Ciuc County was a county (

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, traditiona ...

: ''

județ A ''județ'' (, plural ) is an administrative division in Romania, and was also used from 1940 to 1947 in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and from 1998 to 2003 in Moldova. ''Județ'' translates into English as "jurisdiction", but is co ...

'') in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

. Its capital was

Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; hu, Csíkszereda, ; german: Szeklerburg) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt Ri ...

. Its name was derived from the former county of the Kingdom of Hungary, Csík.

History

Prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the territory of the county belonged to

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and was identical with the Csík County 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 Hungarian monarch, c ...

. The territory of Ciuc County was transferred to Romania from Hungary as successor state to Austria-Hungary in 1920 under 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 ...

. After the administrative unification law in 1925, the name of the county remained as it was, but the territory was reorganized. In 1938, King Carol II promulgated a new

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

, and subsequently he had the administrative division of the Romanian territory changed. 10 ''ținuturi'' (approximate translation: "lands") were created (by merging the counties) to be ruled by ''rezidenți regali'' (approximate translation: "Royal Residents") - appointed directly by the King - instead of the

prefects Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

. Ciuc County became part of Ținutul Mureș. In 1940, the county was transferred back to Hungary with the rest of

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 ...

under 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 ...

. Beginning in 1944, Romanian forces with Soviet assistance recaptured the ceded territory and reintegrated it into Romania, re-establishing the county. Romanian jurisdiction over the county per the Treaty of Trianon was reaffirmed in the

Paris Peace Treaties, 1947 The Paris Peace Treaties (french: Traités de Paris) were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (princi ...

. The county was disestablished by the communist government of Romania in 1950, and not re-established in 1968 when Romania restored the county administrative system.

Geography

Ciuc County covered 4,993 km² and was located in central part of

Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creatio ...

, in the eastern part of

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 ...

. Currently, the territory that comprised Ciuc County is now part 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 ...

. After 1925, the county neighbored Odorhei County to the west,

Mureș County Mureș County (, ro, Județul Mures, hu, Maros megye) is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative ...

to the north, Neamț County and

Bacău County Bacău County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania. Geography This county has a total area of . In the western part of the county the ...

to the east, and Trei Scaune County to the south.

Administrative organization

Administratively, Ciuc County was originally divided into four districts ('' plăși''):Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Ciuc
/ref> #Plasa Centrală, headquartered at

#Plasa Frumoasa, headquartered at Frumoasa #Plasa Gheorgheni, headquartered at

Gheorgheni Gheorgheni (; hu, Gyergyószentmiklós ) is a municipality in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The city administers four villages: * Covacipeter / Kovácspéter * Lacu Roș ...

#Plasa Sân-Mărtin, headquartered at Sân-Mărtin Subsequently, a fifth district was created:

Plasa Tulgheș, headquartered at
Tulgheș Tulgheș ( hu, Gyergyótölgyes or colloquially ''Tölgyes'', Hungarian pronunciation: , meaning "place with oak trees in Gyergyó") is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in eastern Transylvania. The commune is composed of four villag ...

Population

According to the Romanian census of 1930 the population of Ciuc County was 145,806, of which 82.7% were ethnic

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 ...

, 14.4% ethnic

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 ...

, and 1.6%

Jews 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 ...

.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 130-133 Classified by religion: 81.3% were

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, 13.8%

Greek-Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

, 1.7%

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 ...

, 1.9% Reformed (Calivinist), and 1.3% Orthodox Christian.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 586-587

Urban population

In 1930 the urban population of Ciuc County was 15,162, which included 83.8% Hungarians, 8.1% Romanians, and 5.6% Jews by ethnicity. The religious mix of the urban population was 78.9% Roman Catholic, 5.9% Jewish, 4.5% Greek-Catholic, 4.2% Reformed, 4.0% Eastern Orthodox, and 1.2% Armenian Catholic.

References

External links

*
Ciuc County on memoria.ro
{{coord missing, Romania Former counties of Romania Geography of Transylvania 1925 establishments in Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania 1944 establishments in Romania 1950 disestablishments in Romania States and territories established in 1925 States and territories disestablished in 1938 States and territories established in 1944 States and territories disestablished in 1950