Moldovenești (formerly ''Orfalău'' and ''Varfalău''; ; ) 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 six villages: Bădeni (''Bágyon''), Moldovenești, Pietroasa (''Csegez''), Podeni (''Székelyhidas''), Plăiești (''Kövend''), and Stejeriș (''Kercsed''). Vălenii de Arieș (formerly ''Rachișul de Arieș'' or for short ''Rachiș''; ''Aranyosrákos''; ''Krebsbach'') was a separate village until 1966, when it was absorbed into Moldovenești village.

Geography

The commune is situated in the northern foothills of the Trascău Mountains, at an altitude of , in the valley of the Arieș River. It is located in the southern part of Cluj County, southwest of

Turda Turda (; , ; ; ) is a Municipiu, city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the European route E81, and from nearby Câmpia ...

and south of the county seat,

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, on the border with

Alba County Alba County () is a county (județ) of Romania located in the historic region of Transylvania. Its capital is Alba Iulia, a city with a population of 63,536. Name "Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of the ...

History

The oldest record about the ancient castle at the village is from 1075, calling the place ''Castrum Turda'' (the old Turda Castle). During the Tatar invasions of Hungary in the 13th Century, most of the area around the castle was ravaged. Later, the land was given to free

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 ...

who moved here from the Saschiz region and the territory became part of Aranyos Seat. After the collapse of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

at the end 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 ...

, and 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

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

took control of the area in December 1918, 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 ...

. Moldovenești officially became part of the territory ceded to 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 June 1920 under 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 ...

. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, the commune fell in Turda County, where it belonged to plasa Baia de Arieș (except for Rachișul de Arieș, which was in plasa Iara). After 1950, the commune became part of Turda

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 ...

within the Cluj Region; following the administrative reform of 1968, it became part of Cluj County. Bădeni village has been the site of a crematorium since 2014. Florina Pop
"Cum arată 'cuptorul morții' din Cluj, cel mai modern crematoriu uman din estul Europei"
''

Adevărul (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published during the Kingd ...

'', October 9, 2014

Etymology

The commune was renamed ''Moldovenești'' in the interwar period, in honour of . The previous name, ''Varfalău'', is derived from ''Várfalva'', which means "village of the castle" in Hungarian.

Population

At the 2011 census, the commune had 3,317 inhabitants; of those, 56.6% 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 ...

, 39.6%

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, ...

, and 3.8% Roma. At the 2021 census, Moldovenești had a population of 3,076, of which 47.3% were Hungarians, 40.15% Romanians, and 3.77% Roma.

Natives

* (1833 – 1915), historian and theologian, member of the Romanian Academy

Notes

References

* ''Atlasul localităților județului Cluj'' (Cluj County Localities Atlas), Suncart Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca,

External links

Official website of the commune
Communes in Cluj County Localities in Transylvania {{ClujCounty-geo-stub