Gheorgheni (; ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Harghita County Harghita County (, and , ) is a county () 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 population density of ...

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 ...

, with a population of 15,844, as of 2021. It lies in 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 ...

, an ethno-cultural region in eastern

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 ...

. The city administers four villages: Covacipeter (''Kovácspéter''), Lacu Roșu (''Gyilkostó''), Vargatac (''Vargatag''), and Visafolio (''Visszafolyó'').

Geography

The city is located in the northeastern part of Harghita County, north of the county seat,

Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; ; ) 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 River valley. The city administers three ...

. It is situated in a mountainous region, at an altitude of , and it is crossed east to west by the river

Belcina The Belcina (also: ''Belchia'', ) is a right tributary of the river Mureș in Transylvania, Romania. It flows through the town Gheorgheni Gheorgheni (; ) is a Municipiu, city in Harghita County, Romania, with a population of 15,844, as of 2021 ...

, a right tributary of the river Mureș. Nearby are two natural sites, the Red Lake and Cheile Bicazului, a narrow canyon through the Eastern

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

forming the border with

Neamț County Neamț County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historic region of Moldavia, with the county seat at Piatra Neamț. The county takes its name from the Neamț River. Demographics Population In 2011, it had a population of 470,766 ...

History

IICCR A273 Communist party leaders Gheorgheni

Gheorgheni historically formed part of the

region of

. It was first mentioned in 1332. It belonged to 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 ...

with several interruptions, the

Eastern Hungarian Kingdom The Eastern Hungarian Kingdom ( ) is a modern term coined by some historians to designate the realm of John Zápolya and his son John Sigismund Zápolya, who contested the claims of the House of Habsburg to rule the Kingdom of Hungary from 1526 ...

and the Principality of Transylvania, administratively the town belonged to Gyergyószék. Between 1867 and 1918 it fell within

Csík County Csík (Hungarian, in Romanian: ''Ciuc'') was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (eastern Transylvania). The capital of the county was Csíkszere ...

, in the Kingdom of Hungary. In the 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 ...

, 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 ...

was declared in December 1918. At the start of 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 ...

of 1918–1919, the town passed under Romanian administration. After 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 ...

and fell within

Ciuc County Ciuc County is a historical county ( Romanian: ''județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania. Its capital was Miercurea Ciuc. Its name was derived from the former county of the Kingdom of Hungary, Csík. History Prior to World War I, the territory of th ...

. In 1940, 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 ...

granted

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 ...

to Hungary. 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 ...

, 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 ...

armies entered the town in October 1944. The territory of Northern Transylvania remained under Soviet military administration until March 9, 1945, after which it again became part of Romania. Between 1952 and 1960, Gheorgheni 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 part of the Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region. After the administrative reform of 1968, the region was abolished, and since then, the city has been part of Harghita County.

Demographics

At the 2021 census, Gheorgheni had a population of 15,884. At the 2011 census, the city had a population of 17,705, of which 86.13% (15,250) 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 ...

and 1,988 (11.22%)

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, ...

. ''Demographic movement according to the censuses:'' Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:380 height:260 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:25000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:5000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1910 text:1910 bar:1930 text:1930 bar:1948 text:1948 bar:1956 text:1956 bar:1966 text:1966 bar:1977 text:1977 bar:1992 text:1992 bar:2002 text:2002 bar:2011 text:2011 bar:2021 text:2021 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1910 from:0 till: 8905 bar:1930 from:0 till: 10355 bar:1948 from:0 till: 10031 bar:1956 from:0 till: 11969 bar:1966 from:0 till: 13828 bar:1977 from:0 till: 17739 bar:1992 from:0 till: 21433 bar:2002 from:0 till: 20018 bar:2011 from:0 till: 17705 bar:2021 from:0 till: 15884 PlotData= bar:1910 at: 8905 fontsize:S text: 8.905 shift:(-7,5) bar:1930 at: 10355 fontsize:S text: 10.355 shift:(-11,5) bar:1948 at: 10031 fontsize:S text: 10.031 shift:(-11,5) bar:1956 at: 11969 fontsize:S text: 11.969 shift:(-15,5) bar:1966 at: 13828 fontsize:S text: 13.828 shift:(-15,5) bar:1977 at: 17739 fontsize:S text: 17.739 shift:(-15,5) bar:1992 at: 21433 fontsize:S text: 21.433 shift:(-15,5) bar:2002 at: 20018 fontsize:S text: 20.018 shift:(-15,5) bar:2011 at: 17705 fontsize:S text: 17.705 shift:(-15,5) bar:2021 at: 15884 fontsize:S text: 15.884 shift:(-15,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:From Romanian Wikipedia and Census data. For Armenian Catholics, see

Ordinariate for Armenian Catholics of Romania The Ordinariate for Armenian Catholics of Romania (), based in Gherla, is an ordinariate for Eastern Catholic faithful that is part of the Armenian Catholic Church, itself under the authority of the Pope. It serves Catholic members of Romania's ...

Politics

The town council has 19 members as follows:

Natives

* Zsolt Antal (born 1972), cross-country skier * (1800–1882), bishop of the Catholic Church * Réka Forika (born 1989), biathlete * Ștefan Gal (born 1951), gymnast * Mónika György (born 1982), cross-country skier * Tímea Lőrincz (born 1992), cross-country skier *

Katalin Marosi Katalin Marosi (born 12 November 1979) is a Hungarian former professional tennis player. In her career, Marosi won 15 singles and 31 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF W ...

(born 1979), tennis player *

Endre Molnár Endre Molnár (born 23 July 1945) is a former Hungarian water polo player. He is one of eight male athletes who won four or more Olympic medals in water polo. See also * Hungary men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics * List of ...

(born 1945), water polo player *

Pál Sajgó Pál Sajgó (28 June 1922 – 18 April 2016) was a Hungarian cross-country skier and biathlete who competed in the 1950s. He was born in Gheorgheni. At the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous ci ...

(1922–2016), cross-country skier and biathlete *

László Sólyom László Sólyom (, ; 3 January 1942 – 8 October 2023) was a Hungarian politician, lawyer, and librarian who was President of Hungary from 2005 until 2010. Previously he was the first president of the Constitutional Court of Hungary from 199 ...

(born 1955), ice hockey player * (1867–1954), teacher, honorary member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...

Ágnes Szatmári Ágnes Szatmári (born 28 June 1987) is a Romanian former professional tennis player. On 24 March 2008, she reached her highest singles ranking of 187 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). On 20 August 2007, she reached her highest Women's ...

(born 1987), tennis player * Csaba Szekely (born 1990), ice hockey coach and goaltender * László Tamás (born 1988), footballer * Elemer-György Tanko (born 1968), cross-country skier *

Andrei Țepeș Andrei Florin Țepeș-Bobu (born 23 February 1991) is a Romanian footballer who plays as a defender for AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc.Békés Békés (; ; ) is a town in Békés County, Hungary. It lies about north of Békéscsaba and east of Budapest. History The area of the present town has been inhabited since ancient times, due to its good soil and proximity to rivers. After ...

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 ...

Erzsébetváros ---- Erzsébetváros (; , both names meaning ''Elizabethtown'') is the 7th district of Budapest, situated on the Pest side of the Danube. The inner half of the district was the historic Jewish quarter of Pest. The Dohány Street Synagogue, t ...

, Hungary *

Rákosmente District XVII of Budapest (known as Rákosmente) is a suburban district of Budapest on the left bank of the Danube, in the eastern part of the capital. It is Budapest's largest district, with an area of 54.82 km2, and home to nearly 90,000 p ...

, Hungary *

Cegléd Cegléd (; ) is a city in Pest County, Pest county, Hungary, approximately southeast of the Hungarian capital, Budapest. Name The name of the town is of disputed origin. The name may be derived from the word "szeglet" (meaning "corner") due to i ...

, Hungary *

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights, Eger is best known for Castle of Eger, its ...

, Hungary *

Kiskunmajsa Kiskunmajsa is a town in the Kiskunmajsa district of Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. Twin towns – sister cities Kiskunmajsa is twinned with: * Bačka Topola, Serbia * Bad Schönborn, Germany * Baiyin, China * Gheorgheni Gheorgheni (; ...

, Hungary *

Siófok Siófok (; ; ) is a town in Somogy County, Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton. It is the Somogy County#Municipalities, second largest municipality in Somogy County and the seat of Siófok District. It covers an area of about between Lak ...

, Hungary *

Szigetszentmiklós Szigetszentmiklós ( /nowiki>; German language, German: ''Nigglau'') is a city in Pest County, Hungary, with around 40,000 inhabitants. Name * Sziget – island: Szigetszentmiklós is a town on Csepel Island * Szent Miklós – Saint Nichol ...

, Hungary *

Bačka Topola Bačka Topola ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка Топола, ; , ) is a town and municipality located in the North Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The municipality is composed of 23 local communities and, according to the 202 ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Alaverdi, Armenia Alaverdi (, , Greek language, Greek: Αλαβερντί), is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province at the northeastern part of Armenia, near the Armenia–Georgia border, border with Georgia (country), Georgia. It is located at the ...

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Harghita County Localities in Transylvania Cities in Romania Székely communities