Kézdivásárhely

The famed
Cannon of
brass

KÉZDIVÁRÁSHELY The area of Kézdivásárhely (Tirgu Secuiesc, Rumania today) was inhabited in the Ancient Ages, since in 1852, they unearthed Roman coins, cups, weapons, etc. here. German-Roman emperor and Hungarian king Sigismund (1387-1437) gave Kézdivásárhely the title of free royal town, allowing it to hold fairs, too. The name Kézdi-Vásárhely was first used by Hungarian king Sigismund János (1559-1571) in 1562.
Kézdivásárhely had been a quiet market-town till the Hungarian Liberation Fight of 1848. When Lajos Kossuth, the leader of the Liberation Fight, needed more artillery, Áron Gábor, who operated a foundry in Kézdivásárhely, came to his help by melting down the church bells, obtained from the Székely villages, and cast cannons from them, which became known as Áron Gábor's famed cannons of brass. Between October 1848 and June, 1849, Áron Gábor's shop cast 68 cannons using over 400 bells, but Kézdivásárhely was also the center of manufacturing gun powder for the war.
The production of the cannons was a major accomplishment, therefore, Áron Gábor and his cannons of brass are remembered in one of the best known Hungarian folk songs, titled (Hung.) Gábor Áron rézágyúja.
A museum bearing his name exhibits tools of the production and one of the cannons, and also Áron Gábor has a statue on the main square of Kézdivásárhely.
The picture on the right shows the plaque on the house where he was born in Bereck (Bretcu, Rumania today), a small village near Kézdivásárhely.

Bereck