Ghizela (; ) 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 four villages: Ghizela (commune seat), Hisiaș, Paniova and Șanovița.

History

Ghizela was founded by German colonists in 1880. The journey they took to settle here was a longer one. They came from Giselahein (near

Pančevo Pančevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Панчево, ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located on the shores of rivers Timiș (ri ...

, in the

Serbian Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of Timiș, Caraș ...

), where they had settled in 1868. But before that they had come from the village of Molydorf (near

Zrenjanin Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city urban area has a population of 67,129 inh ...

, now disappeared), founded by the first German colonists in 1832. The first generation of colonists was from

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

and

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

. The new settlement was located on a cleared land that belonged to Babșa and Șanovița. The name was given after the village of Giselahein, where the German colonists had come from. In 1906 a second wave of colonization took place, this time with 45 Hungarian families. They formed a separate colony, and the Hungarian state built them a Catholic church in 1909. The first recorded mention of Hisiaș dates from 1410, when it is mentioned that it was part of the Duboz domain, together with four other localities. It may have disappeared completely during the Turkish period. The name ''Hiziasch'', in the district of

Făget Făget (; ; or ''Fatschet'') is a town in Timiș County, Romania, with a population of about 6,600. The town administers ten villages: Bătești, Begheiu Mic, Bichigi, Brănești, Bunea Mare, Bunea Mică (depopulated), Colonia Mică, Jupânești ...

, reappears on Count Mercy's map from 1723. It was said that the inhabitants, Romanians, would have resettled here during the reign of Queen Marie, the Orthodox parish being established in 1770. In 1779 it was attached to

Temes County County of Temes ( Hungarian: ''Temes'', Romanian: ''Timiș'', Serbian: ''Тамиш'' or ''Tamiš'', German: ''Temes'' or ''Temesch'') was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in southwestern ...

and became the 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 ...

. Paniova is first mentioned in

Marsigli Count Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (or Marsigli, ; 10 July 1658 – 1 November 1730) was an Italian scholar and natural scientist, who also served as an emissary and soldier. Biography Born in Bologna, he was a member of an ancient patrician fa ...

's notes from 1690 under the name ''Panjeva''. After the conquest of

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 ...

by the Austrians, at the first census made by the Habsburg authorities in 1717, the locality appears recorded with 20 houses, it is called ''Bangeva'' and belongs to the Făget District. Until 1812 it was owned by the Aerarium, from which it was bought by the Demelich family. In 1896, colonizations were made with Roman Catholic Germans, but in a smaller proportion than in other localities in Banat, the majority Romanian character remaining unchanged. However, the Germans formed an important community, reaching 40% by 1900. According to historian

Coriolan Suciu Coriolan Suciu (19 December 1895–27 January 1967) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian teacher and historian, and a priest in the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church. Biography Born in Ciugudu de Jos, Alba County, in the Transylvania region, ...

, the first recorded mention of Șanovița dates from 1359, in a document where it appears with the name of ''Sasanfalva'' ("Sasan's village"). Historian considers that the village dates back to the Turkish period. The Austrian census of 1717 records the village of ''Seschenovaz'' with 40 houses, belonging to the Făget District. The inhabitants were mostly Romanians, but there were also Serbs, especially in the medieval past. In 1779 it was attached to

and at the same time the Orthodox church was built.

Demographics

Ghizela had a population of 1,155 inhabitants at the 2011 census, down 11% 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, ...

(92.73%), with a minority of

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 ...

(2.51%). For 3.2% 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 ...

(89.7%), but there are also minorities of

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 (3.46%) and

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

s (1.99%). For 3.2% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.

References

{{Authority control Communes in Timiș County Localities in Romanian Banat