Crisana and Banat
Banat is a historic land in the west of Romania (and partly in the northeast of Serbia), the marshy plains, bounded by the Musha rivers (Mures), Cisą and Danube, and in the east, the Southern Carpathians. Including Banat, Crisana is also sometimes mentioned, the northern border of which is marked by the Samosz River. The landscape of Banat differs little from the lowland landscape of Hungarian Pannonia and Serbian Vojvodina. Because these lands lack natural geographic barriers, the population was free to move to them and settle as they please; The armies of great powers and gangs of plunderers also marched here without any special obstacles.
From XII w. this land belonged to Hungary, in the mid-sixteenth century. it came under the control of the Turks, a w l718r. – Austria (from 1867 r. Of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Until today, although Subotica is located in Yugoslavia, Szeged in Hungary, a Timisoara w Rumunii, all of these cities are clearly influenced by the Habsburg empire. Austria supported German colonization in these areas; The Swabi, who then settled here, largely contributed to the drainage of the swamps and the agricultural development of the land.
In Oradea, In Arad and Timisoara, there were mighty fortresses, which were to defend the south-eastern borders of the empire. W 1920 r., after World War I, the Treaty of Versailles handed them over to Romania for purely political reasons, although the majority of the inhabitants were Hungarians everywhere. Banat was divided between Romania and the Kingdom of SHS (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes), only nine villages remained within Hungary.
The communist governments were kind to national minorities, yes in romania, as in Hungary and Yugoslavia. Economic difficulties and political crises of the years 60. changed the situation. Multiethnic population in the west of Romania, treated more and more neglected by Bucharest, she suffered a greater deprivation than the inhabitants of other regions. It is not a coincidence that the revolution 1989 the year began in the west. Respect for the rights of national minorities has long been forgotten. There was always a shortage of food, and the money squeezed out of the pockets of an impoverished society was spent on the implementation of crazy Ceausescu projects in the vicinity of Bucharest. In the west of the country, people had the opportunity to receive Hungarian and Yugoslav TV programs, reporting on political changes in Poland, Czechoslovakia and other Warsaw Pact countries. The goblet of bitterness was overflowing. An open revolt broke out in December 1989 r. in the Hungarian church in Timisoara, today visited by pilgrims on the "trail of freedom”. Then the events turned into an avalanche, hotly reported by the media around the world.
W 1988 i 1989 r. about 80 000 Hungarians left Romania, returning to his homeland, where things were much better. Nevertheless, many villages inhabited by Slovaks remain in the Romanian part of Banat, Serbs and Hungarians. Elements of Hungarian culture have survived in Crisan to this day, especially in architecture. On the other hand, there is Serbian influence in Banata. However, there are practically no traces of the Banish Swaby – during World War II they were relocated to Germany.
Crisana and Banat are the western gate to Romania. Through the three main cities - Timisoara, Arad i Oradeę – all trains from Hungary and Yugoslavia pass. Each of them is a great starting point.