The Rucăr-Bran Pass, also called in English the Bran Pass (german: Törzburger Pass, hu, Törcsvári-szoros), is a mountain pass in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, linking the counties of

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...

and Argeș. It has some of the most spectacular natural views in Romania, looking over the Bucegi Mountains of the

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ro, Carpații Meridionali ; hu, Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Pr ...

. The Pass starts in the

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 ...

Rucăr Rucăr is a commune in the north-eastern part of Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. At the 2011 census, the population of the commune was 5,752. It is composed of two villages, Rucăr and Sătic. Located on the Rucăr-Bran Pass, it is popular with ...

, Argeș County, and runs for about in a northeasterly direction. The communes of

Fundata Fundata (german: Fundatten; hu, Fundáta) is a commune in Brașov County, Romania, in the historic region of Transylvania. It is composed of three villages: Fundata, Fundățica (''Kleinkertzberg''; ''Kisfundáta''), and Șirnea (''Schirnen''; '' ...

(including Șirnea village) and

Moieciu Moieciu (german: Mösch; hu, Alsómoécs) is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located 29 km south of Brașov, within the Bran Pass. The commune is composed of six villages: Cheia (''Kheja''), Drumul Carului, Măgura ...

, both in Brașov County, lie within the Pass, which ends in

Bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, ...

National road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

DN73 DN73 ( ro, Drumul Național 73) is a Roads in Romania, national road in Romania which links Pitești with Brașov. It is a high-traffic road and the preferred route for trucks. Near Câmpulung the road crosses the Southern Carpathians along the D ...

runs through the Pass, connecting the city of Pitești, southwest of Rucăr, to the city of

, northeast of Bran.

History

In 1382,

Bran Castle Bran Castle ( ro, Castelul Bran; german: Schloss Bran; hu, Törcsvári kastély) is a castle in Bran, southwest of Brașov. It is a national monument and landmark in Transylvania. The fortress is on the Transylvanian side of the historical bo ...

was built by the

Transylvanian Saxons The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ( ...

of Brașov to defend the Pass from the Ottomans. In the year 1413, a customs post in the Pass was licensed by the ruler of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

. This charged a duty on all goods brought through the Pass. Southwards the usual trade route ran to

Cetățeni Cetățeni is a commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Cetățeni, Lăicăi, and Valea Cetățuia. The commune is situated at a distance of from Pitești and from Câmpulung, right next to Dâmbovița C ...

, branching out to Popești and Hirsova.David Turnock, ''The Making of Eastern Europe: from the earliest times to 1815'' (1988), p. 41

Notes

External links

Foggy weather on Rucar-Bran Pass
at

Youtube.com YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most vis ...

Mountain passes of Romania Southern Carpathians Geography of Argeș County Geography of Brașov County {{Romania-geo-stub