Comandău

Comandău (Hungarian command ) is a bailiwick in the Székely Land ( Transylvania), in Covasna County, Romania. It is located in the historic area of the Hungarian county Háromszék. Larger towns in the area are the spas and Covasna Târgu Secuiesc. In the region there are many mineral springs.

Origin of the name

The name comes from the time of the Austro -Hungarian monarchy in which this village is the easternmost items of the imperial monarchy represented, as a military " command". So the unusual for Romania place-name has its roots in the German language.

Population

Had Comandău according to the census of 1992 about 1120 inhabitants, of whom 1028 Hungarian stocky, 75 and 17 Romanian Roma. The vernacular in the village is Hungarian. Since the turn there is a high level of unemployment in the village of up to 80 %. Especially the male inhabitants of the village are therefore looking increasingly working outside the country's borders. The current population may therefore not be specified with certainty.

History

Comandău was founded as a frontier command post of the Austria -Hungarian Empire. There have been located here Székely to protect the eastern border of the Habsburg Empire military. The Székely survived to the end of the 19th century mainly by agriculture. At the end of the 19th century Comandău developed because of the emerging timber industry and expanded. At this time there was a migration to Comandău from many European countries, especially of forest workers. Detectable at the local cemetery are graves of immigrants from the Czech Republic and Poland as well as from Germany, Austria or Sweden. Their descendants were Magyarised later.

The funicular

Following the expansion of the forest industry to the end of the 19th century, the local route network, including the funicular railway was established. The Forest railway with the funicular was mainly the task of transporting the wood from the local lumber mill valley. The route network was moved several times as needed and had its greatest extent at about 200 km. In Covasna a hub with various standard and narrow gauge railways was established. The track width of the local rail network is 760 mm.

The funicular was built as part of the opening of the local railway between the village Comandău and the administrative capital of Covasna after 1892. This gravity ropeway has a length of 1236 m and an average slope of 275 ‰. The to be overcome height difference between Comandău and Covasna is about 400 m.

1999, the operation of the funicular was adjusted. The reasons are firstly the increasing relocation of timber transport on the road since the mid- 60s of the 20th century. But the privatization after the turn meant that the funicular increasingly fell into disuse, the new owners of the forests in the area did not let their wood on the forest railway of Comandău transport. As a devastating forest fire in 1996 also destroyed the funicular, it was initially built by the staff again. The operation was discontinued permanently after many breakdowns in 1999.

Since then, the association " Sikló " (Hungarian for funicular ) endeavor - rum. " Siclau " - around the resumption of the operation of the rail link between Comandău and Covasna including the funicular.