Cenei (Hungarian: Csene; German: Tschene; Serbian: Ченеј, romanized:Čenej; Croatian: Čenej) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Bobda and Cenei (commune seat). It also included Checea until 2004, when it was split off to form a separate commune.

History

Cenei is one of the oldest settlements in Banat, first recorded in 1221 as a property of the archdiocese of Ittebe, today in Serbian Banat. By 1330 it belonged to the Sărad Fortress. Cenei was the site of a battle between the Turkish and Austrian troops on 20 August 1696.

As of 1720, the natives were mostly Romanians and Serbs. Through the efforts of the Vuketići family, Cenei was colonized with Croats between 1801 and 1820. German settlers arrived here only after 1848, much later than other nearby settlements. The Hungarian population did not settle here in waves of colonists, but gradually, over a long period of time. Today's village was formed by merging Ceneiu Sârbesc ("Serbian Cenei"; Serbian: Српски Ченеј, romanized:Srpski Čenej) and Ceneiu Croat ("Croatian Cenei"; Croatian: Hrvatski Čenej) in 1902.

Demographics

  1. Romanians (72.2%)
  2. Serbs (12.5%)
  3. Hungarians (6.12%)
  4. Unknown (8.18%)
  5. Others (0.99%)
  1. Orthodox (67.1%)
  2. Serbian Orthodox (12.6%)
  3. Roman Catholics (8.18%)
  4. Pentecostals (2.46%)
  5. Unknown (8.55%)
  6. Others (1.01%)
  7. Irreligious, atheists and agnostics (0.10%)

Cenei had a population of 2,760 inhabitants at the 2021 census, up 3.37% from the 2011 census. Most inhabitants are Romanians (72.21%), larger minorities being represented by Serbs (12.5%) and Hungarians (6.12%). For 8.18% of the population, ethnicity is unknown. By religion, most inhabitants are Orthodox (67.13%), but there are also minorities of Serbian Orthodox (12.57%), Roman Catholics (8.18%) and Pentecostals (2.46%). For 8.55% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.

CensusEthnic composition
YearPopulationRomaniansHungariansGermansSerbsCroats
18803,8928412551,4371,242
18904,1938332131,7141,187149
19004,2338323171,5751,223114
19103,9178303041,2051,44696
192095066974200
19303,8009582361,2161,196
19413,6091,0871931,051
19563,554
19663,5461,4213745731,156
19773,4871,57038446898743
19923,0911,91533411068318
20022,8681,9202996553117
20112,6701,795235394304
20212,7601,993169213453

Politics and administration

The commune of Cenei is administered by a mayor and a local council composed of 13 councilors. The mayor, Sîrgean Tanasin, from the Social Democratic Party, has been in office since 2020. As from the 2024 local elections, the local council has the following composition by political parties:

PartySeatsComposition
Social Democratic Party8
National Liberal Party2
Alliance for the Union of Romanians2
Union of Serbs of Romania1

Notable people

  • Stefan Jäger (1877–1962), painter
  • Gheorghe Jurma (b. 1945), literary critic, writer, eminescologist and editor
  • Ioan Ardeleanu[ro] (1947–2007), poet, prose writer, essayist and founder of Banat magazine

Notes