Dârjiu ( hu, Székelyderzs, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in

Harghita County Harghita (, hu, Hargita megye, ) is a county (județ) 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 populatio ...

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 The Székely Land or Szeklerland ( hu, Székelyföld, ; ro, Ținutul Secuiesc and sometimes ; german: Szeklerland; la, Terra Siculorum) is a historic and ethnographic area in Romania, inhabited mainly by Székelys, a subgroup of Hungarians. ...

, an ethno-cultural region in eastern

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 ...

. The toponym "''Székelyderzs''" was first mentioned as "De ers" in a papal list of tithes taken in 1334. In 1525, it was recorded as ''Ders'', while in 1760, it was already mentioned by its modern Hungarian name as ''Székely Derzs''. The first written mention of the toponym ''Székelyderzs'' as ''De Ers'' is from a list of papal tithes taken in 1334. In 1525, it was mentioned as ''Ders'', while in 1760, the modern form of its Hungarian name was already used as ''Székely Derzs''. The name ''Derzs'' is thought to be from the Old Bulgar. Transylvanian Toponym Book
The commune is composed of two villages: *Dârjiu / Székelyderzs *Mujna / Székelymuzsna

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the commune had a population of 1,036; out of them, 92% were Hungarian, 6% were

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 ...

and 1.4% were

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

. 61% of the commune population are Unitarian, 20% are

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

and 7% are

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

History

The village is home to the

Dârjiu fortified church The Dârjiu fortified church ( ro, Biserica fortificată din Dârjiu; hu, Székelyderzsi erődtemplom) is a Unitarian fortified church in Dârjiu (''Székelyderzs''), Harghita County, in the Transylvania region of Romania. It was built by the ...

, a 13th-century fortified Unitarian Church, which is on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

. Unitariansm was an official religion in

from the 1583 Medgyes parliament. The first bishop was

Ferenc Dávid Ferenc Dávid (also rendered as ''Francis David'' or ''Francis Davidis''; born as Franz David Hertel, c. 1520 – 15 November 1579) was a Unitarian preacher from Transylvania, the founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, and the lea ...

, a local Hungarian-speaking

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

. The first appointed ruler of Transylvania was the Unitarian

John II Sigismund Zápolya John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

,Queen Isabella and King John
son of the Hungarian king

John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai/ Zápolya János, hr, Ivan Zapolja, ro, Ioan Zápolya, sk, Ján Zápoľský; 1490/91 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferd ...

(1526-1541). The villages were historically part of the

region of

province. They belonged to

Udvarhelyszék Udvarhelyszék (; formerly called ''Telegdiszék'') was one of the Székely seats in the historical Székely Land. Situated on the western part of the Székely Land, it was the main seat ( hu, anyaszék, la, sedes principalis, ''sedes capitalis' ...

district until the administrative reform of Transylvania in 1876, when they fell within the

Udvarhely County Udvarhely (german: Oderhellen) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (eastern Transylvania). The capital of the county was ''Székelyudvarhely'' (now Odorheiu Secuiesc). Geogr ...

in 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

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, they became part of

and fell within

Odorhei County Odorhei County was a county (Romanian: '' județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania. The county seat was Odorheiu Secuiesc. Geography Odorhei County covered 2,977 km2 and was located in central part of Greater Romania, in eastern part of the historical ...

during the interwar period. In 1940, the

second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all ...

granted the

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 ...

to Hungary and the villages were held by Hungary until 1944. After Soviet occupation, the Romanian administration returned and the commune became officially part of Romania in 1947. Between 1952 and 1960, the commune fell within the

Magyar Autonomous Region The Magyar Autonomous Region (1952–1960) (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Regiunea Autonomă Maghiară'', Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Magyar Autonóm Tartomány'') and Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region (1960–1968) were autonomous Regions of ...

, between 1960 and 1968 the Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region. In 1968, the province was abolished, and since then, the commune has been part of Harghita County.

Heartland of Unitarianism

Between 80,000 and 100,000 Unitarians live in the geographical region of Transylvania, mostly between Sighişoara and

Odorheiu Secuiesc Odorheiu Secuiesc (; hu, Székelyudvarhely, ; german: Odorhellen) is the second largest municipality in Harghita County, Transylvania, Romania. In its short form, it is also known as ''Odorhei'' in Romanian and ''Udvarhely'' in Hungarian. The Hun ...

, more or less around Dârjiu. Further east, Hungarians are

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

with

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

enclaves e.g. in the former

Háromszék County Háromszék (''Three Seats''; Romanian: ''Trei Scaune'') was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Situated in south-eastern Transylvania, its territory is now in central Romania (in the counties of Covasna, Brașov and B ...

while the former

Csík County Csík (Hungarian, in Romanian: ''Ciuc'') was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (eastern Transylvania). The capital of the county was Csíkszereda (now Miercurea Ciuc). Geograp ...

is solidly Roman Catholic. The murals of the Unitarian church show the legend of

Ladislaus I of Hungary Ladislaus I ( hu, László, hr, Ladislav, sk, Ladislav, pl, Władysław; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and ...

. When the

Cumans The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...

broke into

, Ladislaus, still a Duke, along with his cousin ( King Salamon I) rode against them and freed a girl believed to be daughter of an aristocrat from a Cuman. Unhappily enough, the girl did not support this act of the future Saint. Further murals in the region are to be found at Unitarian churches in Mugeni, Crăciunel (Karácsonyfalva) and smaller ones in Rugăneşti (Rugonfalva) and

Cristuru Secuiesc Cristuru Secuiesc (; hu, Székelykeresztúr, ) is a town in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The town administers two villages: Betești (''Betfalva''), part of Mugeni unt ...

(Székelykeresztúr). Saxon murals are most significant in Mălâncrav (Szászszentlászló).

Twinning

Darány,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

The local Unitarian community has relationship with the

Unitarian Universalist Church Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA.

External links

The Unitarian fortified church

Gallery

Image:derzsx.jpg, Unitarian church Image:derzs6.jpg, Façade of the Unitarian church Image:derzs4.jpg, Murals on the St. Ladislaus legend Image:derzs3.jpg, Murals on the St. Ladislaus legend Image:derzs101.jpg, Fight of Ladislaus with the Cuman Image:derzs102.jpg, Death of the Cuman warrior Image:Josephinische Landaufnahme pg193.jpg, The village on the Josephinische Landaufnahme, 1769-1773

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darjiu Communes in Harghita County Localities in Transylvania Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania Székely communities