Sânmihaiu Român | |
|---|---|
 The water gate at the Sânmihaiu Român hydrotechnical node before renovation | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location in Timiș County | |
  Sânmihaiu Român Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates:45°42′N21°5′E / 45.700°N 21.083°E /45.700; 21.083 | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Timiș |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2016–) | Viorel Marcuți (PSD) |
Area | 88.5 km2 (34.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 88 m (289 ft) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[2] | 8,419 |
| • Density | 95.1/km2 (246/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3) |
| Postal code | 307380–307382 |
| Area code | 0256 |
| Vehicle reg. | TM |
| Website | www |
Sânmihaiu Român (Hungarian:Bégaszentmihály orOláhszentmihály;German:Wallachisch St. Michael;Serbian:Румунски Семихај,romanized: Rumunski Semihaj)[3] is acommune inTimiș County,Romania. It is composed of three villages: Sânmihaiu German, Sânmihaiu Român (commune seat) and Utvin. It lies on the canalized section of the riverBega, southwest ofTimișoara.
The first recorded mention of Sânmihaiu Român dates from 1333, being mentioned in the papal tithe records with the nameSanctus Michael. Historian Ioan Lotreanu considers that the assignment of this name is erroneous, being confused withSveti Mihajlo inSerbian Banat.[4] However, there are also later mentions in documents, such as a diploma from 1350 in which the locality is namedSanctus Mychael.[5]
Old Romanian village, it resisted the Turkish occupation, so that in 1717, after the conquest of Banat by the Austrians, it had 40 houses. It then appears written onCount Mercy's map from 1723–1725 and on maps from 1761 and 1783. The Romanian church was built in 1774.
In the interwar period it was part of Plasa Chișoda,Timiș-Torontal County, it had over 2,000 inhabitants and over 500 houses.
The village of Sânmihaiu German was among the first settlements inBanat to be colonized following theHabsburg Empire's conquest of the region. The initial wave of German (Swabian) settlers arrived in 1717, followed by a second group in 1808. The new settlement was established on the site of the former village ofSillach and was initially namedRauthendorf, after Rauth, an official who played a key role in the colonization efforts.[6] Later, the village became known asDeutschsanktmichael, the German equivalent of its current name.
The first recorded mention of the settlement dates back to 1338, when it appears in papal registers under the namesUthwin orKis Otveny. These documents indicate that the village had the right to organize fairs. In 1456, it briefly came under the ownership ofJohn Hunyadi, after which it passed through the hands of various Hungarian feudal lords. In 1552, the Count of Timișoara annexed Utvin to theTimișoara Fortress. Historical sources also mention a settlement calledOrași, located further south of Utvin, which no longer exists today. An Ottomandefter from 1554 records Utvin as having 170 houses, a notably high number for that time.[7]
According to tradition, the original wooden church was built in 1714. It was destroyed by fire sometime after 1760. In 1766, the villagers constructed a new brick church on the same site where the old one had stood.[8]
In modern times, the 1910 census recorded the settlement as having 312 buildings and a population of 1,440. Of these, 1,095 wereOrthodoxRomanians, along with 180Hungarians and 105Germans. The village also had a railway stop. By 1912, two major landowners were noted: Mihai Acxel de Zombor and Valentin Watz. The commune had a brickyard, operated by the Dunster and Wetzler company. One of the nearby fields is popularly known as "La piatră", where the foundation lines of an old church are still visible—likely marking the location of the village center during the medieval period.
Sânmihaiu Român had a population of 8,419 inhabitants at the 2021 census, up 37.53% from the 2011 census. Most inhabitants areRomanians (78.79%), with a minority ofHungarians (1.34%). For 17.91% of the population, ethnicity is unknown.[9] By religion, most inhabitants areOrthodox (63.93%), but there are also minorities ofPentecostals (8.13%),Roman Catholics (3.23%) andBaptists (1.36%). For 19.18% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.[10]
| Census[11] | Ethnic composition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Population | Romanians | Hungarians | Germans | Roma | Serbs |
| 1880 | 4,337 | 2,733 | 113 | 1,455 | – | 4 |
| 1890 | 4,753 | 2,952 | 208 | 1,523 | – | 39 |
| 1900 | 5,011 | 2,929 | 285 | 1,745 | – | 46 |
| 1910 | 4,726 | 2,898 | 433 | 1,317 | – | 22 |
| 1920 | 4,384 | 2,715 | 368 | 1,238 | – | – |
| 1930 | 4,578 | 2,982 | 343 | 1,182 | 44 | 10 |
| 1941 | 4,547 | 2,978 | 383 | 1,113 | – | – |
| 1956 | 4,114 | 3,103 | 343 | 625 | 23 | 13 |
| 1966 | 4,430 | 3,528 | 381 | 471 | 25 | 16 |
| 1977 | 4,767 | 4,002 | 289 | 404 | 49 | 12 |
| 1992 | 3,911 | 3,608 | 157 | 82 | 41 | 10 |
| 2002 | 4,396 | 4,130 | 132 | 66 | 40 | 9 |
| 2011 | 6,121 | 5,387 | 150 | 32 | 45 | 18 |
| 2021 | 8,419 | 6,634 | 113 | 28 | 51 | 33 |
The commune of Sânmihaiu Român is administered by a mayor and a local council composed of 15 councilors. The mayor, Viorel Marcuți, from theSocial Democratic Party, has been in office since 2016. As from the2024 local elections, the local council has the following composition by political parties:[12]
| Party | Seats | Composition | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party | 6 | |||||||
| National Liberal Party | 3 | |||||||
| Save Romania Union–People's Movement Party–Force of the Right | 3 | |||||||
| Alliance for the Union of Romanians | 3 | |||||||
