Joseni Gyergyóalfalu | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Location in Harghita County | |
  Joseni Location in Romania | |
| Coordinates:46°42′N25°30′E / 46.700°N 25.500°E /46.700; 25.500 | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Harghita |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2024) | Szabolcs Gáll[2] (UDMR) |
Area | 224.01 km2 (86.49 sq mi) |
| Population (2021-12-01)[1] | 5,268 |
| • Density | 23.52/km2 (60.91/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 537130 |
| Area code | +40 266 |
| Vehicle reg. | HR |
| Website | gyergyoalfalu |
Joseni (Hungarian:Gyergyóalfalu,Hungarian pronunciation:[ɟɛrɟoːɒlfɒlu], meaning "Lower Village inGyergyó") is a commune inHarghita County,Romania. It lies in theSzékely Land, an ethno-cultural region in easternTransylvania, and is composed of three villages:
The first written mention of the commune is from 1567 asAlffalw. In 1614, it was recorded thatAlfalu had 104 families. In 1724, it was already mentioned asGyergyó Alfalu. Its Romanian name wasAlfalău until 1919[3] and was derived from the Hungarian form.
In 1567, it was the local priest Stephen who mobilized the Székelys against kingJohn Sigismund who attempted to force Roman Catholic Székelys to convert to Protestantism. In memory of the role that the village played in the Székely resistance, pilgrims from the village lead the procession on occasion of the yearlyCsíksomlyó pilgrimages.
The villages belonged first to the Székely seat ofGyergyószék, which was subsequently absorbed intoCsíkszék district, until the administrative reform of Transylvania in 1876, when they fell withinCsík County in theKingdom of Hungary. After theTreaty of Trianon of 1920, they became part ofRomania and fell within Ciuc County during the interwar period. In 1940, the second Vienna Award granted the Northern Transylvania to Hungary and the villages were held by Hungary until 1944. After Soviet occupation, the Romanian administration returned and the commune became officially part of Romania in 1947. Between 1952 and 1960, the commune fell within theHungarian Autonomous Province, between 1960 and 1968 the Mureș-Hungarian Autonomous Province. In 1968, the province was abolished, and since then, the commune has been part of Harghita County
The commune has an absoluteSzékely (Hungarian) majority. According to the 2011 census it has a population of 5,475; of which 98.17% or 5,375 areethnic Hungarians.
The Roman Catholic Church was built in the honour ofSaint Simon the Zealot,Saint Judas Thaddaeus andMargaret the Virgin. It probably dates to the 13th century as its stone gate bears the number 1213. At the right hand-side from its entrance, a flagpole base can be seen which was raised in 1942 by villagers living in Budapest.
Its inscriptions reads:Man, think in thy heart that this land has always been and always will be Székely Land.
In the church garden, the monument for World War I and World War II heroes and the statue of priest Stephen can be found.
The commune is twinned with:[4]
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|url= (help)Transylvanian Toponym BookArchived 2011-07-10 at theWayback Machine
Localities which belonged to the First Székely Infantry Regiment from 1762 till 1851 | ||
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