Beclean (; Hungarian and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Bethlen'') is a town in

Bistrița-Năsăud County Bistrița-Năsăud () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Bistrița. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Beszterce-Naszód megye'', and in German language, German as ''Kreis Bistritz-N ...

, in north-eastern

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 ...

. The town administers three villages: Coldău (''Goldau''; ''Várkudu''), Figa (''Füge''), and Rusu de Jos (''Alsóoroszfalu'').

Geography

The town lies on the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau ( ro, Podișul Transilvaniei; hu, Erdélyi-medence) is a plateau in central Romania. The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the Easte ...

, at the confluence of the river

Someșul Mare The Someșul Mare (''Great Someș'', Hungarian: ''Nagy-Szamos'') is a river in north-western Romania, originating in the Bistrița-Năsăud County in the Rodna Mountains at the confluence of two headwaters — the ''Preluci'' and the ''Zmeu''. Th ...

with its affluent, the Șieu. It is located in the western part of the county, at a distance of from the town of

Năsăud Năsăud (; german: Nassod, ''Nußdorf''; hu, Naszód) is a town in Bistrița-Năsăud County in Romania located in the historical region of Transylvania. The town administers two villages, Liviu Rebreanu (until 1958 ''Prislop''; ''Priszlop'') a ...

and from the county seat,

Bistrița (; german: link=no, Bistritz, archaic , Transylvanian Saxon: , hu, Beszterce) is the capital city of Bistrița-Năsăud County, in northern Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistrița River. The city has a population of approxima ...

; the city of

Dej Dej (; hu, Dés; german: Desch, Burglos; yi, דעעש ''Desh'') is a municipality in Transylvania, Romania, north of Cluj-Napoca, in Cluj County. It lies where the river Someșul Mic meets the river Someșul Mare. The city administers four vill ...

is to the west, in

Cluj County Cluj County (; german: Kreis Klausenburg, hu, Kolozs megye) is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) is Cluj-Napoca (german: Klausenburg). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Kolozs megye ...

History

The town of Beclean is the ancestral seat of the Hungarian

Bethlen family The House of Bethlen is the name of two Hungarian ancient noble families, ''Bethlen de Iktár'' and ''Bethlen de Bethlen''. Although they have similar coat of arms, those two families don't have proven mutual ancestry. Both can trace their noble li ...

. In 1850 the inhabitants of the town were 1,475, of which 805

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 ...

, 327

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 ...

, 163

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, 163

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, 5

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, and 12 of other ethnicities. Beclean had 10,628 inhabitants at the 2011 census; of those, 81.6% were Romanians, 14.2% Hungarians, and 3.7% Roma.

Transportation

Beclean is the site of an important railway junction (the

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

is called Beclean pe Someș), where secondary routes to

Sighetu Marmației Sighetu Marmației (, also spelled ''Sighetul Marmației''; german: Marmaroschsiget or ''Siget''; hu, Máramarossziget, ; uk, Сигіт, Syhit; yi, סיגעט, Siget), until 1960 Sighet, is a city (Municipalities of Romania, municipality) in ...

and

Suceava Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central and Eastern E ...

diverge from the main

Căile Ferate Române Căile Ferate Române (; abbreviated as the CFR) is the state railway carrier of Romania. As of 2014, the railway network of Romania consists of , of which (37.4%) are electrified. The total track length is , of which (38.5%) are electrifie ...

railway line 400 from

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 ...

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; hu, Szatmárnémeti ; german: Sathmar; yi, סאטמאר or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the ...

. The town is traversed by two national roads: (part of

European route E58 European route E 58 is a road part of the International E-road network. It begins in Vienna, Austria and ends in Rostov-na-Donu, Russia. It is approximately long. Route * **: Vienna - Fischamend - Bruck an der Leitha **: Bruck an der Le ...

), which joins

, and , which joins Beclean to

Cârlibaba Cârlibaba (german: Mariensee, Ludwigsdorf, or Kirlibaba; pl, Kirlibaba) is a commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania. It is composed of six villages, namely: Cârlibaba (Veche; also the commune seat), Cârlibaba Nouă, ...

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat is the historical town ...

. Additionally, county road DJ172A connects it to

Gherla Gherla (; hu, Szamosújvár; german: Neuschloss) is a municipality in Cluj County, Romania (in the historical region of Transylvania). It is located from Cluj-Napoca on the river Someșul Mic, and has a population of 20,203. Three villages are a ...

in Cluj County, while road DJ172F provides an alternate route to Dej.

Education

Beclean is home to four high schools: the Petru Rareș National College, the

Henri Coandă Technological High School Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

, the Beclean Agricultural Technological High School, and High School Nr. 1. There is also a middle school, the Grigore Silași Gymnasium.

Natives

* Károly Bárányos * György Bernády * Cornel Cornea * Cristian Costin * *

Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash ( he, אהרן זאבי-פרקש) (born 1948) is an Israeli general. He was the head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate (''Aman'') from 2002 to 2006. Biography Ze'evi-Farkash was born in Beclean, in northeas ...

References

External links

{{Bistriţa-Năsăud County Populated places in Bistrița-Năsăud County Localities in Transylvania Towns in Romania Monotowns in Romania Shtetls