1938 map of interwar county Timis-Torontal

Timiș-Torontal was a county () in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. Its capital was

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

. The territory of the county had been transferred to Romania in 1920 from the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

under the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

Geography

Timiș-Torontal County covered 7,600 km² and was located in western part of

Greater Romania Greater Romania () is the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union or the related pan-nationalist ideal of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers.Irina LivezeanuCultural Politics in Greate ...

, in the

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 ...

. Currently, the territory that comprised Timiș-Torontal County is now mostly part of

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 ...

except for the eastern part, the areas around

Lugoj Lugoj (; ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș, Timiș River divides the city into two halves: the "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank, and the "German Lugoj" on the left bank. Th ...

and

Făget Făget (; ; or ''Fatschet'') is a town in Timiș County, Romania, with a population of about 6,600. The town administers ten villages: Bătești, Begheiu Mic, Bichigi, Brănești, Bunea Mare, Bunea Mică (depopulated), Colonia Mică, Jupânești ...

, which are 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 ...

History

On 27 July 1919, the first prefect of Timiș, appointed by the Royal Romanian authorities,

Aurel Cosma Aurel Cosma (September 26, 1867 – July 31, 1931) was a Romanian lawyer and politician. A leader of the National Party in Timișoara before World War I, Cosma was a representative of the Banat in the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia that vo ...

, was installed. The Timiş-Torontal County included the parts of the former counties Temes and Torontál which were awarded to the

as part of the

. The new county was composed, in the first phase, until 1925, the districts ('' plăși''): Buziaş, Centrală (Central), Ciacova, Comloş, Deta, Gătaia, Giulvăz, Jimbolia, Lipova, Periam, Sânnicolaul Mare, and Vinga. On 24 November 1923, there was a border correction between Romania and the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

(the forerunner of Yugoslavia). The villages

Jimbolia Jimbolia (; ; ; ; Banat Bulgarian: ''Džimbolj'') is a town in Timiș County, Romania. Geography Jimbolia is located in the west of Timiș County, from the county seat, Timișoara, which is connected by the county road DJ59A and the Kikinda� ...

(, ),

Beba Veche Beba Veche (; ; ) is a commune in Timiș County. It is composed of three villages: Beba Veche (commune seat), Cherestur and Pordeanu. Beba Veche is the westernmost settlement in Romania. Geography Located in the eastern part of the Pannonian Pla ...

(Stara Beba, Óbéba), Cherestur (Krstur, Pusztakeresztúr), Ciortea (Csorda) and Iam (Jám) were ceded to Romania, and

Meda Meda may refer to: Places * Meda de Mouros, a parish in Tábua Municipality, Portugal * Medas, a parish in Gondomar Municipality, Portugal * Meda-Ela, Sri Lanka * Međa (Leskovac), village in the municipality of Leskovac, Serbia * Meda, Lombardy, ...

(Međa, Párdány), Modoș (Modoš, Módos), Șurian (Šurjan, Surján), Căptălan (Busenje, Káptalanfalva), Crivobara (Markovićevo, Torontálújfalu) and Gaiu Mare (Veliki Gaj, Nagygáj) were handed over to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1925 the Law of Administrative Unification was promulgated. The Timiş-Torontal District was divided into two urban communes (

and Lipova) and 246 rural communes grouped in twelve districts. Subsequently, on 12 December 1926, a thirteenth district was established (Comloş or Comloşul Mare). The county neighbored

Caraș County Caraș County is one of the historic counties of Romania in the historic region of the Banat. The county seat was Oravița. The county was founded in 1926, following the division of the former Caraș-Severin County. In 1938, the county was disest ...

to the southeast,

Severin County Severin County was a county (Romanian: ''județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania, in the historical region of the Banat. Its capital was Lugoj. Severin County was established in 1926, disbanded with the administrative reform of 1938, re-created in 194 ...

to the east,

to the north,

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

to the west and southwest and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

to the northwest. In 1929 Timis-Torontal County was integrated into the 7th Ministerial Directorate, led by Sever Bocu.Ioan Munteanu, Rodica Munteanu - ''„Timiș. Monografie”'' (Ed. Marineasa, Timișoara, 1998) In 1938, Timiş-Torontal,

and

Hunedoara County Hunedoara County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva, Romania, Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as , ...

were merged into the newly founded

Ținutul Timiș Ținutul Timiș was one of the ten Romanian ''ținuturi'' ("lands"), founded in 1938 after King Carol II initiated an institutional reform by modifying the 1923 Constitution and the law of territorial administration. It comprised the Romanian Bana ...

. The counties were re-established in the 1940 administrative reform, only for Timiş-Torontal County to be disbanded with the administrative reform of 6 September 1950.

Administrative organization

Administratively, Timiș-Torontal County was originally divided into ten districts ('' plăși''):Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Timiș-Torontal
/ref> #Plasa Buziaş, with headquarters at Buziaş (with 25 communes) #Plasa Centrală, with headquarters at

(with 23 communes) #Plasa Ciacova, with headquarters at

Ciacova Ciacova (; ; ; ) is a town in Timiș County, Romania. It administers four villages: Cebza, Macedonia, Obad and Petroman. When it was declared a town in 2004, the villages of Gad and Ghilad, which it administered up to that point, were split off to ...

(with 17 communes) #Plasa Deta, with headquarters at Deta (with 16 communes) #Plasa Jimbolia, with headquarters at

(with 10 communes) #Plasa Lipova, with headquarters at Lipova (with 27 communes) #Plasa Periam, with headquarters at

Periam Periam (until 1925 Periamoș; ; ; ) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Periam, and also included Pesac until it broke off as a separate commune in 2007. Geography Periam is located in the northwest of th ...

(with 17 communes) #Plasca Recaş, with headquarters at Recaş (with 29 communes) #Plasa Sânnicolaul Mare, with headquarters at

Sânnicolau Mare Sânnicolau Mare (; ; ; Banat Swabians, Banat Swabian: ''Sanniklos''; ; Banat Bulgarian dialect, Banat Bulgarian: ''Smikluš'') is a List of cities and towns in Romania, town in Timiș County, Romania, and the westernmost in the country. Located i ...

(with 13 communes) #Plasa Vinga, with headquarters at Vinga (with 18 communes) Subsequently, three more districts were established:

Plastica Comloş, with headquarters at Comloşu Mare (with 9 communes)
Plasa Gătaia, with headquarters at
Gătaia Gătaia (; , archaically ''Gotthal''; ) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, town in Timiș County, Romania. It administers five villages: Butin, Percosova, Sculia, Șemlacu Mare, and Șemlacu Mic. Declared a town in 2004, it also administered ...
(with 17 communes)
Plasa Giulvăz, with headquarters at
Giulvăz Giulvăz (; ; Banat Swabian: ''Djulwess'') is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Crai Nou, Giulvăz (commune seat), Ivanda and Rudna. Geography Giulvăz is located in the southwestern part of the Timiș Count ...
(with 16 communes)

Population

According to the 1930 census data, the county's population was 499,443, ethnically divided as follows: 37.6% Romanians, 34.9% Germans, 15.4% Hungarians, 5.8% Serbs and Croats, as well as other minorities.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 468-475 From the religious point of view the inhabitants were Roman Catholic (48.6%), Eastern Orthodox (41.1%), Greek Catholic (2.8%), Reformed (2.5%), as well as other minorities.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 755-758

Urban population

In the year 1930, the urban population of the county (the cities of

and Lipova) was 97,580 inhabitants, ethnically divided as follows: 30.5% Germans, 29.3% Hungarians, 27.7% Romanians, 7.6% Jews, 2.2% Serbs and Croats, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population consisted of 52.1% Roman Catholic, 27.7% Eastern Orthodox, 9.9% Jewish, 5.0% Reformed, 2.8% Greek Catholic, 2.4% Lutheran, as well as other minorities.

References

External links

*
Timiş-Torontal County on memoria.ro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timis-Torontal County Former counties of Romania 1919 establishments in Romania 1925 establishments in Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania 1940 establishments in Romania 1950 disestablishments in Romania States and territories established in 1919 States and territories established in 1925 States and territories disestablished in 1938 States and territories established in 1940 States and territories disestablished in 1950