Birda

Birda is located in the southeastern part of Timiș County, bordering the town of Gătaia and the communes of Tormac, Voiteg, Opatița and Denta.

The first recorded mention of Birda dates from 1690, from Marsigli's notes. It is probably much older and inhabited during the Turkish occupation. By 1717 Birda is recorded in the Habsburg imperial documents with 80 houses; Berecuța with 28 houses; and Sângeorge with 30 houses.^[5] After 1779, it belonged to Temes County, Plasa Deta, with a post office and later a train station.^[4] In 1828, the Aerarium sold Birda to the Termacici family.^[5] By 1842 it had become the property of Baron Lo Presti.^[5] In 1852 it came into the possession of Baron Ukermann's wife.^[5] Until the end of the 19th century, Birda was inhabited only by Romanians, but at that time, the great owners settled German and Hungarian families here to cultivate their estates.

The commune of Birda was established by Law 84/2004, separating from the town of Gătaia.^[6]

Birda had a population of 1,819 inhabitants at the 2021 census, down 1.46% from the 2011 census. Most inhabitants are Romanians (85.76%), larger minorities being represented by Serbs (2.36%), Germans (1.09%) and Hungarians (1.04%). For 8.19% of the population, ethnicity is unknown.^[7] By religion, most inhabitants are Orthodox (80.31%), but there are also minorities of Pentecostals (3.79%), Roman Catholics (2.58%) and Serbian Orthodox (2.25%). For 8.57% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.^[8]

The commune of Birda is administered by a mayor and a local council composed of 11 councilors. The mayor, Gheorghe Marius Stoian, from the Social Democratic Party, has been in office since 2008. As from the 2024 local elections, the local council has the following composition by political parties:^[10]

• Iuliu Ionescu (1888–1963), first praetor of Lipova and sub-prefect of Timiș-Torontal County
• Laza Cnejevici [ro] (1936–2015), vocalist and instrumentalist