Peciu Nou (; or Neuwien, "New Vienna"; ) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Diniaș, Peciu Nou (commune seat) and Sânmartinu Sârbesc.
History
The territory of the commune has been inhabited since ancient times. During the Dacian statehood and the Roman rulership, a Roman colony was established here under the name Vibech. During the Migration Period, Peciu Nou fell under Hungarian rule; the first recorded mention of Peciu Nou also comes from this time (1332, Veybech). Between 1401–1406, the locality was a royal domain with urban status (opidum regis Vybech). In 1526 Hungary became a pashalik; after this period the sultan colonized many Serbs in Banat, and the name of the locality was changed from Vibech to Peciui.
The locality did not appear on Count Mercy's maps from 1723–1725, suggesting that the settlement was destroyed during the Ottoman–Habsburg wars. The first German settlers arrived here in 1723, mainly from Cologne and Mainz. The conscription (census) of 1743 noted a settlement with the name Uypez. At one time it was also called Neu Wien ("New Vienna").
Demographics
Peciu Nou had a population of 4,931 inhabitants at the 2021 census, down 1.02% from the 2011 census. Most inhabitants are Romanians (76.55%), larger minorities being represented by Serbs (8.37%) and Hungarians (1.37%). For 11.86% of the population, ethnicity is unknown. By religion, most inhabitants are Orthodox (66.65%), but there are also minorities of Serbian Orthodox (7.6%), Pentecostals (6.22%), Roman Catholics (2.59%) and Greek Catholics (1.6%). For 12.45% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown. Census Ethnic composition Year Population Romanians Hungarians Germans Roma Ukrainians Serbs 1880 4,829 82 84 1,928 – – 2,694 1890 5,549 40 102 2,314 – 1 3,079 1900 5,831 38 105 2,331 – – 3,349 1910 5,862 94 138 2,301 – – 3,304 1920 5,627 68 86 2,228 – – – 1930 5,639 127 96 2,124 20 – 3,263 1941 5,773 209 102 2,253 – – – 1956 5,794 1,454 108 1,387 37 – 2,801 1966 6,059 1,956 105 1,723 37 – 2,231 1977 5,946 2,249 114 1,610 88 62 1,810 1992 4,871 3,332 109 125 29 70 1,200 2002 4,992 3,773 113 53 43 80 926 2011 4,982 3,878 101 40 35 57 674 2021 4,931 3,775 68 18 27 29 413
Politics and administration The commune of Peciu Nou is administered by a mayor and a local council composed of 15 councilors. The mayor, Gabriel-Răzvan Drăgan, from the Social Democratic Party, has been in office since 2016. Since the 2024 local elections, the composition of the local council in terms of political parties' representation is the following: Party Seats Composition Social Democratic Party 7 National Liberal Party 5 Save Romania Union–People's Movement Party–Force of the Right 2 Union of Serbs of Romania 1 Notable people Petre Stoica (1931–2009), poet and translator
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