Forge Vlahita

The region between Kis-Homoród stream, Vargyas stream and Kiruly stream used to be rich in iron ore, from which the richest proved to be the one in Lueta. This is why the mining process of iron-ore happened mostly there. The smelting of the iron ore happened in metallurgcal furnaces and forges. Our first written data is from 1591 when lord Báthory Zsigmond from Transylvania gave a primitive forge as a gift to lieutenant Székely Mózes. This place is located in Lueta and still has the name ,,The forge garden''. The characteristic of this forge is that its structure was from wood, it worked thanks to the propelling force of water, the hammer operated by water wheels. After the revolution this forge was put on fire. After this incident  Demeter Miklós moved the iron factory to Vlăhiţa. He built here: two forges, an iron foundry, a big smelter, a carpentry and some houses for the workers. One of the two forges operated until the 1990s being the ONLY operating forge in Europe that time. The forge is in ruins now and it is registered as a monument. Vlăhiţa used to be one of the most important economic and industrial centers in Szeklerland. The quality of the manufactured iron (blandness, fineness) in Vlăhiţa was unique in Europe because the iron was being melt on charcoal.

The iron factory was permanently closed in 2010 because of the fewer and fewer demand of iron products and other factors. Nowadays one can see only the ruins of the factory.