Brețcu ( ; , Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) is a commune in

Covasna County Covasna County (, , ) 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's 41 counties and the ...

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 three villages: Brețcu, Mărtănuș (''Kézdimartonos''), and Oituz (''Ojtoztelep''). The village has been recorded under different names: Bereczk (1476), Breczko (1482–1496), Bretzku (1787 and 1850), and Bereck (1854).

Geography

The commune is located in the northeastern part of Covasna County, from

Târgu Secuiesc Târgu Secuiesc (; , ; ; ) is a city in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania. It administers one village, Lunga (''Nyújtód''). History The town was first mentioned in 1407 as ''Torjawasara'', meaning in Hungarian “Torja Market”. ( Torja ...

and from the county seat, Sfântu Gheorghe, on the border with

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 there a ...

and close to the border with

Vrancea County Vrancea () is a county (județ) in Romania, with its seat at Focșani. It is mostly in the historical region of Moldavia but the southern part, below the Milcov (Siret), Milcov River, is in Muntenia. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2 ...

. Brețcu is situated at an altitude of , in the foothills of the and mountains, both of which are mountain ranges of the

Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya Sy ...

. Brețcu village lies on the banks of

Râul Negru The Râul Negru (; literally meaning "Black River") is a left tributary of the river Olt in Romania. It joins the Olt in Lunca Câlnicului.Brețcu, while Oituz village lies on the banks of the river

Oituz Oituz (formerly ''Grozești''; ) is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Călcâi (''Zöldlonka''), Ferestrău-Oituz (''Fűrészfalva''), Hârja (''Herzsa''), Marginea, Oituz and Poiana Sărată (' ...

, which flows eastward, towards

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

. Brețcu is crossed by

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

(part of European route E574), which starts in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

, passes through Târgu Secuiesc and Onești, and ends in

Bacău Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...

. The Brețcu train station serves the long CFR Line 404, which starts in Sfântu Gheorghe, goes through Covasna, and ends in Brețcu; currently, the only operator on this route is Regio Călători.

History

The Roman castra and settlement of Angustia and is located on the east side of the village. argued that Brețcu was an old Romanian land mentioned in 1426 by King Sigismund in an official document. In that document, King Sigismund offered privileges to Romanians and to their Duke (the names of some Romanians were cited: Ioan and Radul, Țacu's son). The document contains the first attestation of Brețcu village. On May 13th, 1912, the village was hit by a violent F3 tornado. The tornado destroyed a total of 1,548 homes, killing 17 and injuring 150 others. The settlement formed part of the

Székely Land The Székely Land or Szeklerland (, , Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: 𐲥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗𐳌𐳞𐳖𐳇; and sometimes ; ; ) is a historic and ethnographic area in present-day Romania, inhabited mainly by Székelys, a subgroup of Hung ...

region of the historical

province. Until 1918, the village belonged to the

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

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 immediate 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 ...

, following the declaration of 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 ...

, the area passed under Romanian administration, during 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 ...

(1918–1919). By the terms of 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 in Plasa Târgu Secuiesc of

Trei Scaune County Trei Scaune County is one of the historical counties of the Kingdom of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. The county seat was Sfântu Gheorghe. Geography The county covered and was located in the central part of Greater Romania, ...

. In August 1940, under the auspices of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, which imposed the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

retook the territory of

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania (, ) 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 the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...

(which included Brețcu) from Romania. Towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, however, the commune was taken back from Hungarian and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

troops by Romanian and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

forces in September–October 1944. In 1950, after

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

was established, Brețcu became part of the Târgu Secuiesc

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 ...

Stalin Region Regiunea Stalin (Stalin Region) was one of the administrative divisions of the People's Republic of Romania. It was established in 1950, in the Soviet style of territorial organization, and was named after Joseph Stalin. Its name was changed to ...

. From 1952 and 1960, it was part of 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 it reverted to Brașov Region. In 1968, when Romania was reorganized based on counties rather than regions, the commune became part of Covasna County.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the commune had a population of 3,550, of which 71.46% were

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 ...

, 22.9% 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, ...

, 2.25% Roma, and 1.04%

Csángós The Csángós (; ) are Hungarians, ethnic Hungarians of Catholic Church in Romania, Roman Catholic faith living mostly in the Romanian region of Western Moldavia, Moldavia, especially in Bacău County. The region where the Csángós live in Mold ...

. At the 2021 census, Brețcu had a population of 3,132, of which 73.24% were Hungarians and 23.28% were Romanians.

Personalities

* Áron Gábor, hero of the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

was born here in 1814.

References

External links

Information in English, Hungarian, Romanian
Image:Castra Angustia 00.jpg, Roman fort "Angustia" Image:Mihai Viteazu - Bretcu.jpg, Statue of

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvani ...

Image:Gábor Áron Bereck.jpg, Statue of Áron Gábor {{DEFAULTSORT:Bretcu Communes in Covasna County Localities in Transylvania