Fărău (; ) is a commune located in northeastern part of

Alba County Alba County () is a county (județ) of Romania located in the historic region of Transylvania. Its capital is Alba Iulia, a city with a population of 63,536. Name "Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of the ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It is composed of five villages: Fărău, Heria (''Hari''), Medveș (''Nagymedvés''), Sânbenedic (''Magyarszentbenedek'') and Șilea (''Magyarsülye''). The commune is situated on the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau (; ) is a plateau in central Romania. Description The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern Carpathians, Eastern, Southern ...

, on the border with

Mureș County Mureș County (, , ) is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative reor ...

, at a distance of from the county seat,

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

. It lies at the divide between the

Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'') * Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania See also * Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County * Ocna Mureș, a town in Alba Cou ...

and

Târnava Mică River The Târnava (full name in ; ; ; ) is a river in Romania. It is formed by the confluence of the Târnava Mare and Târnava Mică in the town of Blaj. The Târnava flows into the Mureș after 23 km near the town of Teiuș. The two source ...

valleys. The Fărău river, a left tributary of the Mureș, flows through the commune. Fărău borders to the east and northeast

Bichiș Bichiș (, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Bichiș, Gâmbuț (''Gombostelke''), Nandra (''Lándor''), and Ozd (''Magyarózd''). The commune is situated on the Tra ...

commune, to the southeast Jidvei commune, to the south and southwest Șona commune, to the west Hopârta commune, and to the north and northwest Noșlac commune. According to the census from 2011 there was a total population of 1,569 people living in this commune, of which 69.66% were ethnic

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, 22.18% ethnic

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

, and 4.4% ethnic Romani. At the 2021 census, Fărău had a population of 1,303, of which 78.59% were Romanians and 11.59% Hungarians. There are several wooden churches in the commune, including: * The in Fărău village, built in 1762. * The Saint Nicholas Church in Sânbenedic village, built in the 18th century. * The Holy Archangels Church in Sânbenedic village, built in 1775. * The Saint Nicholas Church in Șilea village, built in the 18th century.

References

Communes in Alba County Localities in Transylvania {{Alba-geo-stub