Ațel (german: Hetzeldorf;

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 ...

: ''Hätselderf''; hu, Ecel) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county ( ro, județ) of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat ( ro, reședință de județ) is the namesake town of Sibiu (german: Hermannstadt). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben m ...

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, 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, and ...

. It is composed of two villages, Ațel and Dupuș (''Tobsdorf''; ''Táblás''). The commune first appears in

written history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...

in 1283 as ''villa Echelini''. Later appearances in written documents are ''villa Heclini'' (1289), ''Hetzelini villa'' and ''villa Eczlen'' (1359), ''Ecczel'' (1365), and ''Heczeldorf'' (1548). A church is mentioned as of 1380.Léstyán, Ferenc: Megszentelt kövek. A középkori erdélyi püspökség templomai, Budapest, Arcanum, 2003

/ref>

Demographics

Population number (grouped by ethnicity) from 1850 to 2011:

Local architecture

The local medieval Evangelical Lutheran Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, fortified church of Ațel was built by the native

community and completed by the end of the 15th century; it is surrounded by double walls. Above the entrance rises the Old School tower, and close by is the Oat Tower. The fortified church of Dupuș was also built during the 15th century.

Notes

References

* * Edroiu, Nicolae, ''Comuna Ațel : Studiu monografic complex'', Editura Eurodidact, 2002 * Augustin Ioan, Hanna Derer. ''The Fortified Churches of the Transylvanian Saxons''. Noi Media Print, 2004

External links

Information and photographs
Communes in Sibiu County Localities in Transylvania {{Sibiu-geo-stub