Crizbav ( hu, Krizba, german: Krebsbach) is a commune in Brașov County,

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 composed of two villages, Crizbav and Cutuș (''Kutastelep''). At the 2011 census, 83.1% 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 ...

and 16.1%

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 ...

Geographical setting

Crizbav is located northwest of the county seat, the city of Brașov. It lies on the banks of the

Crizbav River The Crizbav is a left tributary of the river Olt in Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary ...

, on a high plateau of the Burzenland depression, at the southern foot of the

Perșani Mountains The Perșani Mountains ( ro, Munții Perșani; hu, Persányi-hegység) is a mountain range in central Romania. The highest peak is , with an elevation of . Geologically, the Perșani Mountains are part of the Căliman-Harghita Mountains of th ...

. The commune belongs to the Burzenland historic region and is situated from

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 ...

(Feldioara commune) and from

DN1 DN1 ( ro, Drumul Național 1) is an important national road in Romania which links Bucharest with the northwestern part of the country and the border with Hungary via Borș. The main cities linked by DN1 are Bucharest, Ploiești, Brașov, Sibiu, ...

(Dumbrăvița commune). Crizbav borders: *to the north – the communes

Comăna Comăna (german: Kumanen, Komondjen; hu, Alsókomána) is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Comăna de Jos (the commune center), Comăna de Sus (''Felsőkomána''), Crihalma (''Königsberg''; ''Ki ...

and

Măieruș Măieruș (german: Nußbach; hu, Szászmagyarós) is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Arini (''Lüget'') and Măieruș. The settlement was mentioned for the first time in 1377 as "villa nucum". ...

; *to the east – the commune

Feldioara Feldioara (german: Marienburg, ; hu, Földvár or ''Barcaföldvár'') is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania, about 15 kilometres from the city of Brașov. It is composed of three villages: Colonia Reconstrucția (''Bohntelep''), ...

; *to the south – the commune

Hălchiu Hălchiu (german: Heldsdorf; hu, Höltövény) is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Hălchiu and Satu Nou (''Neudorf bei Hopfenseifen''; ''Barcaújfalu''). The commune is located in the east-cent ...

; *to the west – the communes Dumbrăvița and

Părău Părău (german: Mikesdorf-Berau; hu, Páró) is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Grid, Părău, Veneția de Jos (''Untervenitze''; ''Alsóvenice''), and Veneția de Sus (''Felsővenice''). The ...

. The Crizbav commune altitude is , decreasing to Feldioara and Satu Nou at . Higher elevations in the commune are Horezu Peak, at and Citadel Peak, at , both located in the foothills of the

, approximately from the village center.

Short history

The first written documents of the material and spiritual life of the commune dates back to Roman times. Evidence is provided by the Crizbav Citadel, which experts consider that it was built by the

Romans 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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

after the occupation of

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...

, but certain written attestations are from 1335. The history of the village is rich, beginning with the German name of the city, (Krebs Bach = Crabs Valley) and continuing with the use of Crizbav Citadel as military observation tower, as confirmed by the "Diploma of King

Louis the Great Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. ...

" of March 12, 1344, or that of Prince

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory ( hu, Báthory István; pl, Stefan Batory; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576), Prince of Transylvania (1576–1586), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) ...

of October 30, 1484.

Landmarks

*Archaeological site "La Cetate" (Crizbav) code LMI 2004 ISA-11273-BV formed by: **medieval fortification, LMI 2004 Code: BV-ImA-11273.01 **Hallstatt settlement, LMI 2004 Code: BV-ImA-11273.02 **

Dacian fortress The history of Dacian warfare spans from c. 10th century BC up to the 2nd century AD in the region defined by Ancient Greek and Latin historians as Dacia, populated by a collection of Thracian, Ionian, and Dorian tribes. It concerns the armed con ...

, LMI 2004 Code: BV-ImA-11273.03 *Heldenburg Citadel code LMI 2004: BV-II-I A-11662

References

Communes in Brașov County Localities in Transylvania Burzenland {{Braşov-geo-stub