Mihai Viteazu (archaic: ''Sânmihaiu''; ; ) is a commune in

Cluj County Cluj County () is a county () of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat is Cluj-Napoca. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Kolozs megye''. Under the Kingdom of Hungary, a county with an identical name (Kolozs County, ) existed s ...

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 ...

. It is composed of three villages: Cheia (''Mészkő''), Cornești (''Sinfalva''), and Mihai Viteazu. Mihai Viteazu village, which is named after the medieval ruler

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 ...

(''Romanian'': Mihai Viteazu), was founded in 1925 by the merging of two villages, Sânmihaiu de Jos (''Alsószentmihály'') and Sânmihaiu de Sus (''Felsőszentmihály''). Those two, together with Cornești and Cheia, were first mentioned in documents in the 14th century, after the settlement of

Székelys The Székelys (, Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: ), also referred to as Szeklers, are a Hungarians, Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. In addition to their native villages in Suceava County in Bukovina, a ...

in the

Aranyos Seat Aranyos seat (; ; )Attila M. Szabó: Historical and Administrative Toponymy of Transylvania, the Banat and Partium. Miercurea-Ciuc, 2003, pp. II/1079-80. was the seat (territorial administrative unit) of the Transylvanian Székelys living in the Va ...

area. However, archaeologists unearthed traces of human dwellings from earlier periods, too. The commune covers an area of . The most interesting sight of the area is the Turda Gorge (''Cheile Turzii'').

Demography

At the 2002 census, the commune had 5,423 inhabitants, of which 71.2% 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, ...

, 27.4%

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 ...

, and 1.3%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

; 66.6% were

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

, 13.8% Unitarian, 10.1%

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

, 4%

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 2.4% belonged to another religion, and 0.9%

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

. Ar the 2021 census, Mihai Viteazu had a population of 5,575; of those, 73.7% were Romanians, 18.17% Hungarians, and 1.29% Roma.

Natives

Ion Cârja Ion Cârja (sometimes spelled Cârjă or Cârje) (March 25, 1922 – May 8, 1977) was a Romanian and American writer and anti-communist activist, who was a political prisoner in Communist Romania. Biography Cârja was born in Whitman, Logan ...

(1922–1977), anti-Communist dissident, writer *

Oliviu Gherman Oliviu Gherman (26 April 1930 – 11 August 2020) was a Romanian physicist, politician, university professor, and diplomat. Born in 1930 in Sânmihaiu de Sus village, Turda County (now part of Mihai Viteazu commune, Cluj County), he complete ...

(1930–2020), physicist and politician

References

*''Atlasul localităților județului Cluj'' (Cluj County Localities Atlas), Suncart Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, {{CommunesCluj Communes in Cluj County Localities in Transylvania