Hațeg (; german: Wallenthal; hu, Hátszeg) is a town in

Hunedoara County Hunedoara County () is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Name In Hungarian, it is known as , in German as , and in Slovak as ...

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 ...

with a population of 9,340. Three villages are administered by the town: Nălațvad (''Nalácvád''), Silvașu de Jos (''Alsószilvás''), and Silvașu de Sus (''Felsőszilvás''). It is situated in the historical region of

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 ...

History

In 1765, while part of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

controlled Principality of Transylvania, the settlement was completely militarised and integrated into the Second Border Company of the First Border Regiment from

Orlat Orlat (german: Winsberg; hu, Orlát) is a commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania, west of the county capital, Sibiu, in the Mărginimea Sibiului ethnographic area. It is composed of a single village, Orlat. The commune lies in the footh ...

, until 1851, when that unit was disbanded.

Geology

Țara Hațegului (the Hațeg Country) is the region around the town of Hațeg. The fossils found in the Hațeg area span over 300 million years of Earth's geologic history, showing tropical coral reefs and volcanic island in the

Tethys Sea The Tethys Ocean ( el, Τηθύς ''Tēthús''), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean that covered most of the Earth during much of the Mesozoic Era and early Cenozoic Era, located between the ancient continents ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s, primitive mammals, birds, and flying reptiles (such as ''

Hatzegopteryx ''Hatzegopteryx'' ("Hațeg basin wing") is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur found in the late Maastrichtian deposits of the Densuş Ciula Formation, an outcropping in Transylvania, Romania. It is known only from the type species, ''Hatzegopteryx ...

'', which was named for the region).

Hațeg Island Hațeg Island was a large offshore island in the Tethys Sea which existed during the Late Cretaceous period, probably from the Cenomanian to the Maastrichtian ages. It was situated in an area corresponding to the region around modern-day Hațeg, H ...

was an island during the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

Period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

where a dwarf species of

sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their bo ...

dinosaur, ''

Magyarosaurus dacus ''Magyarosaurus'' (" Magyar lizard") is a genus of dwarf sauropod dinosaur from late Cretaceous Period (early to late Maastrichtian) in Romania. It is one of the smallest-known adult sauropods, measuring only in length and in body mass. The ...

'', lived until their extinction at the end of the

. Baron

Franz Nopcsa Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see ...

published articles about these

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

-era

archosaur Archosauria () is a clade of diapsids, with birds and crocodilians as the only living representatives. Archosaurs are broadly classified as reptiles, in the cladistic sense of the term which includes birds. Extinct archosaurs include non-avian d ...

s on Hațeg Island. His studies led to his theory of

insular dwarfism Insular dwarfism, a form of phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of large animals evolving or having a reduced body size when their population's range is limited to a small environment, primarily islands. This natural process is disti ...

, the notion that "limited resources" on small islands can lead to a downsizing of the indigenous

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

animals.

Demographics

According to the first ethnic census of 1850, the town had 1,194 inhabitants, 915 of them being Romanian, 92 Roma, 77 Hungarian, 62 German and 48 of other ethnicities. According to the 2011 census, Hațeg had 9,685 inhabitants, of which 93.15% were Romanians, 1.6% Hungarians, 1,1% of other ethnicities and unknown for 4,14% of the population.

Natives

Nicholas Deak Nicolas Louis Deák (8 October 1905, Hátszeg, Transylvania, Hungary (now Hațeg, Romania) — 18 November 1985, New York City, US) was a Hungarian-born American banker, chairman of the Deak-Perera group and a secret service operative, serving bot ...

Chike Onyejekwe Chike Osita Onyejekwe (born December 9, 1986 in Hațeg, Romania) is a Romanian handballer who plays as a left wing for Liga Națională club CSM Bucharest. He was born in Hațeg to a Romanian mother and Nigerian father, both intellectuals. O ...

Nneka Onyejekwe Nneka Obiamaka Onyejekwe (born August 18, 1989 in Hațeg) is a Romanian professional volleyball player who played as a middle blocker for CS Volei Alba-Blaj and now plays for Dinamo Bucharest and the Romania national team. She was born in Haț ...

Gallery

File:14-18-hateg-zimbrii-2.jpg,

European bison The European bison (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, along ...

in Hațeg nature reserve File:Colegiul National I C Bratianu Hateg.jpg, The I. C. Brătianu National College File:HategHD2012 (4).JPG, Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church File:HategHD2012 (7).JPG, Historic bank building, today Hotel Ferdinand File:HategHD2012 (6).JPG, Reformed Church File:Hatszegi zsinagoga.jpg, Synagogue File:NalatvadHD (19).JPG, Nalatzi-Fay Manor, Nălațvad File:Adler - Drumul lui Traian lângă Haţeg, la începutul secolului XX.jpg,

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

's Road near Hațeg (1900-1920) File:Adler - Interiorul bisericii greco-catolice din Haţeg, jud. Hunedoara.jpg, Interior of the

Greek-Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

Church (1900-1920)

References

External links

*
Hațeg City Hall Official Site
Towns in Romania Populated places in Hunedoara County Localities in Transylvania Țara Hațegului Global Geoparks Network members Geoparks in Romania {{Hunedoara-geo-stub