Ciuc County is a historical county ( Romanian: ''

județ A (, plural ) is an administrative division in Romania, and was also used from 1940 to 1947 in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and from 1998 to 2003 in Moldova. There are 41 in Romania, divided into municipii (municipalities), ''ora ...

'') in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. Its capital was Miercurea Ciuc. Its name was derived from the former county of the Kingdom of Hungary, Csík.

History

Prior to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the territory of the county belonged to

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

and was identical with the

Csík County Csík (Hungarian, in Romanian: ''Ciuc'') was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (eastern Transylvania). The capital of the county was Csíkszere ...

of 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 ...

. The territory of Ciuc County was transferred to Romania from Hungary as successor state to Austria-Hungary in 1920 under 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 ...

. After the administrative unification law in 1925, the name of the county remained as it was, but the territory was reorganized. In 1938, King Carol II promulgated a new

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, and subsequently he had the administrative division of the Romanian territory changed. 10 ''ținuturi'' (approximate translation: "lands") were created (by merging the counties) to be ruled by ''rezidenți regali'' (approximate translation: "Royal Residents") - appointed directly by the King - instead of the

prefects Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

. Ciuc County became part of Ținutul Mureș. In 1940, the county was transferred back to Hungary with the rest of

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 ...

under 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 ...

. Beginning in 1944, Romanian forces with Soviet assistance recaptured the ceded territory and reintegrated it into Romania, re-establishing the county. Romanian jurisdiction over the county per the Treaty of Trianon was reaffirmed in the

Paris Peace Treaties, 1947 The Paris Peace Treaties () were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (principally the United Kingdom, ...

. The county was disestablished by the communist government of Romania in 1950, and not re-established in 1968 when Romania restored the county administrative system.

Geography

Ciuc County covered 4,993 km² and was located in central part of

Greater Romania Greater Romania () is the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union or the related pan-nationalist ideal of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers.Irina LivezeanuCultural Politics in Greate ...

, in the eastern part of

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 ...

. Currently, the territory that comprised Ciuc County is now part of

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 ...

. After 1925, the county neighbored Odorhei County to the west,

Mureș County Mureș County (, , ) is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative reor ...

to the north,

Neamț County Neamț County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historic region of Moldavia, with the county seat at Piatra Neamț. The county takes its name from the Neamț River. Demographics Population In 2011, it had a population of 470,766 ...

and

Bacău County Bacău County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania. Geography This county has a total area of . In the western part of the county there a ...

to the east, and

Trei Scaune County Trei Scaune County is one of the historical counties of the Kingdom of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. The county seat was Sfântu Gheorghe. Geography The county covered and was located in the central part of Greater Romania, ...

to the south.

Administrative organization

Administratively, Ciuc County was originally divided into four districts ('' plăși''):Portretul României Interbelice - Județul Ciuc
/ref> #Plasa Centrală, headquartered at Miercurea Ciuc #Plasa Frumoasa, headquartered at Frumoasa #Plasa Gheorgheni, headquartered at

Gheorgheni Gheorgheni (; ) is a Municipiu, city in Harghita County, Romania, with a population of 15,844, as of 2021. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The city administers four villages: Covacipeter (''Kovács ...

#Plasa Sân-Mărtin, headquartered at Sân-Mărtin Subsequently, a fifth district was created:

Plasa Tulgheș, headquartered at Tulgheș

Population

According to the Romanian census of 1930 the population of Ciuc County was 145,806, of which 82.7% were ethnic

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 ...

, 14.4% ethnic

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, and 1.6%

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 130-133 Classified by religion: 81.3% were

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 13.8%

Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...

, 1.7%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, 1.9%

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

(Calivinist), and 1.3% Orthodox Christian.Recensământul general al populației României din 29 decemvrie 1930, Vol. II, pag. 586-587

Urban population

In 1930 the urban population of Ciuc County was 15,162, which included 83.8% Hungarians, 8.1% Romanians, and 5.6% Jews by ethnicity. The religious mix of the urban population was 78.9% Roman Catholic, 5.9% Jewish, 4.5% Greek-Catholic, 4.2% Reformed, 4.0% Eastern Orthodox, and 1.2%

Armenian Catholic Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

References

External links

*
Ciuc County on memoria.ro
{{coord missing, Romania Former counties of Romania Geography of Transylvania 1925 establishments in Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania 1944 establishments in Romania 1950 disestablishments in Romania States and territories established in 1925 States and territories disestablished in 1938 States and territories established in 1944 States and territories disestablished in 1950