The municipality is situated on the Carei Plain, 8 km from Carei, very close to the Romanian-Hungarian frontier. Here is the county's single frontier crossing point to Hungary accessible on the railway.
The municipality consists of the villages Berveni and Lucăceni. In 2002 the municipality's population counted 3614 inhabitants, out of which 62,42% were Hungarians, 33,12% were Romanians and 4,12% were Roms.
Berveni is an old settlement, with archaeological finds from the Neolithic, Bronze Age and early medieval period. The first written mention of the village dates from 1216, as the estate of the Gutkeled kindred. The nearby Ecedea swamp had an important role in the development of Berveni, the village being situated just on the old road crossing the swamp. In the 15th century Berveni was mentioned as an oppidum (fair, an intermediary status between village and town). The same document also mentions a castle that had been already ruined at those times. This construction could probably be a bastion, a medieval tower, part of the system of defense built around the Ecedea swamp, and it could have been placed on an island in the swamp, called today the Castle's Island. The most important noble owners of the estate were the Buttkai, Ráskai, Báthori, Bethlen, Rákóczi families. After the Peace of Satu Mare, Berveni was transferred to the Károlyi family. Following the Prince Rakoczi rebellion, in the 18th century the village became almost empty. It was repopulated with colonists brought at the initiative of the Calvinist priest Márton Bodoki Henter, from the zone called Trei Scaune (the Szekely Land). After the colonization of the Swabian population in the surrounding villages, most of the Hungarian inhabitants moved to Berveni. Thus, at the end of the 18th century a large community of Calvinist denomination lived here. The village's Calvinist church dates from 1806. At the end of the 19th century Berveni was mentioned as a peculiar locality, due to its different traditional costumes and dialect. The population was decimated by cholera in 1873.
The year 1889 meant a new chapter in the life of the village. Then, an association was founded with the purpose of draining the Ecedea swamp, and the actual draining works were also started. The everyday life of the inhabitants changed profoundly, because the swamp had meant a considerable source of income for the locals. Lots of traditional occupations that had been connected to the swamp (fishing, hunting, matting) were suddenly lost. The century that passed since the draining proved that the works did not brought the expected benefits. At the threshold of the 21st century arose the idea that the swamp should be partially reconstructed. The lowest and consequently the part with the highest humidity of the old swamp, called Bekek, with a surface of 100-150 hectares has become a protected area. A commune Romanian - Hungarian cross-border project is exploring the possibility of reconstructing a part of the Ecedea swamp.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a steam mill and a hemp factory were functioning in Berveni. They offered employment for both the locals and the inhabitants of the neighboring villages. In this period, the number of the Roman-Catholics has increased a lot, and in 1935 the community built a church in the village. The Roman-Catholic church Fourteen Holy Helpers was consecrated in 1937. A new edifice was built in 1981-1982.
The bust of Sándor Petőfi, sculpted by István Erdei in 2003 can be seen in the court of the local school.
After the hemp factory ceased to function, the most important source of income remained agriculture. The agricultural association Berlapi centers on both the cultivation of plants and livestock breeding.
Lucăceni village was founded in 1924 by colonists from the eastern part of the old county of Satu Mare, mainly from Sisesti (today in the county of Maramures). At the end of the 19th century Vasile Lucaciu was the priest of Sisesti. In honor of this fighter for national
rights, who died in 1922, the village was called "Urmasii lui Vasile Lucaciu" ("The Followers of Vasile Lucaciu "), later shortened to its actual form, namely Lucăceni. The Orthodox church The Assumption of the Holy Virgin was built in 1977, the Greek-Catholic church is still under construction.
In Lucaceni was born Ludovic Bruckstein (1920-1988) writer and dramatist.
