Nădlac

Nădlac Nadlak
—  Town  —
Coat of arms
Nădlac Location of Nădlac
Coordinates: 46°10′0″N 20°45′2″E / 46.166667°N 20.75056°E / 46.166667; 20.75056Coordinates: 46°10′0″N 20°45′2″E / 46.166667°N 20.75056°E / 46.166667; 20.75056
Country	Romania
County	Arad County
Status	Town
Government
– Mayor	Vasile Ciceac (Democratic Party)
Area
– Total	133 km2 (51.4 sq mi)
Population (2002)
– Total	8,422
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website	http://www.primaria-nadlac.ro/

Nădlac (Hungarian: Nagylak, Slovak: Nadlak) is a town in western Romania, Arad County. A former part of the town lies across the border with Hungary; this village is called Nagylak. An international border town, Nădlac is the main border crossing into western Romania from Hungary. It is also a centre of the Lutheran Slovakian community in Romania. Situated in the western part of Arad County, 50 km far from the county capital, at the western border of Romania, Nădlac is the main entrance gate from Western Europe. The administrative territory of the town is 132,5 square km and according to the last census its population counts 8144 inhabitants.

Nădlac was first mentioned in documents in 1313 when it was known as Noglog. The traces of inhabitancy in this region are lost on the darkness of time.

The town's name in Hungarian language means "big place". The Romanian and Slovakian names derive from that.

Population

According to the 2002 census, Nădlac had 8,154 inhabitants. The ethnic breakdown was then as follows:

• Slovaks: 47.64%
• Romanians: 44.50%
• Hungarians: 3.55%
• Roma (Romani subgroup): 2.53%
• others: 1.75%

History

Archaeological excavations have brought to the surface traces of existence of the Dacian-Romans. Throughout times Nădlac, a castle with wooden and soil fortification, was invaded by the Tartars, was possessed by Hunyadi János, was donated to the commanding officers Gyorgy Istvan and Dmitar Jakšić who laid the foundation of a new fortification. Besides, it was ravaged for several times by the Turks, it was razed to the ground by the rebels led by György Dózsa, but every time it was rebuilt. In 1685 the town was conquered by the Austrian royal army and it was integrated in the border disposition in the Mureș valley.

One of the most important moments of the history of Nădlac took place in the early 19th century, when the colonization process of the Slovaks started. Today this nationality is in the majority and it has contributed to a great extent to the development of the settlement.

In 2004 Nădlac celebrated its 40th anniversary of its being a town.

Tourist attractions

Among the town's tourist sights are the Saint Nicholas Church and the Slovak Lutheran church. As well, there is a park called "Lunca Mureşului".

External links

• Site in Slovak