Misplaced Pages

#354645

73-469: Someșul Mare has a length of 130 km and an area of 5,033 km and a slight asymmetry in favor of the left side of the basin. For the entire basin of Someș, the asymmetry on left becomes pronounced between Dej and Ardusat to change in the opposite direction after receiving the Lăpuș on the right side. The valley of Someșul Mare has much auriferous alluvium that, until the early 20th century, were brought to

146-538: A fortress on a hill near the town during the early 13th century. However, throughout the passing of time, demographically, their numbers gradually dwindled and had been subsequently assimilated in the local medieval Wallachian and Moldavian cultures by the overwhelming Romanian ethnic majority. Along with the largely Hungarian -Transylvanian nobility and the Székelys , the Transylvanian Saxons were members of

219-536: A minor alternative theory suggests settlement in Transylvania. In the context of medieval Transylvania, the term Saxon was used to denote a nobleman's title and not necessarily someone who was German-speaking. In these regards, the Saxon title could have been awarded to someone who was a non-native German speaker as well. Not all Transylvanian Saxon settlers were German-speaking given the fact that they also stemmed from

292-599: A native of nearby Bobâlna , was arrested in March 1945 by the dreaded Securitate and died under house arrest in 1950. In December 1950, Someș County was abolished, and Dej District was organized in its place within the Cluj Region . Following the administrative reform of 1968, the city of Dej was declared a municipality within Cluj County. A tragic event in the history of the city were the catastrophic floods of May 1970 , when all

365-698: A people of mainly German ethnicity and overall Germanic origin—mostly Luxembourgish and from the Low Countries initially during the medieval Ostsiedlung process, then also from other parts of present-day Germany—who settled in Transylvania in various waves, starting from the mid and mid-late 12th century until the mid 19th century. The first ancestors of the Transylvanian 'Saxons' originally stemmed from Flanders , Hainaut , Brabant , Liège , Zeeland , Moselle, Lorraine , and Luxembourg , then situated in

438-667: A result, today only approximately 12,000 Saxons remain in Romania. Nowadays, the vast majority of Transylvanian Saxons live in either Germany or Austria. Nonetheless, a sizable Transylvanian Saxon population also resides today in North America, most notably in the United States (specifically in Idaho , Ohio , and Colorado as well as in Canada, southern Ontario more precisely). On the history of

511-480: Is 100 years since our children left") when a group of 130 children from the town of Hamelin (German: Hameln ), in present-day Lower Saxony , were led away from their hometown by a piper (who may be a folk memory of a lokator ) is that this related to an emigration event as part of the Ostsiedlung (i.e. Eastern settlement). The destination is usually supposed to have been Prignitz , Uckermark , and Pomerania , but

584-595: Is a municipality in Transylvania , Romania, 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Cluj-Napoca , in Cluj County . It lies where the river Someșul Mic meets the river Someșul Mare . The city administers four villages: Ocna Dejului ( Désakna ), Peștera ( Pestes ), Pintic ( Oláhpéntek ), and Șomcutu Mic ( Kissomkút ). The city lies at the crossroads of important railroads and highways linking it to Cluj-Napoca , Baia Mare , Satu Mare , Deda , Bistrița , and Vatra Dornei . Artifacts dating back to 5500 BC and belonging to

657-463: Is therefore known that Suceava had a small yet influent and thriving community of Transylvanian Saxons in medieval times. The newly arrived Saxons outside the Carpathian arch in the emerging medieval Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia brought urbanisation, craftsmanship, trade, and the so-called German law , under which the local administrations of medieval Romanian towns had operated in

730-592: The Weinland including the village of Nympz (Latin for Nemșa / Nimesch ) near Mediasch ( Romanian : Mediaș ). Allegedly, the term Saxon was applied to all Germans of these historical regions because the first German settlers who came to the Kingdom of Hungary were either poor miners or groups of convicts from Saxony. In 1211, King Andrew II of Hungary invited the Teutonic Knights to settle and defend

803-684: The Burzenland in the southeastern corner of Transylvania. To guard the mountain passes of the Carpathians (German: Karpaten ) against the Cumans , the knights constructed numerous castles and towns, including the major city of Kronstadt ( Romanian : Brașov ). Alarmed by the knights' rapidly expanding power, in 1225 King Andrew II expelled the Teutonic Order from Transylvania permanently, which henceforth relocated to Prussia in 1226, although

SECTION 10

#1732873172355

876-491: The Auschwitz–Birkenau camp, with just over 800 deportees surviving. Towards the end of World War II , Romanian and Soviet armies entered the city on October 15, 1944. The territory of Northern Transylvania remained under Soviet military administration until March 9, 1945, after the appointment of Petru Groza as Prime Minister . After the elections of November 1946 , residents of villages near Dej revolted against

949-603: The German diaspora in Central-Eastern Europe , having continuously been living there since the High Middle Ages onwards. The Transylvanian Saxons are part of the broader group of Romanian Germans as well, being the eldest and one of the most important of all the constituent sub-groups of this ethnic community. Their native dialect, Transylvanian Saxon is close to Luxembourgish . Nowadays, organisations representing

1022-682: The Kingdom of Romania , after the Transylvanian Saxons also voted for the union with the Romanian kingdom in February 1919. Consequently, the Transylvanian Saxons, together with other ethnic German sub-groups in then newly enlarged Kingdom of Romania (namely the Banat Swabians , Sathmar Swabians , Bessarabia Germans , Bukovina Germans , and Zipser Germans ), became part of that country's broader German minority . Today, relatively few still live in Romania, where

1095-592: The Modern Age , more specifically during the 19th century. Furthermore, Transylvanian Saxon intellectual Stephan Ludwig Roth also pleaded for a strengthening of the German element in Transylvania during the 19th century by means of subsequent waves of settlers stemming from contemporary Germany while at the same time firstly supporting the rights of the ethnic Romanians. Although the Teutonic Knights had left Transylvania,

1168-562: The Reformation ). These fortified churches, or kirchenburgen as they are known in standard German, had defensive capacities in the event of a foreign attack on a rural Transylvanian Saxon community (e.g. extensive inner and outer walls and a fortified watch tower). Such an attack would often stem from the Cumans , for example, or from the Pechenegs . It was estimated that there are approximately 300 such villages with fortified churches built by

1241-743: The Starčevo–Körös–Criș culture , as well as artifacts dating back to the 15th century BC and belonging to the Wietenberg culture from the Bronze Age have been discovered on the territory of Dej. Also in the Bronze Age, the exploitation of salt deposits in the area of today's city began and developed. During the Iron Age , the Geto-Dacian civilization arose and spread over a vast territory. The Someș Valley

1314-630: The Unio Trium Nationum (or 'Union of the Three Nations'), which was a charter signed in 1438. This agreement preserved a considerable degree of political rights for the three aforementioned groups but excluded the largely Hungarian and Romanian peasantry from political life in the principality. During the Protestant Reformation , most Transylvanian Saxons converted to Lutheranism . As the semi-independent Principality of Transylvania

1387-481: The Zipser Saxons from present-day Spiš (German: Zips ), north-eastern Slovakia (as well as other historical regions of contemporary Romania, namely Maramureș and Bukovina ) given the fact they are two of the oldest ethnic German groups in non-native German-speaking Central and Eastern Europe. The first wave of settlement continued well until the end of the 13th century. Although the colonists came mostly from

1460-456: The union of Transylvania with Romania . In the aftermath of World War I and the ensuing Hungarian–Romanian War , the Romanian Army entered the city on 21 December 1918, and later the city became part of Romania . The interwar period brought important transformations to the city of Dej that allowed its development and modernization under the leadership of its mayor, Cornel Pop, who assumed

1533-616: The Carpathian arch, and, implicitly, outside their then newly native lands across Transylvania starting in the mid and mid-late 12th century. Those areas pertained to the neighbouring and emerging Romanian medieval principalities of Moldavia (to the east) and Wallachia (to the south). In this particular process, they founded or co-founded major historical settlements on the territory of both aforementioned Romanian principalities such as Târgu Neamț (German: Niamtz ), Baia (German: Stadt Molde or Moldennmarkt ), Târgoviște (German: Tergowisch ), or Câmpulung (German: Langenau ). In

SECTION 20

#1732873172355

1606-701: The Empire expanded the area of the Saxons further to the east. Settlers from the Hermannstadt region spread into the Hârtibaciu River valley (German: Harbachtal ) and to the foot of the Cibin (German: Zibin ) and Sebeș (German: Mühlbacher ) mountains. The latter region, centered around the town of Mühlbach ( Romanian : Sebeș ), was known as Unterwald . To the north of Hermannstadt they settled what they called

1679-455: The German name for the Olt river, or the old land as in a word for word translation from German) or Hermannstadt Provinz , based around the picturesque well preserved medieval town of Hermannstadt , today's Sibiu . Additionally, the surrounding areas of the present-day town of Sibiu/Hermannstadt (former European Capital of Culture in 2007 alongside Luxembourg City ) were formed of marshlands in

1752-458: The High Middle Ages. Hence, taking in consideration the aforementioned regarding the Saxon title in high medieval Transylvania, the Transylvanian Saxons' ethnic consciousness subsequently solidified after the first waves of settlers from Western Europe arrived in the region and was further reinforced or revitalised with new waves of settlers from central and southern present-day Germany during

1825-508: The High Middle Ages. This is further hinted but also highlighted in the coat of arms of the town of Sibiu/Hermannstadt ( Latin : Cibinium ) by the water lily included therein. These German settlers were invited by Géza II . Although the primary reason for Géza II 's invitation was border defence, similar to employing the Szeklers against foreign invaders in the east of Transylvania, Germans were also sought for their mining expertise as well as

1898-624: The Hungarian monarchs. Consequently, they had to pay yearly tax to the king and provide military contributions to the royal army in case of danger of attack from abroad. Otherwise, they enjoyed suzerainty ; even Hungarians could not settle down in the Saxon territories. The territory colonized by Germans covered an area of about 30,000 km (10,000 sq. mi.). The region was called Royal Lands or Saxon Lands (German: Königsboden ; Hungarian : Királyföld or Szászföld ; Romanian : Pământul crăiesc ; Latin : Terra Saxonum or Fundus Regius ). During

1971-719: The Hungarian nobility, with Transylvanian Saxon intellectuals pleading for the Latinity of the Romanian language and the Romanian people. They were subsequently allied with the Transylvanian Romanians and thus sided with the Austrian Empire in the context of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 . After 1918 and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary , in the wake of the Treaty of Trianon (signed in 1920), Transylvania united with

2044-506: The Saxon colonists remained, and the king allowed them to retain the rights and obligations included within the Diploma Andreanum of 1224 by Hungarian King Andrew II . This document conferred upon the German population of the territory between Drăușeni (German: Draas , Romanian : Drăușeni ) and Orăștie (German: Broos , Romanian : Orăștie ) both administrative and religious autonomy and defined their obligations towards

2117-705: The Saxons in Transylvania during the Middle Ages. The majority of them are still in very good to relatively good shape to this day, after further consolidation and renovation based on European funds or Norwegian grants (for example in Alma Vii or Laslea ), but also based on foreign donations. Nevertheless, there also some still left in ruin or decay, since the vast majority of the Saxons in their respective villages left them deserted during either before 1989 and after 1989 while emigrating for Western Europe or North America. The Transylvanian Saxons also colonized areas outside

2190-502: The Saxons in northeastern Transylvania). The initial waves of Transylvanian Saxons were referred to as hospites flandrenses et teutonici or primi hospites regni in Latin, literally "the Flemish and Teutonic guests" or "the first guests of the kingdom" (i.e. of the former Kingdom of Hungary ). For centuries, the main tasks of the Transylvanian Saxons during the High Middle Ages were to protect

2263-635: The Saxons led to Transylvania being known in German as Siebenbürgen and Septem Castra or Septem Castrensis in Latin , referring to seven of the fortified towns (see Historical names of Transylvania ), most likely: Other potential candidates for this list include: Other notable urban Saxon settlements include: In addition to fortifying their towns over the passing of time, the Transylvanian Saxons also had to fortify their villages by building their fortified churches (the Transylvanian Saxons were initially strongly Roman Catholic then Evangelical Lutheran after

Someș - Misplaced Pages Continue

2336-560: The Sibiu (German: Hermannstadt ) area. Moreover, under the title of Schultheiß (German: Șoltuz ), ethnic Germans were even briefly in charge of some of these Romanian settlements during the High Middle Ages . Additionally, German potters and merchants were also present in the former Moldavian capital of Suceava at the end of the 14th century. Historically, the town of Suceava has also been known in Old High German as Sedschopff . It

2409-568: The Transylvanian Saxons exist in Romania , Germany, Austria , Canada, and the United States (in the latter case most notably 'Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons'). Other smaller communities of Transylvanian Saxons can be found in South Africa and Australia as well as South America (for example in Argentina ). The legal foundation of their settlement in southern, southeastern, and northeastern Transylvania

2482-435: The Transylvanian Saxons, former federal German president and professor doctor Theodor Heuss ( FDP ) stated, namely: "...their history is a piece of German history as a whole..." . The initial phase of German settlement in Transylvania began in the mid and mid-late 12th century, with colonists travelling to and residing in what would later become known in standard German as Altland (i.e. Țara Oltului in Romanian, after

2555-586: The Transylvanian context, of the terms Lutheran and Saxon, with the Lutheran Church in Transylvania being de facto a "Volkskirche", i.e. the "national church" of the Transylvanian Saxons (or the people's church of the Saxons). The Mongol invasion of 1241–42 devastated much of the Kingdom of Hungary. Although the Saxons did their best to resist and even tried to valiantly fight back the Mongol invaders, their resistance

2628-571: The ability to develop the region's economy. Most colonists to this area came from Luxembourg ( Luxembourgish : Lëtzebuerg ) and the Moselle River region (see for instance Medardus de Nympz , former knight and founder of the fortified village of Niemesch/Nemșa in Moșna ). A second phase of German settlement during the early 13th century consisted of settlers primarily stemming from the Rhineland region,

2701-544: The area of Someș–Tisza hydrographic basin. To prevent flooding , the Someș is dammed in the lower course. In the spring of 1970, due to heavy rains, the Someș flooded part of Satu Mare and surrounding plains. The discharge exceeded 3,300 m/s compared to that year's average of 210 m/s. The following rivers are tributaries to the river Someș: Dej Dej ( Romanian pronunciation: [deʒ] ; Hungarian : Dés ; German : Desch, Burglos ; Yiddish : דעעש Desh )

2774-635: The army barracks, and the "Andrei Mureșanu” High School. In 1882, the Cluj– Apahida –Dej railway line was opened, with an extension to Ocna Dej, while in 1910 the Ferdinand mine was electrified. The Dej Prison , located in the northern part of the town, was completed in 1894. On 1 December 1918, eleven delegates from Dej took part in the Romanian National Assembly in Alba Iulia , which proclaimed

2847-564: The beginning. In the medieval towns situated in the highlands of the Principality of Moldavia (or what would later become Bukovina starting in the Modern Age ), namely Suceava or Câmpulung Moldovenesc (German: Kimpolung ), the type of German town law which operated there was the Magdeburg law . Furthermore, the Teutonic Knights were also present in Siret (German: Sereth ) where they built

2920-636: The case of the first settlement (i.e. Târgu Neamț), they could have been equally helped in establishing it by the Teutonic Knights . Saxons in Wallachia also settled in Râmnic (i.e. present-day Râmnicu Vâlcea ) and Pitești (German: Pitesk ). Saxon colonization in Moldavia had likely occurred through a crossing from the Bistrița area eastward and northward whereas Saxon colonization in Wallachia had likely occurred from

2993-854: The colonists remained in Burzenland . The Kingdom of Hungary's medieval eastern borders were therefore defended in the northeast by the Nösnerland Saxons, in the east by the Hungarian border guard tribe of the Székelys, in the southeast by the castles built by the Teutonic Knights and Burzenland Saxons and in the south by the Altland Saxons. A common interpretation of the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin , dated to 26 June 1284 and recorded in Hamelin records that (the earliest of such records dating from 1384: "It

Someș - Misplaced Pages Continue

3066-508: The contemporary Low Countries (i.e. aside from Luxembourg, also contemporary Netherlands and Belgium ) and from modern day France as well. Additionally, it is equally important to mention the fact that the family name 'Sas' or 'Sasu' in Romanian and 'Szász' respectively in Hungarian could denote both an ethnic lineage as well as a social liaison to the Saxon title awarded in Transylvania during

3139-434: The county were imprisoned. During the operation of the Dej ghetto , Jews were mistreated, tortured, and starved. The deportation of the Jews to the Nazi death camps was done with freight wagons, in three stages: the first transport on May 28 when 3,150 Jews were deported; the second on June 6, when 3,360 Jews were deported; the third on June 8, when the last 1,364 Jews were deported. Most of those deported were exterminated in

3212-468: The drama of the Jewish population in what was then Szolnok-Doboka County and its capital, Dés (Dej). Following several decrees of the Hungarian government and high-level consultations at a meeting on April 26 with László Endre in Szatmárnémeti (Satu Mare), it was decided to exterminate the Jews. On May 3, the city authorities launched the action of ghettoization of Jews in the Bungăr forest, where 3,700 Jews from Dej and 4,100 Jews from other localities in

3285-404: The earlier has been used until eventually it was changed to Dés . It had a royal charter as a free city and was the capital of Szolnok-Doboka County . In 1905, it had a Protestant church from the 15th century, and a tower from 16th century fortifications. It was primarily a market town for local wines and other agricultural products. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 the city of Dés

3358-480: The easternmost frontiers of the former Kingdom of Hungary against certain invading migratory Asiatic peoples, to bring more agriculture to the region, to instil Central European culture, enhance trade, and boost urbanisation and overall economic development. In the process of fortifying the borders of the Kingdom of Hungary to the east, they were early on helped by the Teutonic Knights . Later on, they had to further strengthen their hometowns and rural settlements against

3431-458: The expanding Ottoman Empire which posed a major threat from the south. The rural settlements were more protected with a series of fortified churches known as 'kirchenburgen' in standard German . An alternative term for them in standard German is also ' wehrkirchen ' (i.e. fortified churches). During the Modern Age, they favoured more and more the Romanians for the latter to obtain increased and rightful political, social, and cultural rights before

3504-436: The falsification of the election results by the communist authorities and launched the first revolt against the new regime, being stopped by armed troops at the Someș bridge. The name of the city was related to the name of the first Romanian Communist Party leader, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej who lived here in 1931 and worked at the railway station. When he became the de facto ruler of the country, Gheorghe Gheorghiu officially took

3577-478: The following territorial extent, as depicted in the maps below: Along with the Teutonic Order, other religious organizations important to the development of German communities were the Cistercian abbeys of Igrisch (Igriș) in the Banat region respectively Kerz (Cârța) in Fogaraschland (Țara Făgărașului). The earliest religious organization of the Saxons was the Provostship of Hermannstadt (now Sibiu ), founded 20 December 1191. In its early years, it included

3650-672: The infrastructure of the city was updated. At the 2021 Romanian census , Dej had a population of 31,475, a drop of 6% from the previous census. At the 2011 census , there were 33,497 people living within the city; of those, 81.8% were ethnic Romanians , while 11.3% were ethnic Hungarians , 1.0% Roma , and 0.1% others. Transylvanian Saxons The Transylvanian Saxons (German: Siebenbürger Sachsen ; Transylvanian Saxon : Siweberjer Såksen or simply Soxen , singularly Sox or Soax ; Transylvanian Landler : Soxn or Soxisch ; Romanian : sași ; seldom sași ardeleni/transilvăneni/transilvani ; Hungarian : erdélyi szászok ) are

3723-461: The low areas of the city were under water and 6 people drowned. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, state-owned enterprises were privatized, an environment for developing a market economy was created, new production units with domestic and foreign capital were set up, and many small and medium-sized enterprises emerged in Dej. The educational institutions, the municipal hospital, the cultural institutions were modernized, new churches were built, and

SECTION 50

#1732873172355

3796-553: The modern Transylvanian Saxons originally came from the contemporary Low Countries (more specifically the regions of Flanders , Hainaut , Brabant , Liège , or Zeeland ) as well as the Moselle and Lorraine river valleys, and Luxembourg as well, then situated in the north-western territories of the Holy Roman Empire around the 1140s. Further or subsequent waves of German colonists in Transylvania also stemmed from more southern regions of present-day Germany such as Thuringia or even Bavaria (the latter particularly valid for

3869-408: The name of the city and supported the economic development of the locality. The communist regime brought with it fundamental transformations in the political, administrative and economic life of the city. Many previous leaders fell victim to the regime, as happened with the former mayor, Cornel Pop, who died in Văcărești prison in 1953. Another personality, ex-Prime Minister Alexandru Vaida-Voevod ,

3942-420: The north and northwest of Transylvania, led by Gelou , Glad , and Menumorut were conquered by the Hungarian tribes at the beginning of the tenth century. During the Menumorut voivodeship , the defense of the salt road was ensured by the fortresses from Ocna Dej and Cuzdrioara and the fortified points from Uriu and Urișor . The extension of the Kingdom of Hungary to the center and south of Transylvania

4015-404: The north-western territories of the Holy Roman Empire around the 1140s and 1150s. Alongside the Baltic Germans from Estonia and Latvia and the Zipser Germans (also sometimes known or referred to as Zipser Saxons ) from Zips , northeastern Slovakia , as well as Maramureș and Bucovina , the Transylvanian Saxons are one of the three eldest German-speaking and ethnic German groups of

4088-534: The position in May 1920. From 1925 to 1938, the city was the county seat of Someș County , after which it became part of Ținutul Crișuri . In the wake of the Second Vienna Award of August 30, 1940, the territory of Northern Transylvania (of which the city of Dej was part) reverted to the Kingdom of Hungary. On September 8, 1940, the Hungarian administration was installed in Dej, and proceeded to take discriminatory measures against Romanians and Jews , forcing many Romanians to take refuge in Romania. In 1944 began

4161-460: The reign of King Géza II of Hungary (1141–1162). For several consecutive centuries, the main task of these medieval German-speaking settlers (as that of the Szeklers for example in the east of Transylvania) was to defend the southern, southeastern, and northeastern borders of the then Kingdom of Hungary against foreign invaders stemming most notably from Central Asia and even far East Asia (e.g. Cumans , Pechenegs , Mongols , and Tatars ). At

4234-422: The reign of Hungarian King Charles I (probably 1325–1329; also referred to as Charles Robert d'Anjou ), the Saxons were organized in the Saxon Chairs (or seats) as follows: The territorial extent of the aforementioned Saxon seats can be clearly seen in depth in the maps from the gallery below: Aside from the Saxon seats, there had also been two districts, namely Bistritz/Bistrița and Kronstadt/Brașov, which had

4307-407: The run by Von Urban, towards Nagybánya . More than 150 people fell in this battle; in their memory, the monument "The Sleeping Lion" was erected in 1889. The 19th century was a period of profound urban transformation and modernization works for the city, including the building of the County Prefecture, the City Hall, the Rudolf Hospital, the Palace of Justice, the Greek Catholic Church, the theater,

4380-405: The same time, the Saxons were also charged with developing agriculture and introducing Central European culture. Later on, the Saxons needed to further fortify both their rural and urban settlements against invading Ottomans (or against the invading and expanding Ottoman Empire ). The Saxons in northeastern Transylvania were also in charge of mining. They can be perceived as being quite related to

4453-405: The second last official census (carried out in 2011) indicated 36,042 Germans, out of which only 11,400 were of Transylvanian Saxon descent. As per the latest Romanian census conducted in 2022, they are even fewer, as other sub-groups of the entire German community in Romania as well. The colonization of Transylvania by ethnic Germans later collectively known as Transylvanian Saxons began under

SECTION 60

#1732873172355

4526-413: The south-eastern region of Transylvania still has one of the highest density of existing fortified churches from the 13th to 16th centuries as more than 150 villages in the area count various types of fortified churches in good shape, seven of them being included in the UNESCO World Heritage under the name of Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania . The rapid expansion of cities populated by

4599-429: The southern Low Countries , and the Moselle region, with others from Thuringia , Bavaria, and even from France . A settlement in northeastern Transylvania was centered on the town of Nösen , the later Bistritz ( Romanian : Bistrița ), located on the Bistrița River . The surrounding area became known as the Nösnerland . That area was important for mining in the Middle Ages. Continued immigration from

4672-418: The surface using traditional tools. Specialists say that in the Someșul Mare were found grains of gold of 21 carats. The Someș drains a basin of 18,146 km (7,006 sq mi), of which 15,740 km (6,080 sq mi) in Romania. Its basin comprises 403 rivers with a total length of 5,528 km, or 7% of the total length of the country. Basin area represents 6.6% of the country area and 71% of

4745-407: The territories of Hermannstadt, Leschkirch (Nocrich), and Groß-Schenk (Cincu), the areas that were colonized the earliest by ethnic Germans in the region. Under the influence of Johannes Honterus , the great majority of the Transylvanian Saxons embraced the new creed of Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation . The first superintendent of the Saxons Evangelical Church, Paul Wiener ,

4818-416: The territory of present-day Romania en masse during and after World War II, relocating initially to Austria, then predominantly to southern Germany (especially in Bavaria ). The process of emigration continued during communist rule in Romania. After the collapse of the Ceaușescu regime in 1989 and the fall of the East German communist government, many of them continued to emigrate to unified Germany. As

4891-624: The western Holy Roman Empire , they came to be collectively referred to as ' Saxons ' because of Germans working for the royal Hungarian chancellery . Gradually, the type of medieval German once spoken by these settlers, craftsmen, guardsmen, miners, and various other workers became locally known as Såksesch (i.e. Transylvanian Saxon ; in its longest form Siweberjesch-Såksesch ) and remains, still to this day, very closely related to Luxembourgish with which it shares many lexical similarities. The Transylvanian Saxon population has been steadily decreasing since World War II as they started leaving

4964-478: Was achieved with the help of Székely and German settlers. The first German settlers arrived in the Dej area in the years 1141–1143, entering from Satu Mare to Dej, Bistrița , Cluj , and Reghin . After leaving Holland and Flanders because of the floods of the sea, they settled in this region and founded the city of Dej. The city was first mentioned in 1214 as Dees , in 1236 as Deeswar , in 1310 as Deesvitta , in 1351 both Deés and Deésvár occurred,

5037-437: Was an integral part of this historical evolution, as evidenced by archaeological discoveries in the area, such as the Dacian fortress at Dealul Florilor. After the Dacian Wars , Emperor Trajan transformed most of Dacia into a Roman province ; the territory of the city became part of the province of Dacia Superior , and later Dacia Porolissensis . According to Gesta Hungarorum , Vlach political formations located in

5110-419: Was elected by Saxon pastors at a synod on 6 February 1553. Almost all became Lutheran Protestants , with very few Calvinists , while other minor segments of the Transylvanian Saxon society remained staunchly Catholic (of Latin Church , more specifically) or were converted to Catholicism later on. Nonetheless, one of the consequences of the Reformation was the emergence of an almost perfect equivalence, in

5183-551: Was eventually turned down by the Mongols and many of their settlements were destroyed or ruined in the process. After the Mongols retreated from Transylvania, in the event of another invasion, many Transylvanian towns were fortified with stone castles and an emphasis was put on developing towns economically. In the Middle Ages, approximately 300 villages were defended by the Kirchenburgen , or fortified churches with massive walls and watch towers. Although many of these fortified churches have fallen into either decay or ruin, nowadays

5256-504: Was officially stipulated within the Diploma Andreanum (German: Der Goldener Freibrief der Siebenbürger Sachsen , The Golden Charter of the Transylvanian Saxons , Romanian : Bula de aur a sașilor transilvăneni ) issued by King Andrew II of Hungary which allocated them the royal land ( Romanian : Pământul crăiesc or Pământul regal ) under local autonomy known as Königsboden or Fundus Regius in Latin . The ancestors of

5329-515: Was the scene of military confrontations between units of the Hungarian army and units of the Austrian army, which included Romanian border regiments and Romanian peasants, under the command of colonel Karl von Urban . The biggest battle for control of Dés took place on 24 November 1848 in the Bungăr forest, and continued on the territory of the city. The Hungarian forces led by major Miklós Katona were put on

#354645