Laslea

Laslea (german: Grosslasseln; hu, Szászszentlászló) is a commune located in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of five villages: Florești (''Felsendorf'', ''Földszin''), Laslea, Mălâncrav (''Malmkrog'', ''Almakerék''), Nou Săsesc (''Neudorf'', ''Apaújfalu''), and Roandola (''Rauthal'', ''Rudály''). In Romanian, Florești was known as ''Felța'' until 1950.Attila Szabó (ed.), ''Erdély, Bánság És Partium Történeti És Közigazgatási Helységnévtára''. Miercurea Ciuc, 2003, Pro-Print Könyvkiadó,

Geography

The commune is situated towards the center of the Transylvanian Plateau. It is located in the northeastern part of Sibiu County, on the border with Mureș County. It lies on the banks of the river Laslea, which discharges into the Târnava Mare near the village Laslea.

National road runs just north of the commune. The closest cities are Sighișoara, to the east, and Mediaș, to the west; the county capital, Sibiu, is to the southwest.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, Laslea had 3,327 inhabitants. Of those, 61% were Romanians, 30% Roma, 7.5% Germans, and 1% Hungarians. At the 2002 census, 76.2% were Romanian Orthodox, 7.2% Pentecostal, 5.7% Evangelical Lutheran, 5.2% Seventh-day Adventist, 2.6% Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession, and 1.2% Baptist.

Prince of Wales and sustainable tourism

In 2006, the Prince of Wales bought and restored two 18th-century Saxon houses in the villages of Mălâncrav and Viscri to help protect the unique way of life that has existed for hundreds of years and promote sustainable tourism.

The buildings have been sensitively restored and converted into guesthouses for tourists. They remain in keeping with the surrounding architecture and feature a number of Transylvanian antiques but with modern facilities where possible.

The renovation of these buildings has helped provide a sustainable future for the people of rural Transylvania while also enabling residents to maintain their traditional way of life.

Mălâncrav church gallery

image:almakerek11.jpg, Exterior
Image:almakerek2.jpg, The apse
Image:almakerek1.jpg, 15th-century altar
Image:almakerek4.jpg, Apse ceiling
Image:almakerek5.jpg, Jesus with the Cross on the Via Dolorosa (apse)
Image:almakerek6.jpg, Hungarians saints: Bishop Gellert, King Ladislaus I, unknown, King Stephen I, his son Prince Emericus
Image:almakerek7.jpg, Hanging of Judas
Image:almakerek8.jpg, Ceiling. Around the keystone, from bottom left (cw): birth of Jesus, Annunciation, the four Evangelists, Presentation in the Temple, ?
Image:almakerek3.jpg, Mark the Evangelist (ceiling)
Image:almakerek9.jpg, The Last Supper and Christ washing the apostles' feet

See also

* Ghelința, St. Emeric Church: 13th-century murals
* Church on the Hill (Sighișoara), 14th-16th century murals
* Dârjiu, church murals from 1419

References

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Communes in Sibiu County
Localities in Transylvania
Malancrav
Malancrav