Flag of Szekely Land - Szeklerland (Romania) シール

The Székely Land or Szeklerland (Hungarian: Székelyföld, pronounced [ˈseːkɛjføld], Romanian: Ținutul Secuiesc and sometimes Secuimea; German: Szeklerland; Latin: Terra Siculorum) is a historic and ethnographic area in present-day Romania, inhabited mainly by Székelys, a subgroup of Hungarians. Its cultural centre is the city of Târgu Mureș (Marosvásárhely), the largest settlement in the region. Székelys (or Szeklers) live in the valleys and hills of the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, corresponding mostly to the present-day Harghita, Covasna, and parts of Mureș counties in Romania. Originally, the name Székely Land denoted the territories of a number of autonomous Székely seats within Transylvania. The self-governing Székely seats had their own administrative system, and existed as legal entities from medieval times until the 1870s. The privileges of the Székely and Saxon seats were abolished and seats were replaced with counties in 1876. Along with Transylvania and eastern parts of Hungary proper, the Székely Land became a part of Romania in 1920, in accordance with the Treaty of Trianon. In August 1940, as a consequence of the Second Vienna Award, northern territories of Transylvania, including the Székely Land, were returned to Hungary. Northern Transylvania came under the control of Soviet and Romanian forces in 1944, and were confirmed as part of Romania by the Paris Peace Treaties signed 1947 after World War II. Under the name Magyar Autonomous Region, with Târgu Mureș as capital, parts of the Székely Land enjoyed a certain level of autonomy between 8 September 1952 and 16 February 1968. There are territorial autonomy initiatives with the aim to obtain self-governance for this region within Romania.