Satu Mare ( hu, Máréfalva, ) 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 ...

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, 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 ...

. 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. I ...

, 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 ...

, and is not to be confused with the large city of Satu Mare in

Satu Mare County Satu Mare County ( ro, Județul Satu Mare, ) is a county (județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare. Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', in German as ''Kreis Sathmar'', in Ukrain ...

. It is composed of a single village, Satu Mare.

History

Its Hungarian name was first recorded in 1566 as ''Marefalwa'', in 1602 as ''Máréfalva''. Its first Romanian name originated from the Hungarian form as ''Marefalău''. After 1919, Romanian authorities first renamed it Satul Mare, later Satu Mare.Transylvanian Toponym Book
/ref> The village was part of the

region of the historical

province. It 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 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 and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...

of 1920, they became part of

and fell within Odorhei County 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 o ...

granted Northern Transylvania to Hungary and the villages were held by Hungary until 1944. After Soviet occupation, the Romanian administration returned and the village formally became part of Romania again in 1947. Between 1952 and 1960, the village fell within the

Magyar Autonomous Region The Magyar Autonomous Region (1952–1960) (Romanian: ''Regiunea Autonomă Maghiară'', Hungarian: ''Magyar Autonóm Tartomány'') and Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region (1960–1968) were autonomous regions in the Romanian People's Republic (later ...

, between 1960 and 1968 the Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region. In 1968, the province was abolished, and since then, the village has been part of Harghita County. Part of Brădești Commune until 2004, it was split off to form its own commune that year.

Demographics

The commune has an absolute Hungarian ( Székely) majority. According to the 2011 census it has a population of 1,958 of which 99.63% or 1,952 are Hungarian.

Sights of interest

The commune is home to some 95 beautiful '' Székely gates'', the famous Székely engraved and painted wooden gates. This traditional village, famous for its dove-cotted gates, lies at an altitude of 540–560 m, in the narrow valley of the Fenyéd Stream, along the 13A road, 9 km from

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 ...

, at the foot of the Cekend Plateau. ''Székelykapu'' or Székely gates: The greatest number of large, carved, dove-cotted Székely gates of the former (

) can be found here. The gates are also known as carved, flowery gates, as the ornamental motives are carved in the columns with different semicircular chisels. Their value as museum pieces is obvious. Because of their rich decoration these gates can be called flowery gates as well. The gates of

differ from those of historical-ethnographical districts of

Csíkszék Csíkszék () was one of the Székely seats in the historical Székely Land. It administered two sub-seats (Hungarian: ''fiúszék'', Latin: ''sedes filialis''), namely Gyergyószék and Kászonszék. It was divided on the natural borders of t ...

, Kászonszék, Gyergyószék and Háromszék in their rich ornamentation.

Twinning

The village is twinned with: *

Magyaregregy Magyaregregy ( hr, Gređa) is a village in Baranya county, 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 no ...

, Hungary

References

{{Authority control Communes in Harghita County Localities in Transylvania Székely communities