Petrești (; , Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune of 1,388 inhabitants in

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 ...

, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Dindeștiu Mic (''Kisdengeleg'') and Petrești. In 1740, Count

Sándor Károlyi Baron, later Count Sándor Károlyi de Nagykároly (; 20 March 1668 – 8 September 1743) was a Hungarian aristocrat, statesman and Imperial Feldmarschall. He was one of the generals of Francis II Rákóczi during the War of Independence. Later he ...

colonized the village with a German population. The Petrești Swabian Museum is a household typical of traditional Swabian architecture.

Demographics

At the 2002 census, the commune had a population of 1,683; of those, 794 (47.17%) were

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 ...

, 530 (31.49%)

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

( Sathmar Swabians), 199 (11.82%)

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, ...

, and 159 (9.44%)

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. According to mother tongue, 73% spoke Hungarian as their first language, while 14.31% spoke

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and 12.65% of the population spoke

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

. At the 2011 census, there were 1,588 inhabitants, of which 46.91% were Hungarians, 27.33% Germans, 12.53% Romanians, and 10.52% Roma. At the 2021 census Petrești had a population of 1,388; of those, 39.55% were Germans, 39.05% were Hungarians, 10.66% Romanians, and 5.19% Roma.

Administration

The local council has the following political composition, based on the results of the votes cast at the 2024 Romanian local elections.

References

Communes in Satu Mare County Hungarian German communities {{SatuMare-geo-stub