Balș

Balș
Town
Location in Olt County
Balș Location in Romania
Coordinates: 44°21′0″N 24°5′58″E
Country	Romania
County	Olt
Government
• Mayor (2020–2024)	Cătălin-Ștefan Rotea (PSD)
Area	41.13 km2 (15.88 sq mi)
Time zone	EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Vehicle reg.	OT
Website	www.bals.ro

Balș (Romanian pronunciation: [balʃ] (listen)) is a town in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. The town administers three villages: Corbeni, Româna, and Teiș.

Geography

The town is situated on the Wallachian Plain and lies on the banks of the river Olteț. It is located in the northwestern part of the county, on the border with Dolj County, 26 km (16 mi) west of the county seat, Slatina.

Etymology

There are three hypotheses about the town's name:

1. The locality was named after the Balșița brook.
2. The name comes from the Turkish word "Baliş" (honey), as there is a large apiculture area there.
3. A boyar named Balș settled here in the 5th or 6th century.

Population

• 1864 - 1,700 inhabitants.
• 1884 - 2,500 inhabitants.
• 1921 - 5,000 inhabitants.
• 1938 - 5,300 inhabitants.
• 1948 - 6,128 inhabitants.
• 1973 - 11,578 inhabitants.
• 1992 - 24,560 inhabitants.
• 2002 - 21,195 inhabitants.

The composition from the last census, sorted by nationality:

* 20,552 Romanians

* 619 Romani

* 27 others

The composition from the last census, sorted by religion:

* 21,043 Eastern Orthodox

* 47 Seventh-Day Adventists

* 36 Baptists

* 19 Pentecostalists

* 8 Roman-Catholics

* 5 Atheists

* 32 other religion

History

• 1450 - The estimated date when Balș was established.
• 1564 - First mention of Balș in a document

Natives

• Nicușor Bănică
• Eugen Căpățână
• Claudia Constantinescu
• Ion Dumitra
• Cerasela Pătrașcu
• Daniel Stana

References

• 

  Church in Balș

• 

  Town police headquarters