Cricău ( hu, Boroskrakkó; german: Krakau) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

located in the central part of Alba County,

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 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 ...

. It has a population of 2,097 and is composed of three villages: Craiva (''Királypataka''), Cricău and Tibru (''Tibor''). The commune is situated on the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau ( ro, Podișul Transilvaniei; hu, Erdélyi-medence) is a plateau in central Romania. The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the East ...

, west of

Teiuș Teiuș (, german: Dreikirchen, Dornstadt; hu, Tövis) is a town in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania, with a population of 7,284 inhabitants. The town, declared as such in 1994, administers four villages: Beldiu (''Marosbéld''), Căpud (''Ma ...

, and north of the county seat,

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historica ...

. The river Cricău flows through the commune.

History

Ancient times

The

Dacian fortress The history of Dacian warfare spans from c. 10th century BC up to the 2nd century AD in the region defined by Ancient Greek and Latin historians as Dacia, populated by a collection of Thracian, Ionian, and Dorian tribes. It concerns the armed con ...

on top of ''Piatra Craivii'' is believed by many archaeologists to be the location of Apulon. 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 b ...

tribe. It was first mentioned by the

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

geographer

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

in his ''

Geographia The ''Geography'' ( grc-gre, Γεωγραφικὴ Ὑφήγησις, ''Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis'', "Geographical Guidance"), also known by its Latin names as the ' and the ', is a gazetteer, an atlas, and a treatise on cartography, com ...

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

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

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

Blandiana Blandiana (german: Stumpach; hu, Maroskarna) is a commune located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 1,187 and is composed of five villages: Acmariu (''Akmár''), Blandiana, Ibru, Poieni and Răcătău (''Rakató''). ...

, the other from

Acidava Acidava (''Acidaua'') was a Dacian and later Roman fortress on the Olt river near the lower Danube. The settlements remains are located in today's Enoşeşti, Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. History After the Roman conquest of Dacia by Roman ...

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

Brucla Aiud (; la, Brucla, hu, Nagyenyed, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Straßburg am Mieresch) is a city located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. The city's population is 22,876. It has the status of municipality and is the 2nd-largest c ...

. The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name of Apulum 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 The National Museum of the Union ( ro, Muzeul Național al Unirii) is a history and archaeology museum in Alba-Iulia, Romania. History The museum was inaugurated in 1888 upon the initiative of the Historical, Archaeological and Natural Sciences ...

File:Alba Iulia National Museum of the Union 2011 - Wall from Piatra Craivii Dacian Fortress-3.JPG, Wall from Piatra Craivii

Dacian Fortress The history of Dacian warfare spans from c. 10th century BC up to the 2nd century AD in the region defined by Ancient Greek and Latin historians as Dacia, populated by a collection of Thracian, Ionian, and Dorian tribes. It concerns the armed con ...

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 1200-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 Lo ...

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 is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

vessels and bronze objects, from various locations in Alba County, including Piatra Craivii

References

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