Rimetea lies in the Apuseni Mountains of central Transylvania, in a valley 23 kilometers north of Aiud, between the mountains of Székelykő and Ordaskő. The village rests at an altitude of 650 meters, and the Székelykő is an additional 479 meters higher. The distinct location of Rimetea at the bottom of the Székelykő gives it a unique characteristic, since in the village the sun appears to "rise twice" - once above the horizon, before disappearing behind the mountain, and emerging again.
Etymology
The village's name "Torockó" or more archaically "Toroczko" has its root in an old Slavic word "troszk" meaning "iron ore" or "iron-like". An o slipped between the first tr when spoken in Hungarian, and the word merged with the Slavic ending "-ov" meaning "made of", forming the name Toroszkov. With a degradation of consonant sounds, the name Toroszkó, emerged. The first time the village was mentioned was in 1257 under the name Toroczko. The village's iron-mining past is clearly reflected in not only the origin of the Hungarian name, but also in the German name "Eisenmarkt".
History
Torockó has been inhabited since Roman times, and grew around an iron mining economy. Although the village is now a part of Romania, its inhabitants are a vast majority Hungarian, as the village was a part of Hungary from 896 A.D. until 1920. The first time the villiage was mentioned was in 1257 under the name Toroczko, and was only called "Rimetea" after the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 in which the Kingdom of Hungary lost two thirds of its landmass, and it became part of Alba County in Romania.
Prior to the Roman occupation of the area, vast woodlands likely covered the region where Torockó now stands. It is uncertain whether agriculture developed in the wooded areas, but it is likely that the flat top of the Rock of the Szeklers '' was inhabited due to its open, deforested profile, and its easy access to wild game in the surrounding woodlands. The top of the Rock of the Szeklers provides clear views of the surrounding region, giving it a strategic advantage used by the Romans for communication and defense purposes. The Romans conducted regular guard duties on the top of the Rock of the Szeklers, in order to link existing military fortifications in what are now Cluj-Napoca, Turda, Ocna Mureș, Aiud and Alba Iulia. The Roman outpost on the Rock of the Szeklers played an important role within this chain of outposts, since it was from here that beacons could be lit warning the Roman castra in Turda, Moldovenești, Ocna Mureș and Aiud of impending danger. After the fall of Roman Dacia in 275 A.D., Transylvania did not remain unoccupied for long. Wars over the territory broke out between factions of Goths, Huns, Avars, and Gepids. Lasting peace, organized administration, and civil society was not established in the region until the arrival of the Magyars, and the resultant Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in the 9th and 10th centuries. During the period of unrest between the collapse of Roman Dacia and the Hungarian conquest, various northern Slavic peoples settled in the largely uninhabited valleys of the central Transylvanian Apuseni Mountains where Torockó is now located. This Slavic influx occurred peacefully in remote parts of Transylvania, and was largely unnoticed by the warring powers of the region. It was at this time when the valley where Torockó lies was first inhabited. The native proto-Slavic language of these early settlers is the source of the name "Torockó", and of many other location names in region. The exact location of early Slavic settlements in the Torockó area is unknown, however these Slavs were the first to mine the iron ore found in the valley. What happened to these Slavic inhabitants is unknown, but they were present at the time of Hungarian occupation, and likely either died out, or were assimilated.
