Șeica Mare (;

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sași ardeleni/transilvăneni/transilvani''; ) are a people ...

: ''Martscheelken''; ) is a commune located in

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county () of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat () is the namesake town of Sibiu (). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Hermannstadt''. Under the ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It is composed of six villages: Boarta (''Michelsdorf''; ''Mihályfalva''), Buia (''Bell''; ''Bólya''), Mighindoala (''Engenthal''; ''Ingodály''), Petiș (''Petersdorf''; ''Kispéterfalva''), Șeica Mare, and Ștenea (''Stein''; ''Isztina''). Calvaser (''Kaltwasser''; ''Hidegvíz'') was also a village until the late 20th century, when it was absorbed by Șeica Mare village.

Geography

The commune is situated on the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau (; ) is a plateau in central Romania. Description The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern Carpathians, Eastern, Southern ...

, on the banks of the river

Vișa The Vișa () is a left tributary of the river Târnava Mare in Romania. It discharges into the Târnava Mare in Copșa Mică. Its length is and its basin size is . Tributaries The following rivers are tributaries to the river Vișa (from sourc ...

; the rivers Calva and Râpa flow into the Vișa in Șeica Mare. Located in the north-central part of the county, the commune is crossed by

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

. The closest city is

Mediaș Mediaș (; , , Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Medwesch''/''Medveš''/''Medwisch'', ) is the second largest municipiu, town and municipality in Sibiu County, Transylvania, central Romania. Geography Mediaș is located in ...

, to the northeast; the county seat,

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

, is to the south. The Șeica Mare train station serves the CFR rail line 208, which runs north from Sibiu to Copșa Mică.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, Șeica Mare had 4,470 inhabitants. Of those, 88.8% were

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, 6% were

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

, 4.2% were

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, and 1% were

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

(more specifically

Transylvanian Saxons The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler dialect, Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sa ...

Natives

* Farkas Bolyai (1775–1856), mathematician * Cornel Oțelea (born 1940), handball player

Villages

Buia village was first attested in a document of 1269, under the name of ''poss Bulla''. In 1918, it had 1167 residents, of whom 736 were Romanians and the rest Germans and Hungarians. By 2002, the population was down to 634: 516 Romanians, 104 Hungarians, and three Roma. The village is in the southern part of the commune, linked to Șeica Mare by an stretch of county road. Farkas Bolyai was born there in 1775. Mighindoala (, meaning "Angels' Valley", ) is a small village in the Șeica Mare commune. As recently as 1975, the village had in excess of 50 houses, but was gradually deserted after the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

withdrew infrastructure such as teachers and doctors. As of 2004, there were only four people left in this village. There were only about ten buildings standing, including the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church. The

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

church no longer has a roof, and is now abandoned. The only economic activity is agriculture, very much based on the traditional farming of sheep, cows, and horses.

Gallery

File:HPIM0178(castel_buia).jpg , Ruins of Buia Castle File:HPIM0330(drum_pe_vale).jpg , The road on Mighindoala river valley File:HPIM0528(BisericaSaseasca).jpg , German Church in Mighindoala File:HPIM0733(veranda%2Bbaia)redusa.jpg , House in the village File:RO_SB_Seica_Mare_4.jpg, The

fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such church (building), churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as t ...

of Șeica Mare File:RO_SB_Seica_Mare_3.jpg, The

of Șeica Mare File:SeicaMareSB (2).JPG, The

of Șeica Mare File:RO_SB_Seica_Mare_1.jpg, The

of Șeica Mare File:SeicaMareSB (5).JPG, Route exiting Șeica Mare

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seica Mare Communes in Sibiu County Localities in Transylvania