Birda ( Hungarian and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Birda'') 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 four villages: Berecuța, Birda (commune seat), Mânăstire and Sângeorge.

Geography

Birda is located in the southeastern part of

, bordering the town of Gătaia and the communes of

Tormac Tormac ( hu, Végvár; german: Rittberg) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Cadăr, Șipet and Tormac (commune seat). Geography Tormac is located in the southeast of Timiș County. It borders Nițchidorf an ...

, Voiteg, Opatița and

Denta Denta ( hu, Denta; german: Denta or ''Tenta''; sr, Дента, Denta) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Breștea ( hu, Berestye; Banat Bulgarian: ''Brešća''), Denta, Rovinița Mare (until 1964 Omor; hu, ...

Climate

The climate is temperate continental, having an intermediate character between the

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (a ...

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

and

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places *Oceanic, British Columbia Oceanic is an unincorporated set ...

climates. Winters are relatively mild, summers are long and hot, springs and autumns are short. The average annual temperature is 10.6 °C, and the average annual rainfall is 600–700 mm, ensuring very good conditions for

plant cultivation Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, star ...

History

The first recorded mention of Birda dates from 1690, from

Marsigli Count Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (or Marsigli, Lat. ''Marsilius''; 10 July 1658 – 1 November 1730) was an Italian scholar and eminent natural scientist, who also served as an emissary and soldier. Biography Born in Bologna, he was a member ...

's notes. It is probably much older and inhabited during the Turkish occupation. By 1717 Birda is recorded in the Habsburg imperial documents with 80 houses; Berecuța with 28 houses; and Sângeorge with 30 houses. After 1779, it belonged to

Temes County County of Temes ( Hungarian: ''Temes'', Romanian: ''Timiș'', Serbian: ''Тамиш'' or ''Tamiš'', German: ''Temes'' or ''Temesch'') was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in southwestern Roma ...

, Plasa Deta, with a post office and later a train station. In 1828, the

Aerarium Aerarium, from ''aes'' (“bronze, money”) + -''ārium'' (“place for”), was the name given in Ancient Rome to the public treasury, and in a secondary sense to the public finances. ''Aerarium populi Romani'' The main ''aerarium'', that o ...

sold Birda to the Termacici family. By 1842 it is the property of Baron Lo Presti. In 1852 it came into the possession of Baron Ukermann's wife. Until the end of the 19th century, Birda was inhabited only by

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 ...

, but at that time, the great owners settled German and Hungarian families here to cultivate their estates. The commune of Birda was established by ''Law 84/2004'', separating from the town of Gătaia.

Demographics

Birda had a population of 1,846 inhabitants at the 2011 census, down 5% from the 2002 census. Most inhabitants are

(86.62%), larger minorities being represented by

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 ...

(3.47%),

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Or ...

(1.52%) and

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 ...

(1.14%). For 5.36% of the population, ethnicity is unknown. By religion, most inhabitants are Orthodox (85.1%), but there are also minorities of

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

s (3.74%),

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 ...

(2.65%) and

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 (1.46%). For 5.31% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.

References

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