Mașloc (; ) 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 three villages: Alioș, Mașloc (commune seat) and Remetea Mică. It also included Fibiș until 2004, when it was split off to form a separate commune.

Name

The German name of the village, ''Blumenthal'', means "village of flowers". The German colony was built in a wildflower meadow, hence the name. This is also illustrated by the old stamp of the village, depicting a valley and a flower vase with a lush bouquet of flowers. The Romanian population had great difficulties pronouncing the German name. Therefore they named the village ''Maslog'', as shown in a map from 1864–1865. ''Maslog'' was written with "s" and not with the Romanian "ș" ( s-comma). ''Maslog'' was changed to ''Mașloc'', apparently taking over the ending "-loc" from the Hungarian "-lak" (''Máslak''). The Hungarian ''lak'' – just like the Romanian ''loc'' – means "place".

History

Mașloc was first mentioned as ''Machalaka'' in 1326. Most of its inhabitants fled after the Turkish 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 ...

(1552). From this time on, the houses were only temporarily inhabited by people of different nationalities. After the Austrians conquered Banat from the Turks, the village was called ''Maschlok'' and had 14 houses. Mașloc was colonized by Germans from Schwarzwald between 1770–1771, who named it ''Blumenthal''. By 1773, the colony had 93 houses, a school and a pub.

Demographics

Mașloc had a population of 2,285 inhabitants at the 2011 census, down 1% 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, ...

(77.68%), larger minorities being represented by

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

(10.9%),

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 ...

(2.8%) and

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 ...

(1.58%). For 6.08% 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 ...

(86%), but there are also minorities of

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

s (2.67%),

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

(2.23%) and

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 (1.75%). For 6.13% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masloc Communes in Timiș County Localities in Romanian Banat Former Danube Swabian communities in Romania