Ilieni ( hu, Illyefalva ; german: Ilgendorf) is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
located 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' ...
, south-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 ...
,
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 ...
, 7 km south of 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 ...
.
The commune is composed of three villages:
*Dobolii de Jos / Aldoboly
*Ilieni / Illyefalva
*Sâncraiu / Sepsiszentkirály
Demographics
The commune has an absolute
Székely Hungarian majority. According to the 2011
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
it has a population of 2,028 of which 87.03% or 1,765 are Hungarian.
History
There is archaeological evidence of the area having been populated since the Bronze Age. The place was first time mentioned in a church tax inventory as "Villa Helye" in 1332. In the Middle Ages, having the rights of a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
, the settlement was more important than today. The abundance of arable lands in the area (within the historical
Háromszék region), and trade relations with nearby
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 ...
settlements, including
Braşov, contributed to the sound economic basis of the community.
Also resulting from its geographical location, the
Székely settlement, during its history, was often subject to foreign military campaigns. The most tragical of these attacks was in 1658, when the fortified church of the village was successfully conquered by allied Turkish and Moldavian forces, who killed all the defending fighters and threw their bodies into the well of the stronghold. Surviving villagers were taken to custody.
Since the
fall of communism in 1989, the local community has been successful in developing viable economic activities, mostly based on agriculture and food industry, but a conference centre, a youth hostel and guest houses in the area also contribute to the revival of the settlement.
Fortified church
The time when the church was built is not recorded. It was rebuilt in the 15th century in Gothic style, later Renaissance and Baroque renovations were made. Following a series of Tatar, Saxon and Turkish attacks the church was gradually fortified during the 15th-17th centuries. Smaller-scale earthquakes in the region also made regular renovations necessary. One of the strongest quakes recorded in 1802 seriously damaged the building and its painted wooden ceiling. The church building was renovated in the 1990s.
References
External links
Fortified Church
{{Covasna County
Communes in Covasna County
Localities in Transylvania