Udvarhely, a „boldog békeidők” jellegzetes székely városa
Udvarhely, the Typical Szekler Town of the “Blissful Times of Peace”

Summary/Abstract: After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise in 1867, a new chapter opened in Transylvania, the easternmost province. The Szekler and Saxon districts ceased to exist and the county administration became common. Small towns and market towns that could not meet the criteria of the city were transformed into large villages, almost unknown localities grew into urban industrialmining centres. Development was not very rapid on the disadvantaged periphery, such as the Mezõség/Câmpia Transilvaniei or Szeklerland. Before the railways were constructed, agricultural production in Szeklerland received little incentive from the national market, and small-scale manufacturing industry was pressured by competition from factory products. As there were very few factories in the area, the impoverished could not be absorbed by industry, and this increased emigration. During the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, education and culture developed spectacularly in Transylvania and especially in Szeklerland, with a high-quality school network, especially in the case of Marosvásárhely/TârguMureş, Székelyudvarhely/Odorheiu Secuiesc and Székelykeresztúr/Cristuru Secuiesc, later Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfântu Gheorghe. The proportion and role of teachers and students was significant in these local communities Between 1867 and 1914, Székelyudvarhely/Odorheiu Secuiesc has retained and even expanded its central roles in the region, and despite the toll war, the late railway connection and the modest manufacturing industry, the small-scale-trading town was one of the dominant economic centres of Szeklerland. Remaining a school town, it had a vibrant cultural life. Despite its moderate financial situation, significant modernization processes began, many infrastructural developments have been carried out, which have significantly increased the urbanization level of the town and thus the quality of life of its citizens. This arc of development came to a halt with the outbreak of the First World War, and then, after the war, the history of the city continued in a whole new situation.

• Details
• Contents