Sărmașu (; Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a town in

Mureș County Mureș County (, , ) is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative reor ...

, central

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 administers seven villages: Balda (''Báld''), Larga (''Lárga''), Moruț (''Marocháza''), Sărmășel (''Kissármás''), Sărmășel-Gară (''Bánffytanya''), Titiana (''Titiána''), and Vișinelu (''Csehtelke'').

Geography

The town lies in the

Transylvanian Plain The Transylvanian Plain (; , ) is an ethnogeographical area in Transylvania, Romania, located between the Someșul Mare and the Someșul Mic rivers to the north and west and the Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mure ...

, at an altitude of , on the banks of the rivers Pârâul de Câmpie and Frata. It is located in the western part of Mureș County, northwest of the county seat,

Târgu Mureș Târgu Mureș (, ; ; German language, German: ''Neumarkt am Mieresch'') is the seat of Mureș County in the historical region of Transylvania, Romania. It is the list of cities and towns in Romania, 16th-largest city in Romania, with 116,033 ...

, on the border with

Cluj 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 ( ...

and Bistrița-Năsăud counties. Sărmașu is bordered to the north by Budești, Bistrița-Năsăud; to the east by Sânpetru de Câmpie and to the southeast by

Miheșu de Câmpie Miheșu de Câmpie (, Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukra ...

(both in Mureș County); to the west by Cămărașu and to the northwest by Mociu (both in Cluj County). Sărmășel-Gară village 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 ...

, which connects it to

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 ( ...

, to the west, and to

Reghin Reghin (; , or ; ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Reen'') is a city in Mureș County, Transylvania, central Romania, on the Mureș River. As of 2021, it had a population of 29,742, making it the second biggest city of the Mureș county, just behind th ...

, to the east. The town has two train stations ( and Sărmășel), both serving the CFR Line 405, which starts in Deda, Mureș and ends in

Ocna Mureș Ocna Mureș (; , , ) is a town in Alba County, Romania, located in the north-eastern corner of the county, near the Mureș River. The town administers five villages: Cisteiu de Mureș (''Magyarcsesztve''), Micoșlaca (''Miklóslaka''), Războien ...

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 town is the site of the Sărmașu massacre, which occurred between 5 September and 10 October 1944, when Sărmașu came under the occupation of the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

-aligned Hungarian troops. During this period, Hungarian gendarmes and members of the Hungarian National Guard killed 126 local Jews (out of 142 who were living in the city at the time), as well as 39 Romanians, the latter primarily prisoners of war captured during the Battle of Turda.

Demographics

At the 2021 census, Sărmașu had a population of 6,186, of which 63.32% 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, ...

, 17.73%

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 12.38% Roma. According to the 2011 census, the town had 6,833 inhabitants, divided among the following ethnic groups:2011 census data
Romanians (67.24%), Hungarians (22.36%), and Roma (10.2%).

The Sărmașel gas field

On the present-day territory of Romania, the first natural gas deposit was discovered in 1909, in Sărmășel (then in

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 ...

). The Sărmașel gas field was developed by

Romgaz Societatea Națională de Gaze Naturale Romgaz SA Mediaș (SNGN Romgaz SA) or simply Romgaz is the largest natural gas producer in Romania and one of the largest producers in Eastern Europe. The company is the country's main supplier and responsib ...

. The first gas production was used to power the steam boilers in Sărmășel and the gas lighting of the alleys in Bazna resort. In 1914 the first gas pipe was finished, spanning from Sărmășel to

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 on to

, with a length of and diameter; in 1916, Turda became the first city in Europe to have public street lights fueled by natural gas. In 1927 the first natural gas compression station in Europe was built in Sărmășel.

Natives

* Alin Chibulcutean (born 1978), football player * Anton Doboș (born 1965), football player * Ovidiu Iuliu Moldovan (1942–2008), actor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarmasu Populated places in Mureș County Localities in Transylvania Towns in Romania