Deva (;
Hungarian: ''Déva'',
Hungarian pronunciation: ; German: ''Diemrich'', ''Schlossberg'', ''Denburg'';
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 ...
: ''Sargetia'';
is a city in
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 ...
, in the historical region of
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 ...
, on the left bank of the river
Mureș. It is the capital of
Hunedoara County
Hunedoara County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva, Romania, Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion.
Name
In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as , ...
.
Name
Its name was first recorded in 1269 as castrum ''Dewa''. The origin of the name gave rise to controversy. It is considered that the name comes from the ancient
Dacian word ''dava'', meaning "fortress" (as in ''Pelendava'', ''Piroboridava'', or ''Zargidava''). Other theories trace the name to a
Roman Legion
The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...
, the
Legio II Augusta
Legio II Augusta ( Second Legion "Augustus'") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that was founded during the late Roman Republic. Its emblems were the Capricornus, Pegasus, and Mars. It may have taken the name "''Augusta''" from a victory ...
, transferred to Deva from Castrum Deva, now
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
(''
Deva Victrix
Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary castra, fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. The fortress was built by the Legio II Adiutrix, Legio II ''Adiutrix'' in the 70s AD as the ...
'') in Britain. János András Vistai assume the name is of
old Turkic
Old Siberian Turkic, generally known as East Old Turkic and often shortened to Old Turkic, was a Siberian Turkic language spoken around East Turkistan and Mongolia. It was first discovered in inscriptions originating from the Second Turkic Kh ...
origin from the name
Gyeücsa.
Others assert that the name is probably of
Slavic origin where ''Deva'' or ''Devín'' means "girl" or "maiden" (a similar case exists in
Slovakian for the
Devín Castle
Devín Castle ( or , , ) is a castle in Devín, which is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.
Description
The site has been settled since the Neolithic Age and fortified since the Bronze and Iron Age and later by Celts and Roman ...
, located at the confluence of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
and
Great Morava
The Great Morava (, ) is the final section of the Morava ( sr-Cyrl, Морава), a major river system in Serbia.
Etymology
According to Predrag Komatina from the Institute for Byzantine Studies in Belgrade, the Great Morava is named after ...
, at the site of the former town of
Devín
Devín (, , ) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the Bratislava IV district. Originally a separate village at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, Devín maintained its rural character and today, it is on ...
)
or from the
Old Hungarian name Győ. Additionally, it is possible the name Deva was derived from the reconstructed
proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...
''dhewa'' ("settlement"). On medieval maps ''Deva'' appears as: ''Dewan'' (first mention), ''Deva'', or later ''Diemrich''.
History
Documentary evidence of the city's existence first appeared in 1269 when
Stephen V Stephen V may refer to:
*Pope Stephen IV, aka Stephen V, Pope from 816 to 817
*Pope Stephen V (885–891)
*Stephen V of Hungary (born before 1239 – 1272), King of Hungary and Croatia, Duke of Styria
*Stephen V Báthory (1430–1493), Hungarian co ...
,
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...
and
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
of
Transilvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border are the Carpathian Mountains and to the west the ...
, mentioned "the royal castle of Deva" in a privilege-grant for the
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Chyl of
Kelling ().
In the 14th century Deva with its surrounding villages were part of a
Romanian district A Romanian district () was an autonomous administrative unit of the Vlachs (or Romanians) in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary.
Origins
According to scholars who say that the Romanians (or Vlachs) descended from the inhabitants of the Roman pr ...
, and the citadel had four seats under its jurisdiction (Deva,
Ilia,
Șoimuș
Șoimuș (, ) is a Commune in Romania, commune in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of ten villages: Bălata (''Balátatelep''), Bejan (''Bezsán''), Bejan-Târnăvița (''Bezsántelep''), Boholt (''Boholt''), Căinelu de Jo ...
, the estates of Criș and the surroundings of
Brad), which were part of the royal domain and were ruled by
knezes. Partially destroyed by the
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...
in 1550, it was afterward rebuilt and the fortress extended. In 1621 Prince
Gabriel Bethlen
Gabriel Bethlen (; 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of the whole kingdom. Bethlen, sup ...
transformed and extended the
Magna Curia Palace
''Magna Curia'' (Latin language, Latin for ''The Great Court'') or The Bethlen Castle is a palace located in Deva, Romania, Deva, Romania.
History
In 1582, the Hungarian captain Ferenc Geszty, in charge of the Cetatea Deva, Deva Castle's garrison ...
(also known as the Bethlen Castle) in
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
style.
In 1711–1712, Deva was settled by a group of
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Bulgarian merchant refugees from the unsuccessful anti-
Ottoman Chiprovtsi Uprising of 1688. The refugees were originally mostly from
Chiprovtsi
Chiprovtsi (, pronounced ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a small town in northwestern Bulgaria, administratively part of Montana Province. It lies on the shores of the river Ogosta in the western Balkan Mountains, very close to the Bulg ...
and
Zhelezna, though also from the neighbouring
Kopilovtsi and Klisura.
However, the refugees came to Deva from
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
and from
Alvinc (now ''Vinţu de Jos'', Romania), where a similar colony had been established in 1700.
They numbered in 1716
[Телбизов, p. 68] 51 families and three
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
friars, established their own neighbourhood, which was known to the locals as ''Greci'' ("Greeks", i.e. "merchants"). Their influence over local affairs caused Deva to be officially called a "Bulgarian town" for a short period, even though the maximum population of the colony was 71 families in 1721.
The Bulgarians received royal privileges of the
Austrian crown along with their permission to settle and their acquisition of land and property. The construction of Deva's Franciscan friary commenced in 1724 with the funding and efforts of its Bulgarian population, so that the monastery was commonly known as the Bulgarian Monastery. However, the
Great Plague of 1738 and the gradual assimilation of the Deva Bulgarians into other ethnicities of Transylvania prevented the colony from growing and by the late 19th century the Bulgarian ethnic element in the town had disappeared completely.
Jewish history

Jews first settled in the town in the 1830s, organizing a community in 1848. Rabbi Moshe Herzog (1893-1898) delivered patriotic sermons in Hungarian. The synagogue was rebuilt in 1925. In 1923, the strictly
Orthodox established their own congregation under Hayyim Yehuda Ehrenreich, a rabbinical scholar whose periodical ''Otzar ha-Hayyim'' became renowned in Jewish academic circles. In 1927, he set up a press that printed classical Hebrew works.
Zionist organizations were especially active in the mid-1920s. In 1930, there were 914 Jews, or 8.7% of the total. On 5 December 1940, during the
National Legionary State
The National Legionary State () was a Totalitarianism, totalitarian Fascism, fascist regime which governed Kingdom of Romania, Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led ...
, Jewish merchants were forced to give up their shops to members of the ruling
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...
. In June 1941, when
Romania entered World War II, 695 Jewish refugees from surrounding villages were brought to Deva. In the war's aftermath, many remained there. There were 1190 Jews in 1947; the majority emigrated to Israel after 1948.
[Shmuel Spector, Geoffrey Wigoder (eds.), ''The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust: A—J'', p. 308. ]New York University Press
New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 ...
, 2001,
Geography
Deva is situated in the central part of Hunedoara County, on the left bank of the middle course of the
Mureș River Mureș may refer to:
* Mureș County, Romania
* Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'')
* Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania
See also
* Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County
* Ocna Mureș, a town in Alba Cou ...
at 187 m above sea level.
The city administers four villages: Archia (''Árki''), Bârcea Mică (''Kisbarcsa''), Cristur (''Csernakeresztúr'') and Sântuhalm (''Szántóhalma'').
Demographics
In 1850, the town had 2,129 inhabitants, of which 1,038 were Romanians (48.8%), 517 Hungarians (24.3%), 255 Germans (12%), 216 Roma (10.1%) and 103 (4.8%) of other ethnicities, meanwhile in 1910, out of 8,654 inhabitants, 5,827 were Hungarians (67.33%), 2,417 Romanians (27.92%), 276 Germans (3.18%) and 134 (1.57%) of other ethnicities.
At the
2011 census, there were 56,647 people living within the city, making it the 37th largest city in Romania. The ethnic makeup in 2011 was as follows: 89.67%
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, ...
, 7.79%
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 ...
, 1.6%
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
People, characters, figures, names
* Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas.
* Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun
* Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...
, and 0.91% other. At the
2021 census, Deva had a population of 53,113; of those, 74.28% were Romanians, 5.33% Hungarians, and 19.42% other.
Economy
Automotive, commerce, construction materials and power industries are important to Deva's economy.
Education
A private University of Ecology and Tourism was established in the city in 1990, and the academic centres of
Timișoara
Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...
and
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
have opened branches in the city. Deva is also the home of Romania's national women gymnastics training center called Colegiul National Sportiv "Cetatea" Dev
Here is a list of the high schools from Deva:
* Decebal National Colleg
* National Pedagogical College “Regina Maria�
* Colegiul Național Sportiv "Cetatea
*
Sigismund Toduță
Sigismund Toduță (17 May 1908 in Simeria – 3 July 1991 in Cluj-Napoca) was a Romanian composer, musicologist, and professor.
Biography
Toduță graduated from the Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art in Cluj in 1936. His instructors inclu ...
High School of Art
* Téglás Gábor Theoretical High Schoo
* Transylvania Technical Colleg
* Grigore Moisil Technical High Schoo
* Dragomir Hurmuzescu Technical Colleg
Traian Theoretical High School was disbanded in 2014 and the students were enrolled at Decebal National College.
Notable people
*
François Bréda
*
María Corda
*
Matthias Dévay
*
Florentina Iusco
*
Kocsárd Janky
Vitéz Kocsárd Janky de Bulcs (11 February 1868 – 20 October 1954) was a Hungarian military officer, who served as Chief of Army Staff between 1922 and 1930.
Biography
Kocsárd Janky was in Déva, Transylvania, then Kingdom of Hungary in ...
*
Bogdan Juratoni
*
Raluca Lăzăruț
*
Maria Neculiță
*
Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás
Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás (also Baron Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás, Baron Nopcsa, Ferenc Nopcsa, báró felsőszilvási Nopcsa Ferenc, Baron Franz Nopcsa, and Franz Baron Nopcsa; May 3, 1877 – April 25, 1933) was a Hungarian Aristoc ...
*
Dora Pavel
*
Paul Radu
Paul Radu (born 1975–76) is an Investigative journalism, investigative journalist from Romania. He is the co-founder of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, for which he and co-founder Drew Sullivan received the Special Awar ...
*
Pál Réthy
Pál Réthy (28 January 1905, Deva – 27 December 1962, Budapest) was a Hungarian chess master.
Born in Deva, Transylvania (then Austria-Hungary, now Romania), he lived in Hungary after World War I. He took 7th at Vienna 1926 ( Rudolf Spielmann w ...
*
Daniela Silivaș
*
Adrian Sitaru Adrian Sitaru () is a Romanian director, producer and actor, born in 1971. He is the author of several short films, of which ''Valuri'' ("Waves", 2007), the most well-known, has received numerous prizes.
Sitaru also worked with Costa Gavras in the ...
Climate
Deva has a
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 cold ...
(
Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman
* (1929–1990), German literary scholar
* (1855–1922), German author
* Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991), American aircraf ...
: Dfb) with warm summers and cold winters. Precipitation peaks in the month of June.
Tourism
Deva is dominated by the Citadel Hill, a protected
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
because of its rare floral species and the presence of the
horned adder. Perched on the top of the hill are the ruins of the
Citadel
A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
...
built in the 13th century. Tourists can visit the Citadel by climbing the hill or using the cable car. The machinery covers a distance of 160 meters and it can transport up to 16 people.
Deva's tourist attractions include the Arts Theatre, the Patria Cinema, the Old Centre and the Citadel Park, where there are the statues of
Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanians, Romanian Romanticism, Romantic poet, novelist, and journalist from Moldavia, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Emin ...
and
Decebal and the
Magna Curia Palace
''Magna Curia'' (Latin language, Latin for ''The Great Court'') or The Bethlen Castle is a palace located in Deva, Romania, Deva, Romania.
History
In 1582, the Hungarian captain Ferenc Geszty, in charge of the Cetatea Deva, Deva Castle's garrison ...
. There is also the Aqualand Complex, a recently built leisure centre situated near the Citadel Park. It is an important tourist spot for the Transylvania region. Downtown the city, the House of culture and the musical fountain represent two elements that define the town centre of Deva.
Sport
Deva is considered the ''Gymnastics capital of Romania'' because the National gymnastics training center is located in the city. Many of the country's Olympic gymnasts have trained in Deva, including
Nadia Comăneci
Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (; born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast. She is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score ...
.
Twinned cities
*
Arras
Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...
, France
*
Cherbourg-Octeville
Cherbourg-Octeville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.[Szigetvár
Szigetvár (; ; ) is a town in Baranya County in southern Hungary. The name is a compound word composed of ''Sziget'' (Island) + ''vár'' (castle). In October 2011, the city received the title ''Civitas Invicta'' from the Hungarian Parliament. T ...]
, Hungary
*
Yancheng
Yancheng (), formerly known as Yandu, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern coastal Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. As the city with the largest jurisdictional area in Jiangsu, Yancheng borders Lianyungang to the north, Huai' ...
, China
Photo gallery
File:Cetatea medievală Deva, în lumina răsăritului.jpg, Deva Citadel
File:Deva 2011 - Magna Curia and Citadel.jpg, Magna Curia
File:Teatrul Deva3.JPG, Art Theatre
File:Deva, kostel.jpg, Church of the Franciscan monastery, founded by a Bulgarian colony in 1724
File:Deva Prefecture 2011-5.jpg, Hunedoara County Prefecture
References
External links
*
Deva City Hall Official Site
{{authority control
Populated places in Hunedoara County
Localities in Transylvania
Cities in Romania
Capitals of Romanian counties