Type: | commune |
County: | Harghita |
Tulgheș | |
Other Name: | Gyergyótölgyes |
Leader Name: | Marcel Vancu[1] |
Leader Party: | PSD |
Term: | 2020 - 2024 |
Coordinates: | 46.9408°N 25.7175°W |
Elevation: | 650 |
Area Total: | 244.47 |
Population Total: | auto |
Postal Code: | 537330 |
Area Code: | +(40) 266 |
Tulgheș (Hungarian: Gyergyótölgyes or colloquially Tölgyes, Hungarian pronunciation: NaNgy, meaning "place with oak trees in Gyergyó") is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in eastern Transylvania. The commune is composed of four villages: Hagota (Hágótő), Pintic (Péntekpataka), Recea (Récefalva), and Tulgheș.
At the 2011 census, 70.8% of inhabitants were Romanians and 28.8% Hungarians (Székelys). At the 2002 census, 65.5% of inhabitants were Romanian Orthodox and 31.3% Roman Catholic.[2] At the 2021 census, Tulgheș had a population of 2,941; of those, 70.59% were Romanians and 25.06% Hungarians.[3]
Tulgheș and Recea have ethnic Romanian majorities with large minorities of ethnic Hungarians, Pintic has an absolute Romanian majority, and Hagota has a Hungarian majority.
Tulgheș commune is situated in the northeast part of Harghita County, at an average altitude of 650m (2,130feet), on the lower part of the Bistricioara River.
This river flows from Călimani from an altitude of 1350m (4,430feet) and crosses a total of 68.5km (42.6miles). The Bistricioara River Basin is formed by the streams:
Tulgheș received its name from the Tulgheș Pass, which links the Hang Depression in Neamț County with the Giurgeu Depression in Harghita County.
Transportation in the area is exclusively by road.
Nearby notable cities include: Borsec (20km (10miles)), Bilbor (45km (28miles) via Borsec and then DJ144A), Toplița (45 km), Ditrău (34km (21miles) via DJ127), Gheorgheni (47km (29miles) via DJ127 81km (50miles) via Toplița).
Larger cities in the area include: Piatra Neamț (93km (58miles)), Târgu Neamț (69km (43miles)), Vatra Dornei (109km (68miles) via the Bistrița Valley, 89km (55miles) via Borsec-Creanga Pass-Bilbor on DJ174A).
The mountains around the village are:
The climate is specific to mountain zones with cool summers (average temperature of 14-16 degrees C in July) and moderate winters.
The average annual temperature ranges from 5-6 degrees C, and the average rainfall is about 1000mm/m2. There is snow on the ground 80–100 days per year, with an average thickness of 250 cm in the higher mountain altitudes. Due to the shelter of the mountains surrounding it, The Corbu-Tulgheș Depression receives more favorable weather conditions than in the Giurgeu Depression of the Upper Mureș Valley, where temperatures are much lower.
The primary economic source is the development of local natural resources. However, a secondary source is pastoral farming and vegetable farming practiced in private households, where a smaller yield is cultivated because the primary goal is sustainability.
On the way toward Mt. Grințieș via the Primatar River Valley on the perimeter of Preluca Ursului, there is a uranium deposit with two areas of experimental exploration: Primatar I and II, which are currently in preservation.
The community also benefits from a post office and several private trade shops, including a barber, shoemaker and blacksmith.
The community of Tulgheș developed after the 17th century, mainly in the 19th century when there was a change in the local Transcarpathian roads. At the end of the 18th century, the Priska Pass used to be the gateway for travelers by foot and horseback. The official customs and quarantine office was on Mt. Priska (Piricske) between Putna and Belcina. Those coming from Gheorgheni (Gyergyószentmiklós) used to climb up Mount Tătarul (Tatárhágó) and then descend via the Putna Valley, and, through Tulgheș, arrived in Moldavia. The Transylvanian checkpoint at Priska moved in 1806 toward Gura Putnei in Tulgheș, while the Moldovan checkpoint moved to Prisecani (1792).
The population flood from the Mureș corridor (Romanian and Székely) and from the Bistrița Valley took over the existing Romanian population in Tulgheș.
The name, which comes from “Oak Tree” after the oak forest found on the southern slope of the foothills of the Bistrița Mountains toward the Bistricioara Valley, originates from the Hungarian Tölgyes. However, it was later renamed officially Tulgheș after 1920, similar to Rezu Mare (Nagyréz), Pârâul Mărului (Marpatak), Gyergótölgyes, etc.
In the Tulgheș area, there are 30 mineral springs, of which 11 have been recorded and inventoried. The current bioclimate also makes the area suitable for spas. The most important springs are Șesul Comarnicului, Laurențiu, Branea, Prisecani, Diacul de Sus, Diacul de Jos, Cibeni, Șandoreni and Rezu Mare.