Lăzarea

For the river in Harghita County, seeLăzarea (river).

Lăzarea Gyergyószárhegy
Commune
TheLázár Castle
Coat of arms
Location in Harghita County
Lăzarea Location in Romania
Coordinates:46°45′N25°32′E
Country	Romania
County	Harghita
Government
• Mayor(2020–2024)	Ervin Danguly(Ind.)
Area	80.88 km2(31.23 sq mi)
Elevation	777 m (2,549 ft)
Population (2021-12-01)	3,313
• Density	41/km2(110/sq mi)
Time zone	EET/EEST(UTC+2/+3)
Postal code	537135
Area code	+40 266
Vehicle reg.	HR
Website	www.lazarea.ro

Lăzarea(Hungarian:Gyergyószárhegyor colloquiallySzárhegy,Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈɟɛrɟoːsaːrhɛɟ],meaningBald Mountain inGyergyó) is a commune inHarghita County,Romania.It lies in theSzékely Land,an ethno-cultural region in easternTransylvania,and is composed of two villages, Ghiduț (Güdüc) and Lăzarea.

The commune is one of the oldest settlements in the area, and is now a tourist and cultural centre. It has various local attractions, including theLázár Castle(1450).It is located in the central-north part of the county, at the foot of theCăliman-Harghita Mountains,on the banks of the riverLăzarea.

History

Roman Catholic church

The history of the village is closely interwoven with that of the Lázár family.

Its first written mention is from 1482 when a certain Erzsébet Bíró of Kide warned aSzékelynamed Lázár ofZarheghand Péter Szilvási to beware of disposing of the estate of Kide to which she was entitled under the title of bride price and dower. In 1576, its name was recorded asSzárhegy,in 1888 asGyergyó-Szárhegy.Its original Romanian name derived from the Hungarian Gyergyószárhegy asGiugeu-Sarheghiwhich was modified to the current official name after 1918.

The commune belonged administratively to the Székely seat ofGyergyószék,subsequently absorbed intoCsíkszékdistrict, until the administrative reform of Transylvania in 1876, when it fell withinCsík Countyin theKingdom of Hungary.In the aftermath ofWorld War Iand theHungarian–Romanian Warof 1918–1919, the village passed under Romanian administration; after theTreaty of Trianonof 1920, like the rest of Transylvania, it became part of theKingdom of Romania.During theinterwar periodit fell withinPlasaGheorgheni ofCiuc County.In 1940, theSecond Vienna AwardgrantedNorthern Transylvaniato Hungary and the village was held by Hungary until 1944. After Soviet occupation, the Romanian administration returned and the village became officially part of Romania in March 1945. Between 1952 and 1960, the commune belonged to the Ciucraionof theMagyar Autonomous Region,and between 1960 and 1968 to the Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region. In 1968, the province was abolished, and since then, the commune has been part of Harghita County.

Demographics

The commune has an absoluteSzékely(Hungarian) majority. According to the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,424, of which 96.38% areHungariansand 1.14% areRomanians.

The Lázár Castle

TheLázár Castlewas built between 1450 and 1532 in several stages. In the late 16th century, Druzsina, daughter of István Lázár married FarkasBethlen de Iktár,and to this marriage was born the futurePrince of TransylvaniaGabriel Bethlen.He was brought up in the castle and his upstairs room in the gate tower can still be seen unto this day. In 1631, the castle was expanded and altered into a magnificent Renaissance manor house, towers and curtain walls were also built. It became one of the important military and administrative centers of the Székely Land. On September 6, 1658, a team of Szeklers led by a student named Gábor Székely defeated the invadingTatarsandMoldavians.The dead were buried on a hill below the village, which is called until todayTatarhill.A plaque was put up in 1908 in memory of the battle. The Szekely Land was often hit byOttomaninvasions and on one occasion, the castle was seriously damaged. During theHungarian War of IndependenceofFerenc II Rákóczi,Ferenc Lázár supported the operations of thekuructroops. In 1707, when the imperial army marched into Transylvania, Ferenc Lázár had to flee to theCsángósin Moldavia. Imperial general Acton set fire to the castle and only a bastion remained intact. After thePeace of Szatmár,Ferenc Lazár pledged allegiance to theHabsburgEmperor and thus was able to keep his estates. When the castle was burned down again in 1748, the family, was not able any more to restore all parts of it, and what was restored was made partly from donations of the villagers. Finally in 1842, it was almost completely destroyed by another fire. In the 19th century, the financial status of the Lázár family started to deteriorate and only the gate tower remained suitable for habitation. After the last Lázár heir, Zsigmond and his wife, left the castle in 1853, it fell even further into decay.

Nowadays, much of the castle has been renovated. Renovation of the Renaissance murals started in 1987 with the help ofUNESCO.

Landmarks

Franciscan monastery

• TheLázár Castle
• TheFranciscan monastery
• TheRoman Catholic parish church
• The Saint Anthony chapel
• The "Sculpture Park"

Transportation

The Lăzarea railway station serves theCăile Ferate RomâneLine 400,which runs fromBrașovtoSatu Mare.

Notable people

• Johannes Caioni(1629–1687), Transylvanian Franciscan friar, architect, musician, and humanist who lived and worked in the village.
• János Koós(1937–2019}, Hungarian singer and actor was born here.

Twinnings

The commune is twinned with:

• Dombóvár,Hungary
• Halászszentlászló,Hungary
• Kemecse,Hungary
• Mátraderecske,Hungary
• Móricgát,Hungary
• Nagybajom,Hungary
• Őcsény,Hungary
• Trois-Ponts,Belgium
• Vecsés,Hungary

External links

• "János Kájoni Children's Home"(in Hungarian).