The changing Romanian village: The case of semlac in Arad county, Romania

Change in the village reflects the evolution of society and the conditions in the surrounding territory, including the neighbouring rural settlements and towns with which there is interaction. These considerations will determine the size and functions of a village, moving through centuries of change, often marked by violent events (invasions and wars; epidemics and natural disasters). So the search for equilibrium has often been frustrated by changing events. The paper concentrates on the upheavals associated with communism at the end of the Second World War, leading to the degradation of rural society, and the adjustments now being made in the light of the revolution of 1989. After the upheavals of the first transition years there are signs that prosperity is beginning to return to the villages as higher incomes from agriculture benefit the rural economy as a whole.