The Târnava Mare ("Great Târnava"; hu, Nagy-Küküllő; german: Große Kokel) is a river in

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 ...

. Its total length is and its basin size is . Its source is in the Eastern

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

, near the sources of the Mureș and

Olt Olt or OLT may refer to: People: * Károly Olt (1904–1985), Hungarian politician * Mike Olt (born 1988), American baseball player Places: * Olt County, a county (județ) of Romania * Olt (river), a river in Romania ** Olt Defile, a defile that ...

Harghita County Harghita (, hu, Hargita megye, ) is a county (județ) in the center of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Miercurea Ciuc. Demographics 2002 census In 2002, Harghita County had a population of 326,222 and a populatio ...

. It flows through the Romanian counties of Harghita, Mureș,

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

, and

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scottish people, Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed i ...

. The cities of

Odorheiu Secuiesc Odorheiu Secuiesc (; hu, Székelyudvarhely, ; german: Odorhellen) is the second largest municipality in Harghita County, Transylvania, Romania. In its short form, it is also known as ''Odorhei'' in Romanian and ''Udvarhely'' in Hungarian. The Hun ...

Sighișoara Sighișoara (; hu, Segesvár ; german: Schäßburg ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Schäsbrich''; yi, שעסבורג, Shesburg; la, Castrum Sex) is a city on the Târnava Mare River in Mureș County, Romania. Located in the historic region of Transy ...

, and

Mediaș Mediaș (; german: Mediasch, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Medwesch''/''Medveš'', hu, Medgyes) is the second largest town in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. Geographic location Mediaș is located in the middle basin of Târnava Mare River, ...

lie on the Târnava Mare. It joins the

Târnava Mică The Târnava Mică ("Small Târnava"; hu, Kis-Küküllő; german: Kleine Kokel) is a river in Romania. Its total length is , and its drainage basin area is . Its source is in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, in Harghita County. It flows to the w ...

Blaj Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; hu, Balázsfalva; german: Blasendorf; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a municipiu, city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 20,630 inhabita ...

, forming the

Târnava The Târnava (full name in ro, Râul Târnava; hu, Küküllő; german: Kokel; tr, Kokul or Kokulu) is a river in Romania. It is formed by the confluence of the Târnava Mare and Târnava Mică in the town of Blaj. The Târnava flows into the ...

Towns and villages

The following towns and villages are situated along the river Târnava Mare, from source to mouth: Subcetate,

Zetea Zetea ( hu, Zetelaka, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in the central part of Harghita County, Romania. The commune lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. Component villages The commune is composed o ...

, Brădești,

Feliceni Feliceni ( hu, Felsőboldogfalva, , meaning "Upper Village of the Blessed", referring to the Virgin Mary) is a commune in Harghita County, Romania, in the vicinity of Odorheiu Secuiesc. It forms part of the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural reg ...

, Mugeni, Porumbeni,

Cristuru Secuiesc Cristuru Secuiesc (; hu, Székelykeresztúr, ) is a town in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The town administers two villages: Betești (''Betfalva''), part of Mugeni u ...

, Secuieni,

Daneș Daneș in ( Hungarian: ''Dános'', Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Dunesdorf) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania, near Sighișoara Sighișoara (; hu, Segesvár ; german: Schäßburg ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Schäsbrich''; ...

Dumbrăveni Dumbrăveni (before 1945 ''Ibașfalău''; german: Elisabethstadt; Saxon dialect: ''Eppeschdorf''; hu, Erzsébetváros) is a town in the north of Sibiu County, in the centre of Transylvania, central Romania. The town administers two villages, Ern ...

, Dârlos,

, Copșa Mică,

Micăsasa Micăsasa (german: Feigendorf; hu, Mikeszásza) is a commune located in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Chesler, Micăsasa, Țapu and Văleni. Micăsasa and Țapu villages have fortified churches. At the 201 ...

, Valea Lungă,

Tributaries

The following rivers are tributaries to the river Târnava Mare (from source to mouth): Left: Chiuveș, Vărșag, Șicasău, Pârâul Băutor, Deșag, Brădești, Gorom, Hodoș, Mugeni, Pârâul Caprelor, Scroafa, Pârâul Cărbunarilor, Daia, Șapartoc, Valea Dracului, Vâlcăndorf,

Șaeș The Șaeș is a left tributary of the river Târnava Mare in Romania. It discharges into the Târnava Mare in the city Sighișoara Sighișoara (; hu, Segesvár ; german: Schäßburg ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Schäsbrich''; yi, שעסבור� ...

, Criș, Laslea, Valchid,

Biertan Biertan (german: Birthälm; hu, Berethalom) is a commune in Transylvania, Romania, in the north of the Sibiu County, 80 km north of Sibiu and 29 km east of Mediaș. Biertan is one of the most important Saxon villages with fortified ch ...

, Ațel, Valea Mare, Buzd, Moșna, Ighiș, Vorumloc, Vișa, Șeica, Soroștin, Cenade, Spătac, Veza Right: Tartod, Creanga Mică, Pârâul Rece, Senced, Busniac, Pârâul Sărat, Cireșeni, Beta, Tăietura, Fâneața Îngustă, Feernic, Goagiu, Eliseni, Rogoz, Valea Morii, Prod, Fântâna Veteului, Giacăș, Șmig, Curciu, Păucea, Chesler, Valea Lungă

Târnava Mare SCI

The dry grassland habitat beside the river is now part of a (SCI)

Site of Community Importance A Site of Community Importance (SCI) is defined in the European Commission Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) as a site which, in the biogeographical region or regions to which it belongs, contributes significantly to the maintenance or restoration at ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Târnava Mare Rivers of Romania Rivers of Harghita County Rivers of Mureș County Rivers of Sibiu County Rivers of Alba County