Nădlac (; ; ) is a town in

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( județ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...

, western

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 ...

. A former part of the town lies across the border with

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much 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 south, Croatia and ...

; this village is called Nagylak. An international border town, Nădlac is the main border crossing into western Romania from Hungary. It is also a centre of the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Slovak community in

. Situated in the western part of

, from the county capital, at the western border of Romania, Nădlac is the main entrance gate from

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

Etymology

The settlement was first mentioned in historical documents in 1313, under the name ''Noglog''. The Hungarian name ''Nagylak'' is a compound word formed from ''nagy'', meaning "large" or "great", and ''lak'', meaning "dwelling" or "habitat". The latter is related to the Hungarian verb ''lakni'', meaning "to dwell" or "to reside". The name therefore conveys the meaning of a "large dwelling place" or "large habitat". The Romanian (''Nădlac'') and Slovak (''Nadlak'') versions are phonetic adaptations of the Hungarian original.

Population

At the 2021 census, Nădlac had a population of 6,713. At the 2011 census, the town had 7,398 inhabitants; of those, 47.26% were

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, 43.85%

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

, 5.1% Romani, 2.37%

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

, and 1.75% other or undeclared nationalities.

History

Archaeological excavations have brought to the surface traces of existence of the Dacian-Romans. During medieval times, Nădlac, a castle with wooden and soil fortification, was invaded by the Mongols, was held by

János Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as regent of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1446 to 1453, under the minor Ladislaus V. According to most con ...

, and was donated to the commanding officers Gyorgy Istvan and Dmitar Jakšić who laid the foundation of a new fortification. It was also ravaged several times by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

, and was razed to the ground by the rebels led by

György Dózsa György Dózsa (or ''György Székely'', Romanian: ''Gheorghe Doja''; – 20 July 1514) was a Székely man-at-arms from Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary who led a peasants' revolt against the kingdom's landed nobility during the reign ...

. It was, however, rebuilt every time. In 1685 the town was conquered by the Austrian royal army and was integrated in the border disposition of the Mureș valley. One of the most important moments in the history of Nădlac took place in the early 19th century, when the colonization process of the Slovaks started. This nationality has contributed to a great extent to the development of the settlement.

Tourist attractions

Among the town's tourist sights are the Saint Nicholas Church and the Slovak Lutheran church. There is also a park called "Lunca Mureșului."

References

External links

Site in Slovak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadlac Populated places in Arad County Towns in Romania Localities in Crișana Slovak communities in Romania Hungary–Romania border crossings Divided cities Place names of Hungarian origin in Romania