after the Romanian Revolution.
Above the borough Malu, on the right-hand side of the river Cașin, were discovered archaeological fragments from a settlement dating from the Neolithic Age.
Demographics
At the 2011 census, Onești had 39,172 inhabitants, of which 90.29% were Romanians, 1.39% Roma, 0.53% Hungarians, and 0.13% Greeks.
According to the 2021 census, the population of the municipality of Onești amounts to 34,005 inhabitants, a decrease compared to the previous census in 2011, when 39,172 inhabitants were recorded. The majority of the residents are Romanian (79.75%), while for 19.77%, their ethnic affiliation is unknown. From a confessional point of view, the majority of inhabitants are Orthodox (69.43%), with a Roman Catholic minority (7.87%), and for 20.69%, their confessional affiliation is unknown.
Economy Onești is an industrial city with a well-developed economic structure centered around several industrial branches, particularly petrochemical processing on the Borzești Petrochemical Platform. On the city's industrial platform, garment manufacturing, woodworking, the food industry, and other services are other important branches.
In 1842, a mill was built, worked by the slaves of the landowner Alecu Aslan, followed later by other small watermills. There were also two boyar distilleries for manufacturing grain brandy, as well as two blacksmith shops and two inns for marketing the alcoholic beverages produced in the area.Strategia ..., Primăria Onești, 2016, p. 26
Chemical and Petrochemical Industry RAFO Onești (former Refinery No. 10 Onești), defunct CAROM (former Onești Synthetic Rubber and Petrochemical Plant), defunct Chimcomplex (former Borzești Chemical Plant) Aroma Rise (former Elon), synthetic perfumes and food flavorings Electric and Thermal Energy Industry Sucursala Electrocentrale Borzești (Borzești Power Plant Branch), including the Borzești Power Station and Borzești II Power Station Transelectrica, via the Gutinaș 400/220/110 kV transformer substation Termon Machine Building Industry UTON (former Borzești Chemical Equipment Enterprise, established in 1974), defunct unit GOSPOMAS (former Borzești Manufacturing Center, former CRCCFMS, spun off from the Bacău Agricultural Mechanization Station (SMA) in 1983),Bursa de Valori București, „Raport anual conform Regulamentului CNVM nr. 1/2006 și Legii nr.297/2004, GOSPOMAS SA”, București, 2014, p. 1 an enterprise for agricultural machinery, hydraulic pumps, and auto parts, defunct unit Textile Industry MODEON (former garment factory, established in 1976), clothing factory operating under the lohn (cut-make-trim) system „Flacăra” SOCOM (National Union of Handicraft Cooperatives), a handicraft cooperative society Maremod Autoliv Food Industry Croco Albrau Group Panimon (former bakery factory, established in 1978), bakery products factory Agricultorul Group The Milk Factory, defunct SERON and SERE ONEȘTI (former Onești Greenhouses and Borzești Greenhouses), vegetable greenhouses established in 1963.„Revista de horticultură și viticultură”, Volumul 12, Ministerul Agriculturii, Industriei Alimentare și Apelor din Republica Populară Română, București, 1963, p. 9 The greenhouses inside the city were transformed into a Pa&Co factory, while those on Red Hill were demolished. The Ice and Juice Factory, defunct Wood Industry Barlinek (former Forestry Exploitation and Transport Enterprise, privatized as Diana Forest), solid and engineered wood flooring factory Rich Forest, logging/wood exploitation (Chinese citizen Li Ning, the company's director, was declared undesirable for 10 years in December 2012 along with other compatriots due to organized crime offenses). Pa&Co International, doors and engineered wood flooring factories Smart Wood (former Pa&Co flooring), wooden sticks factory Construction Industry Tehnocin (former Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Industrial Construction Trust), defunct MECON (former Heavy Equipment and Transport Enterprise for Construction, IUGTC/SUGTC), defunct Energoconstrucția, defunct Confer Group, civil engineering works DMC AG, civil and industrial construction Gironap Glass Industry SART GLASS (former glass factory), established in 1973. Defunct. Fredi
Geography