Székelys
The Székelys, sometimes referred to as Szeklers, are a subgroup of the Hungarian people living in the Székely Land in Romania. A significant population descending from the Székelys of Bukovina lives in Tolna and Baranya counties in Hungary and in certain districts of Vojvodina, Serbia. In the Middle Ages, the Székelys, along with the Transylvanian Saxons, played a key role in the defense of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Ottomans in their posture as guards of the eastern border. With the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, Transylvania became part of Romania, the Székely population was a target of Romanianization efforts. In 1952, during the Socialist Republic of Romania, the former province of Mureș, was designated as the Hungarian Autonomous Region, it was superseded in 1960 by the Mureș-Hungarian Autonomous Region, itself divided in 1968 into three non-autonomous counties, Harghita and Mureș. In post-Cold War Romania, where the Székelys form half of the ethnic Hungarian population, members of the group have been among the most vocal of Hungarians seeking an autonomous Hungarian region in Transylvania.
They were estimated to number about 860,000 in the 1970s and are recognized as a distinct minority group by the Romanian government. Today's Székely Land corresponds to the Romanian counties of Harghita and central and eastern Mureș. Based on the official 2011 Romanian census, 1,227,623 ethnic Hungarians live in Romania in the region of Transylvania, making 19.6% of the population of this region. Of these, 609,033 live in the counties of Harghita and Mureș, which taken together have a Hungarian majority; the Hungarians in Székely Land therefore account for half of the Hungarians in Romania. When given the choice on the 2011 Romanian census between ethnically identifying as Székely or as Hungarian, the overwhelming majority of the Székelys chose the latter – only 532 persons declared themselves as ethnic Székely; the Székelys derive their name from a Hungarian expression meaning "frontier guards". The Székely territories came under the leadership of the Count of the Székelys a royal appointee from the non-Székely Hungarian nobility, de facto a margrave.
The Székelys were considered a distinct ethnic group and formed part of the Unio Trium Nationum, a coalition of three Transylvanian estates, the other two "nations" being the nobility and the Saxons burghers. These three groups ruled Transylvania from 1438 onward in harmony though sometimes in conflict with one another. During the Long Turkish War, the Székelys formed an alliance with Prince Michael the Brave of Wallachia against the army of Andrew Báthory appointed Prince of Transylvania; the origin of the Székelys has been much debated. It is now accepted that they are descendants of Hungarians transplanted to the eastern Carpathian Mountains to guard the frontier, their name meaning "frontier guards"; the Székelys have claimed descent from Attila's Huns and believed they played a special role in shaping Hungary. Ancient legends recount that a contingent of Huns remained in Transylvania allying with the main Hungarian army that conquered the Carpathian Basin in the 9th century; the thirteenth-century chronicler Simon of Kéza claimed that the Székely people descended from Huns who lived in mountainous lands prior to the Hungarian conquest.
After the theory of Hunnic descent lost scholarly currency in the 20th century two substantial ideas emerged about Székely ancestry: Some scholars suggested that the Székelys were Magyars, like other Hungarians, transplanted in the Middle Ages to guard the frontiers. Researches could not prove. In this case, their strong cultural differences from other Hungarians stem from centuries of relative isolation in the mountains. Others suggested Turkic origin as Kabar or Esegel-Bulgar ancestries; some historians have dated the Székely presence in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains as early as the fifth century, found historical evidence that the Székelys were part of the Avar confederation during the so-called Dark Ages, but this does not mean that they were ethnically Avar. Research indicates. Toponyms at the Székely settlement area give proof of their Hungarian mother tongue; the Székely dialect does not have more Bulgaro-Turkish loan-words derived from before the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin than standard Hungarian does.
If the Székelys had been a Turkic stock they had to have lost their original vernacular at a early date. An autosomal analysis, studying non-European admixture in Europeans, found 4.4% of admixture of non-European and non-Middle Eastern origin among Hungarians, the strongest among sampled populations. It was found at 3.6% in Belarusians, 2.5% in Romanians, 2.3% in Bulgarians and Lithuanians, 1.9% in Poles and 0% in Greeks. The authors stated "This signal might correspond to a small genetic legacy from invasions of peoples from the Asian steppes during the first millennium CE." Among 100 Hungarian men, the following haplogroups and frequencies are obtained: The 97 Székelys belong to the following haplogroups: It can be infer
Mureș (river)
The Mureș is a 789-kilometre-long river in Eastern Europe. Its drainage basin covers an area of 30,332 km2, it originates in the Hășmașu Mare Range in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, rising close to the headwaters of the Olt River, joins the Tisza at Szeged in southeastern Hungary. The Mureș River flows through the Romanian counties Harghita, Mureș, Hunedoara and Timiș, the Hungarian county Csongrád; the largest cities on the Mureș/Maros are Târgu Mureș, Alba Iulia and Arad in Romania, Makó in Hungary. The Hungarian reaches of the Mureș/Maros are 73 km long as the state border; some 28.5 km2 on the northern side of the river are protected as part of the Körös-Maros National Park. The Maros Floodplain Protected Area consists of gallery forests, floodplain meadows and 0.6 km2 of forest reserve near Szeged. Salt used to be traded in medieval times on the river on large rafts; the river is known to be first mentioned by Herodotus in 484 BC bearing the name Maris. It was known in Latin as the Marisus.
It was known in Turkish as the Muriş under the Ottomans. The following towns are situated along the river Mureș, from source to mouth: Toplița, Reghin, Târgu Mureș, Luduș, Ocna Mureș, Teiuș, Alba Iulia, Geoagiu, Orăștie, Deva, Arad, Nădlac, Makó, Szeged; the Mureș flows through the following communes: Harghita County: Voșlăbeni, Joseni, Subcetate, Sărmaș, Gălăuțaș, Toplița Mureș County: Stânceni, Lunca Bradului, Răstolița, Deda, Rușii-Munți, Aluniș, Brâncovenești, Ideciu de Jos, Reghin, Gornești, Ernei, Sântana de Mureș, Sângeorgiu de Mureș, Târgu Mureș, Sâncraiu de Mureș, Cristești, Pănet, Ungheni, Sânpaul, Cuci, Luduș, Chețani Alba County: Noșlac, Lunca Mureșului, Ocna Mureș, Mirăslău, Aiud, Rădești, Teiuș, Sântimbru, Alba Iulia, Vințu de Jos, Blandiana, Săliștea, Șibot Hunedoara County: Geoagiu, Orăștie, Turdaș, Rapoltu Mare, Simeria, Hărău, Deva, Șoimuș, Vețel, Brănișca, Gurasada, Burjuc, Zam Arad County: Petriș, Săvârșin, Birchiș, Vărădia de Mureș, Bata, Bârzava, Ususău, Lipova, Păuliș, Frumușeni, Fântânele, Arad, Zădăreni, Pecica, Semlac, Șeitin, Nădlac Timiș County: Periam, Sânpetru Mare, Sânnicolau Mare, Cenad Csongrád County: Nagylak, Magyarcsanád, Apátfalva, Makó, Ferencszállás, Maroslele, Klárafalva, Szeged The following rivers are tributaries to the river Mureș: Left: Cărbunele Negru, Fierăstrăul, Șumuleul Mare, Borzontul Mare, Borzontul Mic, Limbuș, Pârâul Pietrei, Martonca, Gălăuțaș, Măgheruș, Gudea, Sălard, Peșcoasa Mare, Borzia, Sebeș, Deleni, Beica, Petrilaca, Pocloș, Niraj, Sărata, Șeulia, Ațântiș, Fărău, Ciunga, Șesul Băgăului, Rât, Târnava, Hăpria, Sebeș, Cioara, Vaidei, Romos, Orăștie, Turdaș, Strei, Tâmpa, Herepeia, Căoi, Vulcez, Leșnic, Săcămaș, Dobra, Ohaba, Sălciva, Peștiș, Somonița, Suliniș, Pârâul Mare, Șiștarovăț, Sinicoț Right: Voșlăbeni, Strâmba, Belcina, Lăzarea, Ditrău, Mogoș, Filipea, Sărmaș, Toplița, Călimănel, Zebracu, Ilva, Răstolița, Gălăoaia, Bistra, Râpa, Luț, Șar, Cuieșd, Lechința, Pârâul de Câmpie, Arieș, Ciugud, Ormeniș, Mirăslău, Aiud, Gârbova, Galda, Ampoi, Pâclișa, Vinț, Blandiana, Băcăinți, Geoagiu, Bobâlna, Lazu, Vărmaga, Boholt, Căian, Boz, Sârbi, Băcișoara, Zam, Almaș, Petriș, Troaș, Vinești, Julița, Monoroștia, Bârzava, Nadăș, Cornic, Milova, Șoimoș, Cladova, Száraz-ér List of longest rivers of Romania Tributaries of Mureș River List of rivers of Europe Administrația Națională Apelor Române - Cadastrul Apelor - București Institutul de Meteorologie și Hidrologie - Rîurile României - București 1971 Trasee turistice - județul Mureș
Saschiz
Saschiz is a commune in Mureș County, Romania. It has a population of 2,048: 5 % Germans, 4 % Hungarians and 3 % Roma, it is composed of three villages: Mihai Viteazu and Saschiz. Saschiz, with its 15th-century church, is part of the World Heritage Site Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, designated in 1999 by UNESCO. Ion Dacian, composer Transylvanian Saxons Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from 1250 to 1500 AD. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period. Around 1300, centuries of prosperity and growth in Europe came to a halt. A series of famines and plagues, including the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the Black Death, reduced the population to around half of what it was before the calamities. Along with depopulation came social unrest and endemic warfare. France and England experienced serious peasant uprisings, such as the Jacquerie and the Peasants' Revolt, as well as over a century of intermittent conflict, the Hundred Years' War. To add to the many problems of the period, the unity of the Catholic Church was temporarily shattered by the Western Schism. Collectively, those events are sometimes called the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages. Despite the crises, the 14th century was a time of great progress in the arts and sciences. Following a renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman texts that took root in the High Middle Ages, the Italian Renaissance began.
The absorption of Latin texts had started before the Renaissance of the 12th century through contact with Arabs during the Crusades, but the availability of important Greek texts accelerated with the Capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks, when many Byzantine scholars had to seek refuge in the West Italy. Combined with this influx of classical ideas was the invention of printing, which facilitated dissemination of the printed word and democratized learning; those two things would lead to the Protestant Reformation. Toward the end of the period, the Age of Discovery began; the expansion of the Ottoman Empire cut off trading possibilities with the East. Europeans were forced to seek new trading routes, leading to the Spanish expedition under Christopher Columbus to the Americas in 1492 and Vasco da Gama’s voyage to Africa and India in 1498, their discoveries strengthened the power of European nations. The changes brought about by these developments have led many scholars to view this period as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern history and of early modern Europe.
However, the division is somewhat artificial, since ancient learning was never absent from European society. As a result, there was developmental continuity between the modern age; some historians in Italy, prefer not to speak of the Late Middle Ages at all but rather see the high period of the Middle Ages transitioning to the Renaissance and the modern era. The term "Late Middle Ages" refers to one of the three periods of the Middle Ages, along with the Early Middle Ages and the High Middle Ages. Leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodization in his History of the Florentine People. Flavio Biondo used a similar framework in Decades of History from the Deterioration of the Roman Empire. Tripartite periodization became standard after the German historian Christoph Cellarius published Universal History Divided into an Ancient and New Period. For 18th-century historians studying the 14th and 15th centuries, the central theme was the Renaissance, with its rediscovery of ancient learning and the emergence of an individual spirit.
The heart of this rediscovery lies in Italy, where, in the words of Jacob Burckhardt: "Man became a spiritual individual and recognized himself as such". This proposition was challenged, it was argued that the 12th century was a period of greater cultural achievement; as economic and demographic methods were applied to the study of history, the trend was to see the late Middle Ages as a period of recession and crisis. Belgian historian Henri Pirenne continued the subdivision of Early and Late Middle Ages in the years around World War I, yet it was his Dutch colleague, Johan Huizinga, responsible for popularising the pessimistic view of the Late Middle Ages, with his book The Autumn of the Middle Ages. To Huizinga, whose research focused on France and the Low Countries rather than Italy and decline were the main themes, not rebirth. Modern historiography on the period has reached a consensus between the two extremes of innovation and crisis, it is now acknowledged that conditions were vastly different north and south of the Alps, the term "Late Middle Ages" is avoided within Italian historiography.
The term "Renaissance" is still considered useful for describing certain intellectual, cultural, or artistic developments, but not as the defining feature of an entire European historical epoch. The period from the early 14th century up until – and sometimes including – the 16th century, is rather seen as characterized by other trends: demographic and economic decline followed by recovery, the end of western religious unity and the subsequent emergence of the nation state, the expansion of European influence onto the rest of the world; the limits of Christian Europe were still being defined in the 15th centuries. While the Grand Duchy of Moscow was beginning to repel the Mongols, the Iberian kingdoms completed the Reconquista of the peninsula and turned their attention outwards, the Balkans fell under the dominance of the Ottoman Empire. Meanwhile, the remaining nations of the continent were locked in constant international or internal conflict; the situation led to the consolidation of central authority and the emergence of the nation state.
The financial demands of war necessitated higher levels of taxation, resulting in the emergence of representative bodies – most notably the English Parliament. The growth of secular authority was further aided by t
Alba County
Alba County is a county of Romania, in Transylvania, its capital city being Alba-Iulia with a population of 63,536. "Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of the city of Alba Iulia. In Hungarian, the county is known as Fehér megye, in German as Kreis Karlsburg. In October 31, 2011, it had a population of 327,224 and the population density was 52/km². Romanians - 89.9% Hungarians - 4.8% Romani - 4.7% Germans - 0.2% This county has a total area of 6,242 km², with mountains occupying about 59% of its surface. In the northwestern part there are the Apuseni Mountains, in the southern part there is the northeastern side of the Parâng group - Șureanu and Cindrel Mountains. In the east there is the Transylvanian Plateau with wide valleys; the three main elements are separated by the Mureș River valley. The main rivers are the Mureș River and its tributaries, the Târnava, the Sebeș and the Arieș. Sibiu County and Mureș County in the East. Bihor County and Arad County in the West.
Cluj County in the North. Hunedoara County in the South-West; the predominant industries in the county are: Food industry. Textile industry. Wood industry. Mechanical components. Paper and packaging materials industry. Chemical industry; the mineral resources exploited in Alba county are metals and construction materials: marble, etc. The main tourist attractions in the county are: The city of Alba Iulia; the Apuseni Mountains. Scărișoara Karst Complex. Maidens' Fair on the Găina Mountain. "The Hill With Snails" west of Vidra. Barren Detunata and Shaggy Detunata The Câlnic Castle and the Castle of Gârbova; the Towns and Churches of Sebeș and Aiud. The Ocna Mureș Resort; the Țara Moților ethnographical area. Situated in the Apuseni Mountains, Țara Moților is a region with strong Romanian traditions. Rosia Montana Mining Cultural Landscape - Mining began 2000 years ago on Mt. Kirnik, with well-preserved Roman galleries. A Canadian company attempted an open-pit mine, but abandoned the project around 2007. Roșia Montană is a famous locality among mineral collectors for fine native gold specimens.
The Alba County Council, elected at the 2016 local government elections, is made up of 33 counselors, with the following party composition: Alba County has 4 municipalities, 7 towns and 67 communes. Municipalities Aiud Alba Iulia - county seat. After the administrative unification law in 1925, the name of the county changed to Alba County and the territory was reorganized, it was bordered on the west by Hunedoara County, to the north by Turda County, to the east by the counties of Sibiu and Târnava-Mică. Its territory included the central part of the current Alba County; the county consisted of seven districts: Plasa Abrud Plasa Aiud Plasa Ighiu Plasa Ocna Mureș Plasa Sebeș Plasa Teiuș Plasa Vințu de Jos Subsequently, Plasa Ighiu was abolished and two other districts were established, leaving these: Plasa Abrud Plasa Aiud Plasa Alba Iulia Plasa Ocna Mureș Plasa Sebeș Plasa Teiuș Plasa Vințu de Jos Plasa Zlatna There were four towns: Alba-Iulia, Abrud and Sebeș. According to the census data of 1930, the county's population was 212,749, of which 81.5% were Romanians, 11.3% Hungarians, 3.6% Germans, 1.8% Romanies, 1.4% Jews, as well as other minorities.
In the religious aspect, the population consisted of 50.1% Eastern Orthodox, 31.6% Greek Catholics, 7.5% Reformed, 3.4% Roman Catholics, 3.3% Evangelical, 1.2% Unitarians, other minorities. In 1930, the urban population of the county was 33,365, of which 58.8% were Romanians, 23.0% Hungarians, 8.2% Germans, 6.2% Jews, 1.6% Romanies, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was made up of 38.3% Eastern Orthodox, 21.4% Greek Catholic, 14.7% Reformed, 7.2% Evangelical, 6.5% Jewish, as well as other minorities. After the 1938 Administrative and Constitutional Reform, this county merged with the counties of Ciuc, Sibiu, Târnava Mare, Târnava Micǎ to form Ținutul Mureș; the county was re-established in 1940, but dissolved again in 1950. It was re-established in 1968 in its current borders. Notable natives include: Ion Agârbiceanu Lucian Blaga Avram Iancu Alba County on memoria.ro
Fortified church
A fortified church is a church, built to play a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls and embrasures. Others, such as the Ávila Cathedral were incorporated into the town wall. Monastic communities, such as Lérins Abbey, are surrounded by a wall, some churches, such as St Arbogast in Muttenz, have an outer wall as well. Churches with additional external defences such as curtain walls and wall towers are referred to more as fortress churches or Kirchenburgen. A high concentration of fortified churches may be found in parts of Europe where there was a lot of hand-to-hand warfare, for example in the Dordogne region of France, fought over by France and England in medieval times, in Transylvania, the scene of Ottoman invasions. Fortified churches were built in places controlled by colonial empires, such as the one in the Philippines that served as the scene of the Siege of Baler. Although a large number of fortified churches in a variety of styles existed in the lands of Belarus only a handful have survived until the present.
The most famous include Christian Orthodox churches in Muravanka and Synkavichy, as well as Catholic fortified churches in Kamai and Ishkold'. In addition to Christian churches Belarus has the ruins of several fortified synagogues, of which the Chief Synagogue in Bykhaw is most notable. About 65 fortified churches are found in the Thiérache region of France. There are several fortified churches that have been preserved in the German states of Baden-Württemberg and Hesse. Examples are the churches of Kleinbreitenbach in Plaue, Kößlarn, Großrückerswalde, Mittelsaida, Büchenbach/Erlangen, Kriegenbrunn/Erlangen, Morsbach/Künzelsau, Espendfeld/Arnstadt, Finkenbach-Gersweiler, St. Wolfgang in Rothenburg and the fortified church of Wenkbach. A rare surviving example of a fortress church used for defensive purposes is the Church of St. Andrew in Kraków, one of the oldest and best-preserved Romanesque buildings in Poland. Located at ul. Grodzka street, it was built by a medieval Polish statesman Palatine Sieciech in 1079–1098.
St. Andrew was the only Romanesque church in Kraków to withstand the Mongol attack of 1241. Along the lower part of the broader section of its façade are small openings that served as defensive windows during military siege. Dear Viki editor: This small Romanesque basilica, however well preserved and interesting, have never been fortified and the legend about its defensive role is only a legend. See: J. Bogdanowski "Architektura obronna w krajobrazie Polski" Warszawa 1996. Kunkel "Architektura gotycka na Mazowszu" Warszawa 2006. A number of medieval fortified churches and cathedrals survive in Portugal; these buildings were built either in Gothic styles. Romanesque examples are the Old Cathedral of Coimbra. Gothic examples are the Church of Leça do the Guarda Cathedral. South-eastern Transylvania region in Romania has one of the highest numbers of existing fortified churches from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. More than 150 villages in the area count various types of fortified churches, seven of them being included in the UNESCO World Heritage under the name of Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania.
During the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars from the late 15th to the late 17th century, the Slovene Lands were subjected to constant Ottoman raids, which reached their peak in the late 15th and early 16th century. During that period, around 300 village churches were fortified in the territory of present-day Slovenia, with another 50 in the neighboring area of southern Carinthia, they were known as tabors. A dozen of such churches remain today, the most famous of which are the Holy Trinity Church in Hrastovlje, Mount Saint Mary near Ljubljana, Podbrezje in Upper Carniola. In some cases, entire villages were fortified. Remaining examples are Šmartno in the Gorizia Hills, Štanjel. There are medieval fortified churches near the Anglo-Scottish border, where defence was an important consideration until the seventeenth century when the two states were united in personal union. All Saints Church, Boltongate in Cumbria is an example. In Cumbria, St Michael's Church, Burgh by Sands has a defensive tower, had two.
Defensive towers can be found on the England–Wales border, for instance, St Michael's Church, Garway. Saint Catherine's Monastery Tangyud Monastery Video Fortified churches in Transylvania
Biertan
Biertan is a commune in central Romania, in the north of the Sibiu County, 80 km north of Sibiu and 29 km east of Mediaş. Biertan is one of the most important Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, having been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1993; the Biertan fortified church was the see of the Lutheran Evangelical Bishop in Transylvania between 1572 and 1867. The commune is composed of three villages: Biertan, Copșa Mare and Richiș, each of which has a fortified church; the first documentary testimony about the village dates from 1283 in a document about the taxes paid by the inhabitants of 7 villages and so it is believed to have been founded sometime between 1224 and 1283 by Transylvanian Saxons. The village settlement developed into an important market town and by 1510 Biertan supported a population of about 5,000 people. Between 1468 and the 16th century a small fortified church was developed. After the medieval period the town declined in importance with the rise of neighbouring Sighișoara and Mediaș.
In the census of 1930 Biertan had 2331 inhabitants. During World War II many men were conscripted into the Romanian army and the Waffen-SS. After the war many Transylvanian Saxons were expelled from the region. Following the collapse of Communism in 1990 many more left for Germany. Today the whole commune has a population of about 2,500 and the village of Biertan alone has about 1,600 people, it is one of the most visited villages in Transylvania, being the important place of the annual reunion of the Transylvanian Saxons, many of whom now live in Germany. The "Luna Plină" Horror and Fantasy Film Festival takes place in Biertan, it is the only film festival in Romania focused on horror and fantasy movies. Artur Phleps, a Biertan-born military career officer. He, served in the Habsburg army of Austria-Hungary, the royal army of Romania and the Waffen-SS. Nicolae Popoviciu Sara Römischer. Although she was not famous in the traditional sense, her story is representative of that experienced by many Transylvanian Saxons in Biertan following the Second World War.
Sara was deported to Siberia in January 1945. She survived and after five years returned to her hometown of Biertan to bring up her family through many further hardships. Read an English translation of her harrowing story, or for the original German text in Siebenbürgische Zeitung). According to the 2011 census, Romanians made up 73.8% of the population, Roma made up 17.9%, Germans made up 4.6% and Hungarians made up 3.6%. Biertan Donarium List of castles in Romania Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania Information and pictures about Biertan Info about Biertan Impressions of Biertan Info and pictures about Biertan Fortified church in Biertan video video
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