Sângeorgiu de Pădure (English (lit.): Saint George on the Heath, hu, Erdőszentgyörgy ; german: Sankt Georgen auf der Heide) is a town in
Mureș County,
Transylvania,
Romania.
Bezid (''Bözöd''), Bezidu Nou (''Bözödújfalu''), and Loțu (''Lóc'') villages are administratively part of the town.
History

The first written record of the town is preserved in a papal tithe applotment list from 1333 in which mention is made of a priest, "''de Sancto Georgio,''"
who paid a sum of 6 dinars to the neighboring diocese. In 1347, a man named ''Erdő'', count of the Székelys, and the sons of Erdő of Erdőszentgyörgy were mentioned.
In 1442, Anna Herepei, wife of Erdő of ''Erdewzenthgergh'' is written about.
The village was the estate of
Francis I Rákóczi, prince of Transylvania.
The Rédey castle was built in 1647. In 1788, Péter Bodor was born here.
In 1818–1809, the Rédey castle was rebuilt.
In 1913, the official Hungarian name of the village was Erdőszentgyörgy.
Its Romanian name was originally Erdeo-Sângeorgiu; in 1919 the name changed to Sîngeorgiul de Pădure, which later was changed by Romanian authorities to the current official name.
In the mid-1780s, as part of the Josephine administrative reform, Marosszék was integrated into Küküllő county, however, the szék-system was restored in 1790. After the suppression of the
Hungarian Revolution in 1849, the village formed part of the Kibéd military sub-division of the Marosvásárhely division in the Udvarhely military district.
Between 1861 and 1876, the former Marosszék was restored.
As a result of the administrative reform in 1876, the village fell within
Nyárádszereda district of
Maros-Torda County in the
Kingdom of Hungary.
After the
Hungarian–Romanian War of 1918–19 and the
Treaty of Trianon of 1920, Sângeorgiu de Pădure became part of
Romania and fell within the Mureș County during the interwar period. In 1940, the
Second Vienna Award granted
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 it was held by Hungary until 1944. Administered by the
Soviet authorities after 12 November 1944, the village, together with the rest of Northern Transylvania, came under Romanian administration on 13 March 1945 and became officially part of Romania in 1947.
Between 1952 and 1960, the commune fell within the
Magyar Autonomous Region, between 1960 and 1968 the Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region.
In 1968, the province was abolished,
and since then, the settlement has been part of Mureș County. It became a town in 2004.
The grave of
Claudia Rhédey, grandmother of
Mary of Teck, is placed in the crypt of the
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 ...
church,
which was renovated in 1936
from a donation on behalf of Queen Mary of Teck (great-granddaughter of count Rhédey and grandmother of
Queen Elisabeth II) and the
British royal family.
[Website of Mureș County Council](_blank)
on the Wayback Machine
Demographics
Sângeorgiu de Pădure has an absolute
Székely Székely may refer to:
*Székelys, Hungarian people from the historical region of Transylvania, Romania
**Székely Land, historic and ethnographic area in Transylvania, Romania
* Székely (village), a village in northeastern Hungary
*Székely (sur ...
Hungarian majority.
In 1900, the village had, in order of population size,
Hungarian (91,23%) and 352
Romanian (7.77%) inhabitants. In 1930, the census indicated Hungarians (61.17%), Romanians (24.73%), 334 Jews (6.92%) and 334
Gypsies (6.92%). According to the 2011 census, (75,48%) residents reported themselves as Hungarian, while were Romanian (17.88%) and 4.74% Gypsy, from a total of inhabitants. In 2002, households were registered in the town along with residential buildings.
The 2002 Census reported
Calvinism being professed by 54.71% of the total population, while 19.61% of the respondents belonged to the
Romanian Orthodox Church, 10.34% of the respondents identified themselves as
Unitarian
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 ...
, 8.55% as
Roman Catholic, and 1.07% as
Baptist.
[Website of the Ethnocultural Diversity Resource Center](_blank)
/ref>
Politics
The local Town Council has 15 members:
Landmarks
*The Rhédey Castle was built in 1759 on the site of a former 16th-century castle. The castle was rebuilt in 1808. This is where Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde grew up.
*The reformed church was built in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The synode of the Unitarian church was held here in 1621 whern the Unitarians officially distanced themselves from the Sabbatarians as 'Judaizers'. It has belonged to the Reformed church
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 Cal ...
since 1640. The church tower was added during the era of the Reformation. The patrons of the church were the Rhédey and Wesselényi families. It was rebuilt and restored in 1760. During a plague, the crypt below the church was closed by a wall by order of Gabriel Bethlen, prince of Transylvania. The crypt of the Rhédey family is also in this church. The Rhédey Mausoleum, now in ruins, stands on top of a hill north of the village. This is where the remains of countess Claudia Rhédey, wife of Duke Alexander of Württemberg were removed in 1841 and moved into the Reformed church.
*The Orthodox church was built in 1838 in the place of a former wooden church.
*The town has a synagogue, too.
*The mansion house of the Zeyk family is from the 16th century. Lieutenant General János Kiss was born in this house.
Notable people
* Péter Bodor, Székely mechanic, was born here in 1788
* Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde, morganatic wife of Duke Alexander of Württemberg. She is the great-great grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
* Lieutenant General János Kiss, martyr of Hungarian anti-German resistance movement, was born here in 1883.
* (born 1959), mathematician
Twinnings
The town is twinned with:
* Baja, Hungary (since 2002)
* Bélapátfalva, Hungary (since 2006)
* Celldömölk
Celldömölk (german: Kleinmariazell) is the fifth largest town in Vas County, Hungary. Parts of the Eragon movie were filmed here. The town with 11,000 inhabitants can be found in the centre of Kemenesalja Hills.
History
Celldömölk has a hi ...
, Hungary (since 2001)
* Inke, Hungary (since 2011)
* Kovačica, Serbia (since 2007)
* Plan-les-Ouates
Plan-les-Ouates () is a municipality of the canton of Geneva in Switzerland.
History
Plan-les-Ouates is first mentioned in 1537 as ''Plan-des-Vuattes''. In 1851 it became an independent municipality when the municipality of Compesières dissolv ...
, Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
(since 2002)
* Varades
Varades (; br, Gwared) is a former commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, ov ...
, France (since 2000)
See also
* List of Hungarian exonyms (Mureș County)
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sangeorgiu De Padure
Populated places in Mureș County
Localities in Transylvania
Towns in Romania
Székely communities