Zăbala ( hu, Zabola, ) is a commune 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' ...

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 ...

. 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. ...

, 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 ...

Component villages

The commune comprises 4 villages:

Demographics

The commune has a Székely Hungarian majority. According to the 2002

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 4,814, of which 76.55% or 3,685 are Hungarian. There is also an important

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

community.

Name

The name of "Zabola" means "bridle", i.e. the straps of leather that are put around the head of a horse to allow the rider to control it. In the course of various battles with the Tatars, the villages north and south of Zabola were destroyed by the Tatars. However, the inhabitants of Zabola were capable of holding the Tatars in check and survived, as if they had put bridles around the Tatars horses in order to control them and their riders. Outside the village lies the "Tatárhalom" (Tatar Hill); some historians think the Tatars that were killed in action were buried there.

History

It formed part of the

region of the historical

province. From 1876 until 1918, the village belonged to the

Háromszék County Háromszék (''Three Seats''; Romanian: ''Trei Scaune'') was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Situated in south-eastern Transylvania, its territory is now in central Romania (in the counties of Covasna, Brașov and B ...

of 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 (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in ...

of 1920, it became part of

Famous people

*Count

Imre Mikó Count Imre Mikó de Hidvég (4 September 1805 – 16 September 1876) was a Hungarian statesman, politician, economist, historian and patron from Transylvania, who served as Minister of Public Works and Transport between 1867 and 1870. He was on ...

, minister and reformer *

Kelemen Mikes Kelemen Mikes (1690–1761) was a Transylvanian-born Hungarian political figure and essayist, noted for his rebellious activities against the Habsburg monarchy. Mikes is referred to as the "Hungarian Goethe", made famous by his '' Letters from ...

, born in Zagon and grew up in Zabola, in 1690 he became freedom fighter against Habsburg, escaped to Poland, France and at last Turkey. He is referred to as the "Hungarian

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

" who became famous after writing "

Letters from Turkey Letters from Turkey are actually memoirs written by Europeans who had been to Ottoman Empire. Usually, the series of letters had been collected and published later on with various titles. But they are popularly known as "Letters from Turkey" or "Tu ...

" in Rodosto where he lived in exile with the Transylvanian Prince

Rákóczi The House of Rákóczi (older spelling Rákóczy) was a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 13th century and 18th century. Their name is also spelled ''Rákoci'' (in Slovakia), ''Rakoczi'' and ''Rakoczy'' in some forei ...

until 1761. With his letters from Rodosto, Kelemen Mikes laid the foundations of the Hungarian prosaic literature, and he is regarded as the first Hungarian prosaic author. *Count Kelemen Mikes (1820–1849), freedom fighter in 1848/1849, became a Hussar colonel, died at the age of 29, hit by the first cannonball fired by the Russian army in 1849. He became a martyr to the Székely resistance movement. *Count Armin Mikes (1867–1944)

Things to see

*Mikes Castle and park, which dates back to around 1500. It was once a fortified building with a tower in front. On the first floor all the ceilings are covered with frescoes. The castle in its current form dates back to 1867. It features a 34 ha English park. * Csángó museum

References

External links

ZabolaMikes Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabala Communes in Covasna County Localities in Transylvania