Rupea (;

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 ...

: ''Räppes''; ; ) is a town in

Brașov County Brașov County () is a county (județ) of Transylvania, Romania. Its capital city is Brașov. The county incorporates within its boundaries most of the Medieval "lands" (''țări'') Burzenland and Făgăraș. Name In Hungarian language, Hungari ...

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 administers one village, Fișer (''Schweischer''; ''Sövénység''). Both Fișer and Rupea have fortified churches. Older Romanian names for the settlement include ''Cohalm'' and ''Holuma''. In 2021, the town's population was 4,907 inhabitants. The town is nationally known for its

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

, which in 2023 attracted around 100,000 tourists. Additionally, 11 km from the town runs ''

Via Transilvanica Via Transilvanica 'The Transylvanian Trail' is a hiking trail that crosses the Transylvania, Bukovina and Banat regions of Romania, and is meant to promote their cultural, ethnic, historical and natural diversity. It was built between 2018 and ...

'', the most important and longest hiking and endurance trail in Romania, and 13 km away lies the rural site of Viscri, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage.

Administration

The current local council has the following political composition, based on the results of the votes cast at the 2024 Romanian local elections.

Geography

The town is located in the northern part of Brașov County, in a hill region on the banks of the river

Cozd The Cozd, also ''Valea Mare'' or ''Steana'' (, ) is a right tributary of the river Homorod in Romania It discharges into the Homorod in the village Homorod.Fișer. The town is located on the E60 route, from the county seat,

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, ...

, and from

Sighișoara Sighișoara (; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Schäsbrich'', ''Šesburχ'', or ''Scheeßprich''; ; or ) is a Municipiu, city on the Târnava Mare, Târnava Mare River in Mureș County, central Romania. Located in the ...

. The Rupea railway station serves the CFR 300 mainline, which connects

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

with the Hungarian border near

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

History

Founded most likely between the 12th and 13th centuries (see ''terra Daraus'' in the

Diploma Andreanum The ''Diploma Andreanum'', or ''Der Goldener Freibrief der Siebenbürger Sachsen'' (English: ''Golden Charter of the Transylvanian Saxons''), was issued by King Andrew II of Hungary in 1224, granting provisional autonomy to colonial Germans residi ...

, 1224), with the regional legal reorganisation, Rupea developed at the foot of the

, which in the past was an important defensive strategic point for the Saxon administration in southern Transylvania and hosted a seat of justice. Administratively, from the first half of the 14th century until 1876, Rupea was the seat of one of the Saxon administrative units. Later, it became part of

Nagy-Küküllő County Nagy-Küküllő () was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (central Transylvania). Nagy-Küküllő is the Hungarian language, Hungarian name for ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

from 1876 to 1918. In the immediate aftermath of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, following the declaration of the

Union of Transylvania with Romania The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a Public holidays in Romani ...

, the area passed under Romanian administration during the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War (; ) was fought between Hungary and Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. After the ...

of 1918–1919. By the terms of the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

of 1920, it became part of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. In 1925, Rupea became the headquarters of plasa Rupea, within

Târnava-Mare County Târnava-Mare County is one of the historical counties of the Kingdom of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. The county seat was Sighișoara. Yet the biggest city in 1930 was Mediaș Geography The county covered 2836 km2 and w ...

, until 1950. Following administrative-territorial reforms during the communist period, the town was part of

Stalin Region Regiunea Stalin (Stalin Region) was one of the administrative divisions of the People's Republic of Romania. It was established in 1950, in the Soviet style of territorial organization, and was named after Joseph Stalin. Its name was changed to ...

(1950–1960), later renamed Brașov Region (1960–1968), and starting from 1968, it became part of Brașov County.

Demographics

At the 2021 census, Rupea had a population of 4,907; of those, 63.93% 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, ...

, 14.39%

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 ...

, 9.86%

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 1.06%

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 ...

(more specifically

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 2011 census, 71.6% of the 5,269 inhabitants were Romanians, 19.5% Hungarians, 7.1% Roma, and 1.7% Germans.

Natives

* Lotte Binder (1880–1930), teacher and women's rights activist * Claudiu M. Florian (born 1969), writer *

Gyula László Gyula László ( Kőhalom, 14 March 1910 – Oradea, 17 June 1998) was a Hungarian historian, archaeologist and artist. His main work is the novel theory of "double conquest" of the Carpathian Basin by Hungarians in 5th and 9th century. The ...

(1910–1998), historian, archaeologist, and artist

Climate

Rupea 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 ...

(''Cfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

References

External links

* * Populated places in Brașov County Localities in Transylvania Towns in Romania {{Braşov-geo-stub