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{{For|the river in Mureș County|Sovata (river)}}
{{Infobox Romanian subdivision
|type               = town
|county             = Mureș
|official_name      = Sovata
|other_name         = Szováta
|image_map          = Sovata jud Mures.png
|map_caption        = Location in Mureș County
|image_skyline      = Medve-tó légi.jpg
|image_shield       = ROU MS Sovata CoA.png
|leader_name        = László Zsolt Fülöp<ref>{{cite web |url=https://prezenta.roaep.ro/locale27092020/romania-pv-final |title=Results of the 2020 local elections |publisher=Central Electoral Bureau |access-date=11 June 2021 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|leader_party       = UDMR
|term               = 2020&ndash;2024
|coordinates        = {{coord|46|35|46|N|25|4|28|E|region:RO|display=inline,title}}
|elevation          = 500
|elevation_min      = 
|elevation_max      = 
|area_total         = 
|population_as_of   = 
|population_total   = auto
|population_footnotes = 
|postal_code        = 545500
|area_code          = (+40) 02 65
|website            = {{URL|https://primariasovata.ro}}
}}

'''Sovata''' ({{IPA|ro|soˈvata}}; {{langx|hu|Szováta}}; <small>Hungarian pronunciation</small>: {{convertIPA-hu|'|sz|o|v|á|t|a}}) is a town in [[Mureș County]], [[Transylvania]], [[Romania]]. Three villages are administered by the town: Căpeți (''Kopac''), Ilieși (''Illyésmező''), and Săcădat (''Szakadát''). In 2004, the village of [[Sărățeni, Mureș|Sărățeni]] broke away to form an independent commune.

As well as being a [[spa town]], Sovata is on the route of the [[Via Transilvanica]] [[long-distance trail]], which also passes through the village of Săcădat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Highlands {{!}} Via Transilvanica |url=https://www.viatransilvanica.com/en/regions/highlands/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=www.viatransilvanica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Geography==
The town is part of the [[Székely Land]] region of the historical [[Transylvania]] province. It is located in the eastern part of Mureș County, on the border with [[Harghita County]]; the county capital, [[Târgu Mureș]], is {{cvt|60|km}} to the west.

Sovata lies at the foot of the [[Gurghiu Mountains]], at an altitude between {{cvt|475|and|530|m}}. It is situated between the river [[Corund (river)|Corund]] and the valley of the [[Târnava Mică]]. The river [[Sovata (river)|Sovata]] discharges into the Târnava Mică in the town. 

Sovata can be reached from Târgu Mureș, [[Miercurea-Ciuc]], and [[Odorheiu Secuiesc]] on the {{ill|DN13A|ro}} [[Roads in Romania|national road]] and from [[Reghin]] on a connection road.

==History==
[[Image:Székely gate in Szováta (Sovata).jpg|thumb|Székely gate|left]]
The first data about Sovata are from 1578. By 1583 it was already a village. For 42 years, from 1876 until 1918, the village belonged to the [[Maros-Torda County]] of the [[Austrian-Hungarian Empire]].

Due to its salty lakes and warm water it became an increasingly popular health resort during the end of the 19th and the 20th century. It gained the status of town in 1952.

== Demographics ==
According to the [[2011 Romanian census|2011 census]], the town had a population of 10,385, of which 87.7% were [[Hungarians in Romania|Hungarians]], 8.2% [[Romanians]], and 1.9% [[Romani people in Romania|Roma]].<ref>[http://www.mures.insse.ro/phpfiles/COMUNICAT_DATE_PROVIZORII_RPL_2011_judetul_MURES.pdf 2011 census data] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126095021/http://www.mures.insse.ro/phpfiles/COMUNICAT_DATE_PROVIZORII_RPL_2011_judetul_MURES.pdf |date=2013-11-26 }}</ref> At the [[2021 Romanian census|2021 census]], Sovata had a population of 9,703, of which 82.81% were Hungarians, 8.51% Romanians, and 2.12% Roma.<ref name="RPL2021">{{cite web|url=https://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Tabel-1.03_1.3.1-si-1.03.2.xls|title=Populația rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Romania)|INSSE]]|language=ro|date=31 May 2023}}</ref> 

''Demographic movement according to census data:''
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==Spa==
The geological events in 1875 gave birth to the Bear Lake, which is unique in Europe, its water being helio-thermal{{Definition needed|date=April 2024}} and salty, with purported therapeutic effects for chronic gynaecological symptoms, severe rheumatic pains, peripheral nervous system, and post-accidental motor diseases.{{Citation needed|reason=no evidence of notoriety for treatment of these is provided|date=February 2018}}

There are four more salty lakes: Nut Lake, Black Lake, Red Lake, and Green Lake. In the [[interwar period]], Sovata became one of the most fashionable spas in the country, visited several times even by the [[Romanian Royal Family]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}}

[[Image:Sudika Szováta Medve-tó.jpg|thumb|800px|Spa on the Bear Lake|center]]

==People from Sovata==
* Nahum (Nachum) Gantz Ostolish (1926–2005), a [[Knesset]] (parliamentary) candidate, local head of [[Mapai]] party and ''[[moshav]]'' (type of farm) movement and co-founder of [[Kfar Ahim]] moshav , Israel, father of [[Benny Gantz]], leading Israeli politician<ref>{{cite web |title=Nachum Gantz |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Nachum-Gantz/6000000012570238386 |website=Geni |access-date=31 January 2024 |date=29 July 1926}}</ref><ref name="hamodia">{{cite web |last1=Greenbaum |first1=Avraham Dov |title=A Member of a Generation of Believers - Hamodia.com |url=https://hamodia.com/2019/01/01/member-generation-believers/ |website=Hamodia |access-date=31 January 2024 |date=1 January 2019}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of Hungarian exonyms (Mureș County)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sovata}}
* [http://www.sovata.ro/ Resort Sovata]

{{Mureș County}}
{{Spa towns in Romania}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Romania]]
[[Category:Populated places in Mureș County]]
[[Category:Spa towns in Romania]]
[[Category:Localities in Transylvania]]