Cricău (; ) is a commune located in the central part of

Alba County Alba County () is a county (județ) of Romania located in the historic region of Transylvania. Its capital is Alba Iulia, a city with a population of 63,536. Name "Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of 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 has a population of 1,879 as of 2021 and is composed of three villages: Craiva (''Királypataka''), Cricău, and Tibru (''Tibor''). The commune is situated on the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau (; ) is a plateau in central Romania. Description The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern Carpathians, Eastern, Southern ...

, west of

Teiuș Teiuș (, ; ) is a town in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania, with a population of 6,308 inhabitants as of 2021. The town, declared as such in 1994, administers four villages: Beldiu (''Marosbéld''), Căpud (''Magyarkapud''), Coșlariu Nou ('' ...

, and north of the county seat,

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

. The river

Cricău Cricău (; ) is a Commune in Romania, commune located in the central part of Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 1,879 as of 2021 and is composed of three villages: Craiva (''Királypataka''), Cricău, and Tibru (''Tibor'') ...

flows through the commune.

History

Ancient times

The Dacian fortress on top of ''Piatra Craivii'' is believed by many archaeologists to be the location of

Apulon Apulon (or ''Apoulon'') was a Dacian fortress city close to modern Alba Iulia, Romania. The Latin name of Apulum is derived. The exact location is believed by many archaeologists to be the Dacian fortifications on top of ''Piatra Craivii'', Cr ...

. Apulon was an important Dacian political, economic and social center, the capital of the

Apuli The Apuli or Biefi were a Dacian tribe centered at the Dacian town '' Apulon'' (Latin '' Apulum'') near what is now Alba Iulia in Transylvania, Romania. ''Apuli'' has clear resemblance to Apulia, the ancient southeastern Italy region, which is ...

tribe. It was first mentioned by the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

geographer

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

in his ''

Geographia The ''Geography'' (, , "Geographical Guidance"), also known by its Latin names as the ' and the ', is a gazetteer, an atlas, and a treatise on cartography, compiling the geographical knowledge of the 2nd-century Roman Empire. Originally wri ...

'', under the name Apulon. It is also depicted in the

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin Language, Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tablesJames Strong (theologian) , James Strong and John McClintock (theologian) , John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Bibli ...

as an important city named Apula, at the cross road of two main routes: one coming from

Blandiana Blandiana (; ) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 818 (as of 2021) and is composed of five villages: Acmariu (''Akmár''), Blandiana, Ibru, Poieni, and Răcătău (''Rakató''). The commune lies on ...

, the other from

Acidava Acidava (''Acidaua'') was a Dacians, Dacian and later Roman Dacia, Roman town and fort on the Olt river near the lower Danube. The settlement's remains are located in today's Enoşeşti, Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. History After the Roman ...

. The two roads merge at Apula, with the next stop on the route being Brucla. The

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

name of

Apulum Apulum may refer to: *The Latin name of Alba Iulia *Apulum (castra), the Roman fort of Alba Iulia *Apulum (conurbation), the civil settlements around the Roman fort *Apulum (company), a Romanian porcelain manufacturing company * Apulum (Acta Musei ...

is derived from ''Apulon''.The history of the city
Retrieved 4 February 2012.

Natives

* Nicolae Stanciu (b. 1993)

Gallery

File:Ansamblul bisericii reformate fortificate - Cricau.jpg, Reformed Church File: Cricau Festival 2013 - Romans - 08.jpg, Dacian citadel festival File: Cricau Festival 2013 - Dacians - 2.jpg, Dacian citadel festival File: Cricau Festival 2013 - Sanziene - 24.jpg, Sânzienele - Dacian citadel festival File:Alba Iulia National Museum of the Union 2011 - Wall from Piatra Craivii Dacian Fortress-2.JPG, Wall from Piatra Craivii Dacian Fortress in display at the National Museum of the Union,

File:Alba Iulia National Museum of the Union 2011 - Wall from Piatra Craivii Dacian Fortress-3.JPG, Wall from Piatra Craivii Dacian Fortress File:Alba Iulia National Museum of the Union 2011 - Import Pieces from Roman World found at Dacian Settlement of Piatra Craivii.JPG, Import items from the

Roman world The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1,200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day L ...

found at Dacian settlement of Piatra Craivii, File:Alba Iulia National Museum of the Union 2011 - Late Bronze Age Vessels and Bronze Objects.JPG, Late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

vessels and bronze objects, from various locations in

, including Piatra Craivii

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cricau Communes in Alba County Localities in Transylvania