| Type: | town |
| County: | Harghita |
| Official Name: | Cristuru Secuiesc |
| Other Name: | Székelykeresztúr |
| Leader Name: | Hunor-János Koncz[1] |
| Leader Party: | AMT |
| Term: | 2020 - 2024 |
| Coordinates: | 46.2917°N 25.0353°W |
| Elevation: | 393 |
| Area Total: | 53.95 |
| Population Total: | auto |
| Postal Code: | 535400 |
| Area Code: | (+40) 02 66 |
Cristuru Secuiesc (in Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan pronounced as /ˌkristuru sekuˈjesk/; Hungarian: Székelykeresztúr, in Hungarian pronounced as /ˈseːkɛjkɛrɛstuːr/) is a town in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The town administers two villages: Betești (Betfalva), part of Mugeni until 2004, and Filiaș (Fiatfalva).
Cristuru Secuiesc lies on the Transylvanian Plateau, in the area where the river Goagiu flows into the Târnava Mare. It is located in the southwestern part of the county, on the border with Mureș County. The town is crossed by national road ; Odorheiu Secuiesc is to the east, while the county seat, Miercurea Ciuc, is in that direction.
The town was part of the Székely Land area of the historical Transylvania province. It belonged to Udvarhelyszék until the administrative reform of Transylvania in 1876, when it fell within the Udvarhely County of the Kingdom of Hungary. In the aftermath of World War I and the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1918–1919, it passed under Romanian administration; after the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, like the rest of Transylvania, it became part of the Kingdom of Romania. During the interwar period, the town fell within Odorhei County. From 1933 to 1940, the town was renamed after I. G. Duca, the Prime Minister of Romania who was assassinated in December 1933 for his efforts to suppress the fascist Iron Guard movement.
In 1940, the Second Vienna Award granted Northern Transylvania to Hungary and the town was held by Hungary until 1944. After Soviet occupation, the Romanian administration returned and the town became officially part of Romania in March 1945. Between 1952 and 1960, Cristuru Secuiesc fell within the Magyar Autonomous Region, between 1960 and 1968 the Mureș-Magyar Autonomous Region. In 1968, the region was abolished, and since then, the town has been part of Harghita County.
As of the Romanian census of 2002, the town had a population of 9,672, of whom 9,201 (95.13%) were ethnic Hungarians, 2.47 ethnic Roma, 2.27% ethnic Romanians, and 0.12% others.[2] At the 2011 census, there were 9,491 inhabitants. At the 2021 census, Cristuru Secuiesc had a population of 8,797.[3]
Demographic movements according to census data:
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bar:1956 text:1956 bar:1966 text:1966 bar:1977 text:1977 bar:1992 text:1992 bar:2002 text:2002
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bar:1956 from:0 till: 5194 bar:1966 from:0 till: 5942 bar:1977 from:0 till: 7197 bar:1992 from:0 till: 10611 bar:2002 from:0 till: 9672 PlotData=
bar:1956 at: 5194 fontsize:S text: 5.194 shift:(-7,5) bar:1966 at: 5942 fontsize:S text: 5.942 shift:(-13,5) bar:1977 at: 7197 fontsize:S text: 7.197 shift:(-13,5) bar:1992 at: 10611 fontsize:S text: 10.611 shift:(-13,5) bar:2002 at: 9672 fontsize:S text: 9.672 shift:(-13,5)
TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text: Census data. Graphics made by Wikipedia
In terms of religion, 46.02% of its inhabitants are Reformed, 35.99% are Unitarian, 14.27% are Roman Catholic, 2.33% are Romanian Orthodox.
The Unitarian Gimnazium (secondary school) was established in the 18th century. The Catholic church has medieval murals.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Romania.
Cristuru Secuiesc is twinned with:
Ajka, Hungary (1992) Csurgó, Hungary Derecske, Hungary Dévaványa, Hungary (1994) Dunakeszi, Hungary Kalocsa, Hungary Karcag, Hungary (1990) Kúnszentmiklós, Hungary Lánycsók, Hungary
Moldava nad Bodvou, Slovakia Pesterzsébet – 20th district of Budapest, Hungary
Senta, Serbia