Bixad (, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in

Covasna County Covasna County (, , ) is a county (județ) of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Sfântu Gheorghe. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 210,177, making it the second least populous of Romania's 41 counties and 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 ...

. Composed of a single village, Bixad, it was joined to Malnaș in 1968. It once again became an independent commune when it split off in 2004. It lies in the

Székely Land The Székely Land or Szeklerland (, , Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: 𐲥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗𐳌𐳞𐳖𐳇; and sometimes ; ; ) is a historic and ethnographic area in present-day Romania, inhabited mainly by Székelys, a subgroup of Hung ...

, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania.

Geography

The commune is located in the northern part of Covasna County, from the county seat,

Sfântu Gheorghe Sfântu Gheorghe (; or ''Szentgyörgy'' ; ; English lit.: ''Saint George'') is a city that serves as the seat of Covasna County in Transylvania, Romania. Located in the central part of the country, it lies on the Olt River in a valley between ...

, on the border with

Harghita County Harghita County (, and , ) is a county () in the center of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Miercurea Ciuc. Demographics 2002 census In 2002, Harghita County had a population of 326,222 and a population density of ...

. It lies in a valley on the upper reaches of the

Olt River The Olt ( Romanian and Hungarian; ; or ', , ''Alytos'') is a river in Romania. It is long, and its basin area is . It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its average discharge at the mouth is . It originates in the Hă ...

, at an altitude of , on the northern side of the

Baraolt Mountains The Baraolt Mountains () is a mountain range, entirely in Covasna County of Romania. Geologically the Baraolts are part of the Inner Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system ...

. The river Valea Roșie merges into the Olt downstream of Bixad. The commune is crossed by the

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 ...

(part of

European route E78 European route E 78 is a road. It begins in Grosseto and ends in Fano. It links the Tyrrhenean and Adriatic coasts. The road follows: Grosseto - Siena - Arezzo - Città di Castello/Selci Lama - Fano. It intersects with the European route E8 ...

), which starts in

Chichiș Chichiș (, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania, composed of two villages: Băcel (''Kökösbácstelek'') and Chichiș. It formed part of the Székely Land region of the historical Transylvania provin ...

and goes north to

Toplița Toplița (; , ) is a Municipiu, city in Harghita County, Transylvania, Romania. The settlement has had multiple name changes: ''Taplócza'', ''Toplicza'', ''Gyergyó-Toplicza'', from February 3, 1861 ''Oláh-Toplicza'', or "Romanian Toplița", ...

. Route branches off in Bixad, going southeast towards

Târgu Secuiesc Târgu Secuiesc (; , ; ; ) is a city in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania. It administers one village, Lunga (''Nyújtód''). History The town was first mentioned in 1407 as ''Torjawasara'', meaning in Hungarian “Torja Market”. ( Torja ...

. Two train stations (Cariera Bixad and Bicsadu Oltului) serve the CFR Main Line 400, which connects

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

with the northwestern city of

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; ; ; or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the region of Maramureș, broadly part of Transylvania ...

Demographics

The commune has an absolute Székely Hungarian majority. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 1,799, of which 94.94% were Hungarians and 1.89%

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 ...

. At the 2021 Census, Bixad had 1,585 inhabitants; of those, 90,73% were Hungarians, 3.41% Roma, and 2.84%

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, ...

Tourist attractions

*The Mikes Armin School, which was the hunting lodge of the Mikes family and built by Count Ármin Mikes around 1900. Apart from the school, the building hosts a little museum displaying glass from the factory which was operated by the Mikó and later the Mikes family in the village until 1918. *The so-called Mikes Spas: the Vallato, the Hammas, and the Bükki Spa.

References

{{Covasna County Communes in Covasna County Localities in Transylvania