Gheorgheni Cultural Center

The Arhaic band is composed of some of the "knights" of Romanian folklore, which, through their music, bring to the spectators, the sensibility, the romanticism, but also the sentiment of national identity. Theirmusic is inspired by Nicolae Dobos, Adrian Paunescu, Lucian Blaga, Ion Margineanu, Lucian Avramescu, Gellu Dorian, Vasile Muste, Gheorghe Pârja, Mihai Traista, Valeriu Armeanu, Ştefan Doru Dăncuş and many others.

House of Culture - Miercurea Ciuc

The Siculus Youth Center features an event hall with a capacity of 300 people and is equipped with a stage. The 2nd floor is designed for conferences for up to 70 people.

Called ”Szekler-Athens” in the last century, Székelyudvarhely is now the second largest city in the county, the center of the historical Udvarhely region and home to one of the most important intellectual scenes for the Transylvanian Hungarians. The town has 36.234 inhabitants, 96% of whom are of the Hungarian minority. The city lies in the southeastern part of the Transylvanian basin, at the upper reaches of the river Nagy-Küküllő. Udvarhely is surrounded by the volcanic Hargita mountain and its branches which form the Küküllő hilly country, with peaks such as: Szarkakő, Csicser, Nagyoldal, Budvár. Archeological excavations show that area has been continually populated for ages. On both Budvar hill and in the town center there are sites from the late Stone Age, Bronze-, Iron Age, Roman period and the Arpadian era. The name of the city was first mentioned in the annual papal tithes register of 1333 as “Uduorhel“. In the next century it developed as a market town and starting in 1448 appears in all documents as Udvarhely. The introduction of the Székely title is connected to Gábor Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania (1613). The community was exempted from all kinds of taxes and expenses forever by Queen Izabella in 1557. The queen again confirmed these privileges in 1558 and endowed the town with a seal and coat of arms consisting of an armored right hand holding a sharp dagger, with a bear head, a heart and a crown surrounded by four starts and the date 1558. The inscription on the seal was: Sigillum Oppidi Siculicalis Udvarhely.

The Harghita Business Center Intercommunity Development Association business incubator will foster entrepreneurship and serve start-up businesses in the region of Odorheiu-Secuiesc with mentoring, flexible space, access to an innovative ecosystem and other business services designed to accelerate their success.

Sandominic Commune

The Harghita National Szekler Folk Ensemble was born in the most Eastern region of Transylvania, in Miercurea Ciuc. Our company, the Harghita Ensemble has been functioning as a professional institution since 1990 continuing the work of the amateur ensemble founded in 1970 under a similar name. Our primary goal has always been the exploration of our folk culture, living that culture and presenting, popularizing and handing it down in an authentic manner. In our folklore programs that have always been built on authentic material – given our geographic position – Transylvania and the Szeklerland have been prominent, but our shows also present the entire Carpathian basin, going beyond the Eastern Carpathians to the Moldova Csangos. Our repertoire also comprises several dance performances. It is our pleasure that our programs are sold out all over the settlements around Miercurea Ciuc, also among the Hungarians living in the diaspora, in small comunities as well as in large cities. Besides our regular home performances we have been able to display our traditions and represent the multiculturality of Romania, the Hungarian traditions, but also Transylvania, the Szeklerland and last but not least the community that has been maintaining us, Miercurea Ciuc, on international tours, festivals and events. Besides stage work our institution has also been the initiator and organizer of important events: Assembly of Transylvanian Folk Violinists, the Day of One Thousand Szekler Girls, Csűrdöngölő – folk dance assembly for children and youth and Heritage – folk music and dance assembly of Mezőség. Dancers of our company assist and teach several children’s, youth and adult folk dance groups. The maintainer of the ensemble is the Local Council of Miercurea Ciuc.

The IT Plus Cluster in Miercurea Ciuc was set up in 2013 to connect representatives of the IT & C industry in Szeklerland - both in terms of working tools and technical methods, as well as human capital and knowledge - for a more collaborative efficiency. Our cluster is constantly expanding, and in 2018 nearly 50 Szekler companies work together to demonstrate excellent professional knowledge. Our members are primarily involved in the development and support of unique software products, IT consultancy and the provision and maintenance of hardware and telecommunication solutions. Based on the 2017 reports, the cluster has managed to engage more than 300 professionals with a turnover of 111 million ron (25 million euro). Our goal is to create a long-term digital vision and to determine young people in this process to work together. We encourage them to travel around the world, gain experience and return home where to use their knowledge and work together for a better future of Szeklerland. The IT Plus Cluster organizes a conference every year dedicated to IT & C professionals and beyond. Each year a new area of ​​the Harghita County tourist destination is chosen.

The Development Agency of Harghita County was established based on County Council Decision no. 322/2015, with headquarters in Miercurea Ciuc. The main objective of the Agency is to contribute, through its activities and elaborated programs, to the development of the county, and, if required, to the organization of professional background-work related to the activity of the Council. According to County Council Decision no. 131/2016, the Agency can have one office in the following municipalities: Odorheiu Secuiesc, Gheorgheni and Toplita, so that the activities cover all the micro-regions of the county. The Agency is an open institution in development which, through its promoter and mediator role, helps local initiatives to materialize, collaborates with relevant agents in a well-balanced developmental process of the county, and if needed, contributes to the concentration of national and international resources oriented on the region's development, as well as to the improvement of the efficiency of local investments. The Agency's programs are meant to help Harghita county become a more entrepreneur-friendly region, to stimulate applications for external funds, support investments and innovations in the region, to stimulate the spirit of entrepreneurship and the creation of new jobs, the realization of plans which cover the whole region, and finally, to offer useful information on developing enterprises. The Agency's employees are motivated, mostly young economists, who use free and open-source software (Linux, LibreOffice, Drupal, etc.), based on the principle of cost-efficient work.