Moldovenești (formerly ''Orfalău'' and ''Varfalău''; hu, Várfalva; german: Burgdorf) 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 ...

Cluj County Cluj County (; german: Kreis Klausenburg, hu, Kolozs megye) is a county (județ) of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) is Cluj-Napoca (german: Klausenburg). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Kolozs megye ...

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, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, 12 km southwest of

Turda Turda (; hu, Torda, ; german: link=no, Thorenburg; la, Potaissa) is a city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the Europ ...

, in the valley of the

Arieș The Arieș ( hu, Aranyos) is a left tributary of the river Mureș in Transylvania, Romania. It discharges into the Mureș in Gura Arieșului, southwest of Luduș. Its total length (including its headwater Arieșul Mare) is , and its drainage ...

History

The oldest record about the ancient castle at the village is from 1075, calling the place ''Castrum Turda'' (the old Turda Castle). During the Tatar invasions of Hungary in the 13th Century, most of the area around the castle was ravaged. Later, the land was given to free Székelys who moved here from the

Saschiz Saschiz (german: Keisd or Hünenburg; hu, Szászkézd, Hungarian pronunciation: ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Keist'') is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, central Romania. It has a population of 2,048: 88 percent Romanians, 5 percent Germans ...

region and the territory became part of Aranyos Seat. Bădeni village has been the site of a crematorium since 2014. Florina Pop
"Cum arată 'cuptorul morţii' din Cluj, cel mai modern crematoriu uman din estul Europei"
''Adevărul'', October 9, 2014

Etymology

The commune was renamed ''Moldoveneşti'' in the interwar period, in honour of Ioan Micu Moldovan. The previous name, ''Varfalău'', is derived from ''Várfalva'', which means "village of the castle" in Hungarian.

Component villages

The commune is composed of six villages: Vălenii de Arieș (formerly ''Rachișul de Arieș'' or for short ''Rachiș''; ''Aranyosrákos''; ''Krebsbach'') was a separate village until 1966, when it was absorbed into Moldovenești village.

Population

At the 2011 census, 56.6% of inhabitants were

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 ...

, 39.6%

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...

and 3.8% Roma.

Natives

* Ioan Micu Moldovan -

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, member of the Romanian Academy

Notes

References

* ''Atlasul localităților județului Cluj'' (Cluj County Localities Atlas), Suncart Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca,

External links

Official website of the municipality
Communes in Cluj County Localities in Transylvania {{ClujCounty-geo-stub