Țara Oașului, lit. 'Oaș Country' in Romanian () is an

ethnocultural An ethnographic group or ethnocultural group is a group that has cultural traits that make it stand out from the larger ethnic group it is a part of. In other words, members of an ethnographic group will also consider themselves to be members of a ...

and historical region of

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

located in the north-east part of

Satu Mare County Satu Mare County (, , ) is a county (Counties of Romania, județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', in German language, Ge ...

, from both

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; ; ; or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the region of Maramureș, broadly part of Transylvania ...

and

Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; ; ; ) is a Municipiu, city along the Săsar, Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramureș, a subregion of Transylvania. It is situated about from Buchare ...

. The total area is about . The capital of Țara Oașului is the town of Negrești-Oaș.

Boundaries

Țara Oașului extends from Turț – Gherța Mare – Gherța Mică on the western side, all the way to the Huta Pass (situated at an altitude of ) in the East, from Cămărzana and Tarna Mare in the North, to the mountains that surround Orașu Nou, Racșa, and Vama in the South. The northern and northwestern side of the region border

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, the eastern and southern side border

Maramureș County Maramureș County () is a county (județ) in Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian as Мараморо́щ ...

, while the western side abuts the rest of Satu Mare County.

Communes

Țara Oașului comprises the following communes: * Bătarci * Bixad *

Călinești-Oaș Călinești-Oaș (; , Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in Satu Mare County, north-western Romania, with a population of 5,117 as of 2021. Part of the region of Maramureș, it is composed of four villages: Călinești-Oaș, Coca (''Kakákte ...

* Cămărzana *

Certeze Certeze (; , Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune of 5,646 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Certeze, Huta-Certeze (''Lajosvölgy''), and Moișeni (''Mózesfalu''). The commune is located in t ...

* Gherța Mică * Orașu Nou * Racșa * Tarna Mare *

Târșolț Târșolț (; pronounced: ) is a commune situated in Satu Mare County, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Aliceni (''Kistartolc'') and Târșolț. At the 2011 census, the commune had 3,047 inhabitants, all of whom were ethnic Romanians; 62 ...

* Turț * Vama

Geography

The

Oaș Mountains The Oaș Mountains (, , ) are a small volcanic mountain range within the Vihorlat-Gutin Area of the Inner Eastern Carpathians. The mountains are centered in northern section of the Țara Oașului, covering border area between the Satu Mare County ...

are a small volcanic mountain range within the

Inner Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya S ...

, centered in northern part of Oaș Country; the highest peak is Piatra Vâscului, reaching . The Oaș Depression has maximum altitudes of . Most of the human dwellings are situated alongside the river valleys that cross the Oaș Depression. In the northern part of the depression there are the

Talna The Talna is a left tributary of the river Tur in Romania. It discharges into the Tur in Gherța Mică. Its length is and its basin size is . The upper reach of the river, upstream of the junction with the Talna Mică, is sometimes considered t ...

Talna Mică The Talna Mică is a left tributary of the river Talna in Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to ...

, and Valea Muntelui rivers and the Lechincioara Basin, which includes the

Lechincioara The Lechincioara is a right tributary of the river Valea Rea in Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hun ...

, Mare, and Semănaturii rivers. In the southern part of Țara Oașului there are the Tur, Valea Rea, and Valea Albă rivers.

History

The first document that mentioned Țara Oașului dates from 1270, when the

King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

donated to a nobleman several villages from the southwestern boundary of the "country". In that document, Țara Oașului is mentioned as Terra Awas. Some historians claim that the origin of the word "''Oaș''" is the "''Awas''", which means a kind of

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

or a clearing in the woods. Țara Oașului was mentioned in the of

Grigore Ureche Grigore Ureche (; 1590–1647) was a Moldavian chronicler who wrote on Moldavian history in his ''Letopisețul Țării Moldovei'' ('' Chronicles of the Land of Moldavia''), covering the period from 1359 to 1594. Biography Grigore Ureche was th ...

Gallery

File:Maria Tripon.jpg, Local folk singer Maria Tripon in traditional costume File:Ionuț Silaghi de Oaș.jpg, Local folk singer Ionuț Silaghi de Oaș in traditional costume File:Biserica Lechinta.jpg, Wooden Church from Lechința, Open Air Museum of Țara Oașului in Negrești-Oaș town, 2008 File:Ansamblul folcloric Oașul.jpg, Oaș folk ensemble in the Museum of Țara Oașului File:SatDinOas.jpg, Open Air Museum of Țara Oașului in Negrești-Oaș town File:Pasul Huta3.jpg, Huta Pass

References

External links

PresentationPictures of Țara Oașului
*http://www.oas.ro/ *http://www.incogniterra.org/pages/events/sambra.html {{Authority control Historical regions in the Kingdom of Hungary Historical regions of Transylvania Negrești-Oaș