Bățani ( hu, Nagybacon, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in

Covasna County Covasna County (, hu, Kovászna megye, ) 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' ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The commune, with its center at Bățanii Mari, is composed of five villages: Aita Seacă (''Szárazajta''), Bățanii Mari (''Nagybacon''), Bățanii Mici (''Kisbacon''), Herculian (''Magyarhermány''), and Ozunca-Băi (''Uzonkafürdő'').

Geography

The commune is located in the northwestern part of

, from the county seat,

Sfântu Gheorghe Sfântu Gheorghe (; hu, Sepsiszentgyörgy or ''Szentgyörgy'' ; yi, סנט דזשארדזש; English lit.: ''Saint George'') is the capital city of Covasna County, Romania. Located in the central part of the country and in the historical regio ...

, on the border with Harghita County. It lies at the foot of the

Baraolt Mountains The Baraolt Mountains () is a mountain range, entirely in Covasna County of Romania. Geologically the Baraolts are part of the Căliman-Harghita Mountains, of the Inner Eastern Carpathians. By traditional Romanian categorization it's include ...

, on the banks of the

Baraolt Baraolt (; hu, Barót, ) is a town and administrative district in Covasna County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The town was mentioned for the first time as a settlement in 1224. It admi ...

Ozunca The Ozunca is a left tributary of the river Baraolt in Romania. It discharges into the Baraolt near Biborțeni Baraolt (; hu, Barót, ) is a town and administrative district in Covasna County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cu ...

, and Aita rivers.

Demographics

During the 2002 census, Bățani had a population of 4,501, of which 3,962 of its inhabitants, or 88.02%, were ethnic

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

. According to the 2011 census, the commune has a population of 4,403, of which 83.08% are ethnic Hungarians, 12.24% are

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

people and 1.41%

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

. For 3.27% of the population, the ethnicity is unknown. From a confessional point of view, most of the inhabitants are Reformed (75.15%), but there are also minorities of Pentecostals (11.83%), Roman Catholics (4.61%) and Orthodox (2.09%). For 3.5% of the population, the confessional affiliation is not known.

History

The locality formed part of the Székely Land region of the historical Transylvania province. Until the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, it belonged to the Háromszék County of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. After the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War was fought between Hungary and Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. The Allies of World War I intended ...

of 1919, it passed under Romanian administration, and after the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in ...

of 1920, it became part of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

. From 1925, Bățani belonged to plasa Baraolt, in Trei Scaune County, and from 1938, to

Ținutul Argeș Ținutul Argeș (or Ținutul Bucegi) was one of the ten Romanian ''ținuturi'' ("lands") founded in 1938, after King Carol II initiated an institutional reform by modifying the 1923 Constitution and the law of territorial administration. Named aft ...

. After the Second Vienna Award in 1940 the commune with all of

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...

came under Hungarian control for four years. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, ethnic conflicts took place in this area. After the Royal coup d'état of August 1944, Romania switched sides to the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

; soon after, Romanian '' Vânători de munte'' troops entered Covasna County, but were stopped by the defending Hungarian and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Armies. On 4 September 1944, around 40 retreating Romanian soldiers were captured in Szárazajta (Aita Seacă) by the locals, and were tortured and killed. On 26 September 1944, members of the irregular paramilitary Maniu Guard led by

Gavril Olteanu Gavril Olteanu (1888–1946) was a leader of a Romanian paramilitary militia group, part of the Maniu Guards during World War II, which became notorious for the killing and deportation of ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania. Olteanu was born in Târ ...

massacred thirteen

Székelys The Székelys (, Székely runes: 𐳥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗), also referred to as Szeklers,; ro, secui; german: Szekler; la, Siculi; sr, Секељи, Sekelji; sk, Sikuli are a Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. ...

in Aita Seacă village in a revenge attack.The Aita Seacă (Szárazajta) massacre
/ref> Following the administrative reforms implemented by the communist regime in 1950, the commune became part of the

Stalin Region Regiunea Stalin (Stalin Region) was one of the administrative divisions of the People's Republic of Romania. It was established in 1950, in the Soviet style of territorial organization, and was named after Joseph Stalin. Its name was changed t ...

, and from 1952, part of the Magyar Autonomous Region, while in 1968 it became part of Covasna County.

Natives

Elek Benedek Benedek Elek (eastern name order; western name order "Elek Benedek"; 30 September 1859 – 17 August 1929) was a Hungarian journalist and writer, widely known as "The Great Folk-Tale Teller" of The " Szekely Hungarian" Fairy-Tales. Biography ...

(1859–1929), journalist and writer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batani Communes in Covasna County Localities in Transylvania Székely communities