Miercurea Nirajului
Miercurea Nirajului ( Sereda German, Hungarian Nyárádszereda ) is a town in Mureş county in Romania.
Location
Miercurea Nirajului is located approximately in the middle of Transylvania by the river Niraj. The county town Targu Mures is located about 20 km to the west.
History
Archaeological excavations indicate a settlement of the region since the Neolithic period; there were stone axes from the period 2000-1700 BC, found coins from the time of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I in the eingemeindeten place Laureni.
The first mention was made in 1493 under the name Zereda. This is of Slavic origin and means " middle ", " marketplace " or day of the week " Wednesday". Of the latter, the Romanian name " Miercurea " is derived from; " Nirajului " is the adjective of the river, where the spot is.
From 1600 to 1603 the troops of the Imperial Habsburg general Giorgio Basta devastated the area around the village. On February 21, 1605 Miercurea Nirajului experienced the most historically important moment in its history, as here, the Transylvanian estates elected Stephen Bocskai the Transylvanian prince.
For a long time was Miercurea Nirajului seat of Szeklerstuhles Marosszék before the 18th century Târgu Mureş took over this function. Then Miercurea Nirajului lost much of its former importance and was an ordinary village.
After the revolution of 1848, the city adopted a new boom. As a result of the First World War came Miercurea Nirajului - which like the rest of Transylvania previously the Kingdom of Hungary, the Principality of Transylvania and Austria- Hungary had heard - to Romania. As a result of the Second Vienna Award was the place of disposal, then as now a majority Hungarian population, 1940 to 1944 again part of Hungary.
After the First and strengthened after the Second World War, an industrial development; in the 1970s and 1980s blocks of flats were built.
In 2003, Miercurea Nirajului was declared a city.
The main industries are agriculture and wood processing.
Population
In the 1850 census had a population of 3,003 on the territory of today's Hungary 1,637, 1,056 Romanians and 303 Roma. Of these, 386 lived in Miercurea Nirajului in the strict sense, the others in the now incorporated villages. In 2002, in the town of 5,824 people registered, including 4,890 Hungarians, 620 Romanians and 312 Roma. 3,806 lived in the city proper, 2,018 in the seven incorporated villages.
Traffic
Miercurea Nirajului is located on the disused railway line from small Targu Mures to Sovata. There are regular bus services to Târgu Mureş.
Attractions
- Reformed Church (15th century) with wooden bell tower (18th century)
- Wooden Gate ( 1723)
- Catholic Church ( 18th century ) in the village of Beu
- Reformed Church (1780 ) in the district Moşuni
- Greek Catholic wooden church (1843 )
- Bust of Stephen Bocskai (1906 )
Born in Miercurea Nirajului
- Zoltan Lunka (born 1970 ), professional boxer