Pecica (; hu, Pécska; german: Petschka; sr, Печка/''Pečka'') is a town in
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 ...
,
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 ...
. 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 r ...
n fortress called
Ziridava
Ziridava (''Ziridaua'', grc, italic=yes, Ζιρίδαυα) 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 ...
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
According to the census of 2011 the population of the town counts 12,762 inhabitants. The ethnic composition is as follows: 62.2% Romanians, 28% Hungarians, 8.4% Roma, 0.33% Slovaks, 0.36% Serbs and 0.7% are 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
The Prehistory of Transylvania describes what can be learned about the region known as Transylvania through archaeology, anthropology, comparative linguistics and other allied sciences.
Transylvania proper is a plateau or tableland in northw ...
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.
![PecicaCulCntr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/PecicaCulCntr.jpg)
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 (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
,
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
and
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 ...
. After the
Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, it became part of the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
within
Austria-Hungary
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 ...
up until the
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in ...
. 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 de Thumburg ( hu, Gróf thumburgi Klebelsberg Kuno Imre Aurél Ferenc; 13 November 1875 – 12 October 1932) was a Hungarian politician who served as Minister of the Interior and Minister of Culture of the Hungary bet ...
(1875–1932), Hungarian politician, minister of interior and minister of culture
*
Roman Ciorogariu
Roman Ciorogariu (; born Romul Ciorogariu; December 6, 1852–January 21, 1936) was an Imperial Austrian-born Romanian bishop within the Romanian Orthodox Church, as well as a journalist and educator.
Biography
Born in Pecica, he attended h ...
(1852–1936), Romanian
Romanian Orthodox
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates i ...
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, and won a bronze medal at the 1996 European Championships. He still competes in the masters category. His elder broth ...
(born 1975), Romanian weightlifter
*
Mircea Petescu
Mircea Petescu (15 May 1942 – 16 December 2018) was a Romanian professional footballer and coach.[Woluwe-Saint-Pierre
Woluwe-Saint-Pierre () or Sint-Pieters-Woluwe () 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-Lambert, as well as th ...]
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
*
Battonya
Battonya ( ro, Bătania; sr, Батања, Batanja) is a town in Békés County, in the Southern Great Plain region of south-east Hungary. Residents are Magyars, with minority of Serbs and Romanians.
Geography
It covers an area of 145.77 km ...
,
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 ...
See also
*
Ziridava
Ziridava (''Ziridaua'', grc, italic=yes, Ζιρίδαυα) 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 ...
*
Pecica culture
The Prehistory of Transylvania describes what can be learned about the region known as Transylvania through archaeology, anthropology, comparative linguistics and other allied sciences.
Transylvania proper is a plateau or tableland in northwe ...
References
External links
Official Portal of Pecica - Overview, including historyPecica 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