Birda (Hungarian and German: Birda; ) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Berecuța, Birda (commune seat), Mânăstire and Sângeorge.
Geography Birda is located in the southeastern part of Timiș County, bordering the town of Gătaia and the communes of Tormac, Voiteg, Opatița and Denta. Climate The climate is temperate continental, having an intermediate character between the continental, Mediterranean and oceanic climates. Winters are relatively mild, summers are long and hot, springs and autumns are short. The average annual temperature is , and the average annual rainfall is , ensuring very good conditions for plant cultivation and animal husbandry.
History The first recorded mention of Birda dates from 1690, from Marsigli's notes. It is probably much older and inhabited during the Turkish occupation. By 1717 Birda is recorded in the Habsburg imperial documents with 80 houses; Berecuța with 28 houses; and Sângeorge with 30 houses. After 1779, it belonged to Temes County, Plasa Deta, with a post office and later a train station. In 1828, the Aerarium sold Birda to the Termacici family. By 1842 it had become the property of Baron Lo Presti. In 1852 it came into the possession of Baron Ukermann's wife. Until the end of the 19th century, Birda was inhabited only by Romanians, but at that time, the great owners settled German and Hungarian families here to cultivate their estates.
The commune of Birda was established by Law 84/2004, separating from the town of Gătaia.
Demographics
Birda had a population of 1,819 inhabitants at the 2021 census, down 1.46% from the 2011 census. Most inhabitants are Romanians (85.76%), larger minorities being represented by Serbs (2.36%), Germans (1.09%) and Hungarians (1.04%). For 8.19% of the population, ethnicity is unknown. By religion, most inhabitants are Orthodox (80.31%), but there are also minorities of Pentecostals (3.79%), Roman Catholics (2.58%) and Serbian Orthodox (2.25%). For 8.57% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown. Census Ethnic composition Year Population Romanians Hungarians Germans Ukrainians Serbs 1880 1,986 918 127 437 – 477 1890 2,277 978 173 558 – 538 1900 2,515 1,197 166 577 – 568 1910 2,665 1,011 214 611 – 807 1920 2,357 1,015 38 724 – – 1930 2,822 1,344 40 812 – 610 1941 2,639 1,231 16 758 – – 1956 2,291 – – – – – 1966 2,176 1,295 33 507 – 336 1977 2,164 1,316 23 509 – 257 1992 2,061 1,746 16 57 48 136 2002 1,948 1,726 19 20 43 74 2011 1,846 1,599 21 17 28 64 2021 1,819 1,560 19 20 15 43 Politics and administration The commune of Birda is administered by a mayor and a local council composed of 11 councilors. The mayor, Gheorghe Marius Stoian, from the Social Democratic Party, has been in office since 2008. As from the 2024 local elections, the local council has the following composition by political parties: Party Seats Composition Social Democratic Party 10 National Liberal Party 1
Notable people Iuliu Ionescu (1888–1963), first praetor of Lipova and sub-prefect of Timiș-Torontal County (1936–2015), vocalist and instrumentalist References