Vinga

For the Swedish lighthouse and island of the same name, see Vinga Lighthouse.
Vinga
Commune

Roman Catholic Church and the square
Vinga
Coordinates: 46°1′N 21°13′E / 46.017°N 21.217°E / 46.017; 21.217
Country  Romania
County Arad County
Population (2011)[1] 5,828
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

Vinga is a commune in Arad County, western Romania, 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. The people in Vinga are mainly Romanians, the second largest ethnic group being Hungarians. There is a Bulgarian minority of Catholic faith, known as the Banat Bulgarians, 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, Vinga was repopulated in the year 1741 with 125 families of ethnic Bulgarians from Chiprovtsi, joined later by Romanians from the surrounding area. After World War I, a majority of these Bulgarian families moved to Arad and Timişoara. After the World War II, 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, 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 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

Changes in population distribution in Vinga village
Census Ethnic origin
Year Population Romanians Banat Bulgarians Germans Hungarians Roma Serbs Slovaks Other origins
1880 4,796 263 3,543 652 278 6 9 45 -
1900 4,762 455 2,818 704 718 ? 31 36 ?
1930 4,764 1,108 2,208 392 919 64 14 22 26
1977 4,617 2,239 1,103 70 983 181 3 14 20
1992 4,132 2,147 690 40 686 463 5 29 71
2002 4,218 2,632 510 31 533 397 3 18 94

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the commune had 5828 inhabitants. Of these 58.11% were ethnic Romanians, 20.86% Hungarians, 11.06% Roma, 5.57% Bulgarians, 2.59% Slovaks, 0.9% Ukrainians and 0.2% Serbs. The commune is composed of three villages:

In RomanianIn HungarianEthnic majority
MailatMajláthfalvaHungarians
MănăşturMonostorRomanians
VingaVingaRomanians

Travel and transportation

There is a major European road running through Vinga (E671), connecting it to Arad to the North and Timisoara 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

References

  1. ↑ Romanian census data, 2002; retrieved on March 1, 2010
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Coordinates: 46°01′07″N 21°13′02″E / 46.0187°N 21.2171°E / 46.0187; 21.2171

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