Fârdea ( hu, Ferde; german: Ferden) 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 seven villages: Drăgșinești, Fârdea (commune seat), Gladna Montană, Gladna Română, Hăuzești, Mâtnicu Mic and Zolt.

Geography

Fârdea is located in the eastern extremity of

, at the foot of Poiana Ruscă Mountains. The relief has the appearance of a huge amphitheater descending from the edges of the commune to the central depression valleys with some steep hills in the southeast and softer ones in the northwest.

History

Fârdea was first mentioned in a Hungarian diploma in 1361. It was one of the most important medieval 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 ...

, where a Vlach district has existed since ancient times. In the 14th–15th centuries it was called ''Turd'', which comes from ''Furd'', a personal name mentioned around 1291. In a document from 1454, the chapter from Arad reports to Ladislaus V that

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...

became the owner of the Romanian district of ''Twerd''. The document mentions that this district included the villages of Bănia, Lower and Upper Gladna, Prodanfalva, Zolthur, Cărămida, Dryinfalva, Brekafalva, Lower and Upper Igazfalva, Puril, Mâtnic, Boglyafalva, Costenești and Stefanfalva, many of which no longer exist. At the end of the 15th century, the district no longer belonged to