Axente Sever (until 1931 ''Frâua''; ; ) is a commune located in

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county () of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat () is the namesake town of Sibiu (). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Hermannstadt''. Under the ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, named after Ioan Axente Sever. The commune is composed of three villages: Agârbiciu (''Arbegen''; ''Szászegerbegy''), Axente Sever and Șoala (''Schaal''; ''Sálya''). In each of these three villages there are

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

fortified churches erected in the 14th century and fortified till the 16th century.

Geography

The commune is situated on the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau (; ) is a plateau in central Romania. Description The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern Carpathians, Eastern, Southern ...

, at an altitude of , on the banks of the river

Vișa The Vișa () is a left tributary of the river Târnava Mare in Romania. It discharges into the Târnava Mare in Copșa Mică. Its length is and its basin size is . Tributaries The following rivers are tributaries to the river Vișa (from sourc ...

. Located in the northern part of Sibiu County, just south of the town of Copșa Mică, it is crossed by

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

. The closest city is

Mediaș Mediaș (; , , Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Medwesch''/''Medveš''/''Medwisch'', ) is the second largest municipiu, town and municipality in Sibiu County, Transylvania, central Romania. Geography Mediaș is located in ...

, to the northeast; the county seat,

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

, is to the south. The Axente Sever halt serves the CFR rail line 208, which runs north from Sibiu to Copșa Mică. The route of the

Via Transilvanica Via Transilvanica 'The Transylvanian Trail' is a hiking trail that crosses the Transylvania, Bukovina and Banat regions of Romania, and is meant to promote their cultural, ethnic, historical and natural diversity. It was built between 2018 and ...

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

passes through the villages of Axente Sever and Agârbiciu.

Etymology

The village's original name, ''Frauendorf'', refers to the fact that the village was under the jurisdiction of a

princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

. The village's contemporary Romanian name originates from the name of Axente Sever (1821–1906), a controversial revolutionary, propagandist, and theologian born in the village.

History

Archeological remains from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

, early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

period have all been found in the area around the village. In the 12th century,

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

settled the area, and constructed a gothic

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

on the ruins of an older church. Documents attest that this church was standing by at least 1330. After 1570, the settlement became part of the Principality of Transylvania. In 1876, it fell within the

Nagy-Küküllő County Nagy-Küküllő () was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (central Transylvania). Nagy-Küküllő is the Hungarian language, Hungarian name for ...

of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. In the aftermath of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the

Union of Transylvania with Romania The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a Public holidays in Romani ...

was declared in December 1918. At the start of the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War (; ) was fought between Hungary and Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. After the ...

of 1918–1919, the locality passed under Romanian administration; after the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

of 1920, it became part of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. In 1925, it fell within Plasa

Șeica Mare Șeica Mare (; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Martscheelken''; ) is a commune located in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Boarta (''Michelsdorf''; ''Mihályfalva''), Buia (''Bell''; ''Bólya''), Mighindoala (''Engent ...

Târnava-Mare County Târnava-Mare County is one of the historical counties of the Kingdom of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. The county seat was Sighișoara. Yet the biggest city in 1930 was Mediaș Geography The county covered 2836 km2 and w ...

. After the establishment of the

Romanian People's Republic The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian People's Repu ...

in 1947 and the subsequent administrative reform of 1950, Axente Sever became part of the , and from 1952, the

Stalin Region Regiunea Stalin (Stalin Region) was one of the administrative divisions of the People's Republic of Romania. It was established in 1950, in the Soviet style of territorial organization, and was named after Joseph Stalin. Its name was changed to ...

(renamed Brașov Region in 1960). In 1968, the old administrative division of

județ A (, plural ) is an administrative division in Romania, and was also used from 1940 to 1947 in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and from 1998 to 2003 in Moldova. There are 41 in Romania, divided into municipii (municipalities), ''ora ...

was reinstated, and the commune became part of

Demographics

In 1910, the village was majority

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, with a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

minority. Following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the German population, which lived in the village for over 800 years was forcibly deported. At the 2021 census, Axente Sever had a population of 3,286; of those, 82.59% were Romanians and 6.91%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

Gallery

File:Biserica Fortificata din Axente Sever Sibiu Poza 4.JPG, Fortified Church of Axente Sever File:Axente Sever IMG 5527.jpg, Fortified Church of Axente Sever File:Biserica Fortificata din Axente Sever Sibiu Poza 2.JPG, Fortified Church of Axente Sever File:ROM Axente Sever 01.jpg, Axente Sever File:ROM Axente Sever Principala 01.jpg, The main street File:Transylvanian Saxons - Frauendorf 3.jpg, Transylvanian Saxons dancing in Frauendorf

References

* Augustin Ioan and Hanna Derer. ''The Fortified Churches of the Transylvanian Saxons''. Noi Media Print, 2004

External links

* {{Authority control Communes in Sibiu County Localities in Transylvania