Miercurea Ciuc

Miercurea Ciuc, known in Hungarian as Csíkszereda, lies in the Ciuc basin of eastern Transylvania. A charter issued by Queen Isabella in 1558 attests its status as a market town and exempted its inhabitants from taxes other than the tribute due to the Ottoman Porte.

In 1623 Ferenc Mikó, captain of the Ciuc seat and adviser to Prince Gabriel Bethlen, began building the fortified residence now known as Mikó Castle. The town lay near Csíksomlyó, an important Franciscan and Catholic pilgrimage centre in the wider Székely region.