Făget (; hu, Facsád; german: Fatschet) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Timiș County,

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 ...

, with a population of about 7,500. The town administers ten villages: Bătești, Begheiu Mic, Bichigi, Brănești, Bunea Mare, Bunea Mică (depopulated), Colonia Mică, Jupânești, Povârgina and Temerești.

Name

Its name literally means " beech forest" in Romanian.

Geography

Făget is located in the southwest of Romania, in the contact area of the Lugoj Plain with the Lugoj Hills, on the upper course of the Bega River. Within Timiș County, it is located in its eastern part, 98 km from

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

and 33 km from

Lugoj Lugoj (; hu, Lugos; german: Lugosch; sr, Лугош, Lugoš; bg, Лугож; tr, Logoş) is a city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș River divides the city into two halves, the so-called "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank and t ...

, to which it is connected by the national road 68A. The same road to the east connects the town with Deva, 68 km away. The town is also crossed by CFR line 212 (Lugoj–Făget– Ilia).

History

Făget Fortress is documented for the first time in 1548, as the property of Jakab Békés and bearing the name ''Fagyath''. Between 1594–1602 Făget was the property of the Ban of

. In 1602 it was besieged and destroyed by the Turks, after which it fell into ruin. For 150 years it has been the subject of fierce confrontations between Romanians, Turks and Austrians, which is also confirmed by archaeological excavations. The picturesque landscape of Făget, the intense spiritual activity and its famous fairs attracted the attention of some foreign travelers who passed through Transylvania and Banat. In 1660, Turkish traveler

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...

, passing through Făget, described the medieval fortress: Along with the military fortress, the civilian settlement also evolved, becoming in a relatively short period of time the most important locality in the area. The fortress was finally demolished by the Turks in 1699. Immediately after Banat was conquered by the Austrians in 1717, Făget had only 20 houses left, but it was the center of a district with 42 communes. After this period of decline, the town began to grow again and in 1787 received the right to hold eight fairs a year. At the end of the 18th century, Johann Lehmann wrote: On the same note, Italian traveler noted that, at the beginning of the 19th century, Făget had "200 Romanian houses with two churches and over 30 German houses with a small but clean church, served by the Minorite monks from Lugoj". Făget was also an important connection point between Banat and Transylvania, here being a "custom house for Transylvania and Hungary". In the 17th and 18th centuries, attempts were made to colonize workers of other nationalities to work on forest exploitations, but the impact is small and Făget remains a center of Romanianism at a time when western Banat was intensely colonized. In 1900, attempts were made to settle the first families of Hungarian settlers in Colonia Mică. On 5 July 1994, Făget was declared a town, with 10 villages subordinated to it.

Demographics

Făget had a population of 6,761 inhabitants at the 2011 census, down 6% from the 2002 census. Most inhabitants are

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...

(89.34%), larger minorities being represented by

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 ...

(3.85%) and

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

(2.09%). For 3.03% of the population, ethnicity is unknown. By religion, most inhabitants are Orthodox (72.71%), but there are also minorities of

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

s (13.28%),

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 let ...

s (4.17%),

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

s (2.43%), Adventists (2.41%) and Reformed (1.52%). For 3.17% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.

Economy

The economic sector of production is represented by companies active in the field of leather processing in footwear and leather goods, exploitation and processing of wood of various essences, from lumber to furniture, a section for exploitation and processing of quartz sand and companies active in various branches of the food industry, especially milk processing and pastry production. In the village of Jupânești, there is a tradition in

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

, which is declining as an economic activity, but with a high potential.

Twin towns

Făget is twinned with: * Cervinara *

Elek Elek (, ) is a town in Békés County, in the Southern Great Plain region of south-east Hungary. Jews lived in the city as early as the 19th century and in 1944 many of them were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust. Geography The town cover ...

* Mirebeau-sur-Bèze

Gallery

File:RO TM Batesti 43.jpg, The wooden church in Bătești File:Faget Cetate 1.JPG, Ruins of the Făget Fortress File:RO TM Jupanesti 5.jpg, The wooden church in Jupânești File:RO TM Povergina 22.jpg, The wooden church in Povârgina

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faget Towns in Romania Populated places in Timiș County Localities in Romanian Banat