Commune of Macea, Arad

Macea is a commune in Arad County, Romania, composed of two villages, Macea and Sânmartin. It is located 23 km from Arad and 6 km from Curtici.

Population
According to the last census the population of the commune counts 6169 inhabitants, out of which 85.6% are Romanians, 3.3% Hungarians, 8.3% Roma, 2.2% Germans and 0.6% are of other or undeclared nationalities.

History
Although the traces of inhabitance on this place are very old, traces from the Neolithic and from the Bronze Age having been found on its territory, Macea was first mentioned in documents only in 1380, while Sânmartin in 1477.

Economy
The commune's present-day economy can be characterized by a powerful dynamic force with significant developments in all the sectors present in the commune. Livestock-breeding based on cattle-growing and pig-raising is the main economic branch, due to which food industry is well-developed in the commune.

Tourism
Tourist sites include the natural reservation called "Arboretul de la Macea" (20,5 ha), the Csernovics Castle - architectural monument belonging to the national patrimony, built in the 19th century, the ''exhibition room with caricatures, well as the beach and the botanical garden''.

Macea village gives home to a festival of caricature and humour every year.

Summer school
Since 2003, the Cernovici Castle is the home of "Informatica la Castel" annual event (formerly "Linux and Virtual Learning Environments", LVLE), a Free Software summer school organised by the Vasile Goldiş West University of Arad and ARLUG, the Arad Linux Users Group.