Liebling (formerly Brist; german: Liebling; hu, Liebling or ''Kedvenc'') 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 ...

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 three villages: Cerna (german: Tscherna; hu, Temescserna), Iosif (formerly Conacul Iosif; hu, Józsefszállás) and Liebling.

Geography

Liebling is located in the southwest of

, 35 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 20 km from

Ciacova Ciacova ( hu, Csák; german: Tschakowa; sr, Чаково, Čakovo; tr, Çakova) is a town in Timiș County, Romania. It administers four villages: Cebza, Macedonia, Obad and Petroman. When it was declared a town in 2004, the villages of Gad and G ...

, the nearest town.

Hydrography

Liebling belongs to the Timiș river basin. Tofoaia Valley crosses Liebling to the north, flowing into the Timiș River through the Birda-Lanca Canal.

Climate

The influence of the Mediterranean and oceanic air masses makes the winters shorter and milder with a positive average temperature of 0.2 °C, the coldest month being January. Springs are earlier and warmer, but short and with large temperature variations caused by the activity of cyclones in the

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 the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. Summers are long and hot. Autumns are also long, conducive to harvesting.

History

The first recorded mention of a settlement on present-day Liebling dates from 1332. The medieval village was called ''Beesd'' and appears in papal tithe records as having a parish. Around 1597, in a Hungarian diploma, it is mentioned as ''Briszt''. The modern village was established in 1786–1788 by colonizing Protestant Germans from

Pfalz Pfalz, Pfälzer, or Pfälzisch are German words referring to Palatinate. They may refer to: Places *Pfalz, the Palatinate (region) of Germany **Nordpfalz, the North Palatinate **Vorderpfalz, the Anterior Palatinate **Südpfalz, the South P ...

and

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. The village was built according to a well-established plan by the Timișoara administration, under the supervision of Commissioner Wallbrunn, who ordered the construction of 290 new houses, with straight and parallel streets. In the first year only 102 families arrived, the rest came later. The commune thus founded was named by Commissioner Wallbrunn ''Vécsháza'', after the then governor of

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

. According to oral tradition, the governor, because he loved Protestants, changed it to ''Liebling'' (meaning "darling" in

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 **Ge ...

), a name that became official in 1828, the year the Evangelical Lutheran church was built. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Romanian families moved here from the current Alba County, which, through the agrarian reform, were put in possession of land (1926). The Romanian population grew post-war, the Germans migrated massively, especially after 1989 and the commune is today mostly Romanian.

Demographics

Liebling had a population of 3,723 inhabitants at the 2011 census, down 0.3% from the 2002 census. Most inhabitants are

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 ...

(86.95%), larger minorities being represented by

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

(4.27%) 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 ...

(3.38%). For 3.84% 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-pa ...

(76.82%), but there are also minorities of

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

s (6.47%),

Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

s (4.75%),

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 (4.65%) and

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 compete ...

s (1.75%). For 3.89% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liebling, Timis Communes in Timiș County Localities in Romanian Banat Former Danube Swabian communities in Romania