About Székelyvarság

Vărşag or Székelyvarság (Romanian: Vărşag; Hungarian: Székelyvarság) is a commune in Harghita County, Romania.
The commune has an absolute Székely Hungarian majority. According to the 2002 census it has a population of 1,515 of which 99.74% or 1,511 are Hungarian.

Varsag lies at 30 km from Székelyudvarhely (Odorheiu Secuiesc), County road 138, from Subcetate county road 138 B. Placed in the eastern side of Transsylvania, the commune Varsag is part of Harghita county.
The settlement lies at the feet of  the Ghurghiu de Sud Mountain, on the 850-1050 m high volcanic plateau Varsag.

Varsag's neighbours are Joseni and Ciumani to the Nord, Zetea and Suseni to the East, Dealu and Lupeni to the South, Praid and Corund to the West.

The climatic conditions are temperate, with short and fresh summers and long and chilly winters.

The most important river is the Tîrnava Mare, which rise here. The other important rivulets are: Tartód, Kiság, Varság, Nagykút, Boros, Köves, Szilidi etc.

The area of Varság is 7669 ha, and 60% of this area is woody with a great biological diversity.You can find there rabbits, foxes, bears, wolves, lynxes and a lot of species of birds. In the summer you can pick rapsberries, bilberries, blackberries, wild strawberries and several species of mushrooms. In the rivulets are frequent the trouts.

In 1996 the population was 1745 inhabitants, and today the commune have 675 building sites. The basic economical functions is forestry   operations and wood processing, agriculture, stone-cutting and in the recent times the eco-tourism.

The origins of the commune it dates back to the end of XIXth  century, when the inhabitants from Dealu built summer dwellings. At the beginning of the XXth century (in 1907) became administratively separated. The first name of the settlement was Varságtisztás, and in 1909 was named Székelyvarság. Today we still find the old dwellings from South to North: Küküllõ, Bagzos, Nagykút, Sólyomkõ, Központ, Forrásköze, Tisztás.

There is crystal-clear mountain creeks, alpinism, pine forests, pure air.
The village has a sister village, Homokmégy in Hungary.

Photo: Csender Gyula

Photo: Dobai Emőke