Pecica (; ; ; /''Pečka'') is a town in

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( județ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...

, western

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 ...

. In ancient times it was a

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

n fortress called

Ziridava Ziridava (''Ziridaua'', ) was a Dacian town located between Apulon and Tibiscum, mentioned by Ptolemy in the area of the Dacian tribe of Biephi (today's Romania, Banat region). Ancient sources Ptolemy's ''Geographia'' Ziridava is ment ...

and today it is an important archeological site.Barbara Ann Kipfer, ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology'', p.428. Springer, 2000, Situated at from Arad, it was declared a town in 2004. Its administrative territory extends into the Arad Plateau. The town administers three villages: Bodrogu Vechi (''Óbodrog''), Sederhat (''Szederhát'') and Turnu (''Tornya'').

Population

At the 2021 census, Pecica had a population of 11,950. At the 2011 census, the town had 11,885 inhabitants; of those, 62.2% were

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, ...

, 28%

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 ...

, 8.4%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, 0.36%

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

, 0.33%

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

, and 0.7% of other or undeclared nationalities.

History

Due to the abundance of archaeological finds of the zone an important historic period known as the Periam-Pecica culture was named after the settlement. The history of the localities Pecica, Bodrogu Vechi, Sederhat and Turnu is closely connected with the events making highly memorable the entire zone of the Arad Plateau. The first mention in documents of the locality dates back to 1335 when it was known as Petk. Sederhat was registered only in 1913, Turnu in 1333 under the name of Mok, while Bodrogu Vechi in 1422 under the name of Bodruch. It has a complex political history with periods of Ottoman rule, periods of

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

and

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. After the

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

, it became part of the

within

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

up until the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

. Since then the town has been part of Romania.

Economy

Although the economy of the town is prevalent agricultural, the secondary and tertiary economic sectors have also developed recently. Besides agriculture, the industry of petrol and rock-gas is also well represented. The initiation of the frontier crossing point at Turnu and the trimming of the thermal water springs should be the most important chances for the economic development of the town.

Tourism

Tourist attractions include the Roman Catholic Church, the Pecica Cultural Center, and the "Lunca Mureșului" park.

Notable residents

Kuno von Klebelsberg Count Kuno von Klebelsberg zu Thumburg (; 13 November 1875 – 12 October 1932) was a Hungarian politician who served as Minister of the Interior and Minister of Culture of the Kingdom of Hungary between the two world wars. Early life Klebel ...

(1875–1932), Hungarian politician, minister of interior and minister of culture * Roman Ciorogariu (1852–1936), Romanian

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

bishop, journalist and educator *

Marius Cihărean Marius Cihărean (born 17 November 1975) is a featherweight weightlifter from Romania. He competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly re ...

(born 1975), Romanian weightlifter * Mircea Petescu (1943–2018), Romanian footballer and coach

Sister cities

Woluwe-Saint-Pierre Woluwe-Saint-Pierre ( French, ) or Sint-Pieters-Woluwe ( Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by Etterbeek, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Lambe ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Battonya Battonya (; ) is a town in Békés County, in the Southern Great Plain region of south-east Hungary. Residents are Hungarians, with minority of Serbs and Romanians. Geography It covers an area of 145.77 km2 and has a population of 4966 peopl ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

References

External links

Official Portal of Pecica - Overview, including history

Pecica Historical Data at Arad County Council

Pecica Tourism and Historical Data at Arad County Council
{{LocalitiesArad Populated places in Arad County Towns in Romania Archaeological sites in Romania Hungary–Romania border crossings Localities in Crișana