Nădlac (; sk, Nadlak; hu, Nagylak) is a town in western

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 ...

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( judeţ) 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 center ...

. A former part of the town lies across the border with

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the 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 a ...

; this village is called

Nagylak Nagylak ( ro, Nădlac or ) is a village in Csongrád-Csanád County, in the Southern Great Plain region of southern Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and in 2017 had a population of 433, 6% of whom is of Romanian Romanian may refer to: * ...

. An international border town, Nădlac is the main border crossing into western Romania from Hungary. It is also a centre of the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Slovak community in

. Situated in the western part of

, 50 km from the county capital, at the western border of

, Nădlac is the main entrance gate from

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Nădlac was first mentioned in documents in 1313 when it was known as Noglog. The town's name in Hungarian language means "big place". The Romanian and Slovak names derive from that.

Population

According to the 2011 census, Nădlac had 7,185 inhabitants. The ethnic breakdown was as follows: *

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 ...

: 47.26% *

Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak. In Slovakia, 4.4 mi ...

: 43.85% *

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

: 5.1% *

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

: 2.37% * others: 1.75%

History

Archaeological excavations have brought to the surface traces of existence of the Dacian-Romans. Throughout times Nădlac, a castle with wooden and soil fortification, was invaded by the Tartars, was held by

János Hunyadi John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...

, and was donated to the commanding officers Gyorgy Istvan and Dmitar Jakšić who laid the foundation of a new fortification. It was also ravaged several times by the Turks, and was razed to the ground by the rebels led by

György Dózsa György Dózsa (or ''György Székely'',appears as "Georgius Zekel" in old texts ro, Gheorghe Doja; 1470 – 20 July 1514) was a Székely man-at-arms (and by some accounts, a nobleman) from Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary who led a peasa ...

. It was, however, rebuilt every time. In 1685 the town was conquered by the Austrian royal army and was integrated in the border disposition of the Mureș valley. One of the most important moments in the history of Nădlac took place in the early 19th century, when the colonization process of the Slovaks started. This nationality has contributed to a great extent to the development of the settlement.

Tourist attractions

Among the town's tourist sights are the Saint Nicholas Church and the Slovak Lutheran church. There is also a park called "Lunca Mureșului."

References

External links

Site in Slovak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadlac Populated places in Arad County Towns in Romania Localities in Crișana Slovak communities in Romania Hungary–Romania border crossings Divided cities Place names of Hungarian origin in Romania