Semlac ( hu, Szemlak) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

located in Arad County, in the western part of

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

, near the border with

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

, is situated in the south-western part of the Arad Plateau, in the large valley of 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 Ocna Mureș (; la, Sali ...

. Its territory occupies . It is composed of a single village, Semlac, situated from Arad.

Population

According to the 2011 census, the commune has 3,667 inhabitants, out of which 78.4% are ethnic Romanians, 8.4% Roma, 2.67%

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 ...

, and 2.32%

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

History

It is first mentioned in 1326. It was ravaged by the Turks in 1552, but later survived the occupation. In 1910, out of 5,676 inhabitants, there were 2,475 Romanians, 1,899 Germans, 601

, 278 Slovaks and 272 Ruthenians. 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 and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...

, Arad County belonged to the district of Pecica. In 1992, out of 3787 inhabitants, there were 2947 Romanians, 286 Germans, 233 Gypsies, 181 Hungarians and 140 others. To the south of the village, on the banks of the Mureş, lay the medieval village of ''Deușu'', which has left no trace. The economy of the commune is mainly agrarian, the locality is well known in the region as an important grain-bearing vegetable-growing place. The livestock is based on pig and cattle raising.

Tourism

Semlac contains a nature park.

Natives

Helmuth Duckadam Helmut Robert Duckadam (; born 1 April 1959) is a Romanian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was dubbed "the Hero of Seville" due to his performance in the 1986 European Cup Final, won by his club Steaua București, where he sa ...

(born 1959),

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

* (1895–1958), lawyer, executed by the Communist authorities * (1881–1960), priest and teacher, delegate at the

Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia The Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia ( ro, Marea Adunare Națională de la Alba Iulia) was an assembly held on 1 December 1918 in the city of Alba Iulia in which a total of 1,228 delegates from several areas inhabited by ethnic Romanians de ...

of 1918 *

Otmar Szafnauer Otmar Szafnauer (born 13 August 1964) is a Romanian-American engineer. Biography Szafnauer was born in Semlac, a small village in Western Romania to an American father of German descent and a Romanian mother. His family moved to Detroit in th ...

(born 1964), former CEO and team principal of the

BWT Alpine F1 Team Alpine F1 Team, competing as BWT Alpine F1 Team, is a Formula One constructor which made its debut at the start of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Formerly named Renault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive company Groupe Renaul ...

References

{{LocalitiesArad Communes in Arad County Localities in Crișana