Odorheiu Secuiesc

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Odorheiu Secuiesc (Hungarian: Székelyudvarhely, also known as Udvarhely; German: Oderhellen) is the second-largest city in the Harghita County in Transylvania, Romania.

Demographics

The city has a population of 36,948, of which 96.7% or 35,359 people are Székely Hungarians, making it the city with the highest proportion of Hungarians in all of Romania (based on the census of 2002).

History

The town, as the former seat of the Udvarhely comitatus, is one of the historical centres of the Székely Land. The first known reference to the city was in a papal register of duties in 1333. Odorheiu Secuiesc was the location of the first national assembly of Székelys in 1357.

A fortress was built in the town in 1492. It was rebuilt and strengthened by John II Sigismund Zápolya in 1565, in order to control the Székelys. The latter, allied to the Wallachian Prince (and Habsburg partner) Michael the Brave during his campaign in Transylvania, destroyed the fortress in 1599. It was repeatedly rebuilt and destroyed again during history. The ruins of the structure are nowadays known as "The Székely-attacked fortress".

Odorheiu Secuiesc and the surrounding villages were hit by significant flooding in August 2005.

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