Sfântu Gheorghe
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| Sfântu Gheorghe Sepsiszentgyörgy |
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| — County capital — | |||
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| Coordinates: 45°51′49″N 25°47′15″E / 45.86361°N 25.7875°E | |||
| Country |  Romania |
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| County | Covasna County | ||
| Status | County capital | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Antal Árpád (from Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania) | ||
| Population (2002) | |||
| - Total | 61,543 | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Website | http://www.sfantugheorghe.ro/ | ||
Sfântu Gheorghe (also spelled Sfîntu Gheorghe) or Sepsiszentgyörgy (in Hungarian; Yiddish: סנט דשזארדזש) is a municipality and capital city of Covasna County. Located in the central part of Romania, historical region of Transylvania, it lies on the Olt River in a valley between the Baraolt and Bodoc Mountains. The villages of Chilieni/Kilyén and Coşeni/Szotyor are also administratively part of Sfântu Gheorghe Municipality.
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[edit] Demographics
The majority of the city's inhabitants are Székely Hungarians. In the census of 2002, 46,178 (75%) of the city's 61,543 inhabitants classed themselves as ethnic Hungarians, 14,178 (23%) as Romanians, 932 as ethnic Roma, and 255 as "others."
[edit] History
Sfântu Gheorghe is one of the oldest cities in Transylvania, the settlement first having been documented in 1332. The city takes it name from Saint George, the patron of the local church. Historically it was also known in German as Sankt Georgen. The "sepsi-" prefix denotes the origins of the local Szekler population, which has its roots in the region around the town of Sebeş (later populated mainly by Transylvanian Saxons) in western Transylvania's Alba County.
While part of the Kingdom of Hungary, the city was the economic and administrative center of the Hungarian county of Háromszék, which spanned the present-day Covasna County county and parts of Braşov County. In the second half of the 19th century, Sepsiszentgyörgy witnessed the development of light industry, namely a textile and a cigarette factory was built. It became part of the Kingdom of Romania following the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, after the end of World War I. After the Second Vienna Award in 1940 the city came under Hungarian control for four years. At the end of the Second World War the Paris Peace Treaties reaffirmed the city and the entirety of Transylvania as a Romanian territory. Between 1952-1960 it was the southernmost town of the Magyar Autonomous Region, and between 1960-1968 was part of the Braşov Region, abolished in 1968 when Romania was reorganised based on counties rather than regions.
Sfântu Gheorghe is one of the centres for the Székely people in the region known to them as Székelyföld, and is home to the Székely National Museum. The city hosts two market fairs each year.
[edit] Sights
- Fortified Church (Romanian: Biserică Fortificată; Hungarian: Vártemplom) - constructed in the 14th century in the Gothic style
- State Archive, the former headquarters of the Hussar battalions
- County library constructed in 1832 as the seat of the county council
- Theater used from 1854–1866 as the city hall
- The market bazaar built in 1868, with a clock tower built in 1893
[edit] Economy
The predominant industry in the city is the textile industry.
[edit] Sports
Sfantu Gheorghe has a women basketball team called: C.S.S. Liceul Mikes Kelemen Sfântu Gheorghe. In the 2007/2008 season the team has finished in the 2nd place in the regular season, and lost the final (2-3) against BC ICIM Arad, but they win the Romanian Cup. In the 2008/2009 season Sf. Gheorghe finished in the 3rd position after the regular season and they lost in the final (0-3) against MCM Târgoviste. In the 2008/2009 season the team play in the FIBA EuroCup Women. In the EuroCup Women 2008-09 Sfântu Gheorghe was drawn in Group B with Dynamo Kursk (Russia), Bnot Hasharon (Israel) and Challes-les-Eaux (France). They finished in the 3rd place with 3 wins and 3 losts. In the Sixteenth-Finals they meet Cras Basket Taranto (Italy) and they lost the both games. The new name of the team is: C.S.S. Liceul Mikes Kelemen BC Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. The team participate in EuroCup Women 2009-10 and was drawn in Group G with Dynamo Moscow (Russia), Hapoel Tel-Aviv (Israel) and Dunav Econt Rousse (Bulgaria).
Sfântu Gheorghe has also a futsal team in the Romanian First Division. The team is: Futsal Club Sfântu Gheorghe.
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