Harghita County
Former Magyar Autonomous Region core where 82% Hungarian population maintains distinct Szekely identity
When the Magyar Autonomous Region was dissolved in 1968, Harghita County emerged as its spiritual successor—a Romanian administrative unit where 82% of residents speak Hungarian as their mother tongue. This is Szekely Land's eastern stronghold, where the Carpathian peaks sheltered a distinct culture through centuries of imperial succession. Each Pentecost, 300,000 pilgrims climb to Sumuleu Ciuc for the largest Catholic gathering in Eastern Europe, a tradition surviving both Habsburg and Communist suppression. The county seat Miercurea Ciuc hosts Heineken's regional brewery alongside the remnants of Communist-era tractor and textile factories, the economy transitioning from planned industry to tourism and craft production.