Burzenland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Burzenland (Hungarian: Barcaság; Romanian: Ţara Bârsei) is an historic area in southeastern Transylvania, Romania. Since the exodus of most of the German-speaking Transylvanian Saxons in the 20th century, this particular regional designation has lost much of its cultural meaning.
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[edit] Geography
Geographically, Burzenland lies within the Carpathian Mountains, bordered approximately by Feldioara (Marienburg) in the north, Râşnov (Rosenau) in the southwest and Prejmer (Tartlau) in the southeast. Its most important city is Braşov (Kronstadt). Burzenland is named after the stream Bârsa (Burzen), which flows into the Olt (Alt) River.
[edit] History
In 1211 the region was given to the Teutonic Order by King Andrew II of Hungary in return for guarding the southeastern border of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Cumans. The Teutonic Knights constructed several castles in the area, as well as bringing colonists from the Holy Roman Empire to settle the sparsely populated land. In 1224 the Knights attempted to remove themselves from Hungarian allegiance and place themselves under the Papal See; in retaliation Andrew evicted the Order in 1225. Although the Order left for Prussia, the German colonists remained in Burzenland until the 20th century.
[edit] Towns
In each case, the modern Romanian name is given first, followed by the historic German and Hungarian names.
- Bod (Brenndorf, Botfalva)
- Bran (Törzburg, Törcsvár)
- Braşov (Kronstadt, Brassó)
- Codlea (Zeiden, Feketehalom)
- Cristian (Neustadt, Keresztényfalva)
- Feldioara (Marienburg, Földvár)
- Ghimbav (Weidenbach, Vidombák)
- Hălchiu (Heldsdorf, Höltövény)
- Hărman (Honigberg, Szászhermány)
- Măieruş (Nußbach, Szászmagyarós)
- Prejmer (Tartlau, Prázsmar)
- Râşnov (Rosenau, Barcarozsnyó)
- Rotbav (Rotbach, Szászveresmart)
- Sânpetru (Petersberg, Barcaszentpéter)
- Vulcan (Wolkendorf, Szászvolkány), "The Shield of the Burzenland"
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Bauern und Burgen im Burzenland (German)
- Ehemaliges Wappen der Provinz Burzenland (German)
- Map showing German settlements in Transylvania
- German mountain names in Burzenland (German)
[edit] Reference
This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of 14 March 2005.
