Şchei

"Şchei" ( _bg. шкеи, "shkei") was an old Romanian exonym referring to the Bulgarians, especially in Transylvania. As a name, it has been preserved in the names of towns once colonized by Bulgarians, in toponyms ("Dealu Schiaului" near Răşinari), hydronyms ("Schiau River", tributary to the Argeş River), surnames ("Schiau", "Şchiau").Muşlea, "Şcheii de la Cergău…"] The word is thought to derive from Latin "sclavis", a popular designation for the South Slavs (Bulgarians and Serbs in particular) that was also used in Albanian until the 20th century. [cite book |url=http://www.imir-bg.org/imir/books/albancite_v_iztochnite_balkani.pdf |first=Боян |last=Гюзелев |title=Албанци в Източните Балкани |publisher=Международен център за изследване на малцинствата и културните взаимодействия |location=София |year=2004 |isbn=954-8872-45-5 |language=Bulgarian |pages=p. 13 ]

Şchei villages in Transylvania

Among the towns or neighbourhoods bearing that trace of Bulgarian settlement are:

* Şcheii Braşovului in Braşov ( _hu. Bolgárszeg, _de. Belgerei, traditional Romanian name: "Bulgărimea")
* Cergău Mic in Alba County (archaic _ro. Cergău Şcheiesc, archaic _hu. Bolgárcserged)
* Schiau village in the Bascov commune, Argeş County
* Schiau (Urlaţi) and Schiau (Valea Călugărească) in Prahova County.

Other villages in Transylvania that used to be inhabited by various waves of Bulgarians were Cergău Mare, Bungard, Sibiu, Vinţu de Jos, Deva, Rusciori, Sibiu, Râşnov. [Балкански, "Трансилванските (седмиградските) българи…"]

References

* Ion Muşlea, "Şcheii de la Cergău şi folclorul lor", Cluj 1928.
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