Buzău Pass () is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

that follows the

Buzău River The city of Buzău (formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu''; ) is the county seat of Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Car ...

and connects

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 ...

with

Buzău The city of Buzău (formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu''; ) is the county seat of Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Car ...

over the

Buzău Mountains The Buzău Mountains are a set of six mountains ranges in Romania which are part of the Sub Carpathians, Curvature Carpathians region of the Outer Eastern Carpathians. These six mountain ranges are as follows: * * * * * *. The Penteleu and Ivă ...

, in the

Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya Sy ...

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 ...

Geography

The pass is traversed 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 of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

DN10 DN10 ( ro, Drumul Național 10) is a national road in Romania that runs from Buzău to Brașov, crossing the Carpathian Mountains through the Buzău Pass. The road follows the Buzău River valley and is an important connection between Transylv ...

, from Crasna, in

Covasna County Covasna County (, hu, Kovászna megye, ) is a county ( județ) of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Sfântu Gheorghe. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 210,177, making it the second least populous of Romania' ...

, to Gura Siriului, in

Buzău County Buzău County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Buzău. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 432,054 and the population density was 70.7/km2. * Romanians – 97% * Roma ...

. The road follows the course of the

;

Lake Siriu Lake Siriu is an artificial dam lake in Romania, on the Buzău River valley. Construction of the dam started in 1982, and the 42 MW Nehoiașu hydroelectric plant was opened in 1994. The dam is a high embankment dam with a clay core, the se ...

is an artificial dam lake on the river, located at the southern end of the pass.

History

The Buzău Pass was one of the passes used by invaders, such as

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

and

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

, to attack

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 ...

. This is why the nearby region, known as

Țara Bârsei Țara Bârsei, Burzenland () or Barcaság is a Historical regions of Romania, historic and ethnographic area in southeastern Transylvania, Romania with a mixed population of Romanians, Germans of Romania, Germans, and Hungarians in Romania, Hunga ...

was settled by

Teutonic Knights 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 ...

in the 13th century, who built fortifications, to be prepared against such an invasion. Nevertheless, many invasions were conducted through the Buzău Pass, including the Turkish attacks of 1421, 1432, 1438, and 1508, as well as the Tatar invasion of 1658. When Ottoman forces or other invaders would break through the pass, the village of

Prejmer Prejmer (german: Tartlau; hu, Prázsmár) is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Lunca Câlnicului (''Farkasvágó''), Prejmer, and Stupinii Prejmerului (''Rohrau''; ''Méheskert''). Located north ...

was the first place they encountered; the village was destroyed over 50 times between the 13th and 17th centuries, while the

Prejmer fortified church The Prejmer fortified church ( ro, Biserica fortificată din Prejmer; german: Kirchenburg von Tartlau) is a Lutheran fortified church in Prejmer (''Tartlau''), Brașov County, in the Transylvania region of Romania and the ethnographic area of the ...

was only rarely captured. RO BZ Siriu Cheia Buzaului

Mountain passes of Romania Mountain passes of the Carpathians Geography of Buzău County Geography of Covasna County {{Romania-geo-stub