Zau de Câmpie (, Hungarian pronunciation:) is a commune in

Mureș County Mureș County (, , ) is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative reor ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

composed of nine villages: Bărboși (''Mezőszakál''), Botei (''Botadűlő''), Bujor-Hodaie (''Bozsortanya''), Ciretea (''Bábod''), Gaura Sângerului (''Szengyelisuvadás''), Malea (''Boriskadűlő''), Ștefăneaca, Tău (''Mezőszélen''), and Zau de Câmpie.

Geography

The commune is situated in the

Transylvanian Plain The Transylvanian Plain (; , ) is an ethnogeographical area in Transylvania, Romania, located between the Someșul Mare and the Someșul Mic rivers to the north and west and the Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mure ...

, at an altitude of . It lies on the banks of Pârâul de Câmpie (a right tributary of the river Mureș), which forms a string of lakes through the locality. Zau de Câmpie is located in the western part of the county, from the town of

Luduș Luduș (; Hungarian: ''Marosludas'' or ''Ludas''; Hungarian pronunciation: , German: ''Ludasch'') is a town in Transylvania, Romania in Mureș County, south-west from the county's capital, Târgu Mureș. Six villages are administered by the to ...

and from de county seat,

Târgu Mureș Târgu Mureș (, ; ; German language, German: ''Neumarkt am Mieresch'') is the seat of Mureș County in the historical region of Transylvania, Romania. It is the list of cities and towns in Romania, 16th-largest city in Romania, with 116,033 ...

. It borders the following communes:

Șăulia Șăulia (, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania that is composed of four villages: Leorința-Șăulia (''Lőrincidűlő''), Măcicășești (''Szteuniadülő''), Pădurea (''Erdőtanya''), and Șăulia. ...

and Papiu Ilarian to the east, Valea Largă to the west,

Miheșu de Câmpie Miheșu de Câmpie (, Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukra ...

to the north, and Tăureni to the south. Zau de Câmpie is crossed by

county road A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...

DJ151, which runs from Luduș straight north to

Șintereag Șintereag () is a commune in Bistrița-Năsăud County, Transylvania, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, ...

, in

Bistrița-Năsăud County Bistrița-Năsăud () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Bistrița. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Beszterce-Naszód megye'', and in German language, German as ''Kreis Bistritz-N ...

History

After 1570, the settlement became part of the Principality of Transylvania. In 1876, it fell within the

Torda-Aranyos County Torda-Aranyos was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (central Transylvania). The capital of the county was Torda (present-day Turda). Geography ...

of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. In the aftermath of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the

Union of Transylvania with Romania The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a Public holidays in Romani ...

was declared in December 1918. At the start of the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War (; ) was fought between Hungary and Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. After the ...

of 1918–1919, the locality passed under Romanian administration; after the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

of 1920, it became part of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. In 1925, the commune fell within Plasa Luduș of Turda County. After the advent of the

Romanian People's Republic The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian People's Repu ...

, Zau de Câmpie became in 1950 part of the

Turda Turda (; , ; ; ) is a Municipiu, 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 European route E81, and from nearby Câmpia ...

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

Cluj Region Regiunea Cluj (Cluj Region) was one of the administrative divisions of the People's Republic of Romania, established on September 6, 1950 by Law nr. 5, and set after the Soviet style. History The capital of the region was the city of Cluj, and a ...

. Between 1952 and 1960, it fell within the

Magyar Autonomous Region The Magyar Autonomous Region (1952–1960) (; ) and Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region (1960–1968) were autonomous Regions of the People's Republic of Romania, regions in the Romanian People's Republic (later the Socialist Republic of Romania). H ...

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

The Zau de Câmpie gas field

The first natural gas deposit in Romania was discovered in 1909, in Sărmașel, about north of the commune. In 1913, the first production of methane gas was recorded from the drilling site at the Sărmașel gas field. That year, the local

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

priest announced to his flock that they will start "to dig for gas, in the form of the one from Sărmașel," on a plot of land belonging to the church. The Zau de Câmpie gas field was discovered in 1914, when the first gas extraction fields were created; it supplied

Târnăveni Târnăveni (, historically Diciosânmartin; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Dicsőszentmárton'', ; German language, German: ''Sankt Martin'', earlier ''Marteskirch'') is a Municipalities of Romania, city in Mureș County, central Romania. It li ...

and Târgu Mureș with natural gas.

Demographics

At the 2002 census, the commune had a population of 3,509, of which 80% were

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, 11%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, and 9%

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

. At the 2011 census, there were 3,236 inhabitants, of which 79.64% were Romanians, 10.11% Roma, and 7.42% Hungarians. At the 2021 census, Zau de Câmpie had a population of 3,108, of which 79.31% were Romanians, 9.97% Roma, and 5.69% Hungarians.

Natives

* (born 1968), journalist

References