Idea #231 – Visiting the city of Brasov in Romania
Brasov (in German Kronstadt) is the administrative center of the judet of Brasov. It is situated in the Country of Bârsa, in the curvature of mountains The Carpathians, in the part under the Saxon influence of historic Transylvania. Its fortress, built under Etienne Ier’s reign of Hungary at the beginning of the XIth century, was granted by his successor André II in 1211 to the Order Teutonic as fief of the order, with a set of fortifications which were to be able to stop the devastating effect of the Mongolian invasions and tatares. After these invasions, the order moved little by little to the north of Europe and the city continued to develop with an important German population and a minority Rumanian population till the beginning of the XXth century. During the Second World War, the city is partially destroyed by bombardments. In 1945, the Saxons of the city and those of the region, suspected to have supported the Wehrmacht, were deported in Soviet Union. Between September 8th, 1950 and December 24th, 1960, the city is renamed Orasul Stalin (Stalin-city) in honor of Joseph Stalin. During this period, on the hillside of the mount Tâmpa, the forest was “cut” to overlay with trees of different sorts there, the letters ” S T A L I N ” from which the last tracks of tint almost disappeared these last years. From the historic point of view, Brasov is so important at least as Sibiu, because it was the traditional military and political center of the Saxons of Transylvania. Go, we roam in alleys !
Some Pictures
Where is it ?
Brasov, Romania.
Larger Map
