Sovata

Sovata Szováta
—  Town  —
Coat of arms
Sovata Location of Sovata
Coordinates: 46°35′46″N 25°4′28″E / 46.59611°N 25.07444°E / 46.59611; 25.07444Coordinates: 46°35′46″N 25°4′28″E / 46.59611°N 25.07444°E / 46.59611; 25.07444
Country	Romania
County	Mureş County
Status	Town
Government
– Mayor	Ferenc Péter (Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania)
Population (2002)
– Total	11,614
Ethnicity
– Hungarians	90.1%
– Romanians	7.82%
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Sovata (Romanian pronunciation: [soˈvata]; Hungarian: Szováta; Hungarian pronunciation: [’sovaːtɒ]) is a town in Mureş County, Transylvania, central Romania.

History

Székely gate

It formed part of the Székely Land region of the historical Transylvania province. The first data about Sovata are from 1578. By 1583 it already was a village.

For around 70 years, until 1918 when it became independent again and was attached to Romania, the village belonged to the Maros-Torda County of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

Due to its warm water and salty lakes it became increasingly popular during the next centuries. It gained the status of town in 1952.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census the town had a population of 11,614 of which 10,465 (90.10%) were Hungarians and 909 (7.82%) Romanians. ^[1]

Demographic movement according to census data:

Geography

Sovata is situated between the Corund River and the valley of the Târnava Mică River. It can be reached from Târgu-Mureş, Miercurea-Ciuc and Odorheiu Secuiesc on the 13A main road and from Reghin on a connection road. Coordinates: 46°35'37.59"N / 25°4'31.96"E

Three villages are administered by the town:

• Căpeţi / Kopács
• Ilieşi / Illyésmező
• Săcădat / Szakadát

• In 2004; the village of Sărăteni broke away to form an independent commune.

Spa

The geological events in 1875 gave birth to the Bear Lake, which is unique in Europe, its water being helio-thermal and salty, with well-known therapeutic effects (for chronic gynecological symptoms, severe rheumatic pains, peripheral nervous system and post-accidental motor diseases).

There are four more salty lakes: Nut Lake, Black Lake, Red Lake and Green Lake. In the interwar period, Sovata became one of the most fashionable spas in the country, visited several times even by the Romanian Royal Family.

Spa on the Bear Lake

See also

• List of Hungarian exonyms (Mureş County)

References

1. ^ 2002 census data

External links

• Resort Sovata
• Sovata (Hungarian)
• Sovata accommodation and guide map