Miercurea Ciuc

Miercurea-Ciuc Csíkszereda
County capital
The Mikó Castle
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Miercurea-Ciuc
Country	Romania
County	Harghita County
Status	County capital
Government
• Mayor	Róbert Ráduly (Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania)
Population  (2002)
• Total	42,029
Ethnicity
• Hungarians	81%
• Romanians	17%
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Website	http://www.miercureaciuc.ro/

The swamp of the Şumuleu Ciuc neighborhood.

Miercurea-Ciuc (Hungarian: Csíkszereda, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈtʃiːksɛrɛdɒ],German: Szeklerburg) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It is situated in the north-eastern part of Transylvania in the Olt valley. The town lies in the historical region of Székely Land. The following 3 villages are also administratively part of the city:

• Ciba / Csiba
• Harghita-Băi / Hargita-fürdő
• Jigodin-Băi / Zsögöd-fürdő, including Csíkzsögöd

Demographics

According to the last census from 2002, there were 42,029 people living in the city. Of this population, 81.75% are ethnic Székely Hungarians, while 17.3% are ethnic Romanians, 0.62% are ethnic Romas and 0.33% others.

Demographic movements according to census data:

History

The town on the Székely Land

In the Middle Ages it was the capital of Csíkszék (Csik seat). Between 1876 and 1918, Csíkszereda was the capital of Csík County of the historical Szeklerland in the Kingdom of Hungary. After the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, it became part of Kingdom of Romania, and was seat of the Ciuc County between 1927 and 1938.

Csíkszereda returned to Hungary between 1940 and 1944 as a result of the Second Vienna Award. In 1944, the Soviet Red Army captured the town. It became part of Romania again in 1945 which was confirmed by the Paris Peace Treaties. Between 1952-1960,the town was part of the Magyar Autonomous Region, later named as Mureş-Magyar Autonomous Region 1960-1968. In 1968, Miercurea-Ciuc became the county seat of Harghita.

In the post-WWII period, the town was industrialized, among others, a tractor, a textile factory and, in the 1960s, a beer factory was built here. The Ciuc Beer products have gained an increasing popularity in Romania.

After 1968, a new socialist style city center was constructed; the city also gained inreasing importance as a major center of Székely culture and identity.

Education

Áron Márton Theoretical High School

In 2001 the old Harghita Hotel was converted into the Sapientia Transylvanian Hungarian University, which, although privately run, is the first Hungarian university in modern Romania.

Other cities in Transylvania also have Sapientia University faculties. Since the university opened, it has been attracting growing numbers of young people and intellectuals.

Sports

Miercurea-Ciuc is one of the coldest cities in Romania, with winter temperatures often going under -30°C, making the city ideal for winter sports. The Miercurea-Ciuc ice rink, Vákár Lajos műjégpálya, annually hosts the national ice hockey championships, often won by the local team, Csíkszeredai Sport Club. In 2006 the ice rink hosted the world junior championship in short track speed skating. The only long track speed skating rink in Romania is situated next to the indoor ice hockey rink. Another source of pride in the city is the famous Ciuc Beer (also known as Csíki sör), considered by some to be the best beer in Romania.

Tourist attractions

Petőfi Street is the main pedestrian street in the city. It has a young feel thanks to the presence of many students, and houses many restaurants and cafés. Their Székely specialities conjure up images of a small city in Western Europe.

In the city centre, the main point of interest is the Mikó Castle, built in a late Renaissance style. The original more decorative castle was raised in the 17th century on the orders of Ferenc Mikó Hídvégi, the personal advisor of Gabriel Bethlen, the prince of Transylvania at the time. Much of the castle was destroyed in 1661 during the Tatar raids, but it was rebuilt at the beginning of the 18th century and was mainly used as a barracks; today it houses the Csík Székely Museum. Behind the castle you will find a small Skanzen (museum village), consisting of a few traditional Csíki houses and wooden gates. Across the road from the castle is the city hall built in 1886, originally the county hall of the old Hungarian Csík County. Beside the castle is the 1904 Courthouse. The latest significant addition to the architectural landscape is the controversial 2001 Millennium Church, designed by Hungarian architect Imre Makovecz and located next to the Baroque Church of the Holy Cross.

Csíksomlyó Pilgrimage

A few kilometres to the east of the city centre is the Franciscan monastery of Csíksomlyó in the village Şumuleu Ciuc. A wooden-sculpture figure of the Virgin Mary, known as the Weeping Mary, can be found in the monastery church, which is the destination of a traditional pilgrimage of Roman Catholic Szeklers held since 1567, called the "Csíksomlyó Pilgrimage" (Hungarian: Csíksomlyói Búcsú). The event, held on Whit Saturday, attracts several hundred thousand people every year. The mass for the pilgrims is held on a meadow near the church. This traditional gathering is not only attended by Székely and Csángó Hungarians living in the region, but also by a great number of mostly Hungarian Catholics from other parts of Transylvania region , Hungary and all over the world. Beside its religious importance, the pilgrimage has also become a demonstration of the awareness and solidarity of Hungarian people living in and outside the historical region of Transylvania.

International relation

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Romania

Twin towns — Sister cities

Miercurea-Ciuc is twinned with:

• Bălţi, Republic of Moldova
• Bečej, Serbia
• Berehove, Ukraine
• Budakeszi, Hungary
• Cegléd, Hungary
• Gyula, Hungary
• Gödöllő, Hungary
• Heves, Hungary
• Kaposvár, Hungary
• Makó, Hungary
• Tiszaújváros, Hungary
• Óbuda, Hungary
• Armenian Self-Government in Zugló (Hungarian: Zuglói Örmény Kisebbségi Önkormányzat), Hungary
• Zeliezovce, Slovakia
• Riehen, Switzerland

External links

• Template:Ro icon Template:Hu icon Official site