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Vinga
Commune
Roman Catholic Church and the square
Location in Arad County
VingaLocation in Romania
Coordinates: 46°1′N 21°13′E / 46.017°N 21.217°E / 46.017; 21.217
Country	Romania
County	Arad
Area	155 km (60 sq mi)
Elevation	109 m (358 ft)
Population	6,083
• Density	39/km (100/sq mi)
Time zone	EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Vehicle reg.	AR

Vinga is a commune in Arad County, western Romania, south of the county seat of Arad, with a population of 5,828 inhabitants (as of 2011). Vinga is located in the northern section of the Banat. The people in Vinga are mainly Romanians, the second largest ethnic group being Hungarians. There is a Bulgarian minority of Catholic faith, known as the Banat Bulgarians, who have historically been the dominant ethnicity in Vinga.

History

The first evidence of Vinga's existence as a small village dates back to 1231 A.D. After Vinga was destroyed by Turks during the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, Vinga was repopulated in the year 1741 with 125 families of ethnic Bulgarians from Chiprovtsi, joined later by Romanians from the surrounding area. After World War I, a majority of these Bulgarian families moved to Arad and Timișoara. After World War II, more and more Bulgarians moved to Vinga and began to own large and important pieces of land in the area. During the communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu, the government promised to contribute and renovate Vinga so that it could be recognized as a small town. However, these promises were not kept because the revolution of 1989 occurred and a new government was formed.

Religion

When Bulgarians came to Vinga, they brought with them their culture, their language, and also their religion of Roman Catholicism. The imposing Catholic church, which was built by ethnic Bulgarians in the early 1890s, can be seen from afar. There is also an Orthodox church, which represents the main religion of Romanians living in the area. Furthermore, there is a Baptist church, which holds around 30 members, and a Pentecostal church which is located near the Baptist church.

Population and ethnic changes

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the commune had 5828 inhabitants. Of these 58.11% were ethnic Romanians, 20.86% Hungarians, 11.06% Roma, 5.57% Bulgarians, 2.59% Slovaks, 0.9% Ukrainians and 0.2% Serbs. The commune is composed of three villages:

Travel and transportation

There is a major European road running through Vinga (E671), connecting it to Arad to the North and Timișoara to the South. Vinga also has a train station running the same general direction as the road, connecting these two major cities, Arad and Timișoara. Many people in Vinga commute to one of these cities to work. Being a commune, it has two associate small towns (villages) in its administrative jurisdiction: Mănăștur and Mailat.

Natives

• Stefan Dunjov
• Eusebius Fermendžin

Gallery

• Church
• Church inside
• Bulgarian House plaque
• Mayor's Office, former Franciscan monastery

References

1. "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.

External links

• Varga E. Statistică recensăminte după limba maternă, respectiv naţionalitate, jud. Arad 1880–1992
• Recensământ 2002

v t e Arad County, Romania
Cities	Arad (county seat)
Towns	Chișineu-Criș Curtici Ineu Lipova Nădlac Pâncota Pecica Sântana Sebiș
Communes	Almaș Apateu Archiș Bârsa Bârzava Bata Beliu Birchiș Bocsig Brazii Buteni Cărand Cermei Chisindia Conop Covăsânț Craiva Dezna Dieci Dorobanți Fântânele Felnac Frumușeni Ghioroc Grăniceri Gurahonț Hălmăgel Hălmagiu Hășmaș Ignești Iratoșu Livada Macea Mișca Moneasa Olari Păuliș Peregu Mare Petriș Pilu Pleșcuța Șagu Săvârșin Secusigiu Șeitin Seleuș Semlac Șepreuș Șicula Șilindia Șimand Sintea Mare Șiria Șiștarovăț Socodor Șofronea Târnova Tauț Ususău Vărădia de Mureș Vârfurile Vinga Vladimirescu Zăbrani Zădăreni Zărand Zerind Zimandu Nou

• Communes in Arad County
• Localities in Romanian Banat
• Bulgarian communities in Romania