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Transylvania's Coat of Arms: Sun & Moon representing the Székely Hungarians, the Eagle representing the Magyars, and the Bastions, the Saxons - the major historical peoples of Transylvania prior to Rumanian immigration & annexation

Many dictators have deliberately changed history and have found scapegoats to ferment nationalism as a means to gain and maintain power. Hitler, Ceaucescu, and Milosevic are great examples of this.  This poses continued stress to Rumanian/Serbian-Hungarian relations. Rumanians are taught that they are the direct descendants of the Romans and since parts of Transylvania were part of the Roman Empire called Dacia, Transylvania is rightly theirs, hence the changing of the country's spelling from Roumania to Rumania to ROMANia. This is all despite the fact that it was settled by various Hungarian tribes since the 5th century and the Magyars in the 9th. Despite the fact that for centuries the Vlachs (Rumanians) were nomadic and did not appear in any numbers in Transylvania until they were escaping the Ottoman Turks' onslaught in the 15th & 16th centuries. Rumanians are taught that Hungarians moved into Transylvania and displaced them, not the other way around. They believe that famed Hungarian Janos Hunyadi is actually Hunedoara, a great "Rumanian" hero. Today, in the few areas where there is still a Hungarian majority, the Rumanian government is settling Rumanians.  Many of these happen to be Police and Orthodox church officials. In Transylvania, Hungarian language schools and centuries-old universities have been closed, churches and synagogues burned and/or confiscated, and people beaten for demonstrating for democracy and basic human rights, or simply for speaking Hungarian - (See the Helsinki Watch Report "Destroying Ethnic Identity, the Hungarians of Romania," for more information.) In the documents below and on my History Page, I hope you can make up your own mind.

Maps and Images

• Hungary in the 11th Century
• Hungary and The Carpathian Basin in the 13th century.
• Western Hungary in the 15th Century with an inset map of János Hunyadi's battles against the Turks (270K).
• Eastern Hungary in the 15th Century with good detail on Transylvania (246K).
• Hungary during the Ottoman Turkish Wars and Invasion. Shows the independent Hungarian Principality Transylvania.
• The 64 counties of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1876. A great resource with details on each county and Coats of Arms.
• See Images of the Szekely Land in Eastern Transylvania
• The Nationalities of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1886. Shows the growth of the Rumanian population, and how unjust the new borders are.
• The dismemberment of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Trianon Treaty, 1920 (I)
• Go to Hungarian Images and Historical Background and see the Coronation Jewels, an extensive collection of Maps and Coats of Arms, the Hand Relic of St. Stephen, National Costumes and more.

Music

• Visit my new Hungarian Music & Radio on the Internet for a collection of some of my favorite works as well as links to more sites with Hungarian music resources.  Also, access Hungarian radio stations and listen live to their broadcasts!
• The National Anthem of the Székelys, are a Hungarian ethnic group, and one of the earliest permanent settlers of Transylvania. This Anthem was composed in 1918, when Rumania occupied Transylvania and 200,000 Hungarians fled to Hungary, among them was 50,000 Székelys. Their cares, despairs, hope in a miracle is chanted in this slowly moving, sad, very touching melody. Strating with a question "Who knows where destiny is leading us?", the song tells about the suffering the Székelys endured from the Tartars, Turks, Habsburgs, and it is in fact, a prayer to God to save their land, Transylvania. See background, sheet music, and an English Translation of Transylvania's Székely National Anthem. Special thanks to László Szelecki for his help on this project.
• See Hungarian Musical Opera for RealAudio clips of Hungarian musical masterpieces and folksongs, including the National Anthem, Székely Himnusz, and Berlioz, Brahms, and Beethoven.

Transylvanian Resources:

• The renowned author and eloquent voice on Transylvanian autonomy, Count Albert Wass de Czege, supervised an excellent work, entitled Documented Facts and Figures on Transylvania. This work gives excellent detail on the TRUE origins of Transylvania and how Rumanians gained their foothold. See also his letter to Congress regarding the Cultural Genocide of Hungarians.
• TransylvaniaNet - "not the legend, but the real story..." - is an interesting educational site on Transylvania with an objective source of information, detailed maps, history, current news and issues, discussion group, and links to other resources. This includes a link to ProTransylvania -a multiethnic political group seeking Autonomy for Transylvania.
• Transylvania and the Theory of Daco-Roman-Rumanian Continuity is an excellent look at at this controversial theory.
• Transylvania: The Roots of Ethnic Conflict
• Witness to Cultural Genocide: First-Hand Reports on Rumania's Minority Policies Today
• Genocide in Transylvania: Nation on the Death Row
• István Lázár presents, Transylvania, A Short History
• Transylvania on SlavWeb - provides many good resources, and includes the Rumanian version of history.
• SEE MY "The Treaty of Trianon and the Dismemberment of Hungary" Page