Ineu (; ) is a town in

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( județ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...

, western

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

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 situated at a distance of from the county capital, Arad, it occupies a surface at the contact point of

Crișul Alb The Crișul Alb (Romanian language, Romanian), (Hungarian language, Hungarian: Fehér-Körös) is a river in western Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, and in south-eastern Hungary (Békés County). Its source is in the southern ...

Basin and Crișurilor Plateau. Ineu is the main entrance gate into the (''Țara Zarandului''). The town administers one village, Mocrea (''Apatelek''). Ineu was first attested in documents in 1214 under the name "Villa Ieneu". It was a

sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

centre in the Temeşvar and Varat eyalets and it was known as "Yanova" during the Ottoman rule between 1564 and 1595 and again between 1658 and 1693.

Population

At the 2021 census, Ineu had a population of 8,807. At the 2011 census, the town had 9,078 inhabitants; of those, 86.49% were

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, ...

, 6.57%

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 ...

, 5.98%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, 0.34%

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, 0.08%

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

, and 0.1% are of other or undeclared nationalities.

Natives

* Mona Nicoară, film director and producer *

Radu Theodoru Radu Theodoru (born 17 January 1924) is a Romanian writer, general, far-right politician, and Holocaust denier. In 2025, Theodoru was detained by Romania on accusations of attempting to overthrow the government with alleged Russian support. ...

(born 1924), writer, far-right politician and general

Tourist attractions

The traces of habitation of this area are lost in the darkness of time. Archaeologists excavated artifacts belonging to the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

civilization (axes with hole,

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

tools, ceramics), to the

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

n civilization, to the Roman occupation (fortress lines, ornaments, weapons, millstones) and sources that attest the continuous inhabitance of these areas. Ineu was the residence of a Romanian administrative unit called ''cnezat'' and was a strongly reinforced keep. Ineu's castle was mentioned as a fortress in 1295. Having a strategic position in the defense of

, the castle had a life full of vicissitudes. It belonged to the fortresses of

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...

, then it was occupied by the Turks several times, being the residence of an

Osmanli The Ottoman dynasty () consisted of the members of the imperial House of Osman (), also known as the Ottomans (). According to Ottoman tradition, the family originated from the Kayı tribe branch of the Oghuz Turks, under the leadership of Os ...

territorial unit until it was transferred in the possession of

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvani ...

. After it had been conquered by the Habsburgs, it became the headquarters of the frontier guard regiment. These periods and events left their marks upon the town's development. After the year 1870 it was rebuilt from its ruins in a Neoclassic style with late Renaissance and Baroque elements. It is a significant economic centre with a harmonious development of the three economic sectors. Besides, it is the main market town in the area (''Țara Zarandului''). The touristic potential of the town is high: Ineu's castle, the architectural complex of the town's historic centre, as well as the natural reservations are the main attractions worth visiting by the tourists coming to this region of the country.

References

* ''România, ghid turistic''. Editura Sport Turism, 1983 {{Authority control Populated places in Arad County Towns in Romania Localities in Crișana