Chiochiș

Chiochiș (Kékes) is a commune in Bistrița-Năsăud County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of ten villages: Apatiu (Dellőapáti), Bozieș (Magyarborzás), Buza Cătun (Buzaifogadók), Chețiu (Ketel), Chiochiș, Jimbor (Szászzsombor; Sommer), Manic (Mányik), Sânnicoară (Aranyosszentmiklós), Strugureni (Mezőveresegyháza; Rothkirch), and Țentea (Cente).

Geography
The commune lies on the Transylvanian Plateau, on the banks of the river Apatiu and its tributary, the river Beudiu. It is located in the southwestern part of the county, on the border with Cluj County, at a distance of 27 km from the town of Beclean and 42 km from the county seat, Bistrița; the city of Gherla is 31 km to the west, in Cluj County.

Demographics
At the 2011 census, 73.2% of the population were Romanians, 24.1% Hungarians and 2.5% Roma. At the 2002 census, 68.7% were Romanian Orthodox, 22.1% Reformed, 4% Pentecostal, 2% Baptist, and 1.8% Greek-Catholic.

Notable people

 * Iuliu Prodan (1875–1959), botanist
 * Cornelia Filipaș (born 1926), communist politician

Places of interest
The following churches are situated in the commune:


 * Bozieș wooden church
 * Bozieș Reformed church
 * Buza Cătun wooden church
 * Manic wooden church
 * Strugureni wooden church
 * Strugureni Reformed church

On the western side of the village of Manic there is a string of lakes, set up in 1980; the lakes are rich in Prussian carp.