Țara Bârsei, Burzenland () or Barcaság is a

historic History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and ethnographic area in southeastern

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 A ...

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 ...

with a mixed population of

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Romania ...

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

, and

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 ...

Geography

The Burzenland lies within the

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ro, Carpații Meridionali ; hu, Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Pr ...

mountains ranges, bordered approximately by Apața in the north, Bran in the southwest and Prejmer in the east. Its most important city is Brașov. Burzenland is named after the

stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

Bârsa (''Barca'', ''Burzen'', 1231: ''Borza''), which flows into the Olt river. The

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

word ''bârsă'' is supposedly of Dacian origin (''see List of Romanian words of possible Dacian origin'').

History

Middle Ages

Based on archaeological evidence, it seems German colonization of the region started in the middle of the 12th century during the reign of King

Géza II of Hungary Géza II ( hu, II. Géza; hr, Gejza II; sk, Gejza II; 113031 May 1162) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1141 to 1162. He was the oldest son of Béla the Blind and his wife, Helena of Serbia. When his father died, Géza was still a child ...

. The German colonists from this region are attested in documents as early as 1192 when ''terra Bozza'' is mentioned as being settled by Germans (''Theutonici''). Burzenland1700

In 1211 the region was given to the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

by King

Andrew II of Hungary Andrew II ( hu, II. András, hr, Andrija II., sk, Ondrej II., uk, Андрій II; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 11 ...

in return for guarding the southeastern border of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

against the

Cumans The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...

. While the king retained his right to mint currency and claims on gold or silver deposits that would be uncovered, he granted the Teutonic Order the right to establish markets and administer justice. The crusaders were also free from taxes and tolls. The Teutonic Knights began building wood-and-earth forts in the area and they had constructed five castles (''quinque castra fortia''): Marienburg,

Schwarzenburg Schwarzenburg is a municipality in the district of Bern-Mittelland in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It was created on 1 January 2011 through the merger of the municipalities of Wahlern and Albligen. History Albligen Albligen is first mentio ...

, Rosenau, Kreuzburg, and

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

, some of which were made of stone. The military order was successful in reducing the threat of the nomadic Cumans. Medieval Saxons from 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 unt ...

developed farms and villages nearby to support the forts and settle the land. The territory was already populated at the time when was disputed. Some medieval sources indicate it was uninhabited,"''Terram Borza nomine ultra silvas versus Cumanos, licet desertam et inhabitatam''". Georg Daniel Teutsch and Friedrich Firnhaber. ''Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte Siebenbürgens''.

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 1857, I, no. 10 a view challenged by some scholars invoking archaeological and documentary evidence. The diplomas from 1222 speak of native people inhabiting these lands at the time when the donation was made. Bountiful agricultural yields led to further colonization by German immigrants. The Teutonic Knights disregarded the rights of the local bishopric, however, and angered Hungarian nobility which already had settlers in the region. Led by

Béla Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...

, the heir to the throne, the nobility pressed the need to expel the knights upon King Andrew II after his return from the Fifth Crusade. Grand Master

Hermann von Salza Hermann von Salza (or Herman of Salza; c. 1165 – 20 March 1239) was the fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1210 to 1239. A skilled diplomat with ties to the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope, Hermann oversaw the expansio ...

attempted to loosen the Order's ties to the Hungarian crown by drawing closer to the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. Andrew subsequently evicted the Order with his army in 1225, although

Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of import ...

protested to no effect. The confusing status of the Teutonic Knights within the Kingdom of Hungary led Hermann von Salza to insist upon autonomy before committing the military order to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

. Along with Germans, the kings of Hungary also settled Szeklers and

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა� ...

in the region during the 12th and 13th centuries. Archaeological evidence for the same period also suggests a strong Romanian population inhabiting the villages later known as Șcheii Brașovului, Satulung,

Baciu Baciu ( hu, Kisbács or ''Bács''; german: Botschendorf) is a commune in Cluj County, located in the region of Transylvania, in the northwestern part of Romania. Baciu lies a short distance from the county seat of Cluj-Napoca. It is composed of s ...

, Cernatu, and Turcheș (the former is today part of Brașov, while the latter four are today part of the adjacent town of

Săcele Săcele (; German: ''Siebendörfer''; Hungarian: ''Négyfalu'', between 1950 and 2001 ''Szecseleváros'') is a city in Brașov County, Romania, in the Burzenland area of southeastern Transylvania, with a population of 30,798 inhabitants in 2 ...

). In the second half of the 13th century the Romanian population is attested in two documents: in the region of Bran (1252) and Tohani (1294), while in the second half of the 15th century out of nine villages from the domain of Bran seven were Romanian (''villae valachicales, Bleschdörfer'') and only two German. At the Conference of Lutsk in 1429, Sigismund,

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

and King of Hungary, suggested that the Teutonic Knights defend the region during the

Ottoman wars in Europe A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

. Led by Claus von Redewitz, a detachment of knights from

was stationed in the Burzenland until half were killed during an Ottoman campaign in 1432.

20th century

Transylvanian Saxons remained in the Burzenland until the 20th century. Beginning in 1976, most of these Germans began to immigrate to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

with the approval of the Communist Romanian regime.. Introduction available on web:

Towns

In each case, the modern

name is given first, followed by the

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 **Ge ...

and Hungarian names. * Apața (''Geist'', ''Apáca'') * Bod (''Brenndorf'', ''Botfalva'') * Bran (''Törzburg'', ''Törcsvár'') * Brașov (''Kronstadt'', ''Brassó'') * Codlea (''Zeiden'', ''Feketehalom'') * Cristian (''Neustadt'', ''Keresztényfalva'') * Crizbav (''Krebsbach'', ''Krizba'') * Dumbrăviţa (''Schnakendorf'', ''Szunyogszék'') * Feldioara (''Marienburg'', ''Földvár'') *

Ghimbav Ghimbav (german: Weidenbach; hu, Vidombák) is a town in Brașov County, Transylvania, central Romania. It is located in the centre of Romania, 5 miles (8 km) west of Brașov. History The town was first mentioned in a letter written in 1 ...

(''Weidenbach'', ''Vidombák'') * Hălchiu (''Heldsdorf'', ''Höltövény'') *

Hărman Hărman ( German: ''Honigberg''; Hungarian: ''Szászhermány'') is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Hărman and Podu Oltului (''Vámoshíd''). The commune is located some 10 km east of Brașo ...

(''Honigberg'', ''Szászhermány'') * Măieruș (''Nußbach'', ''Szászmagyarós'') * Prejmer (''Tartlau'', ''Prázsmár'') * Râșnov (''Rosenau'', ''Barcarozsnyó'') * Rotbav (''Rotbach'', ''Szászveresmart'') *

(''Siebendörfer'', ''Szecseleváros / Négyfalu'') * Sânpetru (''Petersberg'', ''Barcaszentpéter'') * Şercaia (''Schirkanyen'', ''Sárkány'') * Vulcan (''Wolkendorf'', '' Szászvolkány'') * Zărnești (''Zernescht'', ''Zernest'')

References

External links

Peasants and castles of the Burzenland

Former coat of arms of the Burzenland

Romanian ethnographical areas

Shooting the rooster - traditions of the Hungarian community from Țara Bârsei
* http://www.brasovtravelguide.ro/en/brasov/events/junii-feast.php {{Authority control Transylvanian Saxon communities Historical regions of Transylvania Brașov County Teutonic Order