Cenei ( hu, Csene; german: Tschene; sr, Ченеј, Čenej; hr, Čenej) is a commune in

Timiș County Timiș () is a county (''județ'') of western Romania on the border with Hungary and Serbia, in the historical region of Banat, with the county seat at Timișoara. It is the westernmost and the largest county in Romania in terms of land area. Th ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

. It is composed of two villages, Bobda and Cenei (commune seat). It also included

Checea Checea ( hu, Nagykőcse; german: Ketscha; sr, Кеча, Keča; hr, Keča) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Checea, part of the commune of Cenei until 2004, when it was split off. Geography Checea i ...

until 2004, when it was split off to form a separate commune.

History

Cenei is one of the oldest settlements in

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...

, first recorded in 1221 as a property of the archdiocese of Ittebe, today in

Serbian Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

. By 1330 it belonged to the Sărad Fortress. Cenei was the site of a battle between the Turkish and Austrian troops on 20 August 1696. As of 1720, the natives were mostly

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...

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 ...

. Through the efforts of the Vuketići family, Cenei was colonized with

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

between 1801 and 1820. German settlers arrived here only after 1848, much later than other nearby settlements. The Hungarian population did not settle here in waves of colonists, but gradually, over a long period of time. Today's village was formed by merging Ceneiu Sârbesc ("Serbian Cenei"; sr, Српски Ченеј, Srpski Čenej) and Ceneiu Croat ("Croatian Cenei"; hr, Hrvatski Čenej) in 1902.

Demographics

Cenei had a population of 2,670 inhabitants at the 2011 census, down 7% from the 2002 census. Most inhabitants are

(67.23%), larger minorities being represented by

(16.1%),

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...

(8.8%) and

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

(1.46%). For 5.36% of the population, ethnicity is unknown. By religion, most inhabitants are Orthodox (62.17%), but there are also minorities of

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...

(15.43%),

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

s (11.09%) and

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

s (3.41%). For 5.36% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.

Notes

References

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