Petriș () is a commune 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 ...

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 ...

. It is composed of six villages: Corbești (''Maroshollód''), Ilteu (''Iltő''), Obârșia (''Óborsa''), Petriș, Roșia Nouă (''Rósa''), and Seliște (''Marosszeleste'').

Geography

The commune lies on the banks of the

Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'') * Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania See also * Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County * Ocna Mureș, a town in Alba Cou ...

and of its left tributary, the Valea Roșie, at the contact zone of the Mureș Couloir with the

Metaliferi Mountains Metaliferi Mountains (; ), meaning Ore Mountains, are in the Carpathian Mountain Range and are a division of the Apuseni Mountains. Peaks The highest peak is , with an elevation of . The range also includes the '' Detunatele'', a pair of basalt ...

. Petriș is located in the eastern part of the county, from the county seat, Arad, on the border with

Hunedoara County Hunedoara County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva, Romania, Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as , ...

. The administrative territory of the commune is . Petriș is traversed by the

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

DN7, which links

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

with the

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

region. The Petriș and Ilteu train stations serve the CFR Line 200, which runs from

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

to Arad and on to Curtici on the Hungarian border.

Population

At the 2011 census, the commune had 1,525 inhabitants. At the 2002 census, 99.1% of the inhabitants 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, ...

, 0.5%

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 0.4% of other or undeclared nationalities.

History

The first documentary records of Petriș, Corbești, Ilteu, and Roșia Nouă date back to 1743. Obârșia was attested documentarily in 1468, and Seliște in 1479.

Natives

* Sabin Drăgoi (1894 – 1968), composer who specialized in folk music

Economy

The commune's present-day economy can be characterized by a dynamic force, with significant developments in several sectors. Pomiculture and

silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests ...

are well represented at the local level. The commune has an abundance of exploitable mineral resources, such as

pyrite The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue ...

s in Roșia Nouă.

Tourism

One the main touristic sights of the commune is the complex of the ; built in 1811, the castle's design was inspired by that of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. In the past, the building served as a sanatorium for treating pneumophysiological diseases. In 2017, the property was bought by OMC Investments (a real estate development and investment company founded by Octav Botnar) to further the activities of the Botnar Foundation. Other sights are the wooden church called "Nașterea Maicii Domnului" built in 1800 in Corbești; the wooden church named "Sfântul Mucenic Dimitrie" built in 1809 and painted in 1819 in Roșia Nouă; and the castle built in the 18–19th centuries in neoclassical style in Ilteu.

References

Communes in Arad County Localities in Crișana {{Arad-geo-stub