Bocicoiu Mare

Bocicoiu Mare (Hungarian: "Nagybocskó" or "Újbocskó"; _uk. Великий Бичків) is a village in Maramureş County, Romania. It lies 9 kilometres east of Sighetu Marmaţiei; across the Tisza River from Velykyy Bychkiv, Ukraine. It is a communal centre, forming a commune with Tisa, Crăciuneşti and Lunca la Tisa.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1373, by the name "Boshko." Its name derives from a Slavic word meaning "bull". From 1556 it belonged to the Báthory family. By 1711 a mansion already stood here. After the failed revolution led by Francis II Rákóczi, Germans settled down in the area.

The village was known as "Németbocskó" ("German Bocskó", later called "Újbocskó" or "New Bocskó") and was united with two villages (Nagybocskó and Kisbocskó; "Greater" and "Smaller" Bocskó) across the river, forming a greater village called "Nagybocskó." This village had thus three parts: Újbocskó, which forms today's Bocicoiu Mare, and Kisbocskó and Nagybocskó, which form today's Velykyy Bychkiv.

In 1910 the village had 5955 inhabitants: 3078 Rusyns, 1646 Hungarians and 1177 Germans. It belonged to the Hungarian county of Máramaros. After World War I the village was split in two, and the river became a natural border of the two countries (with Velykyy Bychkiv in Czechoslovakia until 1945, before being incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR).

In 1992 Bocicoiu Mare commune had 4681 residents: 2922 Ukrainians, 1349 Romanians, 385 Hungarians, 22 Roma and 3 Germans.

ights to see

* Its Roman Catholic church was built in the 14th century in Gothic style architecture, but it was rebuilt several times and lost its Gothic elements.

References

"This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article from the Hungarian Wikipedia on 19 February 2007".