Pecica

Pecica
—  Town  —
Coat of arms
Pecica Location of Pecica
Coordinates: 46°10′12″N 21°4′12″E / 46.17°N 21.07°E / 46.17; 21.07Coordinates: 46°10′12″N 21°4′12″E / 46.17°N 21.07°E / 46.17; 21.07
Country	Romania
County	Arad County
Status	Town
Government
– Mayor	Petru Antal (Democratic Liberal Party)
Area
– Total	237.17 km2 (91.6 sq mi)
Population (2002)
– Total	13,024
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website	http://www.pecica.ro/

Pecica (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈpet͡ʃʲ.ka]; Hungarian: Pécska; German: Petschka; Serbian: Печка/Pečka) is a town in Arad County, Romania. In ancient times it was a Dacian fortress called Ziridava and today it is an important archeological site.^[1][2] Situated at 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Arad, it was declared a town in 2004. Its administrative territory extends into the Aradului Plateau. The town administers three villages: Bodrogu Vechi (Óbodrog), Sederhat (Szederhát) and Turnu (Tornya).

Population

According to the census of 2002 the population of the town counts 13024 inhabitants. The ethnic composition is as follows: 57.1% are Romanians, 32.6% Hungarians, 8.4% Roma, 0.6% Slovaks, 0.6% Serbs and 0.7% are of other or undeclared nationalities.

History

Due to the abundance of archaeological finds of the zone an important historic period known as the Periam-Pecica culture was named after the settlement. The history of the localities Pecica, Bodrogu Vechi, Sederhat and Turnu is closely connected with the events making highly memorable the entire zone of the Aradului Plateau.

The first mention in documents of the locality dates back to 1335 when it was known as Petk. Sederhat was registered only in 1913, Turnu in 1333 under the name of Mok, while Bodrogu Vechi in 1422 under the name of Bodruch. It has a complex political history with periods of Ottoman rule, periods of Habsburg Monarchy, Kingdom of Hungary and Kingdom of Romania. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, it became part of the Kingdom of Hungary within Austria-Hungary up until the Treaty of Trianon. Since then the town has been part of Romania.

Economy

Although the economy of the town is prevalent agricultural, the secondary and tertiary economic sectors have also developed recently. Besides agriculture, the industry of petrol and rock-gas is also well-represented. The initiation of the frontier crossing point at Turnu and the trimming of the thermal water springs should be the most important chances for the economic development of the town.

Tourism

Tourist attractions include the Roman Catholic Church, the Pecica Cultural Center and the "Lunca Mureșului" park.

• 

  Pecica Cultural Center

Sister cities

• Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Belgium
• Battonya, Hungary

See also

• Ziridava
• Pecica culture

References

1. ^ Peter Neal Peregrine, Melvin Ember, Encyclopedia of Prehistory: Europe, Volume 4, p.214. Springer, 2001, ISBN 0306462583
2. ^ Barbara Ann Kipfer, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology, p.428. Springer, 2000, ISBN 0306461587

External links

• Official Portal of Pecica - Overview, including history
• Pecica Historical Data at Arad County Council (Romanian)
• Pecica Tourism and Historical Data at Arad County Council (Romanian)