Ditró

Tartar hill

DITRÓ (Ditrau, Rumania today) is a village in Székely-land with a population of 8000 Székelys. These people made their living on trasporting borvíz (Engl. Acidulous water) from the nearby village Borszék (Borsec, Rumania today). This beautiful church was built in the 19th century in eclectical style.
In 1658, to reteliate the military campaign by Hungarian Prince of Transylvania György Rákóczi II against Poland, the Turkish sultan lead a mixed Turkish, Tartar and Wallachian troops of 3000 people against Transylvania. To hold them back, a young civilian Székely, called Gábor deák (Engl. notary Gábor) gathered a small 250-people-strong army, among which there were many women, and, on August 6, near Ditró, the two armies clashed. Gábor's people fought heroically and managed to overcome half of the attackers making the rest of them retreat. This small hill with the obelisk, called the Tatárhalom, (Engl. Tartar hill) is the resting place of the remains of Gábor deák's fallen army, and it is a custom for the local Székelys to go to the top of the hill and drop a handful of soil on it, not to let it fade.
(Picture on the church: Courtesy of Zoltán Farkas)