Voivodeni

History

The first mention of the town was in 1332, under the name of Sancto Johanne. Archaeological finds have shown that the area comprising the Voivodendi village was first settled during the Bronze period. Evidence of settlement has been discovered on a hill called Benghát, which stands 374 m tall, as well as signs of Roman presence, including a nearby Roman road. In the commune town of Toldal, there are definite traces of Roman settlers, who primarily engaged in agricultural production.

During the Kingdom of Hungary, the commune belonged to the Régen district. It was part of the Székely Land region of the historical Transylvania province. This was kept when the Kingdom was absorbed into the Austrian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There was an administrative reorganization of Transylvania, and it was attached to Maros-Torda County.

After the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1918–1919 and the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, the commune became part of the Kingdom of Romania, and was attached to Mureș County. In 1940, the Second Vienna Award granted Northern Transylvania to Hungary and the locality was held by Hungary until 1944. During this time, the small Jewish community in the area was exterminated by the Nazis. After Soviet occupation, the Romanian administration returned, and the village became officially part of Romania in March 1945. Between 1952 and 1960, the commune 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 commune has been part of Mureș County.

The commune features the Zichy Castle, with relics from the Roman area and Hungarian presence. Notable people who have lived in the commune include politician István Dán and biologist (and geographer) Pál Samu, born on June 28, 1935.

Demographics

The highest number of people living in the commune, since recording of population information began in 1850, was in 1956, with a total of 2,849 inhabitants.

According to the 2011 census, the population of the Voivodeni commune was 1,756 inhabitants. This was a decrease from the last census, in 2002, when 1,957 were living in the commune. Of the inhabitants, about 60% were Hungarian, while the rest were either Romanian (28.4%) or Roma (9.05%), with about 2% having an unknown ethnicity. This means that the commune has a (Székely) Hungarian majority.

In terms of religious belief, most are Reformed (about 57%), while the rest are either Orthodox (about 28%), Seventh-Day Adventists (about 4%), Jehovah's Witnesses (3.4%), Roman Catholic (2.5%), or non-religious (1.6%). About 2% of the population had religious beliefs that cannot be determined.

Present day

The commune of Voivodeni is administered by a mayor and a local council which is composed of 11 councilors. The Mayor is Vasile Boer, from the Social Democratic Party, who was elected in 2012. The local council has the following composition of political parties after local elections in 2016:

• Social Democratic Party (Romania) – 7 seats
• Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania – 3 seats
• Hungarian Civic Party – 1 seat

Dance classes are held in the commune, like other parts of Transylvania, and churches made of wood are still standing. The economy of the town is based on agriculture and livestock. The municipality is also located on the regional road DJ154J Breaza – Glodeni, near the national road  Târgu Mureș – Reghin.

Tourist attractions in the commune include the Reformed-Calvinist Church in the village of Voivodeni, built in the 15th century, and the Zichy Mansion in Vojvodina, constructed in the 18th century, to name two historical monuments. There are also several lakes, like Lacul Sate, where tourists can fish.

References

References

1. "Results of the 2020 local elections". Central Electoral Bureau.
2. link. (2020-06-14 . Accessed on July 6, 2019. Resource is in Hungarian.)
3. Physical distances are calculated according to the coordinates of settlements.
4. Peel, MC; Finlayson, B L. "[http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.html  Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification] {{Webarchive. link. (2017-02-10 ". ''Hydrology and Earth System Sciences'' 11: 1633-1644. doi: 10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. Retrieved on July 6, 2019.)
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6. link. (2020-05-11 .NASA / Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission)
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8. (August 2025)
9. Kovacs Lorant, "[https://core.ac.uk/display/91856547 Assessment of the environmental value of the Zichy Castle Park in Voivodeni, Romania – Brief description] {{Webarchive. link. (2019-07-06 ," 2014.)
10. [http://www.kia.hu/konyvtar/erdely/erd2002/msetn02.pdf Census 1850-2002, last update 2 November 2008] {{Webarchive. link. (16 July 2011 (PDF, 1 MB, Hungarian).)
11. link. (2022-06-06 .)
12. [http://www.kia.hu/konyvtar/erdely/erd2002/msetn02.pdf Census of the Mureş County from 1850 to 2002] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-07-16 .)
13. [http://www.insse.ro/cms/rw/resource/populatia_stab_1%20iulie2007.htm The population of Voivodeni in 2007 on the website of the National Institute of Statistics of Romania] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-05-11 .)
14. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20090902080421/http://www.insse.ro/cms/rw/resource/populatia%20stabila%20la%201%20ianuarie%202009%20si%2018.xls?download=true Population on January 1, 2009]". INSSE. Retrieved on July 6, 2019. Archived from [http://www.insse.ro/cms/rw/resource/populatia%20stabila%20la%201%20ianuarie%202009%20si%2018.xls?download=true the original] July 26, 2009.
15. "[http://www.kia.hu/konyvtar/erdely/erd2002/etnii2002.zip Population and Housing Census 2002 - population of administrative units by ethnicity"]{{Dead link. (June 2025)
16. Final results of the 2011 Census:"[http://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/sR_Tab_8.xls Tab8. Ethnic stable population – counties, municipalities, towns, communes "] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-01-18 . National Institute of Statistics of Romania. July 2013. Accessed July 6, 2019.)
17. Final results of the 2011 Census:"[http://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/sR_TAB_13.xls Tab13. Stable population by religion – counties, municipalities, towns, communes] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-08-07 ". National Institute of Statistics of Romania. July 2013. Accessed on July 6, 2019.)
18. ^'[http://www.2016bec.ro/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Export_mandate-2.xlsx List of Competitors Obtaining Mandates] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-10-27 ' (XLSX). Central Electoral Bureau for the 2016 local elections. Accessed July 6, 2019.)
19. Lucy Mallows and Rudolf Abraham, ''Transylvania'' (US: Bradt Travel Guides, 2012), p [https://books.google.com/books?id=Yt1M3egMbWMC&dq=Voivodeni+romania&pg=PA105 105].
20. Nuria Sanz, ''Living Wooden Culture Throughout Europe'' (Council of Europe, 2002), p [https://books.google.com/books?id=yXIRQ6zGa04C&dq=Voivodeni+romania&pg=PA59 59].
21. [http://www.uniuneanotarilor.ro/files/2016/LMI_2015.pdf List of historical monuments of the Romanian Ministry of Culture, updated in 2015] (PDF, 12.7 MB, Romanian.
22. [http://locuridepescuit.net/lacul-sate.html Information on Lacul Sate at locuridepescuit.net]{{Dead link. (June 2025)