Sântimbru, Alba Explained

Type:commune
County:Alba
Sântimbru
Leader Name:Ioan Iancu Popa
Leader Party:PNL
Leader Term:2020 - 2024
Coordinates:46.1333°N 62°W
Elevation:216
Area Total:44.28
Population Total:auto
Postal Code:517675
Area Code:(+40) 02 58

Sântimbru (Hungarian: Marosszentimre; German: Sankt Emmerich) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 3,032 as of 2021, and is composed of five villages: Coșlariu (Koslárd), Dumitra (Demeterpataka), Galtiu (Gáldtő), Sântimbru, and Totoi (Táté).

The commune is situated on the Transylvanian Plateau, at an altitude of . It lies on the banks of the river Mureș; the river Galda flows into the Mureș in Sântimbru.

Following the Mongol invasion of Europe, Transylvanian Saxons settled in Sântimbru in the 13th century. Driven out by the Ottomans in the 16th century, they were replaced by Hungarians, who practised woodcutting. Ethnic Romanians have been in the majority since the 19th century, and today, the inhabitants mainly build bricks and raise poultry.

The village of Totoi has developed a speech form known as Totoiana which consists in the inversion of Romanian words so that other speakers of normal Romanian cannot understand it. It is unique to the village, and it is not spoken in other parts of Sântimbru.[1] [2] [3]

Points of interest

The commune has a Hungarian Reformed church founded by John Hunyadi in 1449.

Natives

Notes and References

  1. News: În localitatea Totoi, județul Alba, se vorbește o limbă specifică locului. Realitatea TV. 19 January 2009. ro.
  2. News: Totoiana – messengerul de pe uliță. Povestea unei limbi inventate de români. Dan. Arsenie. GreatNews.ro. 9 December 2011. ro.
  3. News: "Limba intoarsă" vorbită în Totoi. Ziare.com. 2 November 2009. ro.