Cristuru Secuiesc

Town in Harghita, Romania

Cristuru Secuiesc

Székelykeresztúr

Town

Flag

Coat of arms

Location in Harghita County

Cristuru Secuiesc

Location in Romania

Coordinates: 46°17′30″N 25°2′7″E﻿ / ﻿46.29167°N 25.03528°E﻿ / 46.29167; 25.03528
Country| Romania
County| Harghita
Government

• Mayor (2020–2024) | Hunor-János Koncz[1] (AMT)

Area

| 53.95 km2 (20.83 sq mi)
Elevation

| 393 m (1,289 ft)
Population

(2021-12-01)[2]

| 8,797
• Density| 160/km2 (420/sq mi)
Time zone| EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Postal code|

535400

Area code| (+40) 02 66
Vehicle reg.| HR
Website| www.keresztur.ro

Cristuru Secuiesc (Romanian pronunciation: [ˌkristuru sekuˈjesk]; Hungarian: Székelykeresztúr, pronounced [ˈseːkɛjkɛrɛstuːr] ⓘ) is a town in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The town administers two villages: Betești (Betfalva), part of Mugeni until 2004, and Filiaș (Fiatfalva).

## Location

[edit]

Cristuru Secuiesc lies on the Transylvanian Plateau, in the area where the river Goagiu flows into the Târnava Mare. It is located in the southwestern part of the county, on the border with Mureș County. The town is crossed by national road DN13C [ro]; Odorheiu Secuiesc is 26 km (16 mi) to the east, while the county seat, Miercurea Ciuc, is 78 km (48 mi) in that direction.

## History

[edit]

The town was part of the Székely Land area of the historical Transylvania province. It belonged to Udvarhelyszék until the administrative reform of Transylvania in 1876, when it fell within the Udvarhely County of the Kingdom of Hungary. In the aftermath of World War I and the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1918–1919, it passed under Romanian administration; after the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, like the rest of Transylvania, it became part of the Kingdom of Romania. During the interwar period, the town fell within Odorhei County. From 1933 to 1940, the town was renamed after I. G. Duca, the Prime Minister of Romania who was assassinated in December 1933 for his efforts to suppress the fascist Iron Guard movement.

In 1940, the Second Vienna Award granted Northern Transylvania to Hungary and the town was held by Hungary until 1944. After Soviet occupation, the Romanian administration returned and the town became officially part of Romania in March 1945. Between 1952 and 1960, Cristuru Secuiesc fell within the Magyar Autonomous Region, between 1960 and 1968 the Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region. In 1968, the region was abolished, and since then, the town has been part of Harghita County.

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical populationYear| Pop.| ±%

|
|

1956 | 5,194| —
1966 | 5,942| +14.4%
1977 | 7,197| +21.1%
1992 | 10,611| +47.4%
2002 | 11,291| +6.4%
2011 | 9,491| −15.9%
2021 | 8,797| −7.3%
Source: Census data
Hometown folks at the end of the 1930s

As of the Romanian census of 2002, the town had a population of 9,672, of whom 9,201 (95.13%) were ethnic Hungarians, 2.47 ethnic Roma, 2.27% ethnic Romanians, and 0.12% others.[3] At the 2011 census, there were 9,491 inhabitants. At the 2021 census, Cristuru Secuiesc had a population of 8,797.[4]

Demographic movements according to census data:

In terms of religion, 46.02% of its inhabitants are Reformed, 35.99% are Unitarian, 14.27% are Roman Catholic, 2.33% are Romanian Orthodox.

## Natives

[edit]

* Ajtony Árpád (1944 – 2013), writer
* Alexandru Gergely (1951 – 2018), footballer and manager

## Sights

[edit]

The Unitarian Gimnazium (secondary school) was established in the 18th century. The Catholic church has medieval murals.

## International relations

[edit]

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Romania

### Twin towns – Sister cities

[edit]

Cristuru Secuiesc is twinned with:

* Ajka, Hungary (1992)
* Csurgó, Hungary
* Derecske, Hungary
* Dévaványa, Hungary (1994)
* Dunakeszi, Hungary
* Kalocsa, Hungary
* Karcag, Hungary (1990)
* Kúnszentmiklós, Hungary
* Lánycsók, Hungary
* Moldava nad Bodvou, Slovakia
* Pesterzsébet – 20th district of Budapest, Hungary
* Senta, Serbia

## Gallery

[edit]

* Catholic parish church

* Romanian Orthodox church

* Liberty Square

* Târnava Mare River bank

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Results of the 2020 local elections". Central Electoral Bureau. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
2. ^ "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
3. ^ 2002 Census
4. ^ "Populația rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (in Romanian). INSSE. 31 May 2023.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cristuru Secuiesc.

* Town Website (in Hungarian)
* Molnár István Museaum (in Hungarian)

* v
* t
* e

Harghita County, Romania

Cities|

* Miercurea Ciuc (county seat)
* Gheorgheni
* Odorheiu Secuiesc
* Toplița

Towns|

* Băile Tușnad
* Bălan
* Borsec
* Cristuru Secuiesc
* Vlăhița

Communes|

* Atid
* Avrămești
* Bilbor
* Brădești
* Căpâlnița
* Cârța
* Ciceu
* Ciucsângeorgiu
* Ciumani
* Corbu
* Corund
* Cozmeni
* Dănești
* Dârjiu
* Dealu
* Ditrău
* Feliceni
* Frumoasa
* Gălăuțaș
* Joseni
* Lăzarea
* Leliceni
* Lueta
* Lunca de Jos
* Lunca de Sus
* Lupeni
* Mădăraș
* Mărtiniș
* Merești
* Mihăileni
* Mugeni
* Ocland
* Păuleni-Ciuc
* Plăieșii de Jos
* Porumbeni
* Praid
* Racu
* Remetea
* Săcel
* Sâncrăieni
* Sândominic
* Sânmartin
* Sânsimion
* Sântimbru
* Sărmaș
* Satu Mare
* Secuieni
* Siculeni
* Șimonești
* Subcetate
* Suseni
* Tomești
* Tulgheș
* Tușnad
* Ulieș
* Vărșag
* Voșlăbeni
* Zetea

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* 2
* United States
* Israel

Other|

* Yale LUX

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