Feliceni (, , meaning "Upper Village of the Blessed", referring to the Virgin Mary) is a commune in

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 ...

, in the vicinity of

Odorheiu Secuiesc Odorheiu Secuiesc (; , ; ) 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 Hungarian name of the town "Udvarhely" mean ...

. It forms 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 ...

, 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 ...

Component villages

The commune is composed of eleven villages:

History

The villages of the commune historically belonged to the Székely seat of

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 (, , ''sedes capitalis'') for a significant period, being ...

and from 1876 to

Udvarhely County Udvarhely () 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 ''Székelyudvarhely'' (now Odorheiu Se ...

in 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 ...

, 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), these localities passed under Romanian administration. 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, they 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 ...

. During the interwar period, the commune 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 ...

. As a result of 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 ...

of August 1940, Feliceni, together with the rest 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 ...

, became part of Hungary until 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 ...

and the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

entered the area in September–October 1944. The territory of Northern Transylvania remained under Soviet military administration until March 9, 1945, after which it became again part of Romania. Between 1952 and 1960, the villages formed part of the Hungarian Autonomous Province, then, of the Mureș-Hungarian Autonomous Province until it was abolished in 1968. Since then, the commune has been part of Harghita County.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the commune had a population of 3,297; out of them, 97% 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 ...

, 0.9% 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, ...

, and 0.7% were

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 ...

.Tab8. Populația stabilă după etnie – județe, municipii, orașe, comune
2011 census results, National Institute of Statistics, accessed 20 February 2020. At the 2021 census, Feliceni had 3,448 inhabitants, of which 87.88% were Hungarians and 3.25% Romanians.

Polonița

Polonița (, or colloquially ''Lengyelfalva'', , meaning "Poles' village") is located along the Polonița (Lengyelfalvi) Creek in a narrow valley. It had 319 inhabitants in 2002 (down from 503 in 1910), of whom 315 were Hungarians. The village was first mentioned in 1505 as ''Lengenfalwa'' when a certain Balthasar was elected "seat judge" at

Udvarhely Udvarhely () 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). Geography Udvarhely c ...

. In 1533, the name was recorded as ''Lengyelfalva''. In 1899, the ethnonym Székely was added to the Hungarian place-name in order to distinguish the locality from another Lengyelfalva (now: Košická Polianka) of the historical

. The Romanian name derives from the Hungarian one and was originally used as ''Lenghelfalău'' which was later Romanianized by translation. Its Roman Catholic church was built in 1802, replacing the medieval church.

Natives

Balázs Orbán Balázs Orbán, Baron of Lengyelfalva (3 February 1829 – 19 April 1890) was a Hungarians, Hungarian author, ethnographic collector, parliamentarian, correspondent member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1887). He is considered to have been ...

(1829–1890), Hungarian author, ethnographic collector, and parliamentarian

References

External links

* {{Communes of Harghita County Communes in Harghita County Localities in Transylvania Székely communities