Vâlcea County

Vâlcea (also spelt Vîlcea; Romanian pronunciation: [ˈvɨlt͡ʃe̯a]) is a county (județ) of Romania. Located in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (which are separated by the Olt River), it is also part of the wider Wallachia region. Its capital city is Râmnicu Vâlcea.

Demographics

In 2011, it had a population of 355,320 and the population density was 61.63/km².

Geography

This county has a total area of 5,765 km².

The North side of the county is occupied by the mountains from the Southern Carpathians group - The Făgăraș Mountains in the East with heights over 2200 m, and the Lotru Mountains in the West with heights over 2000 m. They are separated by the Olt River valley - the most accessible passage between Transylvania and Muntenia. Along the Olt River Valley there are smaller groups of mountains, the most spectacular being the Cozia Mountains.

Towards the South, the heights decrease, passing through the sub-carpathian hills to a high plain in the West side of the Romanian Plain.

Râmnicu Vâlcea

Râmnicu Vâlcea (also spelled Rîmnicu Vîlcea, Romanian pronunciation: [ˈrɨmniku ˈvɨlt͡ʃe̯a]) (population: 92,573) is the capital city of Vâlcea County, Romania (in the historical province of Oltenia).

Geography and climate

Râmnicu Vâlcea is situated in the central-south area of Romania. Set at the foothills of the Southern Carpathians, the city is located at about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the Cozia Mountains and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the Făgăraş and Lotrului Mountains. The southern limit of Râmnicu Vâlcea is formed by the Getic Plateau and the Oltului Valley.

The Olt River crosses the town of Râmnicu Vâlcea as well as the E81 road of European interest and one of the main national railway routes.

History

The area has been inhabited since Dacian and Roman times, and was the site of a castrum. A new fortress was built on the location during the Middle Ages. Râmnicu Vâlcea was first attested during the rule of Prince Mircea cel Bătrân, as "the princely town of Râmnic" (4 September 1388), and confirmed as the seat of a Vâlcea County during the same period (8 January 1392).

The Mall Wood Green

The Mall Wood Green is a large shopping centre and residential complex in Wood Green, North London. It is generally still referred to by its former name of Wood Green Shopping City; the signage on the building still uses that name.

The Mall is the largest shopping centre within the North Circular, with just over 100 retail shops, seven of them anchor stores, 45 market stalls, and an average of 221,000 customers per week. The centre and the adjoining shops on Wood Green High Road constitute the commercial hub of Haringey and its surrounding areas.

Wood Green Shopping City

The centre was built in the 1970s as "Wood Green Shopping City", on the site of the former Noel Park and Wood Green railway station. Initially it included a number of unusual features, most notably a giant wooden climbing frame in the shape of a frog.

The centre was opened on 13 May 1981 by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Unusually for a shopping centre, the A105 road runs directly through the complex, allowing many of the stores to have entrances directly onto the street. The two halves of the mall are linked by bridges at first and second floor level. The centre is six storeys high, but only the lower two floors are occupied by shops; the upper floors make up a housing complex known as "Sky City", where in 2006, the badly decomposed body of a woman was found. Her name was Joyce Vincent and she had died three years earlier, her body lay undiscovered. Joyce's life is the subject of the film Dreams of a Life.