Frumoasa, Harghita

Frumoasa (Hungarian: Szépvíz or Csíkszépvíz, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈtʃiːkseːpviːz]) is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania.

Frumoasa Csíkszépvíz
Commune
View from the reservoir
Location in Harghita County
Frumoasa Location in Romania
Coordinates: 46°27′N 25°51′E
Country	Romania
County	Harghita
Government
• Mayor	Tibor Ferencz[1] (UDMR)
Area	84.06 km^2 (32.46 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]	3,682
• Density	44/km^2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Postal code	537115
Area code	+40 266
Vehicle reg.	HR
Website	www.szepviz.eu

Component villages

The commune is composed of four villages:

In Romanian	In Hungarian
Bârzava	Csíkborzsova
Făgețel	Bükkloka
Frumoasa	Csíkszépvíz
Nicolești	Csíkszentmiklós

History

Statue of King Ladislaus I of Hungary on the main square

The first written mention of the village is from 1567 as Zepwyz. In 1602 it was recorded as Szépviz ("beautiful water"). Its original Romanian name derived from the Hungarian toponym as Ciuc-Sepviz which was Romanianized to its current official name in 1919.[3]

According to tradition, the village's original name was Szépmező. According to Balázs Orbán, it was founded during the reign of László I as a community of border guards for the defense of the Ghimeṣ pass, on the eastern border of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Roman Catholic chapel was built before 1694 by the Bíró family. The Roman Catholic church was built in 1892.

The village administratively belonged to Csíkszék, then, from 1876 until 1918 to the Csík County in the Kingdom of Hungary. After World War I, by the terms of the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, it became part of Romania. As a result of the Second Vienna Award, it belonged to Hungary again between 1940 and 1944. After World War II, it came under Romanian administration and became part of Romania in 1947. Between 1952 and 1960, it formed part of the Hungarian Autonomous Province; it then formed part of the Mureș-Hungarian Autonomous Province until it was abolished in 1968. Since then, the commune has been part of Harghita County.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, the commune had a population of 3,682; out of them, 94% were Hungarian, 2.3% were Romanian and 1.7% were Roma.[4]

The village of Făgățel has a significant population of ethnic Romanians, numbering 64 of the village's 130 inhabitants.

Tourist attractions

• Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church
• 'Snowy' Virgin Mary Catholic Parish Church
• Ruins of the St. Ladislaus Gothic chapel on Pagan Mountain
• Biró-Chapel (Craftsmen's Chapel)
• Ski track

Twin cities

• Újkígyós, Hungary

Gallery

• 
  As "Szép Víz" on 18th century map (Josephine Land Survey)
• 
  The reservoir
• 
  The reservoir
• 
  View of Făgeţel (Bükkloka)
• 
  Saint Ladislaus Church

References

1. (in Romanian) alegeri.tv - Alegeri locale 2012 - Rezultate alegeri Primăria Frumoasa, judeţul Harghita Archived 19 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved on 26 March 2013
2. "Populaţia stabilă pe judeţe, municipii, oraşe şi localităti componenete la RPL_2011" (in Romanian). National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
3. János András Vistai. "Tekintő – Erdélyi Helynévkönyv". Missing or empty |url= (help)Transylvanian Toponym Book Archived 10 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
4. Tab8. Populaţia stabilă după etnie – judeţe, municipii, oraşe, comune, 2011 census results, Institutul Național de Statistică, accessed 20 February 2020.