Vlăhița () ( hu, Szentegyháza, , until 1899 ''Szentegyházas-Oláhfalu'') is a town in

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 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 ...

. The town administers two villages: Băile Homorod (''Homoródfürdő'') and Minele Lueta (''Szentkeresztbánya''). Its Romanian name is of Slavic origin, meaning "little

Vlach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Eastern ...

", while its Hungarian name means "Church of the Saint".

History

In Roman times a

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

was functioning in nearby Băile Homorod. Vlăhița (''Oláhfalu''). The town was part of the

area 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 ...

until the administrative reform of Transylvania in 1876, when it fell within the

Udvarhely County Udvarhely (german: Oderhellen) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (eastern Transylvania). The capital of the county was ''Székelyudvarhely'' (now Odorheiu Secuiesc). Geogr ...

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 ...

. After the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War was fought between Hungary and Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. The Allies of World War I intended ...

of 1919 and 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

and fell within

Odorhei County Odorhei County was a county (Romanian: '' județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania. The county seat was Odorheiu Secuiesc. Geography Odorhei County covered 2,977 km2 and was located in central part of Greater Romania, in eastern part of the historical ...

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 ...

granted

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 ...

to Hungary and the town was held by Hungary until the fall of 1944, when Romanian and Soviet troops regained control during World War II. After a brief Soviet occupation, the Romanian administration returned in March 1945. Between 1952 and 1960, the town fell within the

Magyar Autonomous Region The Magyar Autonomous Region (1952–1960) (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Regiunea Autonomă Maghiară'', Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Magyar Autonóm Tartomány'') and Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region (1960–1968) were autonomous Regions of ...

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

Demographics

The town has a total population of 6,820 of which 6,749 (98.96%) are Székely

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 Urali ...

, making it the town with the highest proportion of Hungarians in Romania (2011 census).

Location

The town is situated between

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 ...

and

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 (riv ...

. Its altitude makes it the highest town in Harghita County.

Culture

The town is famous for it
Children's Orchestra
(Filarmonica de copii/Gyermekfilharmónia), in which more than 140 youngsters sing and play instruments.

Twin town

Szarvas Szarvas (; sk, Sarvaš; german: Sarwasch) is a town in Békés County, Hungary. Name Placename Szarvas originated from the old Hungarian word ''szarvas'', which means deer. Deer also can be found in the coat of arms of the town. Locati ...

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 northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

(1994)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlahita Towns in Romania Monotowns in Romania Populated places in Harghita County Localities in Transylvania Székely communities