Marghita

Marghita (Romanian pronunciation: [marˈɡita]; Hungarian: Margitta [ˈmɒrɡittɒ]; Yiddish: מארגארעטין‎ Margaretin) is a city in Bihor County, Romania. It administers two villages, Cheț (Magyarkéc) and Ghenetea (Genyéte), and is 56km north-east of Oradea.

Marghita

Margitta
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location within Bihor County
Marghita
Location in Romania
Coordinates: 47°21′N 22°20′E
Country Romania
CountyBihor
Government
 • MayorZoltán-Ladislau Pocsaly[1] (UDMR)
Population
 (2011)[2]
15,770
Time zoneEET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Vehicle reg.BH
Websitehttp://www.marghita.ro/

History

The name appears to be derived from the name "Margit" (Margaret), Saint Margaret the patron of a local church. The first time it was used in a document was in 1216. In the 14th century, it became a feudal holding of the Hungarian landlord.

In 1376 king Louis I of Hungary gave to Marghita the right of organizing a fair and it developed in the next centuries as a market town. There were several peasant revolts against the feudal system affecting Marghita in 1467 and 1514. At the beginning of the 14th century, it became, together with the whole of Bihor county and Hungary, an Ottoman province.

In 1823, a great fire destroyed half of the buildings of Marghita. After the 1848 revolution, the local peasants were no longer serfs and manufacturing and industry began to develop.

Between 1920 (Treaty of Trianon) and 1940 (the Second Vienna Award) the town was part of Romania, after which it was again part of Hungary during much of the Second World War, until autumn 1944. In 1944, after German occupation, about 2,100 Jews of Marghita were sent to death, concentration and labor camps as part of the Holocaust, of which only about 450 survived. After 1947, with the Soviets imposing a Communist government in Romania, factories and land were nationalized. Over the course of the next few years, Marghita took part in the Romanian industrialization process.

Politics

The Marghita Municipal Council, elected in the 2012 local government elections, is made up of 17 councillors, with the following party composition:

    Party Seats Current Council
41.18% Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania 7              
35.29% National Liberal Party 6              
17.65% Social Democratic Party 3              
5.88% People's Party – Dan Diaconescu 1              

Population
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1977 14,589—    
1992 19,071+30.7%
2002 18,650−2.2%
2011 15,134−18.9%
Source: Census data

At the 2011 census, Marghita had a population of 15,134. According to the census, 51.7% of inhabitants are Romanians, 44.1% Hungarians, 3.5% Roma and 0.5% Slovaks.

Natives
  • Attila Cseke (born 1973), Romanian lawyer and politician
  • Nicolas Farkas (1890–1982), Austro-Hungarian-born cinematographer, screenwriter, and film director
  • Violeta Friedman (1930–2000), Jewish Holocaust survivor turned author
  • György Harag (1925–1985), theatre director and actor, worked primarily in Hungarian-language theatres in Romania
  • George Pușcaș(born 1996), Romanian professional footballer
  • Iosif Szökő (1930–2008), Hungarian-Romanian footballer
  • Ioan Vulpescu (born 1976), Romanian politician

Sister cities

References
  1. "Results of the 2016 local elections". Central Electoral Bureau. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  2. "Populaţia stabilă pe judeţe, municipii, oraşe şi localităti componenete la RPL_2011" (in Romanian). National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  3. "Testvértelepülések". Retrieved 30 April 2014.
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