Vâlcele (Covasna)

Vâlcele old spelling Vîlcele [ vɨlˈt͡ʃele ] (outdated Vălcele or Elepatac ; Hungarian Előpatak ) is a municipality in Covasna County , in the Transylvania region in Romania . The seat of the municipality is the place Araci ( German Arendorf , Hungarian Árapatak ).

Geographical location

Location of the municipality of Vâlcele in Covasna county

The municipality of Vâlcele is located east of the Transylvanian Basin (Podișul Transilvaniei) in the southern foothills of the Baraolter Mountains in the southwest of the historical region of Szeklerland . In the west of the Covasna district is the town of Vâlcele and also the community center Araci am Vâlcele - a right tributary of the Olt (Alt) - eleven at Drum național 13E , or 20 kilometers southwest of the district capital Sfântu Gheorghe (Sankt Georgen) .

history

The once famous spa town of Vâlcele with numerous mineral water springs was first mentioned in a document in 1770; But today it only has a local meaning. One of the first Hungarian nobles to settle in Vâlcele was Nemes János, followed by several other Hungarian nobles. The Serbian Prince Miloš Obrenović is said to have visited the spa and suggested the construction of an Orthodox church .

Settlements in the area of the place Araci, on the area called by the locals Coasta Ciulac (Hungarian Csulakkaréj ) and also near Păduros ( Fásbércoldal or Fásbérc ), were dated to the Neolithic , according to Hermann Schroller and Márton Roska . Numerous archaeological finds point to different ages and are in the museum of the district capital Sfântu Gheorghe.

Numerous finds in the area of the incorporated village Ariușd (outdated Ariuși ; Hungarian Erősd ), on the 885 m high mountain called Dealul Tyiszk on an area of about 5400 m², were first assigned to the Neolithic Age according to Balázs Orbán in 1869. In the areas called Csókás and Füzestér by the locals , finds point to early history , while Veter ( Alsóveceralja in Hungarian ) and the Tyiszkárka moat point to Roman times .

At the time of the Kingdom of Hungary , Cernat belonged to the Miklósvár chair district in the Háromszék County ( Romanian Comitatul Trei-Scaune ), then to the historical district of Trei-Scaune (German three chairs ) and from 1950 to the present-day Covasna district.

In the years 1865 to 1874, the Vâlcele spa was used by an average of around 1477 patients per season; from 1930 to 1938 the number of patients rose to around 2500 people per season. Numerous Romanian personalities took advantage of the treatments in the spa.

In Vâlcele there is the only hospital for muscle pathology in Romania .

population

The population of the municipality of Vâlcele developed as follows:

census		Ethnic composition
year	population	Romanians	Hungary	German	other
1850	1,966	1,172	671	-	123
1920	2,664	1,553	1,089	11	11
1941	3,033	1,671	1,321	13	28
1977	3,050	1,760	1,041	4th	245
2002	3,698	1,357	552	8th	1,781
2011	4,475	1,662	430	4th	2,379

Since 1850, the area of the municipality of Vâlcele has the highest number of inhabitants and the Roma (2172) in 2011. The highest number of Romanians (2011) was registered in 1992, the Magyars and Romanian Germans in 1941.

Numerous Roma live in the incorporated villages of Araci and Hetea. In the second, almost 80 Roma families with over 200 children lived in wretched conditions.

Attractions

The almost 900 hectare nature reserve Dealul Ciocaș - Dealul Vițelului is located in the municipality .
On the area of the incorporated village of Ariuşd on the Csókás mountain , the remains of a medieval castle are under monument protection.
In Ariușd the reformed church built around 1770 is a listed building.
In the incorporated village of Araci, the reformed church, built in the 14th century, renovated from 1659 to 1665 and the bell tower built in 1894, are under monument protection.
The country house of the Hungarian noble family Domokos built in 1880 in the incorporated village of Araci is a listed building.
In Vâlcele the Orthodox Church of Sf. Teodor Stratilat in 1843 and the rectory built in the 19th century are listed as historical monuments.
In the village of Vâlcele, three wooden houses , one of them built in 1886, the other two built in the 19th century and house no. 181 built in 1910, are listed buildings.