Ghidfalau

GIDÓFALVA

is a commune in Covasna County, Romania composed of four villages:

• Angheluş / Angyalos
• Fotoş / Fotosmartonos
• Ghidfalău / Gidófalva
• Zoltan / Érfalvazoltán

It formed part of the Székely Land region of the historical Transylvania province. Until 1918, the village belonged to the Háromszék County of the Kingdom of Hungary. After the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, it became part of Romania.

ANGYALOS

The settlement lies in the northern part of the fertile land of Szépmező ; from administrative point of view it belongs to Gidófalva. The Reformed church of the village was built in 1795-1796. In the neighbourhood of the church an ecclesiastic school was built in 1882, which has been transformed into a modern community-and guesthouse in time.

From the architectural vestiges of the settlement the Kónya Mansion, built in Classical style, is worth mentioning, which was constructed at Losonczi János and Forró Krisztina`s orders. One of the famous natives of the settlement is Colonel Forró Elek (1813-1893), who fought for the cause of the Revolution in 1848-49. Today the local school bears his name.

FOTOS AND MARTONOS

Sepsimartonos and Fotos are located in two neighbouring valleys in the southern foreground of the Bodoki Mountains. They fused in 1899 under the name Fotosmartonos, which currently is part of Gidófalva. The common church of the two villages was built in 1821 in a relatively short period of time (merely 12 weeks), its tower that can be seen from a distance was constructed a year after. In a unique manner, the carnival of winter is not celebrated with the ceremony of a symbolic burial, but with a ceremony of hearty welcoming. On January 6^th the youth of the village announce the beginning of the carnival with whiplash and bell-toll.

The two outstanding personalities of the village are: Berde Sándor (1856-1894), professor of theology, ecclesiastic writer (Berde Mária `s father) and Porzsolt Benjámin (1816--1865) jurist, ecclesiastic personality and writer.

ÉTFALVAZOLTÁN

In the valley of the Olt River there are two small villages hiding between Gidófalva and Sepsibodok. Most maps dating back to the 20^th century mark only one settlement in this place. This is due to the fact that Sepsizoltán and Étfalva were united in 1899. Since then the village has been called ‘Étfalvazoltán’ in the Hungarian administrative terminology, whereas it is mentioned as ‘Zoltán’ in the Romanian one.

The Reformed church of the settlement was built in 1802, seemingly on the spot where previously there used to be an older one. The local school bears the name of Árva Bethlen Kata as she is thought to have been the owner of the building.

The church of Zoltán bearing Baroque stylistic elements was built in 1792. Its gallery is decorated with floral motifs and painted sunken panels. This small village is considered to be the ancient nest of the Czirjék family. The former Czirjek Mansion does not exist any longer; visitors can see only its crumbling Baroque stone gate, decorated with dove-cots.

Another valuable monument is considered to be the Benkő-Zágoni Mansion, built in 1832.