Făget | |
|---|---|
 Cassina Casino | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location in Timiș County | |
  Făget Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates:45°51′6″N22°10′28″E / 45.85167°N 22.17444°E /45.85167; 22.17444 | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Timiș |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2024–) | Claudiu-Ionel Avramescu (PNL) |
Area | 150.86 km2 (58.25 sq mi) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[2] | 6,595 |
| • Density | 43.72/km2 (113.2/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3) |
| Postal code | 305300–305310 |
| Vehicle reg. | TM |
| Website | www |
Făget (Romanian pronunciation:[fəˈdʒet];Hungarian:Facsád;German:Birkendorf orFatschet;Serbian:Фачет,romanized: Fačet)[3] is atown inTimiș 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, Povârgina and Temerești.
The nameFăget literally means "beech forest" inRomanian.[4]
Făget is located in the southwest of Romania, in the contact area of the Lugoj Plain with the Lugoj Hills, on the upper course of theBega River. Within Timiș County, it is located in its eastern part, 98 km (61 mi) fromTimișoara and 33 km (21 mi) fromLugoj, to which it is connected by national road 68A. The same road to the east connects the town withDeva, 68 km (42 mi) away. The town is also crossed byCFR line 212 (Lugoj–Făget–Ilia).
Făget Fortress is documented for the first time in 1548, as the property of Jakab Békés and bearing the nameFagyath.[5] Between 1594–1602 Făget was the property of theBan ofLugoj. In 1602 it was besieged and destroyed by the Turks, after which it fell into ruin.[6] For 150 years it has been the subject of fierce confrontations between Romanians, Turks and Austrians, which is also confirmed by archaeological excavations. The picturesque landscape of Făget, the intense spiritual activity and its famous fairs attracted the attention of some foreign travelers who passed throughTransylvania andBanat. In 1660, Turkish travelerEvliya Çelebi, passing through Făget, described the medieval fortress:[7]
It was built by a woman named Tilen... It is a square-shaped building, beautiful and strong. To the west is a gate facing the plain. It has adizdar, three hundred chosen soldiers and enough war material; it is entirely covered with shingles, but it has no market andbazaar or anything. It is just a serhat tower.
The civilian settlement evolved along with the military fortress, becoming in a relatively short period of time the most important locality in the area. The fortress was finally demolished by the Turks in 1699. Immediately after Banat was conquered by the Austrians in 1717, Făget had only 20 houses left, but it was the center of a district with 42 communes. After this period of decline, the town began to grow again and in 1787 received the right to hold eight fairs a year. At the end of the 18th century, Johann Lehmann wrote:[7]
Făget is a beautiful country town. The place is rich because of the animal fairs that are held here. The town is Romanian, has over 200 houses and two churches. The inn in Făget is the most beautiful and the cleanest and most spacious on the wholeTimișoara–Sibiu line and this inn is the property of Mrs. Soro [the wife of the commander of theTimișoara Fortress]. There are eight guest rooms in the inn. The travelers are well served, but a very expensive price.
On the same note, Italian travelerDomenico Sestini [it] noted that, at the beginning of the 19th century, Făget had "200 Romanian houses with two churches and over 30 German houses with a small but clean church, served by theMinorite monks from Lugoj". Făget was also an important connection point between Banat and Transylvania, here being a "custom house for Transylvania and Hungary".[7]
In the 17th and 18th centuries, attempts were made to colonize workers of other nationalities to work on forest exploitations, but the impact is small and Făget remains a center of Romanianism at a time when western Banat was intensely colonized. In 1900, attempts were made to settle the first families of Hungarian settlers in Colonia Mică.
On 5 July 1994, Făget was declared a town, with 10 villages subordinated to it.[6]
Făget had a population of 6,595 inhabitants at the 2021 census, down 2.46% from the 2011 census. Most inhabitants areRomanians (86.48%), larger minorities being represented byHungarians (2.22%),Ukrainians (1.59%) andRoma (1.04%). For 8.17% of the population, ethnicity is unknown.[8] By religion, most inhabitants areOrthodox (63.33%), but there are also minorities ofPentecostals (19.68%),Roman Catholics (2.62%),Baptists (2.03%) andAdventists (2.01%). For 8.8% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.[9]
| Census[10] | Ethnic composition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Population | Romanians | Hungarians | Germans | Roma | Ukrainians |
| 1880 | 6,516 | 5,576 | 482 | 401 | – | – |
| 1890 | 6,882 | 5,856 | 548 | 428 | – | – |
| 1900 | 7,642 | 6,217 | 900 | 468 | – | – |
| 1910 | 8,724 | 6,532 | 1,755 | 383 | – | – |
| 1920 | 7,920 | 6,122 | 1,356 | 287 | – | – |
| 1930 | 8,024 | 6,290 | 1,343 | 265 | 32 | 1 |
| 1941 | 7,769 | 6,230 | 1,086 | 295 | – | – |
| 1956 | 7,833 | 6,800 | 861 | 126 | 8 | 1 |
| 1966 | 8,276 | 7,388 | 740 | 121 | – | 1 |
| 1977 | 7,868 | 7,011 | 529 | 104 | 65 | 138 |
| 1992 | 7,722 | 6,888 | 437 | 113 | 81 | 186 |
| 2002 | 7,213 | 6,589 | 335 | 62 | 14 | 203 |
| 2011 | 6,761 | 6,040 | 260 | 44 | 65 | 141 |
| 2021 | 6,595 | 5,704 | 147 | 15 | 69 | 105 |
The town of Făget is administered by a mayor and a local council composed of 15 councilors. The mayor, Claudiu-Ionel Avramescu, from theNational Liberal Party, has been in office since 2024. As from the2024 local elections, the local council has the following composition by political parties:[11]
| Party | Seats | Composition | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Liberal Party | 8 | |||||||||
| Social Democratic Party | 4 | |||||||||
| Alliance for the Union of Romanians | 3 | |||||||||
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The economic sector of production is represented by companies active in the field of leather processing in footwear and leather goods, exploitation and processing of wood of various essences, from lumber to furniture, a section for exploitation and processing ofquartz sand and companies active in various branches of the food industry, especially milk processing and pastry production. In the village of Jupânești, there is a tradition inpottery, which is declining as an economic activity, but with a high potential.
Făget is twinned with:[12]
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