Courtyards and squares

Kézdivásárhely lies in the southeastern part of Szeklerland, more precisely in the central part of Kézdiszék, along the road that links Brasov to Moldavia. It is mainly inhabited by Hungarians. The town was established along a road which leads from the Ojtoz pass down the basin, and which had a very important commercial and military role. At the beginning, the town was known under the name ’Torjavására’. It was mentioned in the documents in 1407, receiving the rank of town from Sigismund of Luxemburg.

Kézdivásárhely is also known as the town of guilds. At the end of the 19th century it was considered to be a dynamically developing commercial settlement and the cultural and spiritual center of Háromszék. Its main square was unique due to the peculiar construction of the courtyards leading to it. It is a unique form of establishment, therefore the historical town center and the system of courtyards mentioned beforehand are considered to be architectural monuments.

The first settlers established building sites close to each other. Those parts of these sites, which were close to the center, were used as places where the owners exhibited their products. According to the Szekler law of in heritage, the building sites were divided among all descendants, therefore the sites gradually crumbled. Formerly, the courtyards used to bear the names of some families such as: the Jancsó, Csiszár, Balogh, Szűcs, Kovács, Rácz. From 1851, foreigners were also allowed to settle in the community of these courtyards, that is why they started to be named with numbers. Nowadays there are 71 courtyards that have preserved their original form.