Moldova Nouă

File:Banat Josephinische Landaufnahme pg193.jpg

Moldova Nouă (Neu-Moldova) and Moldova Veche (Moldova) on the Josephinian Land Survey, Template:Circa 1770

Moldova Nouă (Template:IPA; Template:Langx; Template:Langx; Template:Langx or Bošňák; Template:Langx) is a town in southwestern Romania in Caraș-Severin County (the historical region of Banat), in an area known as Clisura Dunării. The town administers three villages: Măcești (Template:Langx, Template:Langx), Moldova Veche (Ómoldova, Стара Молдава), and Moldovița (Kiskárolyfalva, Молдавица).

The town lies on the shores of the river Danube, which separates it from Serbia. It is located at the southern extremity of Caraș-Severin County, Template:Cvt from the county capital, Reșița. It is crossed by national road DN57, which connects it to Oravița, Template:Cvt to the north, and Orșova, Template:Cvt to the east.

Moldova Veche

In Moldova Veche village, evidence of human habitation dating to the transition between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age has been found. Additionally, there exist traces of an unfortified Dacian settlement, similar to several others in the area.

A Roman fort located in the village supervised mining and navigation on the Danube, located in Roman Dacia. The harbour and border buildings partly lie on the ruins of the former fort with the rest below the Danube. The site was seen by the historian Leonard Bohm in the summer of 1879 when the river was low and a thorough examination of the ruins could be made. Moldova Noua was an important Roman mining centre for iron, copper, silver and gold.<ref>Touristic route no. 4: The Romans’ Roads (I) https://banatul-montan.ro/en/the-romans-roads-i/</ref>

Vestiges from the Dark Ages and the Early Middle Ages have been found; during the 10th and 11th centuries, the area was controlled by Glad and later Ahtum.<ref name="ist">Template:In lang Short history at the Moldova Nouă Town Hall site</ref> Serbs have been living there since their replacement of the Gepids in the 5th century. <ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1552, when the Banat fell under Ottoman rule, Moldova Veche became the capital of a sanjak within the Temeşvar Eyalet.<ref name="ist"/> In 1566, at the end of Suleiman the Magnificent's reign, coins of gold (altâni) and silver (aspri) were minted there.<ref>Octavian Iliescu, The History of Coins in Romania (ca. 1500 BC – 2000 AD), p. 48. Bucharest: Editura Enciclopedică, 2002</ref> A document of 1588 records the place under the name Mudava; this is the earliest written mention. The Slavicizied Germanic-origin toponym is still used by locals. Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu and the majority of Romanian philologists and historians claim that the name comes from the term of Germanic origin mulde (i.e., "hollow", "quarry" or "drainage").<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1718, the area came under the Habsburg monarchy's control.<ref name="ist"/>

The village was absorbed into Moldova Nouă in 1956. It is the site of a Danube port.<ref>Hinnerk Dreppenstedt, Flusskreuzfahrten Donau, p. 304. Berlin: Trescher Verlag 2017. Template:ISBN</ref> There is a Baptist church; the community was established in 1927, its first church built in 1967 and the present structure in 2001.<ref>Template:In lang History at the Grace Church site</ref> Adherents are both Romanian and Serbian, with services conducted in Romanian.<ref>Djurić-Milovanović, p. 128</ref>

Demographics

In 1910, out of 3,437 inhabitants, 2,934 were ethnic Romanians, 295 Germans, 91 Hungarians, 41 Serbs and 73 Czechs; 3,004 where belonging to Orthodoxy, 389 where Roman Catholic and 25 where Reformed.

At the 2011 census, 81.2% of inhabitants were Romanians, 12.8% Serbs, 3.2% Roma, 1.3% Hungarians, and 0.8% Czechs. At the 2002 census, 88.4% were Romanian Orthodox, 4.5% Baptist, 4% Roman Catholic, and 2% Pentecostal.

Template:Historical populations