The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen;

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...

: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in

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 ...

(german: Siebenbürgen) in waves starting from the mid- 12th century until the mid 19th century. The legal foundation of the settlement was laid down in the Diploma Andreanum issued by King Andrew II of Hungary that is known for providing the first territorial autonomy hitherto in the history. The Transylvanian "Saxons" originally came from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, Hainaut, Brabant,

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, Zeeland,

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

, Lorraine, and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

, then situated in the north-western territories of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

around the 1140s. After 1918 and the dissolution of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, in the wake of the Treaty of Trianon, Transylvania united with the Kingdom of Romania. Consequently, the Transylvanian Saxons, together with other ethnic German sub-groups in newly enlarged Romania (namely Banat Swabians, Bessarabia Germans, Dobrujan Germans, Bukovina Germans, Satu Mare Swabians, and Zipser Germans), became part of that country's broader German minority. Today, relatively few still live in Romania, where the last official census (carried out in 2011) indicated 36,042 Germans, out of which only 11,400 were of Transylvanian Saxon descent.

Historical overview

The colonization of Transylvania by Germans began under the reign of King Géza II of Hungary (1141–1162). For decades, the main task of these medieval German-speaking settlers was to defend the southeastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary against foreign invaders stemming most notably from Central Asia (e.g. Cumans and

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

). The first wave of settlement continued well until the end of the 13th century. Although the colonists came mostly from the western

and generally spoke Franconian varieties, they came to be collectively referred to as ' Saxons' because of Germans working for the Hungarian chancellery. Gradually, the type of medieval German once spoken by these craftsmen, guardsmen, and workers became known locally as ''Såksesch''. The Transylvanian Saxon population has been steadily decreasing since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as they started massively leaving the territory of present-day

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 to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

during and after World War II, relocating initially to Austria, then predominantly to southern Germany (especially in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

). The process of emigration continued during Communist rule in Romania. After the collapse of the Ceaușescu regime in 1989 and the fall of the East German communist government, many of them continued to migrate to the unified Germany. As a result, today only approximately 12,000 Saxons remain in Romania. Nowadays, the vast majority of Transylvanian Saxons live in either Germany or Austria. Nonetheless, a sizable Transylvanian Saxon population also resides today in North America, most notably in the United States (specifically in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

, Ohio, and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

), as well as in Canada (southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

more precisely).

Origins and medieval settlements

The initial phase of German settlement began in the expansive mid-12th century, with colonists travelling to what would become or , based around the city of , today's Sibiu. Although the primary reason for Géza II's invitation was border defense, similar to employing the

Székelys The Székelys (, Székely runes: 𐳥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗), also referred to as Szeklers,; ro, secui; german: Szekler; la, Siculi; sr, Секељи, Sekelji; sk, Sikuli are a Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. ...

against invaders, Germans were also sought for their mining expertise and ability to develop the region's economy. Most colonists to this area came from

and the

Moselle River The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becom ...

region (see for instance ). A second phase of German settlement during the early 13th century consisted of settlers primarily from the Rhineland, the southern Low Countries, and the Moselle region, with others from Thuringia,

, and even from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. A settlement in northeastern Transylvania was centered on the town of , the later ( Bistrița), located on the Bistrița River. The surrounding area became known as the . Continued immigration from the Empire expanded the area of the Saxons further to the east. Settlers from the Hermannstadt region spread into the

Hârtibaciu River The Hârtibaciu (German: ''Harbach''; Hungarian: ''Hortobágy'') is a river in the Transylvania historical region of Romania. It develops in the South Carpathians and flows into the Cibin, a tributary of the Olt, in Mohu, southeast of Sibiu.

valley () and to the foot of the

Cibin Cibin (german: Zibin; hu, Szeben) is a river in central Romania, in the south part of Transylvania. Its source is close to the highest peak in the Cindrel Mountains (known also as Cibin Mountains) of the Southern Carpathian Mountains. Upstream ...

(german: Zibin) and Sebeș (german: Mühlbacher) mountains. The latter region, centered around the city of ( ro, Sebeș), was known as . To the north of Hermannstadt they settled what they called the including the village of (Latin for / ) near ( ro, Mediaș). Allegedly, the term ''Saxon'' was applied to all Germans of these historical regions because the first German settlers who came to the Kingdom of Hungary were either poor miners or groups of convicts from Saxony. In 1211, King Andrew II of Hungary invited the Teutonic Knights to settle and defend the in the southeastern corner of Transylvania. To guard the mountain passes of the Carpathians () against the Cumans, the Knights constructed numerous castles and towns, including the major city of ( ro, Brașov). Alarmed by the Knights' rapidly expanding power, in 1225 Andrew II expelled the Order, which henceforth relocated to Prussia in 1226, although the colonists remained in . The Kingdom of Hungary's medieval eastern borders were therefore defended in the northeast by the Saxons, in the east by the Hungarian border guard tribe of the Székelys, in the southeast by the castles built by the Teutonic Knights and Saxons and in the south by the Altland Saxons. A common interpretation of the tale of the

Pied Piper of Hamelin The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to ...

, dated to 26 June 1284 and recorded in Hamelin town records (the earliest of such records dating from 1384: "It is 100 years since our children left"), when a group of 130 children from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), in present-day Lower Saxony, were led away from their native city by a piper (who may be a folk memory of a lokator) is that this related to an emigration event as part of the Ostsiedlung. The destination is usually supposed to have been Prignitz, Uckermark and Pomerania, but a minor alternative theory suggests settlement in Transylvania.

Medieval organization

Legal organization

Although the knights had left Transylvania, the Saxon colonists remained, and the king allowed them to retain the rights and obligations included within the '' Diploma Andreanum'' of 1224 by Andrew II of Hungary. This document conferred upon the German population of the territory between Drăușeni (german: Draas, ro, Drăușeni) and Orăștie (german: Broos, ro, Orăștie) both administrative and religious autonomy and defined their obligations towards the kings of Hungary. They had to pay yearly tax to the king and provide military contribution to the royal army in case of danger of attack from abroad. Otherwise, they enjoyed

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

; even Hungarians could not settle down in the Saxon territories. The territory colonized by Germans covered an area of about 30,000 km² (10,000 sq. mi.). The region was called Royal Lands or Saxon Lands (german: Königsboden; hu, Királyföld or Szászföld; ro, Pământul crăiesc; la, Terra Saxonum or Fundus Regius). During the reign of King Charles I of Hungary (probably 1325–1329), the Saxons were organized in the Saxon Chairs (or seats) as follows:

Religious organizations

The Fortified Church In Biertan Romania (254853333)

Along with the Teutonic Order, other religious organizations important to the development of German communities were the Cistercian abbeys of Igrisch (Igriș) in the

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...

region respectively Kerz (Cârța) in Fogaraschland (Țara Făgărașului). The earliest religious organization of the Saxons was the Provostship of Hermannstadt (now Sibiu), founded 20 December 1191. In its early years, it included the territories of Hermannstadt, Leschkirch (Nocrich), and Groß-Schenk (Cincu), the areas that were colonized the earliest by ethnic Germans in the region. Under the influence of Johannes Honterus, the great majority of the Transylvanian Saxons embraced the new creed of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...

during the Protestant Reformation. The first superintendent of the Saxons Evangelical Church, Paul Wiener, was elected by Saxon pastors at a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

on 6 February 1553. Almost all became Lutheran Protestants, with very few Calvinists, while other minor segments of the Transylvanian Saxon society remained staunchly

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

(of Latin Rite, more specifically) or were converted to Catholicism later on. Nonetheless, one of the consequences of the Reformation was the emergence of an almost perfect equivalence, in the Transylvanian context, of the terms Lutheran and Saxon, with the Lutheran Church in Transylvania being

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

a "Volkskirche", i.e. the "national church" of the Transylvanian Saxons (or the people's church of the Saxons). File:Mănăstirea Cârța - panoramio (4).jpg, Cârța (german: Kerz) medieval monastery File:Biserica fortificată din Hărman - vedere de ansamblu.jpg, Hărman (german: Honigberg) Evangelical Lutheran medieval fortified church File:Kirchenburg Birthälm.jpg, Biertan fortified church (german: Birthälm) was the see of the Evangelical Lutheran Bishop in Transylvania between 1572 and 1867. File:Valea Viilor - Ansamblul bisericii evanghelice fortificate - vedere generala.jpg,

Valea Viilor Valea Viilor (colloquially ''Vorumloc''; german: Wurmloch; hu, Nagybaromlak) is a commune located in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 2,034 (as of 2002), and is composed of two villages, Motiș (''Mortesdorf''; ''Marton ...

(german: Wurmloch) Evangelical Lutheran medieval fortified church File:Saschiz - Biserica Evanghelica fortificata - exterior.jpg, Saschiz (german: Keisd) Evangelical Lutheran medieval fortified church File:Biserica evanghelica fortificata din Viscri.jpg, Viscri (german: Weisskirch) Evangelical Lutheran medieval fortified church

Fortification of the towns

The Mongol invasion of 1241–42 devastated much of the Kingdom of Hungary. Although the Saxons did their best to resist and even trying to fight back the Mongol invaders, their resistance were eventually turned down by the Mongols and many of their settlements were destroyed/ruined. after the Mongols pulled out from Transylvania, In anticipation for another invasion, many Transylvanian towns were fortified with stone castles and an emphasis was put on developing towns economically. In the Middle Ages, about 300 villages were defended by ''Kirchenburgen'', or fortified churches with massive walls. Although many of these fortified churches have fallen into ruin, nowadays the south-eastern region of

still has one of the highest numbers of existing fortified churches from the 13th to 16th centuriesVillages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre 1992–2010 as more than 150 villages in the area count various types of fortified churches in good shape, seven of them being included in the UNESCO World Heritage under the name of '' Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania''. The rapid expansion of cities populated by the Saxons led to Transylvania being known in German as ''Siebenbürgen'' and ''Septem Castra'' in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

, referring to seven of the fortified towns (see Historical names of Transylvania), most likely: *Nösen/Bistritz ( Bistrița) *Hermannstadt ( Sibiu) *Klausenburg ( Cluj-Napoca) *Kronstadt ( Brașov) *Mediasch ( Mediaș) *Mühlbach ( Sebeș) *Schässburg ( Sighișoara) Other potential candidates for this list include: *Broos ( Orăștie) *Sächsisch-Regen ( Reghin) Other notable urban Saxon settlements include: *Heltau ( Cisnădie) *Rosenau ( Râșnov) *Reps (

Rupea Rupea (german: Reps; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Räppes''; hu, Kőhalom, lit=mound of rocks; la, Ripa) is a town in Brașov County in Transylvania, Romania. It administers one village, Fișer (''Schweischer''; ''Sövénység''), which has a for ...

) File:The Small Square of Sibiu, during the closing gala - 2016.jpg, Hermannstadt (Sibiu) File:Biserica Mihail.JPG, Klausenburg (Cluj-Napoca) File:Braşov (Kronstadt, Brassó) - center.jpg, Kronstadt (Brașov) File:Biserica evanghelică.C.A.JPG, Bistritz (Bistrița) File:MediasFotoThalerTamas.JPG, Mediasch (Mediaș) File:Sebes, Gimnaziul evanghelic.jpg, Mühlbach (Sebeș) File:Sighisoara. Biserica din deal.jpg, Schässburg (Sighișoara) File:Biserica Săsească Reghin (1).jpg, Sächsisch-Regen (Reghin) File:Orastie 02.jpg, Broos (Orăștie) File:Cisnadie Centrul istoric.jpg, Heltau (Cisnădie) File:RO BV Rasnov church 1.jpg, Rosenau (Râșnov) File:Orasul Rupea vazut din Cetatea Rupea.jpg, Reps (Rupea)

Fortification of the villages

In addition to fortifying their towns over the passing of time, the Transylvanian Saxons also had to fortify their villages by building their fortified churches (initially

Roman Catholic 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 ...

then Evangelical Lutheran after the Reformation). These churches had defensive capacities in the event of a foreign attack on a rural Transylvanian Saxon community. Such an attack would often stem from the Cumans. It was estimated that there are approximately 300 such villages with fortified churches built by the Saxons in Transylvania during the Middle Ages. The majority of them are still in very good to relatively good shape to this day.

Medieval colonies outside the Carpathian arch

The Transylvanian Saxons also colonized areas outside the Carpathian arch, and, implicitly, outside their newly native lands across Transylvania. Those areas pertained to the neighbouring and emerging medieval principalities of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centra ...

(to the east) and Wallachia (to the south). In this particular process, they founded or co-founded major historical settlements in both principalities such as Târgu Neamț (german: Niamtz), Baia (german: Stadt Molde or Moldennmarkt), Târgoviște (german: Tergowisch), or Câmpulung (german: Langenau). In the case of the first settlement (i.e. Târgu Neamț), they could have been equally helped in establishing it by the Teutonic Knights. Saxons in Wallachia also settled in Râmnic (i.e. present-day Râmnicu Vâlcea) and

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in the historical re ...

Cetatea de Scaun a Sucevei la ceas de seara

Saxon colonization in Moldavia had likely occurred through a crossing from the Bistrița area eastward and northward whereas Saxon colonization in Wallachia had likely occurred from the Sibiu area. Moreover, under the title of

Schultheiß In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a ''Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county (' ...

, ethnic Germans were even briefly in charge of some of these settlements during the Middle Ages. Additionally, German potters and merchants were also present in the former Moldavian capital of Suceava at the end of the 14th century. Historically, the town of Suceava has also been known in

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

as ''Sedschopff''. The newly arrived Saxons outside in the Carpathian arch in the emerging medieval Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia brought urbanisation, craftsmanship, trade, and the so-called ''German law'', under which the local administrations of medieval Romanian towns had operated in the beginning. However, throughout the passing of time, demographically, their numbers gradually dwindled and had been subsequently assimilated in the local medieval Wallachian and Moldavian cultures by the overwhelming Romanian ethnic majority.

Status of privileged class in Transylvania

Along with the largely Hungarian-Transylvanian

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

and the

, the Transylvanian Saxons were members of the Unio Trium Nationum (or 'Union of the Three Nations'), which was a charter signed in 1438. This agreement preserved a considerable degree of political rights for the three aforementioned groups but excluded the largely Hungarian and Romanian peasantry from political life in the principality. 1899 ethnographic map of Austria-Hungary

1899 ethnographic map of Austria-Hungary

During the Protestant Reformation, most Transylvanian Saxons converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

. As the semi-independent Principality of Transylvania was one of the most religiously tolerant states in Europe at the time, the Saxons were allowed to practice their own religion (meaning that they enjoyed religious autonomy). However, 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 ...

s still promoted

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

to the Saxons during the Counter Reformation. Currently in Romania, about 60% of ethnic Germans reported being Roman Catholic and 40% Protestant (see

Religion in Romania Romania is a secular state, and it has no state religion. Romania is one of the most religious of European countries and the majority of the country's citizens are Orthodox Christians. The Romanian state officially recognizes 18 religions and d ...

Warfare War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...

between the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

and Hungary against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

from the 16th–18th centuries decreased the population of Transylvanian Saxons. All throughout this period of time, the Saxons in Transylvania served as administrators and military officers. When the Principality of Transylvania came under

control, a smaller third phase of settlement took place in order to revitalise their demographics. This wave of settlement included exiled Protestants from Upper Austria (the Transylvanian Landlers namely), who were given land near Hermannstadt ( Sibiu). The predominantly German-populated Hermannstadt was a noteworthy cultural center within Transylvania back in the day, while Kronstadt ( Brașov) represented a vital political center for the Transylvanian Saxons.

Loss of elite status

Sächsische Bauern aus der Umgebung von Hermannstadt

Emperor Joseph II attempted to revoke the Unio Trium Nationum in the late 18th century. His actions were aimed at the political inequality within Transylvania, especially the political strength of the Saxons. Although his actions were ultimately rescinded, many Saxons began to see themselves as being a small minority opposed by nationalist Romanians and Hungarians. Although they remained a rich and influential group, the Saxons were no longer a dominant class within Modern Age Transylvania. The Hungarians, on the other hand, supported complete unification of Transylvania with the rest of Hungary.

Stephan Ludwig Roth Stephan Ludwig Roth (24 November 1796 – 11 May 1849) was a Transylvanian Saxon intellectual, teacher, pedagogue and Lutheran pastor. Early life Stephan Ludwig Roth was born in Mediasch ( Principality of Transylvania, part of the Austrian Empir ...

, a pastor who led the German support for Romanian political rights, eventually opposed the unification of Transylvania with Hungary and was executed by the Hungarian military tribunal during the revolution. Romania 1930 ethnic map EN

Although the Hungarian control over Transylvania was defeated by Austrian and

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

forces in 1849, the Ausgleich compromise between Austria and Hungary in 1867 did not marry well for the political rights of the Saxons. After the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, on 8 January 1919 the representatives of the Transylvanian Saxons decided to support the unification of Transylvania with the Kingdom of Romania. They were promised full minority rights, but many wealthy Saxons lost part of their land in the land reform process that was implemented in the whole of Romania after World War I. Taking into account the rise of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

in Germany, many Transylvanian Saxons became staunch supporters of

national socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

, with the Evangelical Lutheran Church losing, eventually, very much of its influence in the community as time passed by.

World War II and afterwards

In February 1942 and May 1943, Germany concluded agreements with Hungary and Romania respectively, following which the Germans who were fit for military service, although they were either Hungarian citizens (in Northern Transylvania, entered the composition of the Hungarian state through the Second Vienna Award) or Romanian citizens (in Southern Transylvania, remaining part of Romania), could be incorporated into the regular German military units, into the Waffen-SS and into war-producing enterprises or into the Organisation Todt. As a result of these agreements, approximately 95% of the members of the German ethnic group who were fit for military service (Transylvanian Saxons and Banat Swabians) voluntarily enrolled into the Waffen-SS units (approximately 63,000 people), with several thousand serving in the special units of the SS Security Service (SD-Sonderkommandos), of which at least 2,000 ethnic Germans were enrolled in the concentration camps (KZ-Wachkompanien), of which at least 55% served in extermination camps, predominantly in Auschwitz and Lublin. About 15% of the Romanian ethnic Germans who served in the Waffen-SS died in the war, with only a few thousand survivors returning to Romania. When Romania signed a peace treaty with the Soviets in 1944, the German military began withdrawing the Saxons from Transylvania; this operation was most thorough with the Saxons of the Nösnerland (Bistrița area). Around 100,000 Germans fled before the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

, but Romania did not conduct the

expulsion of Germans Expulsion or expelled may refer to: General * Deportation * Ejection (sports) * Eviction * Exile * Expeller pressing * Expulsion (education) * Expulsion from the United States Congress * Extradition * Forced migration * Ostracism * Perso ...

as did neighboring countries at war's end. However, more than 70,000 Germans from Romania were arrested by the Soviet Army and sent to labour camps in contemporary Ukraine for alleged cooperation with Nazi Germany. In 1989 still 95,000 Saxons lived in Romania (approx. 40% of the population of 1910), and between 1991 and 1992 another 75,000 emigrated. Their number shrank to 14,770 according to the data provided by the Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession in Romania in 2003. Because they are considered '' Auslandsdeutsche'' ("Germans from abroad") by the German government, the Saxons have the right to German citizenship under the law of return. Numerous Saxons have emigrated to Germany, especially after the fall of the Eastern Bloc in 1989 and are represented by the

Association of Transylvanian Saxons in Germany The Association of Transylvanian Saxons in Germany (german: Verband der Siebenbürger Sachsen in Deutschland) is a German organisation formed in 1946 by those who were resettled in Germany from Transylvania (german: Siebenbürgen). Its goals are th ...

. Due to this emigration from Romania the population of Saxons is dwindling. At the same time, especially after Romania's accession into NATO and the EU, many Transylvanian Saxons are returning from Germany, reclaiming property lost to the former Communist regime and/or starting up small and medium-sized enterprises. The Saxons remaining in Romania are represented by the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (FDGR/DFDR), the political party that gave Romania its fifth president,

Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; also spelled Johannis; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist and former teacher who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. He became leader of the National Liberal Party (Romania), Na ...

Culture

Before their expulsion from communist Romania by communist and securist Romanian authorities, the Transylvanian Saxons formed distinct communities in their towns and villages, where they maintained their ethnic tradition characterized by specific customs,

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, r ...

, way of life, and distinctive clothing style (i.e. national costumes). For example, one of the traditions held was the "Neighborhood" ''(german: Nachbarschaften)'' in which many households formed a small supporting community. This, according to some scholars, is of ancient German origin. File:Sachsenspiegel-Ostsiedlung.jpg, Upper part: the locator (with a special hat) receives the foundation charter from the landlord. The settlers clear the forest and build houses. Lower part: the locator acts as the judge in the village. File:Pferdemarkt Leonberg 2015 4861.jpg, National costumes of the Saxons, Germany 2015 File:MuzBV NachbarschaftChest.jpg, The "community chest" in which the Saxon fraternity held their documents File:MuzBV NachbarschaftConvener.jpg, The "community badge" ''(german: Nachbarschaft Convener)'' File:Coa Romania Nationality Saxons.svg, The historical coat of arms of the Transylvanian Saxons File:Coa Romania Nationality Saxons 2.svg, Alternative coat of arms of the Transylvanian Saxons

Cuisine

The cuisine of the Transylvanian Saxons is very similar to that of the Romanians and the Hungarians living in Transylvania as well as to the

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

Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...

, or

Alemannic Swiss The Swiss people (german: die Schweizer, french: les Suisses, it, gli Svizzeri, rm, ils Svizzers) are the citizens of Switzerland or people of Swiss ancestry. The number of Swiss nationals has grown from 1.7 million in 1815 to 8.7 million ...

. In these regards, the Transylvanian Saxon cuisine can be regarded as quintessentially Central European. One prominent example of a local traditional dessert of the Transylvanian Saxons is the ''hanklich'' ( ro, hencleș or hencleș săsesc), a sweet cheese pie with powdered sugar on top (variations include plums as main ingredients, raisins, or other dry fruits). This particular pastry is still served in restaurants and bakeries in southern Transylvania, particularly in Brașov and Sibiu counties, where, historically, there had been a more significant Transylvanian Saxon ethnic presence compared to the other counties across Transylvania. In Romanian, it is also known as ''lichiu săsesc'' or just ''lichiu''.

Notes

References

External links

Unsere Deutsche Wurzeln/Our German Roots - Namensemantik (Deutung) der Siebenbürgisch-Sächsische Familliennamen (Surnames)

* ttp://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bgwiehle/siebenburgen/sbs-namen/index.htm Transylvanian Saxon surnames
Transylvanian placenames in different languages

General site on the Transylvanian Saxons

General forum for the Transylvanian Saxons

Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons

as spoken in Honigberg (Hărman), and compare with equivalents in English and other Germanic languages.
Article in the academic journal ''Nationalities Papers'' on Transylvanian Saxon identity between 1933 and 1944

Visual short story about the Transylvanian Saxons (with many archive images)
{{Authority control 12th-century establishments in Europe Saxons History of Transylvania Transylvania in the Kingdom of Hungary