Topolovățu Mare
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Topolovățu Mare (; ; ) is a commune in
Timiș County Timiș () is a county (''județ'') of western Romania on the border with Hungary and Serbia, in the historical regions of Romania, historical region of Banat, with the county seat at Timișoara. It is the westernmost and the largest county in Ro ...
,
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: Cralovăț, Ictar-Budinț, Iosifalău, Șuștra, Topolovățu Mare (commune seat), and Topolovățu Mic.


Name


History

Until recently, the first recorded mention of Topolovățu Mare was considered to date from 1717, with the mention that it was most likely established during the Turkish occupation. More recent research, published in the ''Monograph of Topolovăț commune'', published under the coordination of Viorel Boldureanu, shows that the locality is mentioned in a Turkish
defter A ''defter'' was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire. Etymology The term is derived from Greek , literally 'processed animal skin, leather, fur', meaning a book, having pages of goat parchment used along with papyrus ...
from 1554, with the name ''Topolovăț''. The same source supports the hypothesis that the village moved to the nearby hill and took the name ''Kustelek'' (the toponym still exists today), which appears in a deed of donation of
Sigismund Báthory Sigismund Báthory (; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duchy of Racibórz, Duke of Racibórz and Duchy of Opole, Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transy ...
in 1597. After the expulsion of the Turks from Banat, the Austrians found the village of ''Topolovac'' with 40 houses on the current site. In the meantime, the village had descended to the roads in the valley and stabilized as a settlement at the crossroads between the
Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...
Lugoj Lugoj (; ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș, Timiș River divides the city into two halves: the "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank, and the "German Lugoj" on the left bank. Th ...
road and the old road leading from
Buziaș Buziaș (also known as Băile Buziaș or Buziaș-Băi; ; ) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, town in Timiș County, Romania. Thanks to its healing springs, it was once one of the most famous bathing places in Hungary and then in Romania; i ...
to Lipova. From the time of the Turks, there would have been a stop for
stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
es here and it is known that in 1767 there was a post office here. At the same time, there was a tax office here, which indicates the importance of the locality. Started in 1728, the works on the
Bega Canal The Bega Canal or Begej Canal (; ) is a navigation canal of Romania and Serbia. It is the first navigation canal built on the present-day territory of Romania, and serves the city of Timișoara. Its name comes from the Bega river. It crosses the ...
advanced in time upstream of Timișoara. When it was found that navigation on the canal was negatively affected by the oscillation of water flow, Dutch engineer , who designed the Bega Canal, proposed the construction of technical nodes to be located at Topolovăț and Coștei, in order to connect
Timiș The Timiș or Tamiš (, , , ) is a river that flows through the Banat region of Romania and Serbia and joins the Danube near Pančevo, in northern Serbia. Due to its position in the region, it has been labeled as the "spine of the Banat". N ...
and Bega and to allow the transfer of water between the two rivers. At the same time, the nodes would have improved the land and prevented flooding. Therefore, the construction of the hydrotechnical node at Topolovăț began in 1758 and was completed in 1760, in a record time. The node is a unique engineering monument for that period and has functioned to this day. In order to ensure the labor force, the labor colonies from Coșteiu Mic (for the node at Coștei) and Topolovățu Mic (for the note at Topolovăț) were established then. The colony was located on the left bank of the Bega and is attested as a village in 1783. In fact, its inhabitants were also Romanians from Topolovățu Mare, as evidenced by ethnographic research, by the very close family ties that exist today and the cultural similarities. In 1828, Topolovățu Mare was officially separated from Topolovățu Mic as two separate entities. In the local language, the mononym ''Topolovăț'' for Topolovățu Mare has been kept, while Topolovățu Mic is called ''Sămăiuda''. Until 1848 Topolovățu Mare was a property of the
Aerarium ''Aerarium'', from ''aes'' ("bronze, money") + -''ārium'' ("place for"), was the name given in Ancient Rome to the public treasury, and in a secondary sense to the public finances. ''Aerarium populi Romani'' The main ''aerarium'', that of ...
. It has developed as a stopping point on the road that connected Timișoara with Lugoj, especially after the construction of the railway.


Demographics

Topolovățu Mare had a population of 2,574 inhabitants at the 2011 census, down 13% from the 2002 census. Most inhabitants are
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, ...
(84.58%), larger minorities being represented by
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
(5.44%),
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 ...
(2.49%),
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 ...
(1.98%) and
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 ...
(1.17%). For 3.26% 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-pag ...
(78.44%), but there are also minorities of
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
s (5.63%),
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
s (5.52%),
Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...
(4.62%) and
Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...
s (1.36%). For 3.26% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.


Natives

*
Dorina Emilia Carbune Dorina Emilia Carbune (born February 22, 1985) is a Romanian female handballer, who plays for Kastamonu Bld. GSK and the Romanian national team. She played in her country for CS Tomis Constanța (2005–2008) before she moved in 2009 to Turk ...
(born 1985), handballer * Lucian Georgevici (1875 – 1940), lawyer and politician


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Topolovatu Mare Communes in Timiș County Localities in Romanian Banat