Magyarfalu Alapítvány, Budapest

According to the 1992 census the village of Magyarfalu (Arini), which lies to the southeast of Bákó (Bacau), has a population of 1, 337, of whom 1, 325 are Catholic and 1, 300 speak Hungarian. In all probability Magyarfalu was settled at the end of the eighteenth century, when waves of mass migration from Transylvania reached a peak with the eastward movement of large, coherent groups of people - groups that remained united even once they reached Moldavia. This period also presumably saw the largest, ethnically - religiously homogenous Székely communities arise in unpopulated or sparsely populated regions of Moldavia?villages such as Pusztina (Pustiana), Frumósza (Frumoasa), Lészped (Lespezi), Szőlőhegy (Pîrgaresti) and the surrounding area, Magyarfalu, Lábnik (Vladnic) and Kalugarén (Calugareni). Since the best areas of arable land were already occupied, in effect, the new arrivals had to make do with relatively narrow valleys featuring streams and small rivers. Consequently even these relatively large Székely villages of Moldavia have a certain mountainous character.