Predeal (; hu, Predeál) is a town in

Brașov County Brașov County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Transylvania. Its capital city is Brașov. The county incorporates within its boundaries most of the Medieval "lands" (''țări'') Burzenland and Făgăraș. Name In Hungarian, it is kno ...

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 ...

. Predeal, a mountain resort town, is the highest town in Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley at an elevation of over . The town administers three villages: Pârâul Rece, Timișu de Jos and Timișu de Sus. Predeal is twinned with Macugnaga,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Beginning in the 2000s, the area experienced a boom in construction, and now many wealthy families own mountain retreats in Predeal. During the

2013 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival The 2013 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival was an international multi-sport event held between 17 and 22 February 2013, in Braşov, Romania, with some of the events also held in Râșnov, Predeal and Fundata. It was the 11th edition of the E ...

, it hosted the cross-country skiing and snowboarding competitions.

Name

The name Predeal is derived from the Slavic word '' predel'', which means "border".

History

The town was severely damaged during the Battle of Predeal Pass in World War I. Although the town itself was lost to the attacking Central Powers' forces, the battle ultimately resulted in a Romanian defensive victory.

Geography

Predeal is situated in the Centru development region of Romania, in the Prahova Valley, in the southern part of Brașov County. Neighboring towns include

Azuga Azuga is a small resort town in the mountains of Prahova County in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania. It is located at the foot of the Baiu Mountains and contains several ski slopes, including the longest ski run in Romania, the So ...

to the south,

Bușteni Bușteni () is a small mountain town in the north of Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, at the bottom of the Bucegi Mountains, that have a maximum altitude of . Its name literally means tree-logs in Romanian. ...

to the southwest,

Râșnov Râșnov (; german: Rosenau; hu, Barcarozsnyó; Transylvanian Saxon dialect: ''Ruusenåå''; Latin: ''Rosnovia'') is a town in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 15,022. It is located at about from the city of Brașov ...

to the northwest and

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...

to the north. The town is mountainous, with the Piatra Mare mountains to the north, the Bucegi mountains to the southwest and the

Postăvarul Massif The Postăvarul massif ( Transylvanian German ''Schuler'' and ''Schulerberg'') is a massif in Romania; it is part of the Romanian Carpathians, which in turn are part of the Carpathian Mountains range. The altitude of the highest peak, also name ...

to the northwest. The woods around Predeal have a rich and diversified

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

, including a high number of

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

s, European pine martens, bears, foxes, gray wolves,

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

, squirrels, rabbits,

badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...

s and heather cocks.

Climate

Predeal has a warm-summer and cold în winter (with a lot of snow)

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Dfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

Tourism

The town of Predeal is a well-known

tourist destination A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

in Romania, especially in winter. Predeal has five major ski runs, each with a difficulty grade. Most of them have snowmaking guns, and some are fitted with floodlights and ski lifts. The slopes range from (Clăbucet variantă) to (Cocoșul). Some of the town's tourist attractions include the 3 Brazi Chalet, The Susai Chalet and The Poiana Secuilor Chalet. In close proximity to Predeal are several tourist destinations, including the Peleş Castle, Râșnov Citadel,

Bran Castle Bran Castle ( ro, Castelul Bran; german: Schloss Bran; hu, Törcsvári kastély) is a castle in Bran, southwest of Brașov. It is a national monument and landmark in Transylvania. The fortress is on the Transylvanian side of the historical bo ...

, The Old Town of Brașov, Biserica Neagră and the Seven Ladders Canyon. The town has been certified as a climate resort by government decree (H.G. 226/1992) due to the strongly

ionized Ionization, or Ionisation is the process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a negative or positive charge by gaining or losing electrons, often in conjunction with other chemical changes. The resulting electrically charged atom or molecule ...

air rich in

ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation ...

radiation and the low

atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, ...

. Because of this, Predeal is popular within the holistic healing community.

Infrastructure

The town is crossed by two national roads (DN73A and DN1) and one national railway ( Line 300, one of the main lines in Romania). Predeal is one of the cities which will be crossed by the future Bucharest – Brașov motorway.

Gallery

File:Manastirea Predeal Biserica.jpg, Predeal Monastery File:Predeal 2009.jpg, Street in Predeal File:RO BV Predeal train station.jpg, Predeal railway station File:Peisaj Timisul de Jos.jpg, Timișu de Jos village

Notes

References

Strategia de dezvoltare a orașului Predeal

External links

Town map

Pictures and landscapes from the Carpathian Mountains

{{Authority control Populated places in Brașov County Localities in Transylvania Towns in Romania Prahova Valley Ski areas and resorts in Romania Place names of Slavic origin in Romania