Vinga 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 ...

, 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 ...

, south of the county seat of Arad, with a population of 5,828 inhabitants (as of 2011). Vinga is located in the northern section of 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 ...

. The people in Vinga are mainly

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, ...

, the second largest ethnic group being

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 ...

. There is a Bulgarian minority of Catholic faith, known as the

Banat Bulgarians The Banat Bulgarians ( Banat Bulgarian: ''Palćene'' or ''Banátsći balgare''; common ; ; ), also known as Bulgarian Roman Catholics, Bulgarian Latin Catholics and Bulgarians Paulicians or simply as Paulicians, are a distinct Bulgarian minorit ...

, who have historically been the dominant ethnicity in Vinga.

History

The first evidence of Vinga's existence as a small village dates back to 1231 A.D. After Vinga was destroyed by Turks during the expansion of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, Vinga was repopulated in the year 1741 with 125 families of ethnic Bulgarians from

Chiprovtsi Chiprovtsi (, pronounced ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a small town in northwestern Bulgaria, administratively part of Montana Province. It lies on the shores of the river Ogosta in the western Balkan Mountains, very close to the Bulg ...

, joined later by

from the surrounding area. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, a majority of these Bulgarian families moved to Arad and

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 ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, more and more Bulgarians moved to Vinga and began to own large and important pieces of land in the area. During the communist regime of

Nicolae Ceauşescu Nicolae may refer to: * Nicolae (name), an Aromanian and Romanian name * ''Nicolae'' (novel), a 1997 novel See also *Nicolai (disambiguation) *Nicolao Nicolao is an Italian given name and a surname. It may refer to the following: Given name *Ni ...

, the government promised to contribute and renovate Vinga so that it could be recognized as a small town. However, these promises were not kept because the revolution of 1989 occurred and a new government was formed.

Religion

When Bulgarians came to Vinga, they brought with them their culture, their language, and also their religion of Roman Catholicism. The imposing

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church, which was built by ethnic Bulgarians in the early 1890s, can be seen from afar. There is also an Orthodox church, which represents the main religion of Romanians living in the area. Furthermore, there is a Baptist church, which holds around 30 members, and a Pentecostal church which is located near the Baptist church.

Population and ethnic changes

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the commune had 5828 inhabitants. Of these 58.11% were ethnic Romanians, 20.86%

, 11.06%

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 ...

, 5.57%

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

, 2.59%

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 ...

, 0.9%

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

and 0.2%

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 ...

. The commune is composed of three villages:

Travel and transportation

There is a major European road running through Vinga ( E671), connecting it to Arad to the North and Timișoara to the South. Vinga also has a train station running the same general direction as the road, connecting these two major cities, Arad and Timișoara. Many people in Vinga commute to one of these cities to work. Being a commune, it has two associate small towns (villages) in its administrative jurisdiction: Mănăștur and Mailat.

Natives

Stefan Dunjov Stefan Dunjov (, ''Stefan Dunyov'', ) (28 July 1815 – 29 August 1889) was a Banat Bulgarian military figure and revolutionary known for participating in both the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the Italian unification (''Risorgimento''), as ...

Eusebius Fermendžin Eusebius Fermendžin (also ''Fermendzhin, Fermendjin''; ) (21 September 1845 – 25 June 1897) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian high-ranking Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic cleric, Franciscan friar and academic of Banat Bulgarians, B ...

Gallery

Image:Roman Catholic church Vinga.jpg, Church Image:Vinga cyrkva vytre.JPG, Church inside Image:Sigla UBBR Vinga.jpg, Bulgarian House plaque Image:Vinga kmetstvo-manastir.JPG, Mayor's Office, former Franciscan monastery

References

External links

Varga E. Statistică recensăminte după limba maternă, respectiv naţionalitate, jud. Arad 1880–1992Recensământ 2002
{{LocalitiesArad Communes in Arad County Localities in Romanian Banat Bulgarian communities in Romania