Avrig (; , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Freck/Fraek'', ) is a town in

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county () of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat () is the namesake town of Sibiu (). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Hermannstadt''. Under the ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

, central

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. The first documents attesting its existence date to 1346. It officially became a town in 1989, as a result of the

Romanian rural systematization program The Romanian rural systematization program was a Social engineering (political science), social engineering program undertaken by Nicolae Ceaușescu's Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania primarily at the end of the 1980s. The legal framework f ...

Demographics

At the 2011 census, Avrig had 12,815 inhabitants, of whom 95.6% were

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, 2.1%

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

, 1.5% Roma, and 0.5%

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

(

Transylvanian Saxons The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler dialect, Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sa ...

). At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 12,534; of those, 86.45% were Romanians.

Administration and local politics

Town council

The town's current local council has the following multi-party political composition, based on the results of the votes cast at the 2024 Romanian local elections:

Geography

The town administers four villages: Bradu (''Gierelsau''; ''Fenyőfalva''), Glâmboaca (''Hühnerbach''; ''Glimboka''), Mârșa and Săcădate (''Sekadaten''; ''Oltszakadát''). It is situated in the historical region of

. It lies on the left bank of the river Olt (at the mouth of the Avrig River), close to the

Făgăraș Mountains The Făgăraș Mountains ( ; ) are the highest mountains of the Southern Carpathians, in Romania. Geography The mountain range is situated in the heart of Romania, at . The range is bordered in the north by the Făgăraș Depression, through wh ...

, at about from

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

on the road towards

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

. It is the main starting point for the trekking routes in the western part of the mountains, and also on access point at a great number of chalets in the mountains: ''Cabana Poiana Neamțului'', ''Cabana Bârcaciu'', ''Cabana Ghiocelul''.

Economy

Avrig SA Glass Factory, a company specialized in lime mouthblown glass, started its origins in Avrig in the 17th century. Mârșa village is the site of the Mecanica Mârșa Works, which manufactures auto-trailers and military vehicles.

Tourism

The most important objective in the town is the Brukenthal Summer Palace built in 1771, a baroque summer residence of baron

Samuel von Brukenthal Samuel Freiherr von Brukenthal (; 26 July 1721 in Nocrich, Leschkirch – 9 April 1803 in Sibiu) was the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg governor of the Principality of Transylvania (1711–1867), Grand Principality of Transylvania between 6 July 177 ...

, the governor of

. Also two old churches can be found there: the evangelical church, built in the 13th century and fortified in the 16th century and the orthodox church, built in the 18th century. Bradu village features a fortified church first attested in 1315, with the last major modification in 1804.

Natives

* Romulus Cândea (1886 – 1973), ecclesiastical historian * Gheorghe Lazăr (1779 – 1823), founder of the first Romanian-language school *

Vasile Stoica Vasile Stoica (, also known as Basil Stoica; January 1, 1889 – July 27, 1959) was a Romanian political writer, diplomat, and close assistant of European statesmen Tomáš Masaryk and Ion I.C. Brătianu. Early life and education Stoica was bor ...

(1889 – 1959), diplomat

Image gallery

File:FreckBrukenthal.jpg, Brukenthal Summer Palace File:Brukenthal'sche Sommerresidenz Stadt.jpg, Avrig File:Biserica evanghelică.JPG, The medieval fortified Evangelical Lutheran Transylvanian Saxon church of Avrig File:Gierelsau.jpg, The medieval Evangelical Lutheran Transylvanian Saxon

fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such church (building), churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as t ...

of Bradu village File:Gory Fogaraskie (Fagaras Mountains) 25.jpg, Avrig Lake File:Josephinische Landaufnahme pg238.jpg, Avrig in the Grand Duchy of

, 1769-1773 File:Avrig jud Sibiu.png, Avrig in

References

External links

Avrig Town Hall Official Site

Brukenthal Palace Avrig
Towns in Romania Populated places in Sibiu County Localities in Transylvania {{Sibiu-geo-stub