Administrative map of Romania with Ilfov county highlighted

Ilfov is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but after the fall of communism, stylish high-income towns (which act like suburbs of Bucharest) have been built, especially in the northern side.

Population

It has a population (excluding Bucharest) of 300,000. 40% of the population commutes and works in Bucharest, although in recent years, many industrial plants were built outside Bucharest, in the Ilfov county. There are 3 towns, Otopeni to the north (with Bucharest's main airport), Buftea to the north-east and Voluntari to the east. There are serious debates about the city level awarded to Voluntari, as it was given in regards to the city's political affiliation, rather than population, development or any other objective features. Despite this, Voluntari does have a population of 15,000, and many Transylvanian localities with this population have been given city-status in the past.

Municipalities (communes)

1. Periş
2. Ciolpan
3. Gruiu
4. Nuci
5. Snagov
6. Grădiştea
7. Moara Vlăsiei
8. Baloteşti
9. Corbeanca
10. Dascălu
11. Petrăchioaia
12. Otopeni (city status)
13. Tunari
14. Ştefăneştii de Jos
15. Afumaţi
16. Voluntari (city status)
17. Găneasa
18. Mogoşoaia
19. Buftea (city status)
20. Chitila
21. Dragomireşti Vale
22. Chiajna
23. Dobroieşti
24. Pantelimon
25. Brăneşti
26. Ciorogârla
27. Domneşti
28. Clinceni
29. Bragadiru
30. Popeşti-Leordeni
31. Glina
32. Cernica
33. Cornetu
34. Măgurele
35. Jilava
36. Berceni
37. Dărăşti
38. 1 Decembrie
39. Vidra

There is no capital of the Ilfov county. Most of the county's institutions are located in Bucharest, some being located in Otopeni, others in Buftea. There is a struggle for both towns to be named county capital, one boasting its development and resources (Otopeni has the biggest income per capita in Romania and the biggest airport in the country), the other population and surface. This rivalry is fairly recent, since Ilfov used to be mainly rural and relatively poor in the past decades, and therefore Bucharest was seen as its main administrative centre. Nowadays, with a unique political identity being given to Ilfov, an identity that is separate to Bucharest, it is likely that a fixed capital city will be determined for Ilfov. Buftea is the most likely candidate because it is further from Bucharest and less associated with the city, whereas Otopeni is commonly seen as a suburb of Bucharest, and it would therefore be problematic to have the capital so close to the national capital, Bucharest.

History

The name, of Slavic origin, composed from "Ilf" (a name?) and sufix "-ov" and it appears for the first time in a 1482 donation act of voivode Vlad Călugărul to the monastery of Snagov.

Before 1972, it used to be one of the largest counties of Romania, but parts of it were added to neighbouring counties and nowadays it is the smallest (excluding the city of Bucharest, which has a special status). Between 1981 and 1997, it was called "Sectorul Agricol Ilfov" and it was not a separate county, but subordinate to the capital.

Geography

Several lakes can be found in Ilfov county, notably Cernica , Snagov lake and Căldăruşani . Also several rivers pass through it: Dambovita river, Colentina river , Ialomita river and its affluent Gruiu river .