Ațel (;

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sași ardeleni/transilvăneni/transilvani''; ) are a people ...

: ''Hätselderf''; ) is a commune 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 ...

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 ...

. 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