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The Csángós ( Hungarian : Csángók ; Romanian : Ceangăi ) are ethnic Hungarians of Roman Catholic faith living mostly in the Romanian region of Moldavia , especially in Bacău County . The region where the Csángós live in Moldavia is known as Csángó Land . Their traditional language, Csángó, a Hungarian dialect, is currently used by only a minority of the Csángó population group.

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110-640: Some Csángós also live in Transylvania (around the Ghimeș-Palanca Pass and in the so-called Seven Csángó Villages ) and in the village of Oituz in Northern Dobruja . It has been suggested that the name Csángó is the present participle of a Hungarian verb csángál meaning ' wander, as if going away ' ; purportedly a reference to sibilation , in the pronunciation of some Hungarian consonants by Csángó people. Alternative explanations include

220-464: A bank which was supposed to help peasants to buy lots of 5 hectares (12 acres) from landlords. A law passed on April 12, 1908 banned anyone leasing more than 4,000 ha (9,900 acres) at one time. The events continued to resonate in the Romanian conscience, and were the subject of one of the novels of the interwar period, Răscoala ("The Revolt"), by Liviu Rebreanu , published in 1932. A film based on

330-717: A bishop of the Saxons and the Hungarians, to rebuild the confiscated churches and to strengthen their souls in their beliefs, and his name is Ian Lusenius, and is Polish." After 1562: Notes of the Humanist Johann Sommer about Saxons in Moldavia, from his work about the Life of Jacob-Despot, the Ruler of Moldavia "Despot was unyielding in punishment, especially against the ones who don't respect

440-476: A center for Christian denominations other than Eastern Orthodoxy , the form of Christianity that most Romanians currently follow. As such, there are significant numbers of inhabitants of Transylvania that follow Latin Catholicism and Greek Catholicism , and Protestantism . Even though before 1948, the population of Transylvania split between Eastern Orthodox, Greek Catholic and other forms of Christianity, during

550-512: A certain level. Ion Podea in the "Monograph of Brașov County" of 1938 mentioned that the ethnonym derives from the verb csángodni or ecsángodni and means ' to leave someone or something, to alienate someone or something that has left you ' . This was used by the Szeklers in the case of other Romanized Szeklers from the Ciuc area. In some Hungarian dialects (the one from Transylvanian Plain and

660-543: A figure of "several thousand". Prince Johann of Schönburg-Hartenstein  [ cs ] , the minister plenipotentiary of Austria-Hungary in Bucharest at the time, and also General Averescu estimated the number of dead between 1,000–2,000. According to figures given by Austrian diplomats, between 3,000-5,000 peasants were killed, while the French Embassy mentioned a death toll ranging between 10,000–20,000. Historians put

770-483: A majority in the counties of Covasna (73.6%) and Harghita (84.8%). The Hungarians are also numerous in the following counties: Mureș (37.8%), Satu Mare (34.5%), Bihor (25.2%), and Sălaj (23.2%). Transylvania is rich in mineral resources, notably lignite , iron , lead , manganese , gold , copper , natural gas , salt , and sulfur . Transylvania's GDP (nominal) is $ 194 billion and its GDP per capita measures around $ 28,574. Transylvania's Human Development Index

880-472: A noble stratum or intelligentsia (cf. Kósa 1981) that could have fashioned their consciousness as Hungarians (Halász 1992: 11). They were "saved" (Kósa 1998: 339) from "assimilation" with the Romanians by virtue of their Roman Catholic religion, which distinguished them from the majority Greek Orthodox society. Official Romanian censuses in Moldavia indicate the following: In 2001 the Romanian authorities banned

990-800: A rural and agricultural people, raising stock like sheep and cows and farmed crops such as corn, potatoes, and hemp. They were also often called for military service, protecting the Eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages. Before the Communist era and the collectivization efforts, the Csángós were structured in a traditional society until the introduction of civil code . Village elders were well respected and could be pointed out by their traditionally long hair and beards. Notably, some Csángós also participated in

1100-464: A small part of south-western neighbouring Bukovina to its north east (represented by Suceava County ). Transylvania is known for the scenery of its Carpathian landscape and its rich history, coupled with its multi-cultural character. It also contains Romania's second-largest city, Cluj-Napoca , and other very well preserved medieval iconic cities and towns such as Brașov , Sibiu , Târgu Mureș , Bistrița , Alba Iulia , Mediaș , and Sighișoara . It

1210-626: Is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe , encompassing central Romania . To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains and to the west the Apuseni Mountains . Broader definitions of Transylvania also include the western and northwestern Romanian regions of Crișana and Maramureș , and occasionally Banat . Historical Transylvania also includes small parts of neighbouring Western Moldavia and even

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1320-937: Is also the home of some of Romania's UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Villages with fortified churches , the Historic Centre of Sighișoara , the Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains and the Roșia Montană Mining Cultural Landscape . It was under the rule of the Agathyrsi , part of the Dacian Kingdom (168 BC–106 AD), Roman Dacia (106–271), the Goths , the Hunnic Empire (4th–5th centuries),

1430-408: Is another valuable resource. IT , electronics and automotive industries are important in urban and university centers like Cluj-Napoca ( Robert Bosch GmbH , Emerson Electric ), Timișoara ( Alcatel-Lucent , Flextronics and Continental AG ), Brașov , Sibiu , Oradea and Arad . The cities of Cluj Napoca and Târgu Mureș are connected with a strong medical tradition, and according to

1540-589: Is concerned, in the census of 2002, 4,317 declared themselves Hungarians and 796 declared themselves Csángó in Bacău County, reaching a total of 5,794 out of the county's total population of 706,623. The report of the Council of Europe estimates a Csángó population ranging from 20,000 to as many as 260,000, based in the total Catholic population in the area, which may be an exaggeration as there also are Catholic ethnic Romanians. One plausible explanation for this discrepancy

1650-464: Is not conceivable that these " Romanians " could persist in using a "foreign" language after centuries of living in Romania surrounded by Romanians speaking Romanian. Whatever can be argued about the language of the Csángós there is no doubt that this is a form of Hungarian.– Csango minority culture in Romania , Doc. 9078 from 4 May 2001 The Council of Europe has expressed its concerns about the situation of

1760-681: Is one of the most important cultural centres of Romania and was designated the European Capital of Culture for the year 2007, along with the city of Luxembourg . It was formerly the centre of the Transylvanian Saxon culture and between 1692 and 1791 and 1849–65 was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania . Alba Iulia , a city located on the Mureș River in Alba County, has since

1870-639: Is ranked 0.829, which makes Transylvania the 2nd most developed region in Romania after Bucharest-Ilfov and makes it comparable to countries like the Czech Republic, Poland and Estonia. There are large iron and steel , chemical, and textile industries. Stock raising, agriculture , wine production and fruit growing are important occupations. Agriculture is widespread in the Transylvanian Plateau , including growing cereals, vegetables, viticulture and breeding cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry. Timber

1980-536: Is that many Csángó hide or disguise their true ethnicity. The Council of Europe had in 2001 estimates that put the total number of Csángó-speaking people between 60,000 and 70,000. According to the most recent research executed between 2008 and 2010 by Vilmos Tánczos, famous Hungarian folklorist, there has been a sharp decline in the total number of Csángó-speaking people in Eastern Romania. Tánczos set their number to roughly 43,000 people. Moreover, he found out that

2090-636: Is the largest religion, but other faiths also are present, including Jews and Muslims . Under the Habsburgs , Transylvania served as a place for "religious undesirables". People who arrived in Transylvania included those that did not conform to the Catholic Church and were sent here forcibly, as well as many religious refugees. Transylvania has a long history of religious tolerance, ensured by its religious pluralism. Transylvania has also been (and still is)

2200-647: Is the only university in Europe that has four faculties of theology (Orthodox, Reformed, Roman Catholic, and Greek Catholic). There are also small denominations like Adventism , Jehovah's Witnesses and more. Others Data refers to extended Transylvania (with Banat , Crișana and Maramureș ). 1907 Romanian Peasants%27 Revolt [REDACTED] Kingdom of Romania A peasant revolt ( Romanian : Răscoala țărănească din 1907 ) took place in Romania between 21 February and 5 April 1907. It started in northern Moldavia and, after three weeks in which it

2310-660: The Gesta Hungarorum , the Vlach ( Blacorum, Blacus ) leader Gelou ruled part of Transylvania before the Hungarians arrived. Historians debate whether he was a historical person or an imaginary figure. The gyulas from the seven chieftains of the Hungarians governed Transylvania in the 10th century. King Stephen I of Hungary asserted his claim to rule all lands dominated by Hungarian lords. He personally led his army against his maternal uncle Gyula III and Transylvania became part of

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2420-577: The 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt and fought on behalf of Romania in both world wars. Perugia, 14 November 1234: Pope Gregory IX to Béla IV , king of Hungary "In the Cuman bishopric – as we were informed – is living a people called Vallah and others, Hungarians and Germans as well, who came here from the Hungarian Kingdom." Roman , 13 April 1562: Report of the Habsburg Agent, John Belsius, to

2530-715: The April Laws of 1848. After the failure of the revolution, the March Constitution of Austria decreed that the Principality of Transylvania be a separate crown land entirely independent of Hungary . The separate status of Transylvania ended with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 , and it was reincorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary ( Transleithania ) as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . It

2640-618: The Bran Castle in Brașov County (14th century), and the Hunyad Castle in Hunedoara (15th century). Notable writers such as Emil Cioran , Lucian Blaga , George Coșbuc , Ioan Slavici , Octavian Goga , Liviu Rebreanu , Endre Ady , Elie Wiesel , Elek Benedek and Károly Kós were born in Transylvania. Liviu Rebreanu wrote the novel Ion , which introduces the reader to a depiction of

2750-519: The Carpathian Basin . The First Bulgarian Empire expanded into Southern Transylvania in the 9th century. Smaller Slavic polities were also present, nevertheless they could hardly keep their independence. In the late 9th century, Transylvania was reached and conquered by the Hungarian conquerors . There is an ongoing scholarly debate over the demographics in Transylvania at the time. According to

2860-706: The Carpathian Mountains . The area includes the Transylvanian Plain . Other areas to the west and north are widely considered part of Transylvania; in common reference, the Western border of Transylvania has come to be identified with the present Romanian-Hungarian border, settled in the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, although geographically the two are not identical. Ethnographic areas: Light yellow – historical region of Transylvania Dark yellow – historical regions of Banat , Crișana and Maramureș Grey – historical regions of Wallachia , Moldavia and Dobruja The area of

2970-605: The Centru development region , another six (Bihor, Bistrița-Năsăud, Cluj, Maramureș, Satu Mare, Sălaj) form the Nord-Vest development region , while four (Arad, Caraș-Severin, Hunedoara, Timiș) form the Vest development region . Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the second most populous city in Romania (as of the 2021 census), after the national capital Bucharest , and is the seat of Cluj County . From 1790 to 1848 and from 1861 to 1867, it

3080-642: The European Parliament sent a petition to the European Commission regarding the obstruction of Hungarian language education and the alleged intimidation of Csángó-Hungarian pupils in Valea Mare (Nagypatak). The leader of the High Commission on Minority Affairs responded to the petition of László Tőkés MEP in a written notice that they would warn Romania to secure education in the mother tongue for

3190-582: The Great Union Day (also called Unification Day , ) occurring on December 1, celebrates this event. The holiday was established after the Romanian Revolution , and marks the unification not only of Transylvania but also of the provinces of Banat , Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom . These other provinces had all joined with the Kingdom of Romania a few months earlier. In 1920,

3300-563: The Habsburg monarchy gained possession of Transylvania through the Hungarian crown . After the failure of Rákóczi's War of Independence in 1711, Habsburg control of Transylvania was consolidated, and Hungarian Transylvanian princes were replaced with Habsburg imperial governors. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 , the Hungarian government proclaimed union with Transylvania in

3410-599: The High Middle Ages been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese . Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom and the later Principality of Transylvania . Alba Iulia also has historical importance: after the end of World War I, representatives of the Romanian population of Transylvania gathered in Alba Iulia on 1 December 1918 to proclaim the union of Transylvania with

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3520-590: The Huns , defeated and shattered the Goths, and settled in the area. After the death of Hun King Attila , their empire disintegrated and the Gepids conquered the region in 455, under King Ardaric . For two centuries, the Gepids controlled Transylvania. The Ostrogoths systematically pushed the Gepids out of Pannonia . King Elemund , on the other hand, successfully fought battles against

3630-520: The Jewish population reported Hungarian as their primary language, so they were also counted as ethnically Hungarian in the 1910 census). At the same time, the percentage of the Romanian population decreased from 59.0% to 53.8% and the percentage of the German population decreased from 11.9% to 10.7%, for a total population of 5,262,495. Magyarization policies greatly contributed to this shift. The percentage of

3740-558: The Kingdom of Hungary in 1002. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526 it belonged to the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom , from which the Principality of Transylvania emerged in 1570 by the Treaty of Speyer . During most of the 16th and 17th centuries, the principality was a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire ; however, the principality had dual suzerainty ( Ottoman and Habsburg ). In 1690,

3850-500: The Kingdom of Hungary in 1002. Place names derived from the Hungarian tribes evidence that major Hungarian groups settled in Transylvania from the 950s. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Southeast and Northeast Transylvania was settled by Saxon colonists. In Romanian historiography, Romanians constituted an important part of Transylvania's population even on the eve of the Mongol Invasions . Hungarian historiography claims that

3960-470: The Kingdom of Romania by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. In 1940, Northern Transylvania reverted to Hungary as a result of the Second Vienna Award , but it was returned to Romania after the end of World War II . In popular culture, Transylvania is commonly associated with vampires because of the influence of Bram Stoker 's 1897 novel Dracula and the many subsequent books and films that

4070-550: The Kingdom of Romania . In Transylvania, there are many medieval smaller towns such as Sighișoara , Mediaș , Sebeș , and Bistrița . Official censuses with information on Transylvania's population have been conducted since the 18th century. On May 1, 1784 the Emperor Joseph II called for the first official census of the Habsburg Empire , including Transylvania. The data was published in 1787, and this census showed only

4180-637: The Kingdom of the Gepids (5th–6th centuries), the Avar Khaganate (6th–9th centuries), the Slavs , and the 9th century First Bulgarian Empire . During the late 9th century, Transylvania was reached and conquered by the Hungarian tribes , and Gyula's family from the seven chieftains of the Hungarians ruled it in the 10th century. King Stephen I of Hungary asserted his claim to rule all lands dominated by Hungarian lords. He personally led his army against his maternal uncle Gyula III and Transylvania became part of

4290-507: The Roman Catholic Church . During the last years, some statements identified all Catholics in Bacău County (119.618 persons according to 2002 census) as Csángó. This identification is rejected by most of them, who did identify themselves as Romanians. The name Csángó appeared relatively recently, being used for the first time, in 1780 by Péter Zöld. The name Csángó is used to describe two different ethnic groups: Their music shows

4400-460: The Romanian population and about 60% of them owned small plots, or no land at all, while the large landowners owned more than half of the arable land . The National Liberal Party 's policy to encourage peasant cooperatives was not successful, as many landlords feared the organization of the peasants, preferring to lease to individual peasants rather than to cooperatives. According to Ioan Lahovary ,

4510-400: The Romanian Parliament . The data available to the Prime Minister Dimitrie Sturdza indicated 421 deaths between 28 March and 5 April 1907. Likewise, about 112 were injured and 1,751 detained. Newspapers patronized by Constantin Mille, Adevărul and Dimineața , gave a figure of 12,000–13,000 victims. In a conversation with the British ambassador in Bucharest , King Carol I mentioned

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4620-415: The Székely Land of Eastern Transylvania, and along the newly created border. In August 1940, with the arbitration of Germany and Italy under the Second Vienna Award , Hungary gained Northern Transylvania (including parts of Crișana and Maramureș ), and over 40% of the territory lost in 1920. This award did not solve the nationality problem, as over 1.15–1.3 million Romanians (or 48% to more than 50% of

4730-399: The Treaty of Karlowitz ; however, some anti-Habsburg elements within the principality submitted to the emperor only in the 1711 Peace of Szatmár , when Habsburg control over Principality of Transylvania was consolidated. The Grand Principality of Transylvania was reintroduced 54 years later in 1765. The Hungarian revolution against the Habsburgs started in 1848, and grew into a war for

4840-407: The Treaty of Trianon established new borders and much of the proclaimed territories became part of Romania. Hungary protested against the new state borders, as they did not follow the real ethnic boundaries, for over 1.3 or 1.6 million Hungarian people, representing 25.5 or 31.6% of the Transylvanian population (depending on statistics used), were living on the Romanian side of the border, mainly in

4950-411: The empire came close to the brink of collapse. Thus, the new young emperor Franz Joseph I had to call for Russian help under the Holy Alliance. Czar Nicholas I answered, and sent an army of 200,000 men with 80,000 auxiliary forces. Finally, the joint army of Russian and Austrian forces defeated the Hungarian forces. After the restoration of Habsburg power, Hungary was placed under martial law. Following

5060-407: The ethnic Romanians from Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș backed by the mobilization of Romanian troops , proclaimed Union with Romania on 1 December 1918. The Proclamation of Union of Alba Iulia was adopted by the Deputies of the Romanians from Transylvania and supported one month later by the vote of the Deputies of the Saxons from Transylvania. The national holiday of Romania ,

5170-633: The Army were killed in the revolt: an officer, Lt. I. Nițulescu, killed in Stănești , Giurgiu County , two sergeants and seven soldiers. Four others were injured: an officer, Capt. Grigore Mareș, also wounded in Stănești, two sergeants and a soldier. Seventy-five soldiers of the Fifth Dorobanți Regiment ("Vlașca") appeared before military courts and charged with revolt; 61 were sentenced to hard labor for life and 14 to five years in prison. Many intellectuals, among them Nicolae Iorga , Alexandru Vlahuță , Ion Luca Caragiale , Constantin Stere , Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea , and Radu Rosetti , protested against

5280-635: The Communist Period the Orthodox Church was much more favored by the state which has led to Eastern Orthodoxy being the religion of the majority of Transylvanians. However, among the Hungarian and German minorities only a small part are Eastern Orthodox. The main two religions of the Hungarian minority are Reformed (Calvinism) and Roman Catholicism; among Germans the main religions are Roman Catholicism (slightly over half of Germans in Romania ), followed by Lutheranism and Eastern Orthodox. There are also Pentecostals and Baptists , particularly in Banat and Crișana. Babeș-Bolyai University , located in Cluj-Napoca

5390-421: The Conservative Minister of Domains, a landlord could drive out a peasant refusing to pay his rent, but noted that for driving out a cooperative of 500 peasants, a regiment would be needed and the government may refuse to put it at the landlord's disposal. As such, by the end of 1907, there were only 103 village cooperatives having a membership of 11,118 leasing 37,344 hectares (92,280 acres), most of it leased from

5500-411: The Csángó dialect. At the time of this report's release, the Vatican expressed hope that the Csángós would be able to celebrate Catholic masses in their liturgical language, Csángó. The situation of the Csángó community may be understood by taking into consideration the results of the 2002 census . 1,370 persons declared themselves Csángó. Most of them live in Bacău County , Romania, and belong to

5610-436: The Csángó minority culture, and discussed that the Csángós speak an early form of Hungarian and are associated with ancient traditions, and a great diversity of folk art and culture, which is of exceptional value for Europe. The council also mentioned that (although not everybody agrees on this number) it is thought that between 60,000 and 70,000 people speak the Csángó Hungarian dialect. It has also expressed concerns that despite

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5720-470: The Csángós of Moldavia. According to the final report of the Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania in 2006, the policy of assimilation of the communist regime had serious consequences on the situation of the Csángós in Moldavia. The report noted that the first attempts at forced assimilation of the Csángós date back to the interwar period, with the Catholic Church taking on an important role in this process. Facilitating

5830-454: The Eastern Roman Empire. They were defeated by the Lombards and Avars in 567. In the following years, the Avars took full control over Transylvania, heavily settling the area with Slavic tribes who accepted their suzerainty. The expansion of the Frankish Empire , however, imposed a growing threat on them and their khaganate was crushed in the Avar Wars . The Avars and Slavs, although substantially depleted in number, continued to inhabit

5940-424: The Emperor Ferdinand the First "On the day of the 10th of April, Despot Vodă left Hîrlău (Horlo) to Tîrgul Frumos (Zeplak = Széplak) finally on the 12th to the fortress of Roman (Románváros)" Despot Vodă ordered me to write these: Alexandru Moldoveanul forced all the nations, with no exceptions, to be baptized again and to follow the religion of the Moldavians, taking them away from their own religion, he appointed

6050-443: The Hungarian Army's surrender at Világos (now Șiria , Romania) in 1849, their revolutionary banners were taken to Russia by the Tsarist troops and were kept there both under the Tsarist and Communist systems (in 1940 the Soviet Union offered the banners to the Horthy government). After the Ausgleich of 1867, the Principality of Transylvania was once again abolished. The territory then became part of Transleithania , an addition to

6160-418: The Hungarian lexicon from Transylvania , Bucharest , 1978; The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language , Hungarian Academy Publishing House, Budapest, 1972; The new dictionary of regionalisms , Hungarian Academy Publishing House, Budapest, 1979, the terms csangó , csángó are translated in ' walker ' , ' a person who changes his place ' . The historian Nicolae Iorga stated that

6270-489: The Hungarian word elcsángált , meaning ' wandered away ' , or the phrase csángatta a harangot ' ring the bell ' . The Finnish researcher Yrjö Wichmann believed that probably the name of ceangău (csángó) did not come from a certain Hungarian tribe, but they were called those Transylvanian Szeklers who moved away from their comrades and settled in areas inhabited by Romanians, where they were, both materially and ideologically influenced by them and even Romanized to

6380-425: The Interior and General Alexandru Averescu as Minister of War . On 18 March a state of emergency was declared, and then a general mobilization , with 140,000 soldiers being recruited by 29 March. The Romanian Army began firing on the peasants; thousands of peasants perished and more than 10,000 were arrested. The exact number of peasant deaths is unknown, and even the course of events are not clear, because

6490-514: The Old Kingdom, most notably to Bucharest ). According to the results of the 2011 census , the total population of Transylvania was 6,789,250 inhabitants and the ethnic groups were: Romanians – 70.62%, Hungarians – 17.92%, Roma – 3.99%, Ukrainians – 0.63%, Germans (mostly Transylvanian Saxons and Banat Swabians, but also Zipsers, Sathmar Swabians, or Landlers) – 0.49%, other – 0.77%. Some 378,298 inhabitants (5.58%) have not declared their ethnicity. The ethnic Hungarian population of Transylvania form

6600-404: The Romanian majority has significantly increased since the declaration of the union of Transylvania with Romania after World War I in 1918. The proportion of Hungarians in Transylvania was in steep decline as more of the region's inhabitants moved into urban areas, where the pressure to assimilate and Romanianize was greater. The expropriation of the estates of Magyar magnates , the distribution of

6710-524: The Saxons. In retaliation, the Saxons distributed poems of cruelty and other propaganda characterising the sadistic Vlad III Dracula as a drinker of blood. The earliest known reference to Transylvania appears in a Medieval Latin document of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1078 as ultra silvam , meaning "beyond the forest" ( ultra meaning "beyond" or "on the far side of" and the accusative case of Sylva ( sylvam ) "woods, forest"). Transylvania, with an alternative Latin prepositional prefix, means "on

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6820-403: The Treaty of Trianon, 27 years earlier, thus confirming the return of Northern Transylvania to Romania. From 1947 to 1989, Transylvania, along with the rest of Romania, was under a communist regime . The ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș between ethnic Romanians and Hungarians in March 1990 took place after the fall of the communist regime and became the most notable inter-ethnic incident in

6930-465: The Upper Tisza) csángó , cángó means ' wanderer ' . In connection with this etymological interpretation, the linguist Szilágyi N. Sándor  [ hu ] made an analogy between the verb "to wander" with the ethnonyms " kabars " and " khazars ", which means the same thing. According to the "Dictionary of the Hungarian Language", 1862; The etymological dictionary of the Hungarian language , Budapest 1967; The historical dictionary of

7040-497: The Vlach population entered Transylvania from the Balkans only in the 12th century, and the devastating invasion of Mongols had also as consequence the large-scale immigration by Romanians, however the immigration of Romanians did not happen all at once, the process of settlement stretched over several centuries. After the Battle of Kosovo and Ottoman arrival at the Hungarian border, thousands of Vlach and Serbian refugees came to Transylvania. Between 1002 and 1526, Transylvania

7150-499: The activities of alleged Austro-Hungarian instigators, led the peasants to revolt. The revolt soon spread across most of Moldavia, with several landowners' properties destroyed and many lessors killed or wounded. The Conservative government ( Partidul Conservator ), led by Prime Minister Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino , couldn't handle the situation and resigned, and the Liberals ( Partidul Național-Liberal ) of Dimitrie Sturdza assumed power, with Ion I. C. Brătianu as Minister of

7260-419: The authorities and church, declared at a meeting that they were opposed to the official instruction of Hungarian in Csángó villages. In their opinion the Csángós are of Romanian origin, and sporadic requests for teaching Hungarian at schools reflect not a real parental demand, but Hungarian nationalist ambitions. In the village of Arini (Magyarfalu in Hungarian) the village mayor and the Romanian-only teachers of

7370-419: The characteristic features of Hungarian music and the words of their songs are mostly Hungarian, with some dialect differences. The anthem of the Csángós refers to Csángó Hungarians multiple times. The Csángós did not take part in the language reforms of the Age of Enlightenment, or the bourgeois transformation that created the modern consciousness of nationhood (cf. Halász 1992, Kósa 1998). They did not have

7480-479: The figures between 3,000–18,000, the most common being 11,000 victims. Another assessment of the number of victims was made by Major Gheorghe Dabija  [ ro ] who in February 1910 was appointed by General Grigore C. Crăiniceanu to analyze 32 files that referred to this event. Based on these documents, Dabija drew up a 117-page report which he submitted to the Ministry of War, from which it emerged that 1,786 peasants had been shot. Only ten members of

7590-420: The government, to hide the size of the massacre, ordered the destruction of all documents relating to the uprising. Historian Markus Bauer mentions a greatly underestimated official figure of 419 deaths, while an unofficial figure, circulated by the press and widely accepted, of about 10,000 peasants killed, has never been proven to be true. The same figure of 419 deaths was mentioned by Ion I. C. Brătianu in

7700-1114: The historical Voivodeship is 55,146 km (21,292 sq mi). The regions granted to Romania in 1920 covered 23 counties including nearly 102,200 km (39,460 sq mi) (102,787–103,093 km in Hungarian sources and 102,282 km in contemporary Romanian documents). Nowadays, several administrative reorganisations make the territory cover 16 counties ( Romanian : județ ), with an area of 100,290 km (38,722 sq mi), in central and northwest Romania. The 16 counties are: Alba , Arad , Bihor , Bistrița-Năsăud , Brașov , Caraș-Severin , Cluj , Covasna , Harghita , Hunedoara , Maramureș , Mureș , Sălaj , Satu Mare , Sibiu , and Timiș . Transylvania contains both largely urban counties, such as Brașov and Hunedoara counties, as well as largely rural ones, such as Bistrița-Năsăud and Sălaj counties. Since 1998, Romania has been divided into eight development regions , acting as divisions that coordinate and implement socio-economic development at regional level. Six counties (Alba, Brașov, Covasna, Harghita, Mureș and Sibiu) form

7810-434: The lands to the Romanian peasants, and the policy of cultural Romanianization that followed the Treaty of Trianon were major causes of friction between Hungary and Romania. Other factors include the emigration of non-Romanian peoples, assimilation and internal migration within Romania (estimates show that between 1945 and 1977, some 630,000 people moved from the Old Kingdom to Transylvania, and 280,000 from Transylvania to

7920-469: The leases of the local peasants. Fischer used to lease about 75% of the arable land in three Romanian counties in Moldavia (the so-called "Fischerland"). The peasants, fearing that they would remain without work and, more importantly, without food, began to act violently. Scared, Fischer fled to a friend in Cernăuți , leaving the peasants without signed contracts. The fear of remaining out of work, combined with

8030-653: The life of Romanian peasants and intellectuals of Transylvania at the turn of the 20th century. Károly Kós was one of the most important writers supporting the movement of Transylvanianism . Transylvania has a very rich and unique religious history. Since the Protestant Reformation , different Christian denominations have coexisted in this religious melting pot, including Romanian Orthodox , other Eastern Orthodox , Latin Catholic and Romanian Greek Catholic , Lutheran , Reformed , and Unitarian branches. Christianity

8140-575: The loss of the linguistic identity of the Csángós allowed the Catholic Church to stop their assimilation into the Orthodox Church, and as a result of these policies, the Csángós did not benefit from religious services and education in their mother tongue. It is difficult to estimate the exact number of the Csángós because of the elusive nature and multiple factors (ethnicity, religion and language) of Csángó identity. As far as ethnic identification

8250-891: The most archaic version of Csángó language, the Northern Csángó was known and regularly used by only some 4,000 people, exclusively the older generation above the age of 50. It can be said, therefore, that the Csángó Hungarian dialect is at high risk of extinction. In fact, when applying the UNESCO Framework to measure language vitality, this dialect fits the category of "Severely Endangered". Transylvania Transylvania ( Romanian : Transilvania [transilˈvani.a] or Ardeal ; or Hungarian : Erdély [ˈɛrdeːj] ; German : Siebenbürgen [ˌziːbm̩ˈbʏʁɡn̩] or Transsilvanien , historically Überwald ; Transylvanian Saxon : Siweberjen )

8360-692: The newly established Austro-Hungarian Empire . Romanian intellectuals issued the Blaj Pronouncement in protest. The region was the site of an important battle during World War I, which caused the replacement of the German Chief of Staff, temporarily ceased German offensives on all the other fronts and created a unified Central Powers command under the German Kaiser. Following defeat in World War I , Austria-Hungary disintegrated. Elected representatives of

8470-527: The other side of the woods". The Medieval Latin form Ultrasylvania , later Transylvania , was a direct translation from the Hungarian form Erdő-elve , later Erdély , from which also the Romanian name, Ardeal , comes. That also was used as an alternative name in German überwald ("beyond the forest") (13th–14th centuries) and Ukrainian Залісся ( Zalissia ). Historical names of Transylvania are: The first known civilization to inhabit

8580-426: The overall population (1,440,986 inhabitants). Fényes Elek , a 19th-century Hungarian statistician, estimated in 1842 that in the population of Transylvania for the years 1830–1840 the majority were 62.3% Romanians and 23.3% Hungarians . In the last quarter of the 19th century, the Hungarian population of Transylvania increased from 24.9% in 1869 to 31.6%, as indicated in the 1910 Hungarian census (the majority of

8690-698: The population of the ceded territory) remained in Northern Transylvania while 0.36–0.8 million Hungarians (or 11% to more than 20% of the population) continued to reside in Southern Transylvania . The Second Vienna Award was voided on 12 September 1944 by the Allied Commission through the Armistice Agreement with Romania (Article 19), and the 1947 Treaty of Paris reaffirmed the borders between Romania and Hungary as originally defined in

8800-552: The post-communist era. The Transylvanian Plateau , 300 to 500 metres (980–1,640 feet) high, is drained by the Mureș , Someș , Criș , and Olt rivers, as well as other tributaries of the Danube . This core of historical Transylvania roughly corresponds with nine counties of modern Romania. The plateau is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern , Southern and Romanian Western branches of

8910-498: The process. The 1864 land reforms gave the peasants full ownership rights for part of the land for which they previously had only the right to use. However, the peasants remained even after these reforms dependent on the local landlords. Additionally, the peasant population was rising fast, leading to rapidly shrinking properties: from an average family property of 3.42 hectares (8.5 acres) in 1896 down to 3.27 ha (8.1 acres) in 1905 and 3.06 ha (7.6 acres) in 1907. The state

9020-452: The provisions of the Romanian law on education, and repeated requests from parents there is no teaching of the Csángó language in the Csángó villages, and, as a consequence, very few Csángós are able to write in their mother tongue. The document also discussed that the Csángós make no political demands, but merely want to be recognized as a distinct culture and demand education and church services in

9130-454: The region was divided during the war) was crucial to the Romanian defense industry. Transylvanian factories built until 1945 over 1,000 warplanes and over 1,000 artillery pieces of all types, among others . The culture of Transylvania is complex because of its varied history and longstanding multiculturalism, which has incorporated significant Hungarian (see Hungarians in Romania ) and German (see Germans of Romania ) influences. The region

9240-564: The revolt was initially put on Jewish intermediaries, given that many of the lessors were of Jewish background, especially in Northern Moldavia. The revolt quickly spread southward, losing some of its anti-Semitic character and becoming basically a protest against the existing system of land tenure. The revolt began on the lands administered by one lessor, Mochi Fischer, in the village of Flămânzi by Trifan Roman Grosu , Ion Dolhescu , and Grigore Roman , due to Fischer's refusal to renew

9350-442: The revolt. The government also began enacting a series of reforms in order to provide some relief to the peasantry, but without expropriating the landlords. The December 23, 1907 law on agricultural contracts limited the degree to which the peasants could be exploited by the landlords and lessors: it set maximum prices for land leases, it set minimum wages for peasants working on landlords' estates and it established Casa Rurală ,

9460-419: The same classifications top performance hospitals exist there. Native brands include: Roman of Brașov (trucks and buses), Azomureș of Târgu Mureș (fertilizers), Terapia of Cluj-Napoca (pharmaceuticals), Banca Transilvania of Cluj-Napoca (finance), Romgaz and Transgaz of Mediaș (natural gas), Jidvei of Alba county (alcoholic beverages), Timișoreana of Timișoara (alcoholic beverages),

9570-685: The sanctity of marriage, -according to the habit of those people-: this habit was copied by the Hungarians and Saxons living here, in this country (Moldavia). He started to build a school in Cotnari, which is mostly inhabited by Hungarians and Saxons ." Iași, 14 January 1587: Bartolomeo Brutti's letter to Annibal de Capua "These Franciscans are very few and they speak neither German, nor Hungarian, so they can't take spiritual care of these catholics, 15000 in number. Roman 1588: The First Jesuit Mission in Moldavia: Written by Stanislaw Warszewicki "In

9680-489: The self-identity of the Csángós was based on the Roman Catholic religion and the Hungarian language spoken in the family. It is generally accepted by serious scholars (Hungarian but also Romanian) that the Csángós have a Hungarian origin, and that they arrived in Moldavia from the west. Some Romanian authors claim that the Csángós are in fact "Magyarised" Romanians from Transylvania . This theory has also to be dismissed; it

9790-547: The state owned Cugir Arms Factory , and others. The Jiu Valley , located in the south of Hunedoara County , has been a major mining area throughout the second half of the 19th century and the 20th century, but many mines were closed down in the years following the collapse of the communist regime, forcing the region to diversify its economy. During the Second World War, Transylvania (the Southern/Romanian half, as

9900-433: The state school, filed a complaint with the local police about the "unlawful teaching activities" of Gergely Csoma. Csoma teaches Hungarian as an extracurricular activity to the children of Arini. Following the complaint, the local police started what Csángó activists have described as an intimidation campaign among the mothers of those children who are studying their maternal language with the said teacher. In 2008 members of

10010-448: The state. By 1900, most large landowners preferred to live in the cities and did not want to bother with the administration of their properties. Therefore, the peasants no longer leased directly from the landowner, but sub-leased it from an intermediary lessor ( arendaș , or Arendators ). The fall of the price of grain on the world markets meant that the lessors would demand ever greater rents in order to make ends meet. The blame for

10120-584: The story has inspired. Many Transylvanian Saxons were furious with Vlad the Impaler for strengthening the borders of Wallachia , which interfered with their control of trade routes, and his extreme sadism and barbarity, which by a collection of credible historical accounts of diverse origins, most of which were non-Saxon, led to the industrial-scale execution of over 100,000 people by impaling, some of whom were Saxons. The victims were often arranged in grotesque displays intended to terrorize various groups, including

10230-769: The suzerainty of the Habsburg emperor Leopold I , and the region was officially attached to the Habsburg Empire. The Habsburgs acknowledged the Principality of Transylvania as one of the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen , but the territory of the principality was administratively separated from Habsburg Hungary, and subjected to the direct rule of the emperor's governors. In 1699 the Ottomans legally acknowledged their loss of Transylvania in

10340-457: The teaching of the Hungarian language in private houses in the village of Cleja , despite the recommendation of the Council of Europe. From 1990, parents in Cleja , Pustiana and Lespezi requested several times that their children have the opportunity of learning the Hungarian language at school, either as an optional language, or as their native language, in 1-4 lessons a week. At best their petition

10450-460: The term comes from șalgăi ( șálgó , with the variants derived from the Hungarian sóvágó meaning ' salt cutter ' ), name given to the Szekler workers at Târgu Ocna mine . A theory of the historian Antal Horger relates that the ceangău comes from czammog , which refers to a shepherd who walks with the bludgeon after the herds. Another hypothesis of Bernát Munkácsi explains that

10560-562: The term comes from the verb csángani which in Ciuc County means ' to mix ' . The Hungarian and the international literature in this subject unanimously agree that the Csángós are of Hungarian origin, with varying assimilated elements of Romanian, German, Polish, Italian and Gypsy origin. Hungarian origins include a mixture of Turkic ( Cumans , Pannonian Avars , Khazars , Pechenegs , Székelys ), original Hungarian, German and Alan populations. The Csángós had historically been

10670-524: The territory was the Agathyrsi , of the Scythic cultures . From the 4th century BC, Celtic La Tène culture came to domination. The indigenous Dacian tribes engaged in politics from the 1st century BC and united under King Burebista , forming their kingdom Dacia . The Roman Empire made heavy efforts to seize the territory from King Decebalus , resulting in the formation of Roman Dacia in 106, after Trajan 's costly and bloody wars . During Roman rule,

10780-465: The territory, depleted of its indigenous population, was repopulated with Latin colonists and its rich resource stock was systematically exploited. However, the growing threat of East Germanic and Carpic invasions made Emperor Aurelian withdraw his legions and evacuate the citizens south of the Lower Danube in 275, when the province became occupied by the Goths . In 376, a powerful nomadic people,

10890-481: The theory of Daco-Roman continuity, Romanians continuously lived on the territory. Opponents of that hypothesis point to the lack of written, archaeological and linguistic evidence to support it. Hungarian medieval chronicles claimed that the Székely people descended from the Huns , who remained in Transylvania, and later, in combination with the returning Hungarians , conquered the Carpathian Basin . According to

11000-550: The total independence of the Kingdom of Hungary from the Habsburg dynasty . Julius Jacob von Haynau , the leader of the Austrian army, was appointed plenipotentiary to restore order in Hungary after the conflict. He ordered the execution of The 13 Hungarian Martyrs of Arad , and Prime Minister Batthyány was executed the same day in Pest . After a series of serious Austrian defeats in 1849,

11110-472: The treaty. The Principality of Transylvania continued to be part of the Kingdom of Hungary in the sense of public law, which stressed in a highly significant way that John Sigismund's possessions belonged to the Holy Crown of Hungary and he was not permitted to alienate them. The Habsburgs acquired the territory shortly after the Battle of Vienna in 1683. In 1687, the rulers of Transylvania recognized

11220-558: The violent intervention of the forces of repression. Others emphasized that the government had a special responsibility for the fate of the peasantry and the country in general, and therefore an urgent solution to the "peasant question" was required. The Liberal government began a campaign to repress any kind of political organization of the peasants. Many teachers, priests and other countryside intellectuals were arrested, as were pro- universal suffrage activists Vasile M. Kogălniceanu and Alexandru Vălescu, who were regarded as instigators of

11330-578: The whole region in 15 towns and in all the neighborhood villages there are Hungarians and Saxons , but most of them don't know how to read, don't even recognize the letters." Munich Codex : Hussite translation of the New Testament to Hungarian dated in the text in 1466 in Moldavia Hungarian edition (text original Old Hungarian with modernized script, foreword, introduction in modern Hungarian, dictionary in German and Hungarian). For centuries,

11440-437: Was also a big landholder; however, its policies for selling the land often did not favor poorer peasants, who were in the greatest need for land. Needing to supplement their shrinking properties, the peasants were forced to use land owned by the landlords, who owned large estates. As population grew, the peasants became more and more desperate for land, leading to rapidly rising rents. At that time, peasants formed up to 80% of

11550-543: Was also during this period that Romanians experienced the awakening of self-consciousness as a nation, manifested in cultural and ideological movements such as Transylvanian School , and drafted political petitions such as Supplex Libellus Valachorum . After World War I , the National Assembly of Romanians from Transylvania proclaimed the Union of Transylvania with Romania on 1 December 1918, and Transylvania became part of

11660-565: Was localized in that area, it quickly spread, reaching Wallachia , including as far as Oltenia . The main cause was the discontent of the peasants over the inequity of land ownership, which was mostly in the hands of just a few large landowners. Following the fall of the Conservative Party government on March 12, the new Liberal government crushed the revolt violently with the help of the Romanian Army , killing thousands of peasants in

11770-481: Was part of the Kingdom of Hungary , led by a voivode appointed by the King of Hungary . After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Transylvania became part of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom . Later, in 1570, the kingdom became the Principality of Transylvania by the Treaty of Speyer , which was ruled primarily by Calvinist Hungarian princes . The Eastern Hungarian king became the first prince of Transylvania , according to

11880-400: Was registered, but in most cases it was ignored. Seeing the possibility of organizing Hungarian courses outside school, they gave up the humiliating process of writing requests without results. The MCSMSZ maintains its standpoint according to which the community should claim their legal rights, but the population is not so determined. Leaders of the school inspectorate in Bacău County, as well as

11990-643: Was the birthplace of the Transylvanian School movement, its members, namely Samuil Micu-Klein , Petru Maior , and Gheorghe Șincai , being responsible for the early version of Romanian alphabet . With regard to architecture, the Transylvanian Gothic style is preserved to this day in monuments such as the Black Church in Brașov (14th and 15th centuries) and a number of other cathedrals , as well as

12100-524: Was the official capital of the Grand Principality of Transylvania . Brașov is an important tourist destination, being the largest city in a mountain resorts area, and a central location, suitable for exploring Romania, with the distances to several tourist destinations (including the Black Sea resorts, the monasteries in northern Moldavia , and the wooden churches of Maramureș ) being similar. Sibiu

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