Vlăhița

Location

Vlăhița is situated on national road , midway between Odorheiu Secuiesc and the county seat, Miercurea Ciuc. Its 860 m altitude makes it the highest town in Harghita County.

History

In Roman times a Roman fort was functioning in nearby Băile Homorod. 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 Austria-Hungary. After the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919 and the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, it became part of Romania and fell within plasa Odorhei of Odorhei County during the interwar period. In 1940, the Second Vienna Award granted Northern Transylvania to Hungary and the town was held by Hungary until the fall of 1944, when Romanian and Soviet troops regained control during World War II. After a brief Soviet occupation, the Romanian administration returned in March 1945. In 1950, after Communist Romania was established, Vlăhița became part of the Odorhei Raion of Stalin Region. Between 1952 and 1960, the town 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

|1977 |6636 |1992 |7667 |2002 |7392 |2011 |6820 |2021 |6468

At the 2011 census, the town had a total population of 6,820 of which 6,749 (98.96%) were Székely Hungarians, making it the town with the highest proportion of Hungarians in Romania. At the 2021 census, Vlăhița had a population of 6,468; of those, 94.12% were Hungarians.

Culture

The town is famous for its Children's Orchestra (Filarmonica de copii/Gyermekfilharmónia), in which more than 140 youngsters sing and play instruments.

Twin town

• Hungary Szarvas, Hungary (1994)

References

|Szentegyháza Gyöngye - panoramio.jpg|The Pearl of Vlăhița |File:Lövétebánya.jpg|Minele Lueta |File:Romania, Transylvania, Báile Homorod Fortepan 16626.jpg|Băile Homorod, 1970 |File:Bányász tömbház.jpg|Wooden miner's house from 1950

References

1. "Results of the 2024 local elections". Central Electoral Bureau.
2. "Primăria Vlăhița".
3. (31 May 2023). "Populația rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021". [[National Institute of Statistics (Romania).