Harghita County

Harghita County (Romanian: Județul Harghita, Romanian pronunciation: [harˈɡita] ^ⓘ and Hungarian: Hargita megye, pronounced [ˈhɒrɡitɒ]) is a county (județ) in the center of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Miercurea Ciuc.

Harghita County Județul Harghita Hargita megye
County
Landscape around Lake Sfânta Ana, southern Harghita County
Coat of arms
Harghita county, territorial location
Country	Romania
Development region1	Centru
Historic region	Transylvania
Capital city (Reședință de județ)	Miercurea Ciuc
Government
• Type	County Council
• President of the County Council	Csaba Borboly [ro] (RMDSZ)
• Prefect2	Sándor Petres [ro]
Area
• Total	6,639 km2 (2,563 sq mi)
• Rank	13th in Romania
Population  (2021-12-01)[1]
• Total	291,950
• Rank	33rd in Romania
• Density	46/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code	53wxyz3
Area code	+40 x664
Car Plates	HR5
GDP	US$1.840 billion (2015)
GDP per capita	US$6,033 (2015)
Website	County Council County Prefecture
1The developing regions of Romania have no administrative role. They were formed just to attract funds from the European Union 2 as of 2007, the Prefect is not a politician, but a public functionary. The Prefect is not allowed to be a member of a political party, and is banned from having any political activity in the first six months after the resignation (or exclusion) from the public functionary corps 3w, x, y, and z are digits that indicate the city, the street, part of the street, or even the building of the address 4x is a digit indicating the operator: 2 for the former national operator, Romtelecom, and 3 for the other ground telephone networks 5used on both the plates of the vehicles that operate only in the county limits (like utility vehicles, ATVs, etc.), and the ones used outside the county

Demographics

2002 census

In 2002, Harghita County had a population of 326,222^[2] and a population density of 52/km².

• Hungarians – 84.62% (or 276,038)^[3]
• Romanians – 14.06% (or 45,870)
• Romani – 1.18% (or 3,835)
• Others – 0.14%

2011 census

In 2011, it had a population of 302,432^[4] and a population density of 46/km².

• Hungarians – 85.21% (or 257,707)^[5]
• Romanians – 12.96% (or 39,196)
• Romani
• Others – 1.76% (or 5,326).

2021 census

In 2021, it had a population of 291,950, and a population density of 43/km².

• Hungarians – 85.67% (or 232,157)
• Romanians – 12.41% (or 33,634)
• Romani - 1.82% (or 4,928)
• Others – 0.1% (or 282).

Harghita county has the highest percentage of Hungarians in Romania, just ahead of Covasna county. The Hungarians form the majority of the population in most of the county's municipalities, with Romanians concentrated in the northern and eastern part of the county (particularly Toplița and Bălan), as well as in the enclave of Voșlăbeni.

The Székelys of Harghita are mostly Roman Catholic, with Reformed and Unitarian minorities, while the ethnic Romanians are primarily Orthodox. Catholicism is strongest in the east, in the former Csíkszék, while Protestants are concentrated in the south and west of Odorheiu Secuiesc. By religion, the county is divided roughly as follows:

• Roman Catholic (65%)
• Orthodox (13%)
• Reformed (13%)
• Unitarian (7%)
• Other (2%)

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1930	250,194	—
1948	258,495	+0.18%
1956	273,964	+0.73%
1966	282,392	+0.30%
1977	326,310	+1.32%
1992	347,637	+0.42%
2002	326,222	−0.63%
2011	304,969	−0.75%
2021	291,950	−0.44%

Geography

Harghita County has a total area of 6,639 km².

Harghita consists primarily of mountains, connected to the Eastern Carpathians, such as the Ciuc and Harghita Mountains; volcanic plateaux, foothills, and the more densely populated river valleys.

The mountains are volcanic in origin, and the region is known for its excellent hot mineral springs. Harghita is known as one of the coldest regions in Romania, although summers can be quite warm.

It is in this county that two of the most important rivers in Romania, the Mureș and the Olt, originate. These rivers' origins, near the villages of Izvoru Mureșului and Sândominic, are only a few miles apart; yet the Mureș flows west to the Tisza, while the Olt flows south to the Danube. In the western part of the county the two Târnava rivers (Târnava Mare and Târnava Mică) flow to the Târnava Plateau, which is part of the Transylvanian Plateau.

Harghita's spectacular natural scenery includes Sfânta Ana Lake, a volcanic crater lake near the town of Băile Tușnad; Lacul Roșu a mountain lake in the northeast near the town of Gheorgheni, and Cheile Bicazului, a dramatic, narrow canyon formed by the Bicaz stream. The county is renowned for its spa resorts and mineral waters.

Neighbours

AB

AR

AG

BC

BH

BN

BT

BV

BR

BZ

CS

CL

CJ

CT

CV

DB

DJ

GL

GR

GJ

HR

HD

IL

IS

IF

MM

MH

MS

NT

OT

PH

SM

SJ

SB

SV

TR

TM

TL

VS

VL

VN

B

• Neamț County and Bacău County to the East.
• Mureș County to the West.
• Suceava County to the North.
• Brașov County and Covasna County to the South.

Economy

The county's main industries:

• Wood industry – up to 30%;
• Foods and beverages industry;
• Textile and leather processing;
• Mechanical components.

Tourism

Lacul Roșu

The main tourist attractions in Harghita county are

• The cities of Miercurea Ciuc, Odorheiu Secuiesc, Gheorgheni, Toplița.
• The mountain resorts of
  • Băile Tușnad
  • Borsec
  • Lacul Roșu
  • Izvorul Mureşului
  • Harghita Băi
• Lake Sfânta Ana (crater lake)
• The Via Transilvanica long-distance hiking and biking trail, which crosses the county

Politics

The Harghita County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections, consists of 30 counsellors, with the following party composition:^[6]

	Party	Seats	Current Council
	Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ)	19
	Hungarian Alliance Of Transylvania	4
	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	3
	National Liberal Party (PNL)	2
	Party Of Free People	2

Administrative divisions

Miercurea Ciuc

Băile Tușnad

Harghita County has 4 municipalities, 5 towns and 58 communes

• Municipalities
  • Gheorgheni
  • Miercurea Ciuc – county seat; population: 37,980 (as of 2011)
  • Odorheiu Secuiesc
  • Toplița
• Towns
  • Băile Tușnad
  • Bălan
  • Borsec
  • Cristuru Secuiesc
  • Vlăhița
  • Praid

Communes Atid Avrămești Bilbor Brădești Căpâlnița Cârța Ciceu Ciucsângeorgiu Ciumani Corbu Corund Cozmeni Dănești Dârjiu Dealu

Ditrău Feliceni Frumoasa Gălăutaș 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

See also

• Former Csík County of the Kingdom of Hungary

References

1. "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
2. National Institute of Statistics, "Populația la recensămintele din anii 1948, 1956, 1966, 1977, 1992 și 2002" Archived 22 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
3. National Institute of Statistics, "Populația după etnie" Archived 16 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine ("Population by ethnicity")
4. National Institute of Statistics, ^{[permanent dead link‍]}
5. "Recensamantul Populatiei si Locuintelor 2011: Populația stabilă după etnie – județe, municipii, orașe, comune". Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
6. "Rezultatele finale ale alegerilor locale din 2020" (Json) (in Romanian). Autoritatea Electorală Permanentă. Retrieved 2 November 2020.

External links

46.36°N 25.80°E / 46.36; 25.80