Requiem for Bodvaj

The settlement is famous for the fact that during the Revolution of 1848/49, Áron Gábor cast the first cannons of the self-defence battle of Covasna County. However, the natural environment of Bodvaj, near Herculian, also deserves special attention: rich wildlife, with the black stork living a hidden life on the banks of the Fenyves mineral water stream, attracts visitors in search of similar specialities. Near the furnace, high-yielding and high-quality mineral water springs erupt and flow into the Fenyős stream. And barely a kilometre away from the iron smelter, a tiny wooden "lined" bathing pool - the "bath" of the great storyteller of yesteryear, Elek Benedek - evokes old but eternal times.

The factory in Bodvaj was established in 1831 by Antal Zakariás from Gheorgheni, who was of Armenian origin. Mining was stopped in the autumn of 1897, but the mined ore was processed until the spring of 1905. That year everyone moved out of the area, but the area was guarded by a site guard until 1919. After twenty-five years of "orphanhood", after the Second World War, the restoration of the mine and the furnace was started and production resumed, but in March 1951 the works were finally stopped, on the grounds that the ore had run out. The fire in the furnace finally died out on 1 April 1954, and today only the restored furnace can be seen on the site of the former plant. On the hill, a few tombstones from the former cemetery bear witness to a vanishing world.

Samu Csinta