Burzenland

From World travel guide

View of part of the Burzenland from the peak of Postăvaru. Ghimbav is on the right, while Codlea can be seen in the distance on Măgura Codlei.

Image:Burzenlandcolor.png

The coat of arms of Burzenland

The Burzenland (Template:Audio; Template:Lang-hu; Template:Lang-ro) is a historic and ethnographic area in southeastern Transylvania, Romania with a mixed population (German, Romanian, Hungarian).<ref name="vofkori"/> Since the exodus of most of the German-speaking Transylvanian Saxons in the 20th century, this region has been predominantly inhabited by Romanians.

1 Geography
2 History
- 2.1 Middle Ages
- 2.2 20th century
3 Towns
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

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Geography

The Burzenland lies within the Carpathian Mountains, bordered approximately by Apaţa in the north, Bran in the southwest and Prejmer in the east. Its most important city is Braşov. Burzenland is named after the stream Bârsa (Barca, Burzen, 1231: Borza),<ref name="vofkori"/> which flows into the Olt river.<ref>Deutsche Bergnamen in Tara Barsei (Burzenland)/Rumänien. Accessed January 22 2007. Template:De icon</ref><ref>Deutscher Orden im Burzenland (1211-1225). Accessed January 22 2007. Template:De icon</ref> The Romanian word bârsă is supposedly of Dacian origin (see List of Romanian words of possible Dacian origin).

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History

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Middle Ages

Based on archaeological evidence, it seems German colonization of the region started in the middle of 12th century during the reign of King Géza II of Hungary.<ref name="ionita">Template:Cite book</ref> The German colonists from this region are attested in documents as early as 1192 when terra Bozza is mentioned as being settled by Germans (Theutonici).<ref name="tiplic">Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1211 the region was given to the Teutonic Knights by King Andrew II of Hungary in return for guarding the southeastern border of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Cumans. While the king retained his right to mint currency and claims on gold or silver deposits that would be uncovered, he granted the Teutonic Order the right to establish markets and administer justice. The crusaders were also free from taxes and tolls.<ref name="Urban">Template:Cite book</ref> The Teutonic Knights began building wood-and-earth forts in the area and they had constructed five castles (quinque castra fortia):<ref name="tiplic"/> Marienburg, Schwarzenburg, Rosenau, Kreuzburg, and Kronstadt,<ref name="Urban"/> some of which were made of stone.<ref name="Urban"/> The military order was successful in reducing the threat of the nomadic Cumans. German already in Transylvania and volunteer settlers from the Holy Roman Empire developed farms and villages nearby to support the forts and settle the land.<ref name="Urban"/> Whether the territory was already populated at the time is disputed. Some medieval sources indicate it was uninhabited,<ref>"Terram Borza nomine ultra silvas versus Cumanos, licet desertam et inhabitatam". Georg Daniel Teutsch and Friedrich Firnhaber. Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte Siebenbürgens. Vienna, 1857, I, no. 10</ref> a view challenged by some scholars invoking archaeological<ref name="ionita"/><ref name="tiplic"/> and documentary evidence.<ref name="tiplic"/><ref name="brezeanu">Template:Cite book The diplomas from 1222 speak of people inhabiting these lands at the time when the donation was made.</ref> Bountiful agricultural yields led to further colonization by German immigrants.<ref name="Urban"/>

The Teutonic Knights disregarded the rights of the local bishopric, however, and angered Hungarian nobility which had claims on the region. Led by Béla, the heir to the throne, the nobility pressed the need to expel the knights upon King Andrew II after his return from the Fifth Crusade. Grand Master Hermann von Salza attempted to loosen the Order's ties to the Hungarian crown by drawing closer to the Papacy.<ref name="Urban"/> Andrew subsequently evicted the Order with his army in 1225, although Pope Honorius III protested to no effect.<ref name="Christiansen">Template:Cite book</ref> The confusing status of the Teutonic Knights within the Kingdom of Hungary led Hermann von Salza to insist upon autonomy before committing the military order to Prussia.<ref name="Christiansen"/>

Along with Germans, the kings of Hungary also settled Szeklers and Pechenegs in the region during the 12th and 13th centuries.<ref name="tiplic"/> Archaeological evidence for the same period also suggests a Romanian population inhabiting the villages later known as Şcheii Braşovului, Satulung, Baciu, Cernatu, and Turcheş (the former is today part of Braşov, while the latter four are today part of Săcele).<ref name="tiplic"/> In the second half of the 13th century the Romanian population is attested in two documents: in the region of Bran (1252) and Tohan (1294),<ref name="pascu">Template:Cite book</ref> while in the second half of the 15th century out of nine villages from the domain of Bran seven were Romanian (villae valachicales, Bleschdörfer) and only two German.<ref name="pascu"/>

At the Conference of Lutsk in 1429, Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary, suggested that the Teutonic Knights defend the region during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Led by Claus von Redewitz, a detachment of knights from Prussia was stationed in the Burzenland until half were killed during an Ottoman campaign in 1432.<ref name="Christiansen"/>

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20th century

Transylvanian Saxons remained in the Burzenland until the 20th century. Beginning in 1976, most of these Germans began to immigrate to West Germany with the approval of the Communist Romanian regime.<ref name="vofkori">Template:Cite journal. Introduction available on web: Template:Cite web</ref>

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