THE OUTSKIRT POPULATION OF THE BANAT

Abstract

The Banat is generally not used to be categorized as a region of Historical Hungary with significant population living in outskirts. However, there were 229 settlements in the Banat, which is 28.6% of all Banatian settlements (801), with outskirts having more than 100 residents (Caraș-Severin County: 101, Temes County: 114, Torontál County: 206 outskirts). These outskirts (421) had a population of more than 150 thousand people (105290), which made up about 7 percent (6.7%) of the total population of the Banat (1582133 people). According to statistics there were 177 settlements, where the proportion of residents living in outskirts exceeded 6.7%. Excluding the data of the three county seats almost 14.5% (97541 people) of the residents of the remaining 226 settlements (675143 people) lived in outskirts having more than 100 inhabitants. The author regards this figure as the Banatian average, which did not reach even the half of the figure (32%) of the Hungarian Great Plain, but altogether it covers a significant population with characteristic differences at regional and settlement level. A significant number of people living in outskirts concentrated in the region bordered by the settlements of Törökbecse-Nagybecskerek-Versec-Krassófüzes-Temesrékas-Sztancsafalva-Újarad, wherein 6 micro-regions had an outstanding significance (surroundings of Timisoara and Kikinda, Marosangle, the West-southwest edge of Dumbrava, the vineyards of the Királykegye hills, and the area between the Temes and Bârzava Rivers. The Banatian Military Frontier did not have a significant population living in outskirts with the exception of some mining colonies in Caraș County and some classic Romanian hamlets of shepherds in the mountains of Szörénység.