Getting there
Getting there: It is located 22 km from Csíkszereda.
Drive along National Road 12, and following the road signs, at the centre of Csíkkozmás take the road that leads to Kézdivásárhely, then take Route 2 towards Lázárfalva. The village can also be approached along National Road 12. After reaching Tusnád, at the Mineral Water Museum take the side road that leads to Lázárfalva. Unfortunately the side road is not accessible in rainy weather.
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History
Lázárfalva is part of Kozmás Commune, and is situated at an altitude of 690 m above sea level. According to the 2002 census, the population of the village is 630, out of which 690 are ethnic Hungarians. 611 of the inhabitants were Roman Catholic, 8 belonged to the Reformed Church (i.e. Calvinist Christian Church), 6 were Christian Orthodox and 5 were adherent to other religions. (In 1940 the population of the village amounted to 920 people: 903 Roman Catholics, 1 Greek Catholic, 4 Evangelicals (i.e. Lutherans), 2 Unitarians and 10 were adherent to the Reformed Church.)
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The first written record of the village dates back to 136 The name of the village preserves the name of its founder, the Lázár family, which later moved to Szárhegy. Subsequently, the village was owned by the Béldis, the Petkis and the Apors, who settled serfs there to work in the fields. The ruins of the Petki mansion could still be seen in the middle of the 19th century. It is also hypothesized that the village was originally located in Kápolnamező, as remains of buildings have been found there. There was no village in the present location before the end of the 16th century. The chapel was built between 1580 and 1582. The villagers suffered a lot during the great plague (1717-1719). The chapel and the houses in the lower part of the village burnt down in a great fire on 4 June 1882.
Places of interest
The Roman Catholic church was built in Neobaroque style in 1883, in honour of the Blessed Sacrament.
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The Commemorative Cross
The inhabitants of the village were famous stonecutters. Fruits of their work – a large number of stone crosses, stone houses – can be seen all over the village, the most famous being the stone cross erected on the place where the old chapel burnt down in 1882. The inscription reads: "The great fire burnt it down and made this place barren, for the eternal commemoration of which this cross was erected by the pious believers on 14 June 1884".
The Greek Catholic church was built in 1742 in honour of Saint Nicholas. In 1914 the Greek Catholics converted to Roman Catholicism, so the church remained without a congregation. The building is now administered by the Romano-Choatolic Church.
The Miklóssy Mansion was sold to the village during the period between the two world wars. Now it is used as a festival hall.
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The Heroes' Monument and the gravestone
The Heroes' Monument was erected to pay reverence to the villagers who died heroically in the first and second world wars. The gravestone commemorates Captain József Miklóssy, who took an active part in the 1848-1849 Hungarian Revolution.
Mineral springs
It is said that there are as many as 48 mineral springs in Lázárfalva. In the book entitled Székelyföld borvizei [Mineral Waters in the Szeklerland] Csaba Jánosi and Éva Péter identify more than 63 mineral springs in Kozmás Commune. There is a saying which goes "In the area lying under Lake Mohos, Lázárfalva has more mineral springs than the whole region". The springs and dry mofettas on Borvíztető were more frequently visited in the past centuries than they are today. Local people use mainly the Nagyborvíz, the Borhozvaló, the Ponki, the Dögök, the Fingos and the Cigány mineral springs.
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The Fortyogó bath
István Lakatos, Vicar of Csíkkozmás, was the first who mentioned the Fortyogó bath at the end of the 1600s. The first chemical analysis of its water was carried out by dr. Zsigmond Béltelky in 1818.
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The water obtained from the spring was heated in buckets and was used for curing rheumatic and circulatory diseases. The once popular bath had fallen into disuse before 2001.
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Only some decaying beams of a small pool remained. However, in 2001 landscape architects from Hungary in cooperation with the local Mayor's Office rebuilt the Fortyogó bath following Zsolt Tusnády's designs.
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Being sceptical as to whether the building of the bath can be completed before its deadline, Lajos Ábrahám, Mayor of Csíkszentmárton, who was born in Lázárfalva, jumped into the water of the pool in suit and tie at the inauguration festivity.
Hospitality
Being situated off the main routes, the village succeeded in preserving traditional Szekler architecture, and it is one of the villages that have a leading role in promoting rural tourism. As many as 17 private houses and guesthouses were considered to meet the national service standards of agrotourism. A large variety of entertaining programmes are organised for the guests visiting the village, the most important of which are the following: regular treatment sessions in the bath and the mofettas, hiking tours and visiting historical sights.
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The Estate of the András Fund
In 2006 a camp for shared work was organised on Malomtanya (Mill Homestead in English), the estate owned by the András Fund, to set up the premises for a dance-teaching centre. The camp is organised in July or August every year, and people of any age group can take part in it.
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Lázárfalva and the lake
According to the data provided by Vicar András Balázs, Lake Saint Anne and the Mohos peat bog used to be owned by three communes: Kozmás, Lázárfalva and Tunád. Today Lake Saint Anne, the Mohos peat bog and their surroundings belong to the Lázárfalva Compossessorate. The Saint Anne Compossessorate was founded in 2000, and in the following year they succeeded in reinstating their ownership of the lands previously confiscated by the state, as a result of which the compossessorate manages 470 ha forest and 326 ha pasture land.
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