Avrig (; german: Freck/Fryck,

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...

: ''Freck/Fraek'', hu, Felek) is a town in

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county ( ro, județ) of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat ( ro, reședință de județ) is the namesake town of Sibiu (german: Hermannstadt). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, central

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It has a population of 12,815 and the first documents attesting its existence date to 1346. It officially became a town in 1989, as a result of the

Romanian rural systematization program The Romanian rural systematization program was a social engineering program undertaken by Nicolae Ceaușescu's Romania primarily at the end of the 1980s. The legal framework for this program was established as early as 1974, but it only began in ...

Demographics

At the 2011 census, 95.6% of inhabitants were

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

, 2.1%

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

, 1.5%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, and 0.5%

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

(

Transylvanian Saxons The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ( ...

Administration and local politics

Town council

The town's current local council has the following multi-party political composition, based on the results of the votes cast at the

2020 Romanian local elections Local elections were held in Romania on 27 September 2020. Initially planned for June 2020, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic led the Government of Romania to postpone the elections to a date no later than 31 December 2020, and extending all ...

Geography

The town administers four villages: Bradu (''Gierelsau''; ''Fenyőfalva''), Glâmboaca (''Hühnerbach''; ''Glimboka''), Mârșa and Săcădate (''Sekadaten''; ''Oltszakadát''). It is situated in the historical region of

. It lies on the left bank of the

river Olt The Olt (Romanian and Hungarian; german: Alt; la, Aluta or ', tr, Oltu, grc, Ἄλυτος ''Alytos'') is a river in Romania. It is long, and its basin area is . It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its average disch ...

(at the mouth of the

Avrig River The Avrig is a left tributary of the river Olt in Romania. It discharges into the Olt in the town Avrig.Făgăraș Mountains The Făgăraș Mountains ( ro, Munții Făgărașului ; hu, Fogarasi-havasok) are the highest mountains of the Southern Carpathians, in Romania. Geography The mountain range is situated in the heart of Romania, at . The range is bordered in the ...

, at about from

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

on the road towards

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a popu ...

. It is the main starting point for the trekking routes in the western part of the mountains, and also on access point at a great number of chalets in the mountains: ''Cabana Poiana Neamțului'', ''Cabana Bârcaciu'', ''Cabana Ghiocelul''.

Economy

Avrig SA Glass Factory, a company specialized in lime mouthblown glass, started its origins in Avrig in the 17th century. Mârșa village is the site of the Mecanica Mârșa Works, which manufactures auto-trailers and military vehicles.

Tourism

The most important objective in the town is the Brukenthal Summer Palace built in 1771, a baroque summer residence of baron

Samuel von Brukenthal Samuel Freiherr von Brukenthal (, 26 July 1721, in Leschkirch – 9 April 1803, in Sibiu) was the Habsburg governor of the Grand Principality of Transylvania between 6 July 1774 and 9 January 1787. He was a personal advisor of Empress Maria Ther ...

, the governor of

. Also two old churches can be found there: the evangelical church, built in the 13th century and fortified in the 16th century and the orthodox church, built in the 18th century. Bradu village features a fortified church first attested in 1315, with the last major modification in 1804.

Natives

Gheorghe Lazăr Gheorghe Lazăr (5 June 1779 – 17 September 1823), born and died in Avrig, Sibiu County, was a Transylvanian, later Romanian scholar, the founder of the first Romanian language school in Bucharest, 1817. Biography A Habsburg Empire subject, ...

, founder of the first Romanian-language school *

Vasile Stoica Vasile Stoica (, also known as Basil Stoica; 1889–1959) was a Romanian political writer, diplomat, and close assistant of European statesmen Tomáš Masaryk and Ion I.C. Brătianu. Early life and education Stoica was born in a family that origi ...

, diplomat

Image gallery

File:FreckBrukenthal.jpg, Brukenthal Summer Palace File:Brukenthal'sche Sommerresidenz Stadt.jpg, Avrig File:Biserica evanghelică.JPG, The medieval fortified Evangelical Lutheran Transylvanian Saxon church of Avrig File:Gierelsau.jpg, The medieval Evangelical Lutheran Transylvanian Saxon

fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as the Ávila Cathedra ...

of Bradu village File:Gory Fogaraskie (Fagaras Mountains) 25.jpg,

Avrig Lake Avrig Lake ( ro, Lacul Avrig) is a glacial lake situated in the Făgăraș Mountains of Romania, in the northeastern corner of Vâlcea County. It is situated at an altitude of . The lake surface is about and the deepest point reaches . The lake ...

File:Josephinische Landaufnahme pg238.jpg, Avrig in the Grand Duchy of

, 1769-1773 File:Avrig jud Sibiu.png, Avrig in

References

External links

Avrig Town Hall Official Site

Brukenthal Palace Avrig
Towns in Romania Populated places in Sibiu County Localities in Transylvania {{Sibiu-geo-stub