Oaş Country

[http://www.oas.ro Oaş Country] or [http://www.oas.ro Ţara Oaşului] (in Romanian) is an etnographic region of Romania located in the North-East part of Satu Mare County, 50 km from the city of Satu Mare. The total area of the Oaş Country is about 614 km².

Boundaries

The [http://www.oas.ro Oaş Country] extends from Turţ - Gherţa Mare - Gherţa Mică (on the Western side) all the way to Huta pass situated at an altitude of 604 m (in the East), from Cămărzana (in the North) to the mountains that surround Oraşu Nou, Racşa and Vama (in the South).

Communes and villages

The [http://www.oas.ro Oaş Country] is comprised of the following communes and villages:
* Oraşu Nou (commune) with "Prilog", "Racşa", "Remeţi" and "Oraşu Nou-Vii" (villages)
* Certeze (commune) with "Huta Certeze" and "Moişeni" (villages)
* Vama (commune) with "Vama Băi" (village)
* Călineşti-Oaş (commune) with "Lechinţa", "Pǎşunea Mare", "Coca" and "Dumbrava" (villages)
* Târşolţ (commune) with "Aliceni" (village)
* "Trip Băi", "Boineşti", "Bixad", "Cămârzana" (villages)
* Negreşti-Oaş city.

Geography

The Oaş Depression has maximum altitudes of 400 - 500 m. Most of the human dwellings are situated alongside the river valleys that cross the Oaş Depression. In the Northern part of the depression there is the Lechincioara Basin which includes the "Mare", "Semănaturii" and "Lechincioarei" valleys.
In the Southern part of Oaş Country there are the "Tur", "Alb" and "Rău" rivers.

History

The first document that mentioned the [http://www.oas.ro Oaş Country] dates from 1270, when the King of Hungary donated to a nobleman several villages from the South-Western boundary of the "country".
In that document the [http://www.oas.ro Oaş Country] is mentioned as Terra Awas. Some hystorians claim that the origin of the word "Oaş" is the "Awas", which means a kind of deforestation or a clearing in the woods.
The [http://www.oas.ro Oaş Country] was mentioned even in the Chronicles of Grigore Ureche.

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