SÃÂrmaÃÂu (; <small>Hungarian pronunciation</small>: ) is a town in MureàCounty, central Transylvania, Romania. It administers seven villages: Balda (Báld), Larga (Lárga), Moruà(Marocháza), SÃÂrmÃÂÃÂel (Kissármás), SÃÂrmÃÂÃÂel-Garà(Bánffytanya), Titiana (Titiána), and ViÃÂinelu (Csehtelke).
The town lies in the Transylvanian Plain, at an altitude of , on the banks of the rivers Pârâul de Câmpie and Frata. It is located in the western part of MureàCounty, northwest of the county seat, Târgu MureÃÂ, on the border with Cluj and BistriÃÂa-NÃÂsÃÂud counties.
SÃÂrmaÃÂu is bordered to the north by BudeÃÂti, BistriÃÂa-NÃÂsÃÂud; to the east by Sânpetru de Câmpie and to the southeast by MiheÃÂu de Câmpie (both in MureàCounty); to the west by CÃÂmÃÂraÃÂu and to the northwest by Mociu (both in Cluj County).
SÃÂrmÃÂÃÂel-GarÃÂ village is crossed by national road , which connects it to Cluj-Napoca, to the west, and to Reghin, to the east. The town has two train stations ( and SÃÂrmÃÂÃÂel), both serving the CFR Line 405, which starts in Deda, MureÃÂ and ends in Ocna MureÃÂ, Alba County.
The town is the site of the SÃÂrmaÃÂu massacre, which occurred between 5 September and 10 October 1944, when SÃÂrmaÃÂu came under the occupation of the Nazi-aligned Hungarian troops. During this period, Hungarian gendarmes and members of the Hungarian National Guard killed 126 local Jews (out of 142 who were living in the city at the time), as well as 39 Romanians, the latter primarily prisoners of war captured during the Battle of Turda.
At the 2021 census, SÃÂrmaÃÂu had a population of 6,186, of which 63.32% were Romanians, 17.73% Hungarians, and 12.38% Roma. According to the 2011 census, the town had 6,833 inhabitants, divided among the following ethnic groups: Romanians (67.24%), Hungarians (22.36%), and Roma (10.2%).
On the present-day territory of Romania, the first natural gas deposit was discovered in 1909, in SÃÂrmÃÂÃÂel (then in Austria-Hungary). The SÃÂrmaÃÂel gas field was developed by Romgaz. The first gas production was used to power the steam boilers in SÃÂrmÃÂÃÂel and the gas lighting of the alleys in Bazna resort. In 1914 the first gas pipe was finished, spanning from SÃÂrmÃÂÃÂel to Turda and on to Ocna MureÃÂ, with a length of and diameter; in 1916, Turda became the first city in Europe to have public street lights fueled by natural gas. In 1927 the first natural gas compression station in Europe was built in SÃÂrmÃÂÃÂel.