Hungarian Signage Restored in Romania After Years of Restriction

Újszentes with the Reformed Church in the foreground

The municipal council has approved the reintroduction of Hungarian signage in the municipality of Dumbrăvița (Újszentes), which has grown together with Timișoara (Temesvár), where the ethnic balance has changed significantly in recent decades and Hungarians make up less than six percent of the total population, as reported by the news portal Krónika.

Ildikó Dénes, the only representative of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) in the 19-member local council, told the news portal that the draft resolution she initiated was unanimously approved by the members of the predominantly Romanian council, meaning that Hungarian signage can now be installed on public buildings and along the access roads to the municipality.

In the municipality in the district of Temes (Timiș), the Hungarian signs were removed this summer”

after a resident of Újszentes filed a “complaint” against the municipal council with the district government office, arguing that Romanian administrative law only requires bilingual signage if the minority population exceeds 20 percent.

In Újszentes, which was founded in 1891 by 133 Hungarian settler families from the Debrecen Reformed Church District, mainly from Szentes, it was quite natural that the facade of the community center and elementary school bore Hungarian inscriptions dating back to the time “inherited” by the current local council, when the use of the mother tongue was guaranteed by law due to the proportion of the Hungarian population in the area.

However, the demographic boom—due to people moving in from the nearby city—not only changed the ethnic balance,”

but also brought people to the large community who were surprised by the Hungarian inscriptions.

According to Ildikó Dénes, the mayor and local councilors have never been hostile towards Hungarians, and the Hungarian civil society organization in Újszentes receives considerable support from the local budget for organizing traditional community events.

In the draft resolution on the preservation and reinstallation of the Hungarian inscriptions, which create an indisputable legal basis for their installation, the Hungarian community’s demand was justified by the historical past of the municipality and the importance of recognizing the creative power of the former Hungarian settlers.

Catholic church in Újszentes. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Újszentes – known since World War I under the Romanian name Dumbrăvița – was one of the most populous communities of the Hungarian diaspora in Banat (southwestern Romania). In the 1940s and 1960s, Szekler families settled in the village.

In the first half of the 2000s, the community still had a Hungarian mayor,”

who had been elected for several terms in RMDSZ colors, and there were also several Hungarian members on the local council.

A series of real estate developments in the 21st century and the mass exodus of residents from Timișoara changed the ethnic composition of the community. Based on the 2021 census, Újszentes has 20,000 permanent residents, of whom 912 identified themselves as Hungarian.

“It’s Good to Be Good”: Over 19 Million Forints Already Raised for Transcarpathian Children