Mizil () is a town in Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania. Located in the southeastern part of the county, it lies along the road between the cities of Ploiești and Buzău, and to the northeast of the national capital, Bucharest. Its position led it to become a thriving market town beginning in the 18th century, before a long period of economic decline began in the early 20th century. Agriculture gave way to industry as the chief employment under the Communist regime, but the town has continued to face difficulties in the wake of a late-1990s deindustrialisation.

Geography

The town is situated in southeastern Prahova County, on the border with Buzău County; the four rural localities that surround it are Gura Vadului (north), Baba Ana (south), Săhăteni (east) and Fântânele (west). The Tohani, Pietroasa and Istrița vineyards are all nearby. It is 35 km distant from both Ploiești and Buzău, Mizil is the only city or town in Romania to lie on the 45th parallel north.

Mizil covers 1931 ha, of which 77.7% are agricultural land, water, forests and green spaces, and 22.3% are developed.

Climate

Mizil has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa in the Köppen climate classification).

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Demographics

At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 12,962. Of Mizil's 14,312 residents at the 2011 census, 83.7% were ethnic Romanians and 16.3% were Roma. One 2008 estimate put the number of Roma at 5,000 or 30.5% of the population estimated at the time. At the same census, according to religion, 93.9% were Romanian Orthodox, 5.4% Pentecostal, 0.7% other or none. (Census figures refer to inhabitants for whom data were available; there were no ethnic or religious statistics for 6.9% of residents.)

Running water comes from Bălțești and is supplied by a private company on a network built in 1968. Since 2005, garbage collection is done by a private firm contracted by town hall. In 2002, the town switched from heating oil to natural gas, supplied by a public utility. There is also an electricity network, and the street lights were modernised in 2006. Companies active in Mizil offer fixed and mobile telephone services, cable television, Internet, postal services, banking and gasoline.

As of 2002, Mizil had 8 ha of green space, including roadsides and parks.

During the Communist era, Mizil depended for employment on three large factories employing almost the entire workforce. The town reached an economic nadir in 1998-1999, when these laid off thousands of workers. One factory, formerly employing 8,500, fired all but around 400, while another dismissed almost all its 2,000 employees. Unemployment rose to 17.5% (against a national average of 8.7%); including those who had stopped looking for work, unemployment reached 80% of the working-age population (18 to 62). Poverty had reached alarming levels, with tension and crime also rising, particularly among the generally jobless, under-educated Roma. As of 2005, 39% of Mizil firms are involved in commerce, 15% in services, 12% in industry, 11% in construction, 5% in agriculture, 3% in transport, and 15% in other domains. That year, the working-age population was 65% of the total, of whom 30% had jobs. Roma represented a significant portion of the 70% who did not. Due to the factory closings, there was a dramatic fall in employment between 1994 and 2001; even with a slight rise in subsequent years, the workforce only reached half the 1994 level.

There is one hospital in Mizil, serving the town and surrounding communes.

Culture

thumb|Saints Joachim and Anna Orthodox Church, in [[Wooden Churches of Maramureș|Maramureș style (completed 2007)]]

The town houses two high schools, three primary schools and five kindergartens. One high school is focused on physics, chemistry, biology and computer science, while the other prepares students to become technicians.

Mizil has three historic Orthodox churches. The oldest, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, dates to the late 18th century and is in Fefelei. Another one, dedicated to John the Baptist, is in the town centre and was built in 1857. The building is cross-in-square in form and Byzantine and Gothic in style, with Renaissance touches. Its original painting was lost; a restoration took place in 1916. The iconostasis is sculpted out of linden wood and covered with gold leaf in folk art fashion. A third church, consecrated to the Dormition of the Theotokos and located in the town square, is from 1865. Among its sacred objects is a wooden blessing cross featuring silver filigree work and twenty-four red gems; this is from the end of the 19th century and appears to be the work of an anonymous artist from the Russian school.

Sport

As of 1964, the football team Rapid Mizil was playing in Divizia C.

Natives

  • (born 1967), philosopher, academic, and diplomat
  • Agatha Bacovia (1895–1981), poet
  • Ana Birchall (born 1973), lawyer and politician
  • Gheorghe Eminescu (1890–1988), historian, memoirist, and officer
  • Alexandru Ghiban (born 1986), water polo player
  • Octav Mayer (1895–1966), mathematician
  • Ion Panait (born 1981), Greco-Roman wrestler
  • George Ranetti (1875–1928), poet, journalist, and playwright
  • Gabriel Sandu (born 1963), economist and politician
  • Petre Strihan (1899–1990), poet
  • Iulian Tameș (born 1978), football player and coach
  • Grigore Tocilescu (1850–1909), historian and archaeologist, member of the Romanian Academy

Twin towns

Mizil is twinned with:

  • Iargara
  • Lingewaard

Notes

  • Mizil Town Hall Official Site