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2005.04.23.
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Felsősófalva in Space and Time 

Geographical and Ethnographical Survey 

Felsősófalva is placed at the Eastern part of the former historical Hungary called Transylvania or Transylvania country, in the middle of Europe, in the region of the Carpathian basin called Szeklerland, since the Parisian peace-treaty of 1947 in Romania, Hargita county. By the way, the geographical centre of Europe is only 200 km northward from Szeklerland, in the present-day Kárpátalja, so we can say that Szeklerland is in Central Europe - only the Soviet political dominance made these areas seem to be part of Eastern Europe.

For the more exact placement of Felsősófalva it is necessary to show the placement of the village in Szeklerland, where it is and how large Szeklerland is.

Szeklerland is a well-definable geographical-historical-ethnographical region in Transylvania, its area takes 13.500 km²; but today there are people who mean by this the „narrower” Szeklerland that takes only 10.876 km² and in this context it contains only 600 settlements. The theoretical reduction of the area of Szeklerland can not be explained except for the acceptance of that self-denying policy characteristic of some of us, for, although since the latest areal reorganization (1968) extended areas and Hungarian settlements have been attached to the Moldovian counties, this land is still Szekler. The case of Aranyosszék is the same: although beside Szeklers Romanians were settled who have since increased in number, that land, too, is Szekler. If we compare the extension of Szeklerland to those of a few European countries, we can see that it is not accidentally called by some people Szekler country; Malta lies on 316 km² with 381.603 inhabitants; Cyprus lies on 9.251 km² with 754.064 inhabitants and Luxemburg which plays an important role in the European union lies on 2.586 km² with 429.080 inhabitants. Without Aranyosszék the population of Szeklerland in 1992 is 808.827 people, with more than 80% of Hungarian nationality.

Szeklerland, Terra Siculorum or Regnum Siculorum in Latin, Tara Secuilor (Country of Szeklers) in Romanian, Seklerland in German has most of the time had authonomy in the course of history. During the history of the Hungarian state, since the formation of the Christian Hungarian statehood (1000 A.D.) to the occupation of the centre and the capital of the country by the Turks (1541) it has formed a special autonomous public administrational unit different from that of the royal counties, for Udvarhelyszék, Marosszék, Csíkszék, Kézdiszék, Orbaiszék, Sepsiszék and Aranyosszék had a special legal, economical, military position. The special position of Szeklers within the Hungarian state resulted from the fact that the Szeklers, as at the Hungarian conquest a population already existing in the Carpathian basin, they played an important role in the foundation and later in the defence of the Hungarian state. The military force of the Szeklers was the first important criteria for which in the course of history most of the Szeklers managed to avoid serfhood; according to the Hungarian laws nobles had the same legal status.

When in 1541 the Hungarian state was divided into three parts, Szeklerland, even during the Transylvanian Principality (1541-1711) meaning the continuity of the Hungarian statehood, preserved its special autonomous position, like the Transylvanian Saxons as well (Universitas Saxonum, Siebenbürgische Saxen) and their independence began to decrease only after the Habsburg reign over Hungary, but legally it stopped only in 1876 when the Szekler "sedes" were transformed into counties.

With the division of Hungary in 1920 after the first World War Szeklerland also became a part of Romania, and from 1940 to the end of the second World War and in an international law aspect until the February of 1974 it became part of Hungary again.

The autonomy of Szeklerland was restored in the Stalinist Romania for its main part belonged to the Maros Hungarian Autonom Territory which was stopped by Nicolae Ceausescu in 1968. At the same time, unfortunately, the independent community status of Felsősófalva was also stopped, when, together with Alsósófalva and Békástanya it was attached to Parajd, ceasing thus its independence of many centuries and making its development impossible. The leader of the independent community functioning until 1968 was the judge (Parajdi Mózes was the last), later the first person of the village was called "president". After the ceasement of community status Felsősófalva was represented in the leadership of Parajd community by the "village responsibles". These were the following in chronological order: Parajdi Károly, Szekeres Balázs, Molnár János and Kovács Vilmos.

During the communist dictatorship not only the autonomy of Szeklerland stopped but its former slower-faster development was replaced by stagnation and regression.

Most of the near 600 settlements of Szeklerland are villages, but there is also a number of towns as follows: Marosvásárhely, Sepsiszentgyörgy, Csíkszereda, Székelyudvarhely, Székelykeresztúr, Kézdivásárhely, Kovászna, Szováta, Borszék, Tusnád, Szentkeresztbánya, Balánbánya etc.

Most of the inhabitants of Szeklerland are still Hungarian national, but in the latest centuries other people have settled between or beside Hungarians, such as: Romanians, Gypsies, Armenians, Jews, Germans, Italians etc. Some of these people have become assimilated into the majority Hungarian people (e.g. Armenians, Germans, Italians), while others preserved their national identity (e.g. Romanians, who at some parts of Szeklerland, especially in the west and north of Marosszék, have assimilated some of the Hungarians into themselves).

The east of Szeklerland coincides with the east border of former Hungary, at the South with former „Saxonland”, in the north-west it borders on former Maros-Torda county, in the north on Beszterce-Naszód county; its north-east axle runs from Borszék to Kökös on 168 km, its east-west axle runs from Mezőbánd to Gyímesbükk on 140 km.

The terrain of Szeklerland is mainly mountainous, but there are hills and smaller plain areas, too, which have permanently determined the life style of the inhabitants of this region.

Transleted by: Krisztina Sófalvi