mention of Dudeștii Vechi dates from 1238 (or 1213 according to other sources). Beșenova, as it was called at that time, belonged to the Cenad Fortress, enjoying privileges and having the right, from 1331, to organize weekly markets. But in the 16th century, both the nobility and the serfdom left the village, which then came under Turkish rule. On a map from 1715, the locality is mentioned under the name Besenyö as a settlement with a church and a kule, but on Count Mercy's map of 1723 the place is recorded as a deserted settlement. The present-day settlement was re-established in 1738 and colonized by Bulgarians from Nikopol and its environs. Other Bulgarians settled in Lovrin, but from there, in 1742, 200 families moved to Beșenova. In 1779, Beșenova Veche was included in Torontál County and was governed by the laws of the Austrian state, in a permissive, democratic style, using the Bulgarian language in relations with its countrymen. In 1787, when Gjura Lebanovici was mayor of Beșenova, the village was raised by Joseph II to the rank of town and was given the right to hold a weekly market every Thursday and, twice a year, on 15 May and 15 November, a fair. Also during Lebanovici's mayorship (1784–1787), the bridge was built over the old Aranca riverbed, on the road leading to Szeged, today the Roma neighborhood (Gornija Most). From 1781, by successive intercalation, Gjura Uzunov was mayor, during which the granary in the center of the commune was built, demolished only in 1974. Also during his time the construction of the church began. In 1840, the current building in which the Dudeștii Vechi Town Hall operates is built. The railway between Vălcani and Periam was inaugurated thirty years later. Around 1894, the first branch of a political formation appeared – the Socialist Party, the head of the branch being Petru Telbis. After the loss of power, the Socialists (known locally as țoțuliști) emigrated to America to work. Around the same time, thanks to the united guild of craftsmen, the People's Bank of Cenad and the Delridek Agricultural Bank opened their first subsidiaries here. Demographics Dudeștii Vechi had a population of 4,203 inhabitants at the 2011 census, down 6% from the 2002 census. Most inhabitants are Bulgarians (58.03%), larger minorities being represented by Romanians (26.7%), Roma (5.28%) and Hungarians (3.78%). For 5.04% of the population, ethnicity is unknown. By