Șimonești (, ) is a commune in

Harghita County Harghita County (, and , ) is a county () in the center of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Miercurea Ciuc. Demographics 2002 census In 2002, Harghita County had a population of 326,222 and a population density of ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It lies in the

Székely Land The Székely Land or Szeklerland (, , Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: 𐲥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗𐳌𐳞𐳖𐳇; and sometimes ; ; ) is a historic and ethnographic area in present-day Romania, inhabited mainly by Székelys, a subgroup of Hung ...

, an ethno-cultural region in eastern

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Component villages

The commune is composed of fourteen villages:

History

The villages were historically part of the

area of

. Mózes Székely, prince of Transylvania, had the center of his estates here. The villages belonged to Udvarhelyszék district until the administrative reform of Transylvania in 1876, when they fell within Udvarhely County in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. After the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

of 1920, they became part of

and fell within Odorhei County during the interwar period. In 1940, the

second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...

granted the

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania (, ) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1946), Kingdom ...

to Hungary and they were held by Hungary until 1944. After Soviet occupation, the Romanian administration returned and the villages became officially part of Romania in 1947. Between 1952 and 1960, the commune fell within the

Magyar Autonomous Region The Magyar Autonomous Region (1952–1960) (; ) and Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region (1960–1968) were autonomous Regions of the People's Republic of Romania, regions in the Romanian People's Republic (later the Socialist Republic of Romania). H ...

, between 1960 and 1968 the Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region. In 1968, the province was abolished, and since then, the commune has been part of Harghita County.

Nicoleni

The village, populated by Unitarian Hungarians, was first mentioned in a tithe list from 1332. In terms of religious affiliations, it belonged to the Unitarian part of Udvarhelyszék. The original church was destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century, and the new church was built in a different place in the centre of the village.

Rugănești

Rugănești is a Székely village, next to

Cristuru Secuiesc Cristuru Secuiesc (; , ) is a town in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The town administers two villages: Betești (''Betfalva''), part of Mugeni until 2004, and Filiaș (' ...

on the Nyikó creek. It is populated by Hungarian

Calvinists Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

and Unitarians. It has a Gothic Calvinist Church with a few remaining Gothic

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s painted before the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

which were uncovered in the 20th century.

Demographics

The commune has an absolute Székely ( Hungarian) majority. According to the 2002 census it has a population of 3,738 of which 99.11% or 3,705 are

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

.Romanian Census 2002
retrieved on July 16, 2010 Josephinische Landaufnahme pg177

Image gallery

file:szentmiklos.jpg, Unitarian church (Nicoleni) file:rugonfalva2.jpg, Reformed church Interior (Rugănești) file:rugonfalva1.jpg, Reformed church mural file:rugonfalva3.jpg, Reformed church mural file:rugonfalva4.jpg, Hungarian runes

References

Székely communities Communes in Harghita County Localities in Transylvania {{Communes of Harghita County