Harghita County
The territory within the limits of this county was inhabited ever
since the early Neolithic (5500-3500 BC) by tribes engaged in hunting
and the cultivation of primitive wheat (Triticum monoccoccum). A few
settlements of the Neolithic discovered in the neighbourhood of Harghita
county, in the Brasov Flatland (Ariusd, Reci, Brosneu Mare) attest
to the presence of man at that time and to cultures disseminated over
a large area of Romania. The most important were Cris and Cucuteni-Ariusd.
In the Bronze Age the economic life of those tribes changed dramatically.
The archaeological finds unearthed in the Brasov Flatland (Ariusd)
show that the first stage of that epoch featured material cultures
pertaining to the Glina-Schneckenberg cultural type. From that period
date a cup and saucer as well as burnt clay figurines of men and women.
The middle Bronze Age featured mostly the Wietenberg-type culture,
the name being borrowed from a settlement discovered on the hill with
the same name on the bank of the Tarnava Mare river. Further progress
was registered in the early Iron Age (Hallstatt). The number of settlements
and fortifications grew in the late Iron Age prompted by defence and
expansion necessities. The Geto-Dacian culture flourished. The iron
coulter became a vital implement of agriculture. Pottery developed
(basically Dacian vessels: pots, pitchers, fruit bowls, while the
Dacian cup acquired more refined touches). Wood, iron and silver processing
also recorded a remarkable advance. During Dacia’s occupation by the
Romans (106-271), despite the fact that the flourishing of the Geto-Dacian
culture was cut short, a new superior material and spiritual culture
emerged. New towns were founded, roads built, the subsoil was mined
for various riches, public baths were constructed. After the withdrawal
of the Romans (AD 271) the Daco-Roman population throughout this country
did not abandon its hearth for a single moment and contributed continuously
to the socio-development of the land. In the 4th and 5th centuries
the influence of the migratory populations was grafted on elements
of the local culture. A token in this sense are the iron and ceramic
artifacts unearthed at Mugeni. In the period of crystallisation of
the feudal relations, the sources of the time mention the existence,
in the 10th century, of bodies-politic called voivodates covering
the present-day territory of Harghita county. They were headed by
voivodes who led the peasant armies of the village communities. In
the second half of the 11th century the domination of the Hungarian
feudal state expanded gradually over the entire Transylvania, accompanied
by Szekely colonisation. At first the Szekely were organised in village
communities. There is a mention of a Szekely community at Teldg (Odorhei)
in 1270, and another of the Szekely community of Ciuc in 1324. Starting
the 15th century an administrative unit known as “The Seats” appeared
in documents. In the 15th century the village communities underwent
considerable changes. Class differences grew; on the one hand, there
were the feudal noblemen who owned more and more land and on the other,
the serfs who worked for them. Together with the Romanians, the Szekely
took part in the peasant uprising of 1514 led by Gheorghe Doja, as
well as in the big 18th century revolts against the Hapsburg rule.
Towards mid-19th century the crisis of feudalism worsened in Transylvania,
and also in Moldavia and Wallachia. In 1848 the Romanian peasantry
together with the Szekely serfs rebelled against the Hungarian nobles
that held big land estates. At the same time, they opposed fiercely
the intervention of the imperial troops that had arrived to quell
the revolution. The present-day territory of Harghita county had recorded
several types of administrative organisation. After the creation of
the unitary Romanian nation-state, a new political-administrative
organisation was established. Under the 1921 and 1926 laws for Romania’s
administrative organisation into counties and boroughs, two counties
were set up on most of the surface presently encompassed in the current
administrative units: Odorhei county with 140 communes and 6 boroughs,
and Ciuc county with 54 communes and 4 boroughs. This form of organisation
was maintained until 1950 when Romania was re-organised into districts
and regions. As of February 1968 Harghita county was established under
the Law of Administrative Organisation, featuring a municipality (Odorheiu
Secuiesc), 8 towns and 49 communes with 236 villages. The county seat
is the town of Miercurea-Ciuc.
[ back to TOP ]
Geographical
Outline
Harghita county is located in the East Carpathian region, in the centre
of the country. Total area: 6,610 sqkm or 2.8 per cent of the country’s
total surface. The relief is mountainous – the Ghiurghiu, Hasmas,
Ciuc and Harghita Mountains. The land descends gently from mountain
cliffs to volcanic plateaux to hilly zones and intra-mountain valleys
where the human settlements have sprouted. The
climate is typical of intra-mountain regions – bitter cold long winters,
short warm summers. The absolute maximum temperature – 36°C was registered
in 1952 at Odorheiu-Secuiesc and the absolute minimum temperature
– 35°C below zero – was registered at Gheorghieni. All-round the year,
frosty days number 160; hard frost may often happen in May, June,
July as well as in the early autumn months starting September. Because
of beastly low temperatures, Gheorghieni, Toplita and mostly Joseni
are nicknamed “Romania’s North Pole”. The waterway network covers
three major basins: the Mures in the west, the Olt in the south and
the Trotus in the east. The volcanic mountain chain explains the existence
in this county of a large number of mineral water springs (2,200).
Mineral water bottling stations have been commissioned at Borsec,
Sancraieni and Tusnad. Harghita county is the site of the country’s
only volcanic lake, St. Ana, located at 950 m altitude amidst a mirific
landscape in the crater of the Ciumatu mountain. The rich variety
of soils goes from mountain types, covering the largest area, to brown,
yellow-brown and acid brown, and alluvial types in the river meadows.
The geographical diversity also reflects in the wide range of subsoil
minerals in the county: iron ore, copper-bearing pyrites, kaolin,
vermillion, salt, carbogaseous mineral waters, white marble, basalt,
andesite, solid limestone, travertine. Forests, stretching over more
than 30 per cent of the county surface, supply large quantities of
fir, oak, spruce fir and beech wood; they are extremely rich in game
as well as in wild fruit, raspberries, bilberries, blackberries, gooseberries,
mushrooms and herbs. The January 1992 census indicated a 384,335-strong
population, of which 45.7 per cent urban and 53.3 per cent rural.
The demographic configuration looks like this: 14.1 per cent Romanians,
84.7 per cent Hungarians, 1 per cent Gypsies, 0.1 per cent Germans,
and 0.1 per cent other ethnic groups. People are engaged in the following
types of pursuits: 29.70 per cent industry, 34.20 per cent agriculture,
11.90 per cent trade, 5 per cent service supply, 2.80 per cent transport,
5 per cent scientific research and education, 3.80 per cent medical
assistance, etc. Major towns of the county are
Miercurea-Ciuc – county seat, Odorheiu-Secuiesc, Gheorghieni, Cristuru
Secuiesc, Toplita, Vlahita, Balan, Baile Tusnad and Borsec.
[ back to TOP ]
Touristic
Information
The Harghita
county is situated approximately in the central part of Romania,
having a surface of 66,610 sq.km. In this county there are two
municipalities and seven towns. The relief of the county is
prevalently mountainous but there are also hills and large meadows
along the two legendary rivers: the Olt and Mures. The climate
is characteristic to the hilly regions, with long and cold winters,
but the summers are short and with temperate temperatures. This
county is one of the most attractive zones for Romanian and
foreign tourists. The variety of the relief, geological structure,
climate, numberless springs of table waters and the mofettes
determined the setting up of a lot of spas - real sources of
health since the XVI-XVIIth century. Among them the oldest one
is Borsec Spa which seems to be known since the ancient Rome.
The Baile Tusnad Spa, situated in the Tusnad Pass, is an other
point of balneary and climatic attraction. Other spas in the
Harghita county are: Lacu Rosu. Homorod, Bradul Toplita, Madicea,
Baile Harghita, Baile Jigodin, Valea Intunecoasa, Baile Chirui,
Praid with its thermal waters and aerosols from the old salt
mine, Izvorul Muresului, a youth spa. All these spas developed
along the time, having now accommodation facilities, restaurants.
balneary hospitals, sport grounds, nautical facilities a.o.
In the landscape of Harghita county a special point of tourist
interest is the clearing of narcissuses with a surface of 30
ha and a density of 180-200 flowers per square meter. The narcissus
blossoms late in May and early in June, creating a fairy landscape
around the town of Vlahita. The tourist attraction of this county
is properly completed by the only European lake situated in
a volcanic crater (the Sf. Ana Lake), the biggest natural dam
from Romania (Lacul Rosu) as well as the lake situated at the
highest altitude (1750 m) from Romania (the Iezer Lake), situated
at the foot of the Rechitis Peak. The 2,000 springs of table
waters are used and bottled with therapeutically purposes, being
known in about all countries of the world. Both forests and
rivers are not polluted helping a special fauna. The variety
of the rocks of the soil helps the creation of a karats formation
like grottoes or caves. Among them we have to mention the Sugau
Cave near by Voslobeni, the Bears' Grotto and Ice Cave near
by Borsec Spa, the Meresti Cave, and others situated in the
Varhisul Quay. The salt, worked in the Praid village of Praid,
helps the settling up of a sanatorium inside the old drifts
where the breathing diseases are cured. The inhabitants of this
county - Romanians, Magyars, Szeklers. Germans, and other nationalities
- have their own folk traditions as well as popular costumes
were preserved along the time. The specific character of the
county is given by the traditional professions as well as by
the museums and historic monuments from here. Among them there
are the Franciscan Cathedral in the Sumuleu residential district
and the Mike fortress-museum in Miercurea Ciuc. the Szekler's
Monument in the village of Siculeni, the Holy Virgin Orthodox
Church (built in 1658) and the "Sf. Prooroc Ilie"
Orthodox Monastery (built in 1847) in Toplila, the fortified
peasant Fortress in Carta (1444), the "Tamasi Aron"
funeral monument in Lupeni, the mediaeval Fortress (the XVI-th
century) and the Municipal Museum in Odorheiul Secuiesc, the
fortified church in Daijiu, the Monument from Lutila. The Heroes'
Monument in Secu-Toplita, "Movila Tatarilor" (The
Tartars' Hillock) near by the village of Lazarea, and also here,
the Castle of Count Lazar. These monuments are built in different
periods of time, in baroque. neobaroque, neo-Renaissance, eclectic,
Secession, modernist styles showing a good relation with the
European culture. A special zone is situated on the upper course
of the Trotus River where a population named Csangos lives (this
population lives in the Baciu county too). Being catholics,
speaking the Magyar language and dressed in authentic Romanian
folk costumes, this population brings about many disputes regarding
its origin and the time of its appearance. The inhabitants of
the villages and mountain zones are hospitable and communicative,
in the last period being developed (the agro-tourist activity,
the rural and mountain tourism. The most developed zones of
this county from the tourist point of view are Praid and Lazarea.
[ back
to TOP ]
The municipality
of Miercurea-Ciuc
The municipality
of Miercurea-Ciuc is situated in the Eastern part of Transylvania,
in the central zone of the Ciucurilor Depression being rounded
by the volcanically mountain range of the Harghita and Ciuc
Mountains at the crossing of the roads which pass through the
Carpathian Passes of Vlahila (Tolvajos) and Ghimes. The municipality
is situated on the terraces of the Olt River, at the foot of
the Sumuleu Mare Mountain (1033 m above sea level). The altitude
of the town is between 655 and 730 m above sea level. The post-volcanically
activity is continued also in our days by carbo-gaseous table
water ("Borviz") and mofettes (gaseous emanations
of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide). The main sources of
table waters in Sumuleu, Baile Miercurea-Ciuc and Baile Jigodin.
At 19 km far from this town, at 1350 m above sea level, there
are the Harghita Bai, a spa of Miercurea-Ciuc, known thanks
to its table waters and beneficial mofettes. Also, it is situated
at the highest altitude in this county. In summer, the average
temperature is of 16° Celsius, and in winter, of minus 5.9°
Celsius. The highest temperature was of 35.5° Celsius in 1953,
and the lowest one was of minus 40.0° Celsius in 1977. The most
rainy month is July, and the most droughty one is February.
Here there is snow 27 to 124 days per year. The municipality
of Miercurea-Ciuc is rounded by spruce fir forests. The leafy
trees disappeared step by step. But the Sumuleu Mountain is
covered by beech forests or mixed forests. In the forests, clearings,
hay fields and pastures around the town there are species of
protected plants and animals. The fauna of the forest from here
is quite rich, very interesting being the big animals. Among
the protected species there are the brown bears, lynx and capercaillie.
Miercurea-Ciuc was founded near by existing localities as: Sumuleu
(1333), Toplita-Ciuc and Jigodin (the XII-XIIIth century), on
the place where the peasant fairs were organized on Wednesdays.
The first known authentic document which certified this town
as "a plain town" is a letter of Queen Izabella, mother
of Janos Zsigmond, Prince of Transylvania, dated back from August,
5th, 1558, in which the inhabitants of the town were exempted
from the taxes, but not from the ones to the Ottoman Empire.
At Sumuleu, in 1630, there was a Franciscan gymnasium, and in
1676 there was a printing shop of Franciscan monk Johannes Kajoni.
In 1849 revolutionist poet Petofi Sandor paid a visit here and
in the letter written to his wife, Julia, he mentioned: "The
environs of Miercurea-Ciuc and Targu Secuiesc are wonderful".
These wonderful environs were put into account along the time
being settled up many spas which use the table waters, mofettes,
mountain picturesque landscape from here. The traveler who arrives
in Miercurea-Ciuc has good facilities of accommodation and meals
in the "Bradul" Hotel (two stars) with 198 places
in single and double bedded rooms, restaurant, bar, bathroom
and TV set in each room. Similar conditions are offers by the
"Harghita" Hotel (two stars) with 300 places. The
two hotels are situated in downtown. The mountain lovers are
able to choose the "Ozon" Hotel which is situated
in the wonderful landscape of the Harghita Mountains near by
the Harghita Bai Spa at 1504 m above sea level. This hotel has
single, double, three and fourbedded rooms with bath, conference
hall, restaurant, bar and sauna.
[
back to TOP ]
Tusnad
Spa
Situated
in the Harghita county, on the banks of the Olt River, in an
affronted zone of the Eastern Sub-Carpathians -at the foot of
the volcanically Harghita massif, S.C. "Tusnad" S.A.
in Tusnad Spa has good conditions to cure a lot of diseases.
The picturesque landscape, calm, comfort of this spa is a wonderful
place for holidays all year round. The altitude is of 650 m
above sea level. The climate is sub-Alpine one. The average
temperature is of minus 6 Celsius degrees in January, and of
17.5 Celsius degrees in July. Known and used for many centuries
thanks to their therapeutic effects, the table water springs,
are good to cure many diseases. The table waters from Baile
Tusnad, with a minerality up to 13.0 gr./l are used in intern
and extern cure. They have different chemical compositions:
bicarbonate, calcium, magnesic, chlorinated, sodium, carbogaseous,
hypotonic and mesothermal ones. Bottled they are used as drinking
water. The mofette is an other element of a cure. Besides these
natural elements of a cure, the mountain bioclimate, a tonic
stimulus, an air rich in resinous aerosols, and negative ions.
Here there is a mofette with rooms for bathes with carbon dioxide,
a pool with carbo-gaseous water. There are also halls for physical
exercises, clinical laboratory and laboratories of functional
tests, different consulting rooms. Here there are consulting
rooms of psychiatry, general medicine, stomatology, emergency.
The following diseases are cured successfully: anxious and bearing
down neurasthenia; neurovegetative dystonia, secondary asthenia
dispositions, physical and mind tiredness, cardiovascular diseases
- diseases of myocardium and valvular diseases - convalescence
after a myocardial infarct, circulatory troubles (of the peripheral
venal and arteries), arterial high blood pressure, diseases
after phlebitis, miklegs, chronic digestive diseases of stomach
and colon, hypo and hyperacid chronic gastritis, enteritis,
enterocolitis, biliary dyskenesis, diseases of liver and biliary
ways, endocrine diseases, hyperthyroidism, parathyroidian insufficiency,
suprarenal insufficiency, Bazedov disease, associated, nutrition
diseases, diabetes, gout, fatness, renal diseases. diseases
of urinary ways, chronic glomerular nephritis, renal lithiasis,
chronic inflammation of urinary ways, locomotory, gynaecological
diseases. Hotels there are phones and TV sets in each room.
There are other service (laundering, errand) - rest homes with
different comfort, double and three-bedded rooms. Most of them
are situated in areas of calm and privacy, either near by the
Olt River and the Ciucas, Lake, or at the foot of the mountain
near by the fir forest. To reach Tusnad Spa there are the following
ways: by train, on the Bucharest-Satu Mare railway, Baile Tusnad
railways station, or from Galali-Adjud via Ciceu; by car, on
D.N. 12 at 67 km far from Bras, ov, 37 km far from Sf. Gheorghe
and 32 km far from Miercurea-Ciuc.
[
back to TOP ]
Borsec
Spa
Borsec is
a town-spa situated in the same named depression in the Northern
part of the Harghita county, on the national road Toplila-Piatra
Neamt, at 26 km far from the town of Toplila. Borsec is famous
thanks to its numberless springs of table water with special
qualities which give it the name of the Queen of the mineral
waters. The oldest documents regarding the mineral waters from
here was a book of Marco della Fruta, published in Venice in
1687. Borsec Spa is also known thanks to its therapeutic mud
used here since 1889. The raw material is the peat which covers
a surface of 10 ha. As a spa it is acted (represented) by SCAT
Borsec which has accommodation facilities in villas-rest homes,
two tourist camping grounds, restaurants, balneary hospitals.
The microclimate is a mountainous one, with an ozonized air
rich in negative ions, the resinous forests helping to the ozonization
of air. The mineral water is used in internal cure or hydrotherapy
(kinetotherapy, balbbad, subaquatous showers, different kinds
of shower, massage-shower a.o. From balneary point of view,
this spa helps to cure the cardio-vascular diseases, endocrine
diseases, digestive diseases, hepato-biliary diseases and neurasthenia.
The natural cure factors are the climate, altitude, mineral
carbogaseous, waters, peat. medicinal herbs, a.o. Additional
information can be obtained from the office of tourism of the
SCAT Borsec.
[
back to TOP ]
Lacu Rosu
Spa
The Lacu
Rosu Spa is situated at 900 m above sea level, in the Oriental
Carpathians, on the main road to the monasteries from the Northern
part of Moldavia, it's a special place to spend a wonderful
holidays. The accommodation in little hotels of two stars as
well as the four restaurants from here, the walks and trout
fishing, climbing on the Suhard Mountain are only some points
of tourist attraction. Being situated only 3 km far from the
Bicaz Quay, the most impressive quay in Romania, with their
climbing routes of different levels of difficulty, are an unique
place in the Romanian tourist landscape.
[
back to TOP ]
Gheorgheni
The town
of Gheorgheni is situated in the Giurgeu depression, on the
Belchia Valley. Certified since early the XVIth century, it
has some interesting historic monuments as well as valuable
touristic and architectural places: the Both Fortress, church
in baroque style (1734) Dendrological Garden (a natural reservation
of 12 ha with over 2, 500 species of plants and 185 species
of trees). From a tourist point of view, the guests of Gheorgheni
are able to choose either Lacu Rosu Spa, Izvorul Muresului youth
Spa or the agro-tourism in Lazarea. Here they are able to visit:
Count Lazar's mediaeval Castle, "Friendship" painting
and sculpture camp, "Movila Tatarilor" (Tartars' Hillock)
a.o. The Office of tourist information in Gheorgheni will offer
you the best way to spend a nice time.
[ back to TOP ]
Economy
Profile
[ back
to TOP ]
Copyright (C) 1999-2000 SC Computer Club SRL. All rights reserved.
[Please send any comments to webmaster@clubromania.ro.]
|
