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The Krashovani (, ) are a Croats community inhabiting Carașova and Lupac in the Caraș-Severin County within Banat. They are Catholic by faith and speak a Torlakian dialect.
According to the 2002 census in Romania, the population of the Carașova commune comprised 84.60% Croats, 4.96% others, 4.47% Roma, 4.41% Romanians and others. 93.12% of the population in that commune declared their mother tongue as Croatian. Only 207 persons declared Krashovani ethnicity in the 2002 census. Recensământ 2002. Rezultate: Populaţia după etnie la recensământul din 2002 ; retrieved November 10, 2007
Serbian ethnographer Jovan Cvijić concluded that the community was "very old settlers with origin in Crna Reka who were Catholicised"; Stanko Žuljić claims that their origin is in Turopolje, in Croatia.
The Carașoveni were considered Bulgarians by some Bulgarian scientists in the first half of the 20th century (such as G. Cibrus, M. Mladenov, K. Telbizov, and T. Balkanski), partially based on their view that Torlakian-speakers are ethnically Bulgarians.
According to the Austrian Empire population census there were over 10,000 Carașoveni in Banat. In the 1847 census over 10,000 people declared as Carașoveni. In 1896 the Austria-Hungary census around 7,500 Carașoveni were listed. The same was stated by the authorities of the Kingdom of Romania in 1940. Their number dropped to 2,775 in 1992. Spațiul istoric și etnic românesc, Vol.I, Editura Militară, Bucharest, 1992
The Union of Croats of Romania (, ZHR; , UCR) is an ethnic minority political party in Romania representing the Croatian community.
History
Their ancestors first settled Carașova in the 13th and 14th centuries from northwestern Bosnia. They formed a community in the northern plateau of the Caraș river, in seven villages, the oldest, Carașova, being mentioned in the 13th and 14th centuries while the rest are first mentioned in the 17th century.
See also
Further reading
Dialectology
External links
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