Romania’s Jiu valley, a coal mining region, is finally looking at a hopeful post-industrial future.
Visual artist Barbu, the founder of Planeta Petrila Association, has worked for the promotion of protection of the mining heritage of the valley: abandoned houses of the vanished miners, silent railroads and empty mines that were Jiu’s lifeline for 150 years.
The mining industry in Romania saw a boom during the second wave of industrialisation under Nicolae Ceausescu. In 1997, less than a decade after his execution, the industry saw a sharp decline. The valley has its eye on over 750 million euros of expected investment in Romania over the next seven years with the aim of creating new jobs. EU’s much anticipated Green Deal fund is worth 7.5 billion euros
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