Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Biertan

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Country
  
Romania

Status
  
Commune

Postal Code
  
557045

Local time
  
Wednesday 1:38 PM

County
  
Sibiu County

Time zone
  
EET (UTC+2)

Area
  
97.26 km²

Population
  
2,519 (2011)

Biertan transylvaniabybikerowpcontentflagallerybier

Founded
  
1224 (first official record)

Weather
  
14°C, Wind S at 13 km/h, 49% Humidity

Biertan (German: Birthälm, Romani: Biyertan, Hungarian: Berethalom) 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.

Contents

Map of Biertan 557045, Romania

The commune is composed of three villages: Biertan, Copșa Mare (Gross-Kopisch; Nagykapus) and Richiș (Reichesdorf; Riomfalva), each of which has a fortified church.

History

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 quickly 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 (die Kirchenburg) was constructed and developed. After the medieval period the town declined in importance with the rise of neighbouring Sighișoara (= Schäßburg in German), Sibiu (Hermannstadt) and Mediaș (Mediasch).

In the census of 1930 Biertan had 2331 inhabitants, of whom 1228 were Transylvanian Saxons. During World War II many men were conscripted into the Romanian army and later 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 historically important place of the annual reunion of the Transylvanian Saxons, many of whom now live in Germany.

Festivals

The "Luna Plină" Horror and Fantasy Film Festival takes place in Biertan. It is the only film festival in Romania focused exclusively on horror and fantasy movies.

Famous people

  • Artur Phleps, a Biertan-born military career officer. He, uniquely, served in the Habsburg army of Austria-Hungary, the royal army of Romania and finally 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 1945, on a sunny January day. She survived and after five hard 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).

    • Demographics

    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%.

    References

    Biertan Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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