Birda ( Hungarian and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Birda'') is a commune in

Timiș County Timiș () is a county ('' județ'') of western Romania on the border with Hungary and Serbia, in the historical region of Banat, with the county seat at Timișoara. It is the westernmost and the largest county in Romania in terms of land area. T ...

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 ...

. It is composed of four villages: Berecuța, Birda (commune seat), Mânăstire and Sângeorge.

Geography

Birda is located in the southeastern part of

, bordering the town of

Gătaia Gătaia ( hu, Gátalja; german: Gataja, archaically ''Gotthal''; sr, Гатаја, Gataja) is a town in Timiș County, Romania. It administers five villages: Butin, Percosova, Sculia, Șemlacu Mare, and Șemlacu Mic. Declared a town in 2004, it a ...

and the communes of

Tormac Tormac ( hu, Végvár; german: Rittberg) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Cadăr, Șipet and Tormac (commune seat). Geography Tormac is located in the southeast of Timiș County. It borders Nițchidorf an ...

, Voiteg,

Opatița Deta ( hu, Detta; german: Detta; sr, Дета, Deta) is a town in Timiș County, Romania. It administers a single village, Opatița ( hu, Magyarapáca; german: Ungarisch-Opatitz). Geography Deta is located in the low plain of Bârzava and is cr ...

and

Denta Denta ( hu, Denta; german: Denta or ''Tenta''; sr, Дента, Denta) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Breștea ( hu, Berestye; Banat Bulgarian: ''Brešća''), Denta, Rovinița Mare (until 1964 Omor; hu, O ...

Climate

The climate is temperate continental, having an intermediate character between the continental,

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

climates. Winters are relatively mild, summers are long and hot, springs and autumns are short. The average annual temperature is 10.6 °C, and the average annual rainfall is 600–700 mm, ensuring very good conditions for

plant cultivation Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude ...

and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

History

The first recorded mention of Birda dates from 1690, from

Marsigli Count Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (or Marsigli, Lat. ''Marsilius''; 10 July 1658 – 1 November 1730) was an Italian scholar and eminent natural scientist, who also served as an emissary and soldier. Biography Born in Bologna, he was a member ...

's notes. It is probably much older and inhabited during the Turkish occupation. By 1717 Birda is recorded in the Habsburg imperial documents with 80 houses; Berecuța with 28 houses; and Sângeorge with 30 houses. After 1779, it belonged to Temes County, Plasa Deta, with a post office and later a train station. In 1828, the Aerarium sold Birda to the Termacici family. By 1842 it is the property of Baron Lo Presti. In 1852 it came into the possession of Baron Ukermann's wife. Until the end of the 19th century, Birda was inhabited only by

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 ...

, but at that time, the great owners settled German and Hungarian families here to cultivate their estates. The commune of Birda was established by ''Law 84/2004'', separating from the town of

Demographics

Birda had a population of 1,846 inhabitants at the 2011 census, down 5% from the 2002 census. Most inhabitants are

(86.62%), larger minorities being represented by

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

(3.47%),

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...

(1.52%) and

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 ...

(1.14%). For 5.36% of the population, ethnicity is unknown. By religion, most inhabitants are

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 ...

(85.1%), but there are also minorities of

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

s (3.74%),

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...

(2.65%) and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

s (1.46%). For 5.31% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.

References

{{Authority control Communes in Timiș County Localities in Romanian Banat