Transylvanian Saxon People

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 Apuseni Mountains. Broader definitions of Transylvania also include the western and northwestern Romanian regions of Crișana and Maramureș, and occasionally Banat.

Transylvania is known for the scenery of its Carpathian landscape and its rich history. It also contains Romania's second-largest city, Cluj-Napoca, and other iconic cities and towns such as Brașov, Sibiu, Târgu Mureș, Alba Iulia and Sighișoara. It is also the home of some of Romania's UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Villages with fortified churches, the Historic Centre of Sighișoara, the Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains and the Roșia Montană Mining Cultural Landscape.

It was under the rule of the Agathyrsi, part of the Dacian Kingdom (168 BC–106 AD), Roman Dacia (106–271), the Goths, the Hunnic Empire (4th–5th centuries), the Kingdom of the Gepids (5th–6th centuries), the Avar Khaganate (6th–9th centuries), the Slavs, and the 9th century First Bulgarian Empire. During the late 9th century, Transylvania was reached and conquered by the Hungarian conquerors, and Gyula's family from seven chieftains of the Hungarians ruled it in the 10th century. King Stephen I of Hungary asserted his claim to rule all lands dominated by Hungarian lords. He personally led his army against his maternal uncle Gyula III and Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1002; it then belonged to the Lands of the Hungarian Crown until 1918.

After the Battle of Mohács in 1526 it belonged to the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, from which the Principality of Transylvania emerged in 1570 by the Treaty of Speyer. During most of the 16th and 17th centuries, the principality was a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire; however, the principality had dual suzerainty ( Ottoman and Habsburg).

In 1690, the Habsburg monarchy gained possession of Transylvania through the Hungarian crown.Paul Lendvai, Ann Major
''The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat''
C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2003, page 146; After the failure of Rákóczi's War of Independence in 1711, Habsburg control of Transylvania was consolidated, and Hungarian Transylvanian princes were replaced with Habsburg imperial governors."Transylvania"
(2009). ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved July 7, 2009"Diploma Leopoldinum"
(2009). ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved July 7, 2009 During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian government proclaimed union with Transylvania in the April Laws of 1848. After the failure of the revolution, the March Constitution of Austria decreed that the Principality of Transylvania be a separate crown land entirely independent of Hungary.Austrian Constitution of 4 March 1849
(Section I, Art. I and Section IX., Art. LXXIV) After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the separate status of Transylvania ceased, it was incorporated again into the Kingdom of Hungary ( Transleithania) as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After World War I, Transylvania became part of Kingdom of Romania by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. In 1940, Northern Transylvania reverted to Hungary as a result of the Second Vienna Award, but it was reclaimed by Romania after the end of World War II.

In popular culture, Transylvania is commonly associated with vampires because of the influence of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ''Dracula'' and the many subsequent books and films that have been inspired by the tale.

Etymology

The earliest known reference to Transylvania appears in a Medieval Latin document of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1075 as , meaning "beyond the forest" ( meaning "beyond" or "on the far side of" and the accusative case of () "woods, forest"). Transylvania, with an alternative Latin prepositional prefix, means "on the other side of the woods". Hungarian historians claim that the Medieval Latin form , later , was a direct translation from the Hungarian form .Engel, Pál (2001). ''Realm of St. Stephen: History of Medieval Hungary, 895–1526 (International Library of Historical Studies)'', page 24, London: I.B. Taurus. That also was used as an alternative name in German ("beyond the forest") (13th–14th centuries) and Ukrainian ().
Historical names of Transylvania are:
* bg, Седмиградско, Sedmigradsko,
* hr, Sedmogradska, (hist.),
* german: Siebenbürgen (),
* hu, Erdély ()
* la, Ultrasilvania,
* pl, Siedmiogród,
* rom, Transilvaniya
* ro, Ardeal (), ()
* russian: Трансильвания, Transil'vaniya,
* sr, Ердељ/Erdelj, sr, Трансилванија/Transilvanija
* sk, Ardieľ, Sedmohradsko
* Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen''
* tr, Erdel, Erdelistan
* uk, Семигород, Semyhorod, ,
* yi, זיבנבערגן, Zibnbergn, ,

* The German name means "seven castles", after the seven ( ethnic German) Transylvanian Saxons' cities in the region. This is also the origin of the region's name in many other languages, such as the Croatian , the Bulgarian (), Polish , Yiddish (), and Ukrainian ().
* The Hungarian form was first mentioned in the 12th-century as (in modern script ) or . The word means forest in Hungarian, and the word denotes a region in connection with this, similarly to the Hungarian name for Muntenia (, or land lying ahead of the snow-capped mountains). , , are derived from Hungarian .
* An occurrence of the form ''Ardeliu'' in a Church Slavonic document written by a Romanian chancellery is attested in 1432. The Romanian is derived from the Hungarian .

History

The first known civilization to inhabit the territory was the Agathyrsi belonging to the Scythic cultures. From the 4th century BC Celtic La Tène culture came to domination. The indigenous Dacian tribes engaged in politics from the 1st century BC and united under King Burebista forming their kingdom Dacia.

The Roman Empire made heavy efforts to seize the territory from King Decebalus, resulting in the formation of Roman Dacia in 106, after Trajan's costly and bloody wars. During Roman rule, the territory, depleted of its indigenous population, was repopulated with Latin colonists and its rich resource stock was systematically exploited. However, due to the growing threat of East Germanic and Carpic invasions, Emperor Aurelian withdrew his legions and evacuated the citizens south of the Lower Danube in 275, after which the province was occupied by the Goths. In 376, a powerful nomadic people, the Huns, defeated and shattered the Goths, settling down in the area. After the death of King Attila, their empire disintegrated and the Gepids conquered the region in 455, under King Ardaric. For two centuries, the Gepids controlled Transylvania. They waged successful war against the Eastern Roman Empire, and less successful against the Ostrogoths in Pannonia. They were successfully defeated by the Lombards and Avars in 567. In the following years, the Avars took full control over Transylvania, heavily settling the area with Slavic tribes who accepted their suzerainty. The expansion of the Frankish Empire, however imposed a growing threat on them and crushed their khaganate in the Avar Wars. The Avars and Slavs, although decreased seriously, continued to inhabit the Carpathian Basin. The First Bulgarian Empire annexed Southern Transylvania. Smaller Slavic polities were also present, nevertheless they could hardly keep their independence.

In the late 9th century, Transylvania was reached and conquered by the Hungarian conquerors. There is an ongoing scholarly debate over the demographics in Transylvania in this time. According to the theory of Daco-Roman Continuity, Romanians continuously lived on the territory for the past 2500 years. Opponents of this hypothesis point to the lack of written, archaeological and linguistic evidence to support this. Hungarian medieval chronicles claimed that the Székely people descended of the Huns who remained in Transylvania, and later allying with the returning Hungarians conquered together the Carpathian Basin. According to the '' Gesta Hungarorum'', the Vlach (''Blacorum, Blacus'') leader Gelou ruled part of Transylvania before the Hungarians arrived, historians debate whether he was a historical person or an imaginary figure. The gyulas from the seven chieftains of the Hungarians governed Transylvania in the 10th century. King Stephen I of Hungary asserted his claim to rule all lands dominated by Hungarian lords, he personally led his army against his maternal uncle Gyula III and Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1002. Place names derived from the Hungarian tribes evidence that major Hungarian groups settled in Transylvania from the 950s. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Southeast and Northeast Transylvania was settled by Saxon colonists. After the Battle of Kosovo and Ottoman arrival at the Hungarian border, thousands of Vlach and Serbian refugees came to Transylvania.

Between 1002 and 1526, Transylvania was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, led by a voivode appointed by the King of Hungary. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Transylvania became part of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom. Later, in 1570, the kingdom transformed into the Principality of Transylvania by the Treaty of Speyer, which was ruled primarily by Calvinist Hungarian princes. The Eastern Hungarian king became the first prince of Transylvania, according to the treaty, the Principality of Transylvania continued to be part of the Kingdom of Hungary in the sense of public law, which stressed in a highly significant way that John Sigismund's possessions belonged to the Holy Crown of Hungary and he was not permitted to alienate them.

The Habsburgs acquired the territory shortly after the Battle of Vienna in 1683. In 1687, the rulers of Transylvania recognized the suzerainty of the Habsburg emperor Leopold I, and the region was officially attached to the Habsburg Empire. The Habsburgs acknowledged Principality of Transylvania as one of the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, but the territory of principality was administratively separated from Habsburg Hungary and subjected to the direct rule of the emperor's governors. In 1699 the Ottomans legally acknowledged their loss of Transylvania in the Treaty of Karlowitz; however, some anti-Habsburg elements within the principality submitted to the emperor only in the 1711 Peace of Szatmár, and Habsburg control over Principality of Transylvania was consolidated. The Grand Principality of Transylvania was reintroduced 54 years later in 1765.

The Hungarian revolution against the Habsburgs started in 1848. The revolution in the Kingdom of Hungary grew into a war for the total independence from the Habsburg dynasty. Julius Jacob von Haynau, the leader of the Austrian army was appointed plenipotentiary to restore order in Hungary after the conflict. He ordered the execution of The 13 Hungarian Martyrs of Arad and Prime Minister Batthyány was executed the same day in Pest. After a series of serious Austrian defeats in 1849, the empire came close to the brink of collapse. Thus, the new young emperor Franz Joseph I had to call for Russian help in the name of the Holy Alliance. Czar Nicholas, I answered, and sent 200,000 men strong army with 80,000 auxiliary forces. Finally, the joint army of Russian and Austrian forces defeated the Hungarian forces. After the restoration of Habsburg power, Hungary was placed under martial law. Following the Hungarian Army's surrender at Világos (now Șiria, Romania) in 1849, their revolutionary banners were taken to Russia by the Tsarist troops and were kept there both under the Tsarist and Communist systems (in 1940 the Soviet Union offered the banners to the Horthy government).

After the Ausgleich of 1867, the Principality of Transylvania was once again abolished. The territory then became part of Transleithania,"Transylvania", Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2008. an addition to the newly established Austro-Hungarian Empire. Romanian intellectuals issued the Blaj Pronouncement in protest.

The region was the site of an important battle during World War I, which caused the replacement of the German Chief of Staff, temporarily ceased German offensives on all the other fronts and created a unified Central Powers command under the German Kaiser. Following defeat in World War I, Austria-Hungary disintegrated. Elected representatives of the ethnic Romanians from Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș backed by the mobilization of Romanian troops, proclaimed Union with Romania on 1 December 1918. The ''Proclamation of Union'' of Alba Iulia was adopted by the Deputies of the Romanians from Transylvania and supported one month later by the vote of the Deputies of the Saxons from Transylvania.

The national holiday of Romania, the Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day'') occurring on December 1, celebrates this event. The holiday was established after the Romanian Revolution, and marks the unification not only of Transylvania but also of the provinces of Banat, Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom. These other provinces had all joined with the Kingdom of Romania a few months earlier. In 1920, the Treaty of Trianon established new borders, much of the proclaimed territories became part of Romania. Hungary protested against the new state borders, as they did not follow the real ethnic boundaries, for over 1.3 or 1.6 million Hungarian people, representing 25.5 or 31.6% of the Transylvanian population (depending on statistics used),Varga, E. Árpád
''Hungarians in Transylvania between 1870 and 1995''
Translation by Tamás Sályi, Budapest, March 1999, pp. 30-34 were living on the Romanian side of the border, mainly in the Székely Land of Eastern Transylvania, and along the newly created border.

In August 1940, by the Second Vienna Award, with the arbitration of Germany and Italy, Hungary gained Northern Transylvania (including parts of Crișana and Maramureș) totaling over 40% of the territory lost in 1920. This award did not solve the nationality problem, as over 1.15–1.3 million Romanians (or 48% to more than 50% of the population of the ceded territory) remained in Northern Transylvania while 0.36–0.8 million Hungarians (or 11% to more than 20% of the population) continued to reside in Southern Transylvania. The Second Vienna Award was voided on 12 September 1944 by the Allied Commission throug
the Armistice Agreement with Romania
(Article 19); and the 1947 Treaty of Paris reaffirmed the borders between Romania and Hungary, as originally defined in the Treaty of Trianon, 27 years earlier, thus confirming the return of Northern Transylvania to Romania.

From 1947 to 1989, Transylvania, along with the rest of Romania, was under a communist regime. The ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș occurred between ethnic Romanians and Hungarians in March 1990 after the fall of the communist regime and became the most notable inter-ethnic incident in the post-communist era.

File:Sarmisegetusa Regia - Templele patrulatere mici - Zona sacra – Gradistea Muntelui, Muntii Sureanu, Hunedoara, Romania 19.JPG, Ruins of Sarmizegetusa Regia
File:Castrum Apulum 2011 - Porta Principalis Dextra-1.jpg, Roman city of Apulum
File:Lanzedelli - Târg în Transilvania 3.jpg, A market scene in Transylvania, 1818
File:Original_Photo_National_Museum_of_Union-Alba_Iulia.jpg, The National Assembly in Alba Iulia (December 1, 1918), declaring the Union of Transylvania with Romania

Geography and ethnography

The Transylvanian Plateau, high, is drained by the Mureș, Someș, Criș, and Olt rivers, as well as other tributaries of the Danube. This core of historical Transylvania roughly corresponds with nine counties of modern Romania. The plateau is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern, Southern and Romanian Western branches of the Carpathian Mountains. The area includes the Transylvanian Plain. Other areas to the west and north are widely considered part of Transylvania. In common reference, the Western border of Transylvania has come to be identified with the present Romanian-Hungarian border, settled in the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, though geographically the two are not identical.

Ethnographic areas:
* Transylvania proper:
** Mărginimea Sibiului (Szeben-hegyalja)
** Transylvanian Plain (Câmpia Transilvaniei/Mezőség)
** Țara Bârsei (Burzenland/Barcaság)
**
** Țara Călatei (Kalotaszeg)
** (Kővár)
** Țara Făgărașului (Fogaras)
** Țara Hațegului (Hátszeg)
**
**
** Țara Moților
** Țara Năsăudului (Nösnerland/Naszód vidéke)
**
**
** Ținutul Secuiesc (Székelyföld/Székely Land)
* Banat
**
* Crișana
**
* Maramureș
** Țara Oașului (Avasság)
** (Lápos-vidék)

Administrative divisions

The area of the historical Voivodeship is .

The regions granted to Romania in 1920 covered 23 counties including nearly (102,787–103,093 km² in Hungarian sources and 102,282 km² in contemporary Romanian documents). Nowadays, due to the several administrative reorganisations, the territory covers 16 counties (Romanian: ''județ''), with an area of , in central and northwest Romania.

The 16 counties are: Alba, Arad, Bihor, Bistrița-Năsăud, Brașov, Caraș-Severin, Cluj, Covasna, Harghita, Hunedoara, Maramureș, Mureș, Sălaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, and Timiș.

Transylvania contains both largely urban counties, such as Brașov and Hunedoara counties, as well as largely rural ones, such as Bistrița-Năsăud and Sălaj counties.

Since 1998, Romania has been divided into eight development regions, acting as divisions that coordinate and implement socio-economic development at regional level. Six counties (Alba, Brașov, Covasna, Harghita, Mureș and Sibiu) form the Centru development region, other six counties (Bihor, Bistrița-Năsăud, Cluj, Maramureș, Satu Mare, Sălaj) form the Nord-Vest development region, while four (Arad, Caraș-Severin, Hunedoara, Timiș) form the Vest development region.

Cities

Cluj-Napoca, commonly known as Cluj, is the second most populous city in Romania (as of 2011 census), after the national capital Bucharest, and the seat of Cluj County. From 1790 to 1848 and from 1861 to 1867, it was the official capital of the Grand Principality of Transylvania. Brașov is an important tourist destination, being the largest city in a mountain resorts area, and a central location, suitable for exploring Romania, with the distances to several tourist destinations (including the Black Sea resorts, the monasteries in northern Moldavia, and the wooden churches of Maramureș) being similar.

Sibiu is one of the most important cultural centres of Romania and was designated the European Capital of Culture for the year 2007, along with the city of Luxembourg, and it was formerly the centre of the Transylvanian Saxon culture and between 1692 and 1791 and 1849–65 was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania.

Alba Iulia is a city located on the Mureș River in Alba County, and since the High Middle Ages, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom and the latter Principality of Transylvania. Alba Iulia also has historical importance because at the end of World War I, representatives of the Romanian population of Transylvania gathered in Alba Iulia on 1 December 1918 to proclaim the union of Transylvania with the Kingdom of Romania. In Transylvania, there are many medieval smaller towns such as Sighișoara, Mediaș, Sebeș, and Bistrița.

File:Biserica Mihail.JPG, Cluj-Napoca ( hu, Kolozsvár, german: Klausenburg)
File:Brasov, Romania (26523347959).jpg, Brașov ( hu, Brassó, german: Kronstadt)
File:Sibiu 200811 800px.jpg, Sibiu (german: Hermannstadt, hu, Nagyszeben)
File:Arad City Hall (30112380741).jpg, Arad
File:Cetatea Alba Carolina Ansamblul fortificației „Cetatea Alba Iulia 16.jpg, Alba Iulia ( hu, Gyulafehérvár, german: Karlsburg), defense wall of Alba Carolina Citadel
File:Palatul Culturii (Targu Mures).jpg, Târgu Mureș ( hu, Marosvásárhely, german: Neumarkt am Mieresch)
File:Timisoara - Catholic Dome in Union Square.jpg, Timișoara ( hu, Temesvár, german: Temeschburg)
File:Primăria și Centrul Municipiului Oradea.JPG, Oradea ( hu, Nagyvárad, german: Großwardein)
File:Sighisoara. Biserica din deal.jpg, Sighișoara ( hu, Segesvár, german: Schäßburg)
File:Biserica Sfânta Margareta.jpg, Mediaș ( hu, Medgyes, german: Mediasch)
File:Bistrița de sus.jpg, Bistrița (german: Bistritz, hu, Beszterce)
File:Sebes evangelical church 3.JPG, Sebeș (german: Mülbach, hu, Szászsebes)
File:Centrul Vechi Baia Mare.jpg, Baia Mare ( hu, Nagybánya, german: Frauenbach)
File:Dévai vármegyeház.jpeg, Deva
File:Sighetul Marmatiei - Palatul Culturii.jpg, Sighetu Marmației
File:2011-IMG 4425.jpg, Turda
File:Sepsiszentgyorgyi reformatus vartemplom.jpg, Sfântu Gheorghe Fortress
File:Aiud-Turnul dogarilor si biserica reformata-2.JPG, Aiud Citadel

Population

Historical population

Official censuses with information on Transylvania's population have been conducted since the 18th century. On May 1, 1784 the Emperor Joseph II called for the first official census of the Habsburg Empire, including Transylvania. The data was published in 1787, and this census showed only the overall population (1,440,986 inhabitants). Fényes Elek, a 19th-century Hungarian statistician, estimated in 1842 that in the population of Transylvania for the years 1830–1840 the majority were 62.3% Romanians and 23.3% Hungarians.

In the last quarter of the 19th century, the Hungarian population of Transylvania increased from 24.9% in 1869 to 31.6%, as indicated in the 1910 Hungarian census (the majority of the Jewish population reported Hungarian as their primary language, so they were also counted as ethnically Hungarian in the 1910 census). At the same time, the percentage of the Romanian population decreased from 59.0% to 53.8% and the percentage of the German population decreased from 11.9% to 10.7%, for a total population of 5,262,495. Magyarization policies greatly contributed to this shift.

The percentage of the Romanian majority has significantly increased since the declaration of the union of Transylvania with Romania after World War I in 1918. The proportion of Hungarians in Transylvania was in steep decline as more of the region's inhabitants moved into urban areas, where the pressure to assimilate and Romanianize was greater. The expropriation of the estates of Magyar magnates, the distribution of the lands to the Romanian peasants, and the policy of cultural Romanianization that followed the Treaty of Trianon were major causes of friction between Hungary and Romania. Other factors include the emigration of non-Romanian peoples, assimilation and internal migration within Romania (estimates show that between 1945 and 1977, some 630,000 people moved from the Old Kingdom to Transylvania, and 280,000 from Transylvania to the Old Kingdom, most notably to Bucharest).

Current population

According to the results of the 2011 Population Census, the total population of Transylvania was 6,789,250 inhabitants and the ethnic groups were: Romanians – 70.62%, Hungarians – 17.92%, Roma – 3.99%, Ukrainians – 0.63%, Germans – 0.49%, other – 0.77%. Some 378,298 inhabitants (5.58%) have not declared their ethnicity. The ethnic Hungarian population of Transylvania form a majority in the counties of Covasna (73.6%) and Harghita (84.8%). The Hungarians are also numerous in the following counties: Mureș (37.8%), Satu Mare (34.5%), Bihor (25.2%), and Sălaj (23.2%).

Economy

Transylvania is rich in mineral resources, notably lignite, iron, lead, manganese, gold, copper, natural gas, salt, and sulfur.

Transylvania's GDP (nominal) is 194 billion$ and its GDP per capita measures around 24,500$. Transylvania's Human Development Index is ranked 0.890, which makes Transylvania the 2nd most developed region in Romania after Bucharest-Ilfov and makes it comparable to countries like Czech Republic, Poland and Estonia.

There are large iron and steel, chemical, and textile industries. Stock raising, agriculture, wine production and fruit growing are important occupations. Agriculture is widespread in the Transylvanian Plateau, including growing cereals, vegetables, viticulture and breeding cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry. Timber is another valuable resource.

IT, electronics and automotive industries are important in urban and university centers like Cluj-Napoca (Robert Bosch GmbH, Emerson Electric), Timișoara ( Alcatel-Lucent, Flextronics and Continental AG), Brașov, Sibiu, Oradea and Arad. The cities of Cluj Napoca and Târgu Mureș are connected with a strong medical tradition, and according to the same classifications top performance hospitals exist there.

Native brands include: Roman of Brașov (trucks and buses), Azomureș of Târgu Mureș (fertilizers), Terapia of Cluj-Napoca (pharmaceuticals), Banca Transilvania of Cluj-Napoca (finance), Romgaz and Transgaz of Mediaș (natural gas), Jidvei of Alba county (alcoholic beverages), Timișoreana of Timișoara (alcoholic beverages) and others.

The Jiu Valley, located in the south of Hunedoara County, has been a major mining area throughout the second half of the 19th century and the 20th century, but many mines were closed down in the years following the collapse of the communist regime, forcing the region to diversify its economy.

During the Second World War, Transylvania (the Southern/Romanian half, as the region was divided during the war) was crucial to the Romanian defense industry. Transylvanian factories built until 1945 over 1,000 warplanes and over 1,000 artillery pieces of all types, among others.

Culture

The culture of Transylvania is complex, due to its varied history and longstanding multiculturalism, having incorporated significant Hungarian (see Hungarians in Romania) and German (see Germans of Romania) influences.

With regard to architecture, the Transylvanian Gothic style is preserved to this day in monuments such as the Black Church in Brașov (14th and 15th centuries) and a number of other cathedrals, as well as the Bran Castle in Brașov County (14th century), the Hunyad Castle in Hunedoara (15th century).

Notable writers such as Emil Cioran, Lucian Blaga, George Coșbuc, Ioan Slavici, Octavian Goga, Liviu Rebreanu, Endre Ady, Elek Benedek, Elie Wiesel and Károly Kós were born in Transylvania. Liviu Rebreanu wrote the novel ''Ion'', which introduces the reader to a depiction of the life of Romanian peasants and intellectuals of Transylvania at the turn of the 20th century. Károly Kós was one of the most important writers supporting the movement of Transylvanianism.

Religion

Transylvania has a very rich and unique religious history from the other regions of Europe. Since the Protestant Reformation, different Christian denominations have been coexisting in this religious melting pot, including Romanian Orthodox, other Eastern Orthodox, Latin Catholic and Romanian Greek Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, and Unitarian branches. Other faiths also are present, including Jews and Muslims. Under the Habsburgs, Transylvania served as a place for "religious undesirables". People who arrived in Transylvania included those that did not conform to the Catholic Church and were sent here forcibly, as well as many religious refugees. Transylvania has a long history of religious tolerance. This has been ensured by its religious pluralism. Christianity is the largest religion in Transylvania. Transylvania has also been (and still is) a center for Christian denominations other than Eastern Orthodoxy, the form of Christianity that most Romanians currently follow. As such, there are significant numbers of inhabitants of Transylvania that follow Latin Catholicism and Greek Catholicism, and Protestantism. Even though before 1948, the population of Transylvania split between Eastern Orthodox, Greek Catholic other forms of Christianity, during the Communist Period the Orthodox Church was much more favored by the state which has led to Eastern Orthodoxy being the religion of the majority of Transylvanians.Earl A. Pope, "Protestantism in Romania", in Sabrina Petra Ramet (ed.), ''Protestantism and Politics in Eastern Europe and Russia: The Communist and Postcommunist Eras'', Duke University Press, Durham, 1992, p.158-160. UBB, located in Cluj-Napoca is the only university in Europe that has four faculties of theology (Orthodox, Reformed, Roman Catholic, and Greek Catholic).

There are also small denominations like adventism, Jehovah's Witnesses and more.

Others
* Nowadays, there is a very small number of Muslims (Islam) and Jews ( Judaism), but back in 1930, with 191,877 inhabitants, Jews represented 3.46% of Transylvania's population.
* Atheists, agnostics and unaffiliated account for 0.27% of Transylvania's population.
''Data refers to extended Transylvania (with Banat, Crișana and Maramureș).''

Tourist attractions

* Bran Castle, also known as Dracula's Castle
* The medieval cities of Alba Iulia, Cluj-Napoca (European Youth Capital 2015), Sibiu ( European Capital Of Culture in 2007), Târgu Mureș and Sighișoara ( UNESCO World Heritage Site and alleged birthplace of Vlad Dracula)
* The city of Brașov and the nearby Poiana Brașov ski resort
* The city of Hunedoara with the 14th century Corvin Castle
* The citadel and the Art Nouveau city centre of Oradea
* The Densuș Church, the oldest church in Romania that still holds services
* The Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains, including Sarmizegetusa Regia ( UNESCO World Heritage Site)
* The Roman forts including Sarmizegetusa Ulpia Traiana, Porolissum, Apulum, Potaissa and Drobeta
* The Red Lake (also known as Lake Ghilcoș)
* The Turda Gorge natural reserve
* The Râșnov Citadel in Râșnov
* The Maramureș region
** The Merry Cemetery of Săpânța (the only one of that kind in the world)
** The Wooden Churches ( UNESCO World Heritage Site)
** The cities of Baia Mare and Sighetu Marmației
** The villages in the Iza, Mara, and Viseu valleys
* The Saxon fortified churches ( UNESCO World Heritage Site)
* The Apuseni Mountains:
** Țara Moților
** The Bears Cave
** Scărișoara Cave in Alba County, the third largest glacier cave in the world
* The Rodna Mountains
* The Salina Turda Salt Mine: according to Business Insider—one of the ten "coolest underground places in the world".

Festivals and events

Film festivals

* Transilvania International Film Festival, Cluj-Napoca – Romania's biggest film festival
* Gay Film Nights, Cluj-Napoca
* Comedy Cluj, Cluj-Napoca
* Humor Film Festival, Timișoara

Music festivals

* Golden Stag Festival, Brașov
* Gărâna Jazz Festival, Gărâna
* Peninsula / Félsziget Festival, Târgu-Mureș
* Untold Festival, Cluj-Napoca – Romania's biggest music festival
* Toamna Muzicală Clujeană, Cluj-Napoca
* Artmania Festival, Sibiu
* Rockstadt Extreme Fest, Râșnov
* Electric Castle Festival, Bontida, Cluj-Napoca

Others

* Sighișoara Medieval Festival, Sighișoara
* Sibiu International Theatre Festival
* Festivalul Medieval Cetăți Transilvane Sibiu

Historical coat of arms of Transylvania

The first heraldic representations of Transylvania date from the 16th century. The Diet of 1659 codified the representation of the privileged nations ( Unio Trium Nationum (Union of the Three Nations)) in Transylvania's coat of arms. It depicted a black eagle (Turul) on a blue background, representing the Hungarians, the Sun and the Moon representing the Székelys, and seven red towers on a yellow background representing the seven fortified cities of the Transylvanian Saxons. The flag and coat of arms of Transylvania were granted by Queen Maria Theresa in 1765, when she established a Grand Principality within the Habsburg monarchy.

In 1596, Levinus Hulsius created a coat of arms for Transylvania, consisting of a shield with a rising eagle in the upper field and seven hills with towers on top in the lower field. He published it in his work "''Chronologia''", issued in Nuremberg the same year. The seal from 1597 of Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, reproduced the new coat of arms with some slight changes: in the upper field the eagle was flanked by a sun and a moon and in the lower field the hills were replaced by simple towers. The coat of arms of Sigismund Báthory beside the coat of arms of the Báthory family, included the Transylvanian, Wallachia and Moldavian coat of arms, he used the title Prince of Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia. A short-lived heraldic representation of Transylvania is found on the seal of Michael the Brave. Besides the Wallachian eagle and the Moldavian aurochs, Transylvania is represented by two lions holding a sword standing on seven hills. Hungarian Transylvanian princes used the symbols of the Transylvanian coat of arms usually with the Hungarian coat of arms since the 16th century because Transylvanian princes maintained their claims to the throne of the Kingdom of Hungary.

While neither symbol has official status in present-day Romania, the Transylvanian coat of arms is marshalled within the national Coat of arms of Romania, it was also a component of the Coat of arms of Hungary.

File:Coa Transylvania Country History v4.svg, Coat of arms of Transylvania by Levinus Hulsius (1596)
File:SigismundBathory1597.jpg, Coat of arm of Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania (1586–1598, 1598–1599, 1601–1602)
File:Stema Mihai Viteazul.jpg, Seal of Michael the Brave during his personal union of Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania (1599–1600)
File:COA Bathory Zsofia.jpg, Coat of arms of Sophia Báthory, Princess of Transylvania (1642–1657, 1657–1658, 1659–1660)
File:Coat of arms of Transilvania in Stematographia.jpg, Coat of arms of Transylvania by Hristofor Žefarović (1741)
File:Wappen Großfürstentum Siebenbürgen.png, Coat of arms of Transylvania by Hugo Gerard Ströhl
File:Erdely-Cimere-1765.jpg, Coat of arms of Transylvania (1765)
File:Kreisregierung Vorarlberg.jpg, Coat of arms of Transylvania in an Austrian coat of arms (1850)
File:Coa Hungary Country History Mid (1867).svg, alt=kingdom hungary 1867, Coat of arms of Transylvania in the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Hungary (1867–1915)
File:Wappen Ungarische Länder 1867 (Mittel).png, Coat of arms of Transylvania in the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Hungary (1867–1915)
File:Wappen Ungarische Länder 1915 (Mittel).png, Coat of arms of Transylvania in the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Hungary (1915–1918)
File:Kingdom of Romania - Medium CoA.svg, Coat of arms of Transylvania in the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Romania (1921–1947)
File:Coat of arms of Romania.svg, Coat of arms of Transylvania in the coat of arms of Romania (2016)

In popular culture

Following the publication of Emily Gerard's ''The Land Beyond the Forest'' (1888), Bram Stoker wrote his gothic horror novel ''Dracula'' in 1897, using Transylvania as a setting. With its success, Transylvania became associated in the English- and Spanish-speaking world with vampires. Since then it has been represented in fiction and literature as a land of mystery and magic. For example, in Paulo Coelho's novel ''The Witch of Portobello'', the main character, Sherine Khalil, is described as a Transylvanian orphan with a Romani mother, in an effort to add to the character's exotic mystique. The so-called Transylvanian trilogy of historical novels by Miklós Bánffy, ''The Writing on the Wall'', is an extended treatment of the 19th- and early 20th-century social and political history of the country. Among the first actors to portray Dracula in film was Bela Lugosi, who was born in Lugos (now Lugoj), in present-day Romania. There is also an American animated movie franchise called '' Hotel Transylvania''. The Principality of Transylvania is also a playable nation in '' Europa Universalis IV''.

See also

* Prehistory of Transylvania
* Siebenbürgenlied, an unofficial anthem for Transylvania
* Transylvanianism

Notes

References

Further reading

* András Bereznay, ''Erdély történetének atlasza'' (''Historical Atlas of Transylvania''), with text and 102 map plates, the first ever historical atlas of Transylvania (Méry Ratio, 2011; )
*
* Zoltán Farkas and Judit Sós
Transylvania Guidebook
* Patrick Leigh Fermor, ''Between the Woods and the Water'' (New York Review of Books Classics, 2005; ). Fermor travelled across Transylvania in the summer of 1934, and wrote about it in this account first published more than 50 years later, in 1986.
*
*

External links

Radio Transsylvania International


Katherine Lovatt, in ''Central Europe Review'', Vol. 1, No. 14, 27 September 1999.


by Dr. Konrad Gündisch, Oldenburg, Germany

''Transylvania,Its Products and its People''
, by Charles Boner, 1865

Transylvanian Family History Database

{{Authority control

Historical regions
Historical regions in the Kingdom of Hungary
Historical regions in Romania