Plăieşii de Jos

Plăieşii de Jos (Kászonaltíz) is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székelyland, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania.

The commune is composed of five villages:

  • Casinu Nou/Kászonújfalu
  • Iacobeni/Kászonjakabfalva
  • Imper/Kászonimpér
  • Plăieşii de Jos/Kászonaltíz
  • Plăieşii de Sus/Kászonfeltíz

The villages were part of the Székelyland region of the historical Transylvania province. They belonged to Csíkszék district. In 1850, they became part of the Udvarhely military region. After the administrative reform of Transylvania in 1876, they fell within the Csík County in the Kingdom of Hungary. After the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, they became part of Romania and fell within Ciuc County during the interwar period. In 1940, the second Vienna Award granted the Northern Transylvania to Hungary and the villages were held by Hungary until 1944. After Soviet occupation, the Romanian administration returned and the commune became officially part of Romania in 1947. Between 1952 and 1960, the commune fell within the Magyar Autonomous Region, between 1960 and 1968 the Mureş-Magyar Autonomous Region. In 1968, the province was abolished, and since then, the commune has been part of Harghita County.

The commune has an absolute Hungarian (Székely) majority. According to the 2002 census it has a population of 2,979 of which 81.6% or 2,431 are Hungarian.

The commune is twinned with:

  • Puplinge, Switzerland
  • Abasár, Hungary
  • Ásotthalom, Hungary
  • Abacseke, Hungary
  • Szajol, Hungary
  • Csákvár, Hungary
  • Lepsény, Hungary

Tourist attractions

  • Mineral springs:
    • Salutaris
    • Fehérkő
    • Répát
    • Veresszék

Monuments:

    • Balázsi mansion (built in 1883)
    • Romano-Catholic church
    • Bornemissza-chapel
    • Fogarasy-house
    • Local museum
    • Sóskútfürdő
    • Nyergestető

Main events

Secular events:

  • Shrove Tuesday – Bull-hitting (Bikaütés)
  • March 15th  – Commemorating the 1848-49 Hungarian Revolution and War
  • August 1st  – Commemorating the Nyergestető battle
  • September 20th  – Commemorating the death of heroic soldiers of WW1 and WW2  
  • December – Aprószentekelés
  • December - Betlehemezés

Religious events:

  • June 22nd  – Úrnapja Pilgrimage (Kászonimpér)
  • August 15th  – Boldogasszony Pilgrimage (Kászonújfalu)
  • November 23rd  – Krisztus Király Pilgrimage (Kászonaltíz, Kászonfeltíz)
  • December 6th  – Szent Miklós Pilgrimage (Kászonújfalu)