Țara Călatei ( hu, Kalotaszeg), The Land of Călata, is a region in

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 A ...

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 is one of the many areas in Western Romania with a significant Hungarian population, and it is a stronghold of old Transylvanian Hungarian folk traditions.

Geography

Țara Călatei is a rural region situated just west of

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

in the western part 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 ...

and in the southern part of

Sălaj County Sălaj County () (also known as ''Land of Silvania'', ''silva, -ae'' means "forest") is a Counties of Romania, county (''județ'') of Romania, located in the north-west of the country, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Cr ...

. Its historical center is the small town of

Huedin Huedin ( hu, Bánffyhunyad, ; german: Heynod; yi, הוניוד or הוניאד) is a town in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. Huedin is located at the northern edge of the Apuseni Mountains. It is surrounded by the villages of Nearșova, Dom ...

. The region has an ethnically mixed population:

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 Romania ...

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 ...

and

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

. Its

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

population suffered heavily during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. In 2011 the census results of Romania show that the Hungarians are 20,000 people strong and form a minority of 30 percent of the total population.

Name

The region takes its name from the Călata people. The name formerly referred to a much larger territory; according to Lajos Kelemen's study on the history and historical monuments of the Țara Călatei region, during the Middle Ages the area reached from the Barcău River to the Crişul Repede River. The region as it is known today lies mainly west of

, although there are also some villages to the north and east as well which follow Kalotaszeg customs. RO_CJ_Huedin_calvinist_church_22

Țara Călatei in popular culture

The region was featured in the film ''Kalotaszegi Madonna'' ("Madonna from Țara Călatei", 1943), made in

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 ...

, when it was a part

Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946) The Kingdom of Hungary ( hu, Magyar Királyság), sometimes referred to as the Regency or the Horthy era, existed as a country from 1920 to 1946 under the rule of Regent Miklós Horthy, who nominally represented the Hungarian monarchy. In real ...

between 1940-1944. The plot revolves around the region and the city of

, but some of the scenes were shot in the region as well.

The Hungarian Community

Hungarians, mostly minority in the region, are nevertheless in high number, and majority in some villages. The dominant religion in this ethnic group is

Calvinism 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 C ...

, with the exception of the village Leghia ( hu, Jegenye) which is

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and Huedin ( hu, Bánffyhunyad) also has a smaller Catholic church. The churches are typically of white color, surrounded by wall, they have a tetragonal bell tower with a wooden pointed dome. The worship is attended segregated by gender and age. Female traditional clothes can be distinguished by being very highly colorful and decorated, with corollas full of pearls. Such items can be found in the Ethnographic Museums in Budapest and in Cluj-Napoca, but the locals still preserve, produce and wear these clothes on special occasions. Since they live near Cluj-Napoca, they largely take part in the Hungarian Cultural Days of Cluj as organizers or folklore performers.

Gallery

image:Magyarvalkó református temploma.jpg, Hungarian church of Văleni village image:Biserica de lemn din Agârbiciu.jpg, Romanian church of Agârbiciu, built during the 17th century image:Magyargyerőmonostori írásos hímzés.jpg, Cover of the churche's organ in Mănăstireni image:Fildu de Sus.NV.jpg, Romanian church of Fildu de Sus (in

) built during the 18th century.

References

External links

Kalotaszeg
, {{DEFAULTSORT:Tara Calatei Historical regions of Transylvania