Balș

Balș is a town in Olt County, Romania. The town administers three villages: Corbeni, Româna and Teiș.

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 Gypsies
 * * 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