The Satu Mare Swabians are a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 ethnic group that lives near the city of Satu Mare in Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, and forms part of the broader group known as Danube Swabians

Danube Swabians

The Danube Swabians is a collective term for the German-speaking population who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially alongside the Danube River valley. Because of different developments within the territory settled, the Danube Swabians cannot be seen as a unified people...

. Most were originally farmers in Upper Swabia

Swabia

Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...

 who came to Hungary/Partium

Partium

Partium or Részek is the name given in Hungarian to the region located to the north and west of Transylvania.-Origin of the name:...

 (present-day territory of Romania) during the 18th century East Colonisation. They have mainly lived in the communes of Foieni

Foieni

Foieni is a commune of 1,951 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Foieni.-Demographics:Ethnic groups :*Hungarians: 55.52%*Germans: 41.60%*Romanians: 2.81%...

, Urziceni

Urziceni, Satu Mare

Urziceni is a commune in Satu Mare County, Romania, right on the Hungarian border. It is composed of two villages, Urziceni and Urziceni-Pădure . The population was 1,509 in 2002; 68.1% of inhabitants were Hungarian, 22.5% were German, and 9.3% were ethnic Romanian...

, Căpleni

Căpleni

Căpleni is a commune of 4,349 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania along the border with Hungary. It is composed of a single village, Căpleni, and also included Cămin village until 2002, when it was split off to form a separate commune....

, Petreşti

Petresti, Satu Mare

Petrești is a commune of 1,638 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Dindeștiu Mic and Petrești.-Demographics:Ethnic groups :*Hungarians: 47.17%*Romanians: 11.82%*Germans: 31.49%...

, Tiream

Tiream

Tiream is a commune of 2,375 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Portiţa , Tiream and Vezendiu .-Demographics:Ethnic groups :*Romanians: 48.3%*Hungarians: 29.2%...

, Beltiug

Beltiug

Beltiug is a commune of 3,318 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania. It is composed of six villages:In Romanian / in Hungarian:* Beltiug / Krasznabéltek* Bolda / Alsóboldád* Ghirişa / Géres* Giungi / Gyöngy* Răteşti / Szakasz...

, and in the cities of Ardud

Ardud

Ardud is a town in north-western Romania, in Satu Mare County. It administers five villages: Ardud-Vii, Baba Novac, Gerăuşa, Mădăras and Sărătura.-History:...

, Carei and Satu Mare. Along with other German-speaking groups in Romania, the Satu Mare Germans are represented in politics by the DFDR (Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania

Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania

The Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania is a centrist political party representing the German minority in Romania. It was founded at the end of 1989. Despite originally being a German minority party, the party is popular also with many ethnic Romanians, notably in parts of Transylvania...

).