Giera

Giera (Gyr) and Toager (Thodier) in the Josephinische Landesaufnahme of 1769–1772

The first recorded mention of Giera dates from 1322, when it was a property of the Csanád clan;[3] Tivadar Vejtehi donated it to his son-in-law Omori Gál.[4] At the 1717 census, in Giera there were 12 houses inhabited by Serbs and an Orthodox church (built since 1667).[4] They settled here during the 17th century. From 1795, the domain (including Toager, Grănicerii and Livezile) came into the possession of the Gyertyánffy family, a Hungarian noble family of Armenian origin, taking the name Gyér.[5] In 1829, Lukács Gyertyánffy built a mansion in Giera, near the grain storehouse (now a historical monument), built in turn by Andor Gyertyánffy; the mansion is preserved to this day.[5] The Gyertyánffys also owned a grove called Gradinaț (Hungarian: Grádácz), where an Avar ring and a Turkish fortress were later unearthed.[4]

Giera had a population of 1,239 inhabitants at the 2011 census, down 6% from the 2002 census. Most inhabitants are Romanians (65.54%), larger minorities being represented by Hungarians (17.03%), Roma (7.99%), Serbs (4.52%) and Germans (1.69%). For 2.99% of the population, ethnicity is unknown.[6] By religion, most inhabitants are Orthodox (68.2%), but there are also minorities of Roman Catholics (20.82%), Serbian Orthodox (4.44%), Pentecostals (1.29%) and Baptists (1.13%). For 2.99% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.[7]