The Krashovani ( ro, Carașoveni, hr, Krašovani) are a

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

community inhabiting

Carașova Carașova ( hr, Karaševo; hu, Krassóvár) is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, Romania. It is known especially for its geographical placement and for the origin of its Croatian inhabitants, the Krashovani. The population of the commune numbe ...

and

Lupac Lupac (Romanian: ''Lupac''; Croatian: ''Lupak''; hu, Kiskrassó) is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, Banat, Romania. In 2002, its population numbered 3,023 people and was mostly made up of Krashovani Croats. It is composed of four villages: C ...

in the

Caraș-Severin County Caraș-Severin () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Serbia. The majority of its territory lies within the historical region of Banat, with a few northeastern villages considered part of Transylvania. The county seat is Reșița ...

within

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

. They are Catholic by faith and speak the

Torlakian dialect Torlakian, or Torlak is a group of South Slavic dialects of southeastern Serbia, Kosovo, northeastern North Macedonia, and northwestern Bulgaria. Torlakian, together with Bulgarian and Macedonian, falls into the Balkan Slavic linguistic ar ...

. Glottolog lists "Karashevski" as a sub-type of Croatian.

Names

In Romanian, they are commonly known as ''Carașoveni''; other variants include ''Carșoveni'', ''Cârșoveni'', ''Cotcoreți'' or ''Cocoși''. In Croatian, they are commonly known as ''Krašovani''; other variants include ''Karašovani'', ''Krašovanje'', ''Karaševci'' and ''Koroševci''.

Settlements

Krashovani, declared as Croats, form a majority in two

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

of Caraș-Severin County:

and

. *Carașova commune **Carașova (Karaševo) **Nermed (Neremić) **Iabalcea (Jabalče) *Lupac commune **Clocotici (Klokotič) **Rafnic (Ravnik) **Vodnic (Vodnik) **Lupac (Lupak)

Identity

The Krashovani are Croatian speakers adhering to the Catholic Church. Their dialect is regarded a sub-dialect of the

Torlak dialect Torlakian, or Torlak is a group of South Slavic dialects of southeastern Serbia, Kosovo, northeastern North Macedonia, and northwestern Bulgaria. Torlakian, together with Bulgarian and Macedonian, falls into the Balkan Slavic linguistic ar ...

, a transitional dialect spoken in southeastern Serbia, westernmost Bulgaria and northeastern Macedonia. According to the 2002 census in Romania, the population of the Carașova commune comprised 84.60% Croats, 4.96% others, 4.47%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, 4.41%

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

and others. 93.12% of the population in that commune declared their mother tongue as Croatian. Only 207 persons declared Krashovani ethnicity in the 2002 census.

History

Their ancestors first settled Carașova in the 13th and 14th centuries from northwestern

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

. They formed a community in the northern plateau of the Caraș river, in seven villages, the oldest, Carașova, being mentioned in the 13th and 14th centuries while the rest are first mentioned in the 17th century. Serbian ethnographer

Jovan Cvijić Jovan Cvijić ( sr-cyr, Јован Цвијић, ; 1865 – 16 January 1927) was a Serbian geographer and ethnologist, president of the Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences and rector of the University of Belgrade. Cvijić is considered the ...

concluded that the community was "very old settlers with origin in Crna Reka who were Catholicised"; Stanko Žuljić claims that their origin is in

Turopolje Turopolje () is a region in Croatia situated between the capital city Zagreb and Sisak. The administrative center of the region Turopolje is the town of Velika Gorica. Geography Turopolje forms a part of Posavina, a region to the south of Za ...

, in Croatia. The Carașoveni were considered

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

by some Bulgarian scientists in the first half of the 20th century (such as G. Cibrus, M. Mladenov, K. Telbizov, and T. Balkanski), partially based on their view that Torlakian-speakers are ethnically Bulgarians. According to the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

population census there were over 10,000 Carașoveni in Banat. In the 1847 census over 10,000 people declared as Carașoveni. In 1896 the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

census around 7,500 Carașoveni were listed. The same was stated by the authorities of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

in 1940. Their number dropped to 2,775 in 1992.''Spațiul istoric și etnic românesc'', Vol.I,

Editura Militară Editura Militară (Military Publishing House) is a publishing house based in Bucharest, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, S ...

, Bucharest, 1992 The Union of Croats of Romania ( hr, Zajedništvo Hrvata u Rumunjskoj, ZHR; ro, Uniunea Croaților din România, UCR) is an ethnic minority political party in

representing the Croatian community.

References

External links