Săcălaz (formerly Săcalhaz; ; Banat Swabian: Sacklass; ) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Beregsău Mare, Beregsău Mic and Săcălaz (commune seat).
Geography Săcălaz is located west of Timișoara and covers an area of . The relief is flat. The Timiș River is the most important running water, Săcălaz also being crossed by the waters of two small streams, Beregsău Mare and Niarad.
History Săcălaz was first mentioned in a diploma from 29 December 1392, in which the boundary of the village of Zakalhaza was delimited, a name that it kept until 1520. Following the Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718) the Banat localities became the property of the Austrian Imperial House. Banat became an autonomous Austrian province with military administration, being divided into 11 districts. In 1717 Săcălaz had 66 houses. The main occupation of the inhabitants was the cultivation of cereals, especially wheat and maize. In 1725, the first grain mill was built.
In 1765 the first wave of Swabian German settlers arrived here, by order of Maria Theresa. She issued the Kolonisationspatent of 25 February 1763 and later the Decree which she submitted to the Banat Colonization Office in 1765, ordering the relocation of the Romanian population to the southern part of Torontál County, to make way for the Swabian settlers. Thus, the Romanian population of about 60 families is forced to leave Săcălaz and move to Torak (in Serbian Banat), where they establish a new settlement. In turn, the village of Beregsău Mic was colonized with Serbs. The following waves of German settlers (1744–1772, 1782–1787) definitively established the German predominance of the locality. The plans for the development of Săcălaz were outlined on paper in Vienna, in the form of a chessboard, with the Catholic church in the center. The church was designed by engineer Carl Alexander Steinlein and was consecrated in 1772.
Demographics
Săcălaz had a population of 9,223 inhabitants at the 2021 census, up 28.02% from the 2011 census. Most inhabitants are Romanians (70.97%), with a minority of Serbs (1.07%). For 26.29% of the population, ethnicity is unknown. By religion, most inhabitants are Orthodox (60.7%), but there are also minorities of Pentecostals (5.05%) and Roman Catholics (2.33%). For 27.75% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown. Census Ethnic composition Year Population Romanians Hungarians Germans Serbs 1880 6,218 1,935 97 3,245 926 1890 7,257 2,158 104 4,019 928 1900 7,475 2,087 197 4,202 948 1910 7,178 2,104 273 3,853 944 1920 7,141 1,855 174 4,169 – 1930 6,649 2,088 134 3,601 792 1941 6,700 2,212 60 3,553 – 1956 6,116 2,911 119 2,363 717 1966 6,774 3,674 140 2,303 645 1977 7,287 4,588 160 1,997 477 1992 5,926 5,368 111 76 293 2002 6,273 5,903 92 40 152 2011 7,204 6,045 67 41 143 2021 9,223 6,546 77 18 99
Politics and administration The commune of Săcălaz is administered by a mayor and a local council composed of 17 councilors. The mayor, Dumitru Boboi, from the Social Democratic Party, has been in office since 2024. As from the 2024 local elections, the local council has the following composition by political parties: Party Seats Composition Social Democratic Party 8 Alliance for the Union of Romanians 5 National Liberal Party 2 Save Romania Union–People's Movement Party–Force of the Right 2 Notable people Aurel Cosma (1867–1931), lawyer and politician (1889–1954), composer, music teacher and folklorist Ernő Kállai (1890–1954), art critic (1934–2010), writer and journalist Karl Fritz Lauer (1938–2018), agronomist (b. 1953), writer (b. 1959), author and civil rights activist
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