Bran (german: Törzburg; hu, Törcsvár) is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in
Brașov County
Brașov County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Transylvania. Its capital city is Brașov. The county incorporates within its boundaries most of the Medieval "lands" (''țări'') Burzenland and Făgăraș.
Name
In Hungarian, it is known ...
,
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 ...
,
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 is about southwest of the city of
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 ...
and consists of five villages: Bran, Poarta ( hu, Porta), Predeluț (''Kispredeál''), Șimon (''Simon''), and Sohodol (''Szohodol'').
The medieval
Bran Castle
Bran Castle ( ro, Castelul Bran; german: Schloss Bran; hu, Törcsvári kastély) is a castle in Bran, southwest of Brașov. It is a national monument and landmark in Transylvania. The fortress is on the Transylvanian side of the historical b ...
is a popular tourist destination, partly because it is associated with the home of
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
in
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...
's
novel of the same name; the castle has been listed as one of the
Seven Wonders of Romania
Various lists of the Seven Wonders of Romania ( ro, Cele Șapte Minuni ale României) have been compiled from past to the present day, to catalogue Romania's most spectacular artificial structures.
Lists ''Evenimentul Zilei''s Seven Wonders
...
.
Geography
Bran is located in the southern part of Brașov County, on or near the border with
Dâmbovița and
Argeș counties, and belongs to the historical sub-region of
Țara Bârsei
Țara Bârsei, Burzenland () or Barcaság is a historic and ethnographic area in southeastern Transylvania, Romania with a mixed population of Romanians, Germans, and Hungarians.
Geography
The Burzenland lies within the Southern Carpathians m ...
(Burzenland). It lies at the northern end of the
Rucăr-Bran Pass
The Rucăr-Bran Pass, also called in English the Bran Pass (german: Törzburger Pass, hu, Törcsvári-szoros), is a mountain pass in Romania, linking the counties of Brașov and Argeș. It has some of the most spectacular natural views in Roman ...
;
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 of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...
DN73
DN73 ( ro, Drumul Național 73) is a Roads in Romania, national road in Romania which links Pitești with Brașov. It is a high-traffic road and the preferred route for trucks. Near Câmpulung the road crosses the Southern Carpathians along the D ...
, which runs through the pass, connects Brașov to
Pitești
Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in the historical re ...
, to the southwest.
The commune is situated between two mountain ranges of the
Southern Carpathians
The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ro, Carpații Meridionali ; hu, Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the P ...
: to the southeast are the
Bucegi Mountains
The Bucegi Mountains (Romanian: ''Munții Bucegi'' ) are located in central Romania, south of the city of Brașov. They are part of the Southern Carpathians group of the Carpathian Mountains. At , '' Omu'' is its highest point.
To the east, the ...
, with the
Omu Peak
Omu Peak ( ro, Vârful Omu) is a mountain peak of the Bucegi Mountains in Romania. It is located in Brașov, Dâmbovița and Prahova counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers ...
dominating the area, at ; and to the west are the
Piatra Craiului Mountains
The Piatra Craiului Mountains (german: Königstein, hu, Királykő-hegység) are a mountain range in the Southern Carpathians in Romania. Its name is translated as ''Kings' Rock'' or ''The Rock of the Prince''. The mountain range is located ...
, which top out at .
History
The
Teutonic Order
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
began building a wooden fort called ''Dietrichstein'' here early in the 13th century. After the fort's destruction in 1242 by
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
("Tatars"), King
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
ordered a stone castle to be built in 1377, while the settlement of Bran began to develop nearby. Positioned high atop a steep cliff, the castle guarded a strategic trade route between
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 ...
and
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
. In 1498, Bran came under the jurisdiction of Brașov.
After the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
defeated the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
in the 16th century, Bran became part of the
Eastern Hungarian Kingdom
The Eastern Hungarian Kingdom ( hu, keleti Magyar Királyság) is a modern term coined by some historians to designate the realm of John Zápolya and his son John Sigismund Zápolya, who contested the claims of the House of Habsburg to rule the ...
and the
Principality of Transylvania, which eventually became part of the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
. In 1804 the commune became part of the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
along with the
Grand Principality of Transylvania
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...
, and in 1867 the
Hungarian section of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. It became part of the
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...
following
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
After Transylvania became part of Romania, Bran Castle (that was owned by the city of
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 ...
) was gifted to
Queen Marie by the Brașov magistrate. The queen transformed it into a royal residence in the 1920s, and today it is one of Romania's most popular visitor sites. It is open to tourists, who can view the inside alone or as part of a guided tour. Outside the castle is an open-air museum with traditional Romanian farm houses and manufacturing facilities.
Natives
*
Marian Blaj (born 1978), biathlete
*
Ioan Pușcariu (1824–1911), historian and genealogist, member of the
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
*
Livia Reit (born 1978), cross-country skier
*
Alexandra Stoian (born 1983), biathlete
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bran, Brasov
Communes in Brașov County
Localities in Transylvania
Burzenland