''Șchei'' ( bg, шкеи, ''shkei'') was an old

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

and Albanian

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...

referring to the

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not complete ...

, especially in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...

and northern

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

. As a name, it has been preserved in the names of towns colonized in the 14th century by Bulgarians, in

toponyms Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

(''Dealu Schiaului'' near Rășinari), hydronyms (''Schiau River'', tributary to the Argeş River), surnames (''Schiau'', ''Șchiau'').Mușlea, ''Șcheii de la Cergău…'' The word is thought to derive from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''sclavis'', a popular designation for the

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...

(Bulgarians and

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their ...

in particular) that is still used in Albanian (in the form shkja and various dialectal variants).

Șchei villages in Transylvania

Among the towns or neighbourhoods bearing that trace of Bulgarian settlement are: *

Șcheii Brașovului Șcheii Brașovului ( hu, Bolgárszeg, german: Belgerei or more recently ''Obere Vorstadt''; traditional Romanian name: ''Bulgărimea'', colloquially ''Șchei'') is the old ethnically Bulgarian and Romanian neighborhood of Brașov, a city in sout ...

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census ( 2011), Brașov has a po ...

( hu, Bolgárszeg, german: Belgerei, traditional Romanian name: ''Bulgărimea'') * Cergău Mic in Alba County (archaic ro, Cergău Șcheiesc, archaic hu, Bolgárcserged) Other places in Transylvania that used to be inhabited by various waves of Bulgarians were Cergău Mare, Bungard,

Vințu de Jos Vințu de Jos, also known as ''Vinț'' (german: Unter-Wintz, Winzendorf, Alvinz, Weinsdorf; hu, Alvinc; la, Binstum; tr, Aşağı Vinçazvar), is a commune located in the centre of Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of eighteen ...

, Deva, Rusciori and Râșnov.

Șchei villages in Wallachia and Moldavia

* Șchei, a quarter and former independent settlement in

Câmpulung Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , german: Langenau, Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian)), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'', is a municipality in the Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is situated among ...

settled by Bogomil Bulgarians. * Schiau village in Bascov commune,

Argeș County Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Pitești. Demographics On 20 October 2011, it had a population of 612,431 and the population density was 89/km2. * Romanians – 97% * Roma (Gypsie ...

* Schiau ( Urlați) and Schiau ( Valea Călugărească) in

Prahova County Prahova County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/km². It is Romania's third most ...

* Șcheia commune in

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat is the historical tow ...

* Șcheia commune in

Iași County Iași County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with the administrative seat at Iași. It is the most populous county in Romania, after the Municipality of Bucharest (which has the same administrative level as that of a co ...

* Șcheia village in

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Januar ...

commune,

Șchei villages in Transylvania

Șchei villages in Wallachia and Moldavia

References

Further reading