Burzenland

View of part of the Burzenland from the peak of Postavaru. Ghimbav is on the right, while Codlea can be seen in the distant on Magura Codlei.

The (; ) is an historic area in southeastern Transylvania, Romania. Since the exodus of most of the German-speaking Transylvanian Saxons in the 20th century, this particular regional designation has lost much of its cultural meaning.

Geography

Geographically, Burzenland lies within the Carpathian Mountains, bordered approximately by Feldioara (Marienburg) in the north, RñƟnov (Rosenau) in the southwest and Prejmer (Tartlau) in the southeast. Its most important city is BraƟov (Kronstadt). Burzenland is named after the stream Bñrsa (Burzen), which flows into the Olt (Alt) River.

History

In 1211 the region was given to the Teutonic Order by King Andrew II of Hungary in return for guarding the southeastern border of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Cumans. The Teutonic Knights constructed several castles in the area, as well as bringing colonists from the Holy Roman Empire to settle the sparsely populated land. In 1224 the Knights attempted to remove themselves from Hungarian allegiance and place themselves under the Papal See; in retaliation Andrew evicted the Order in 1225. Although the Order left for Prussia, the German colonists remained in Burzenland until the 20th century.

Towns

In each case, the modern Romanian name is given first, followed by the historic German and Hungarian names.
* Bod (Brenndorf, Botfalva)
* Bran (Törzburg, Törcsvår)
* BraƟov (Kronstadt, Brassó)
* Codlea (Zeiden, Feketehalom)
* Cristian (Neustadt, Keresztényfalva)
* Feldioara (Marienburg, Földvår)
* Ghimbav (Weidenbach, VidombĂĄk)
* Hălchiu (Heldsdorf, Höltövény)
* Hărman (Honigberg, Szåszhermåny)
* MăieruƟ (Nußbach, Szászmagyarós)
* Prejmer (Tartlau, PrĂĄzsmar)
* RñƟnov (Rosenau, Barcarozsnyó)
* Rotbav (Rotbach, SzĂĄszveresmart)
* Sùnpetru (Petersberg, Barcaszentpéter)
* Vulcan (Wolkendorf, SzĂĄszvolkĂĄny), "The Shield of the Burzenland"

See also

* Nösnerland
* Teutonic Knights
* Transylvanian Saxons

External links

* Bauern und Burgen im Burzenland
* Ehemaliges Wappen der Provinz Burzenland
* Map showing German settlements in Transylvania
*German mountain names in Burzenland

Reference