Vârghiș (, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in

Covasna County Covasna County (, , ) is a county (județ) of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Sfântu Gheorghe. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 210,177, making it the second least populous of Romania's 41 counties and the ...

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 a single village, Vârghiș.

History

The village formed 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 ...

region of the historical

province. Until 1918, it belonged to the

Háromszék County Háromszék (''Three Seats''; Romanian: ''Trei Scaune'') was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Situated in south-eastern Transylvania, its territory is now in central Romania (in the c ...

of 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 ...

, following 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 area passed under Romanian administration 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 ...

of 1918–1919. 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, 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 ...

. In 1925, the commune fell in Plasa Baraolt of

Trei Scaune County Trei Scaune County is one of the historical counties of the Kingdom of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. The county seat was Sfântu Gheorghe. Geography The county covered and was located in the central part of Greater Romania, ...

. In August 1940, under the auspices of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, which imposed 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 ...

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 ...

retook the territory 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 ...

(which included Vârghiș) from Romania. 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 ...

, however, the commune was taken back from Hungarian and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

troops by 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 ...

forces in September 1944. In 1950, after

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

was established, Vârghiș became part of the Sfântu Gheorghe

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 ...

Stalin Region Regiunea Stalin (Stalin Region) was one of the administrative divisions of the People's Republic of Romania. It was established in 1950, in the Soviet style of territorial organization, and was named after Joseph Stalin. Its name was changed to ...

. From 1952 and 1960, it 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 it reverted to Brașov Region. In 1968, when Romania was reorganized based on counties rather than regions, the commune became part of Covasna County.

Demographics

The commune has an absolute Székely Hungarian majority. According to the 2011 census, it had a population of 1,647, of which 97.87% were Hungarians and 0.6% 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, ...

. At the 2021 census, Vârghiș had a population of 1,472, of which 92.46% were Hungarians, 1.36% Roma, and 0.48% were Romanians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varghis Communes in Covasna County Localities in Transylvania