Geographical region and province of N and C Romania, separated from Wallachia and Moldova by the Carpathian Mts; a former Hungarian principality that became part of the AustroHungarian Empire; incorporated into Romania, 1918; part of the region ceded to Hungary by Hitler in World War 2; chief towns, Cluj-Napoca and Bra?ov.
For other uses, see Transylvania (disambiguation).Transylvania (Romanian: Ardeal or Transilvania;
Transylvania's main city, Cluj-Napoca, is considered to be the region's historical capital, although Transylvania was also ruled from Alba Iulia during its vassalage to the Ottoman Empire, and the seat of the Transylvanian Diet was moved to Sibiu for some time in the 19th century.
Etymology
Transylvania was first referred to in a Medieval Latin document in 1075 as Ultra silvam, meaning "beyond the forest".
The German name Siebenbürgen means "seven cities", after the seven (ethnic German) Transylvanian Saxons' cities in the region (Kronstadt, Schäßburg, Mediasch, Hermannstadt, Mühlbach, Bistritz and Klausenburg).
The Romanian name Ardeal (Ardeal - as Ardeliu - was first referred to in a document in 1432) is a likely borrowing of the Hungarian name Erdély, as is the Romani name Ardyalo - in old Hungarian, Erdély was pronounced as Erdél.
Geography
The Transylvanian plateau, 300 to 500 metres (1,000-1,600 feet) high, is drained by the Mureş, Someş, Criş, and Olt rivers, as well as other tributaries of the Danube.
In its extended version, used after 1920 both in Romania and Hungary, the term Transylvania designates Transylvania-proper together with regions that have had fluctuating status towards the core area, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Habsburg Monarchy, while some others are solely defined according to their cultural specificity:
Banat Burzenland Crişana (and its more traditional form, Partium) Maramureş Mezőség Nösnerland Székely Land Ţara MoţilorOther minor territories inside the region included Amlaş, Ciceu, Făgăraş, Haţeg, and Mărginimea Sibiului.
Administrative divisions
The historical region covers 16 present-day counties (Romanian: judeţ) which include nearly 103 600 km² of central and northwest Romania.
The most populous cities are Cluj-Napoca (318,027), Timişoara (317,651), Braşov (283,901), Oradea (206,527), Arad (172,824), Sibiu (155,045), Târgu Mureş (149,577), Baia Mare (137,976), and Satu Mare (115,630).
Economy
Transylvania is rich in mineral resources, notably lignite, iron, lead, manganese, gold, copper, natural gas, salt, and sulfur.
Transylvania accounts for around 35% of Romania's GDP, and has a GDP per capita (PPP) of around $11,500, around 10% higher than the Romanian average.
Population
According to the 2002 census, Transylvania has a population of 7,221,733, with a large Romanian majority (74.7%).
Romanians have been the majority population in the region for as long as modern censuses have been conducted.
History
Ancient History: Dacia and the Roman Empire
The kingdom of Dacia was in existence at least as early as the beginning of the 2nd century BC and it reached its maximum extent under Burebista.
In 101-102 and 105-106 Trajan, the Roman emperor, fought a military campaign against the Dacians, known as the Dacian Wars.
Transylvania throughout the Middle Ages
The former Dacia Trajana province was controlled by the Visigoths and Carpians until they were in turn displaced and subdued by the Huns in 376, under the leadership of Attila.
The early 11th century was marked by the conflict between King Stephen I of Hungary and his maternal uncle Gyula, the ruler of Transylvania.
Transylvania was organized according to the system of Estates, which were privileged groups (universitates) with power and influence in socio-economic and political life, being nonetheless organized according to certain ethnic criteria as well.
After the Decree of Turda (1366), which openly called for "to expel or to exterminate in this country malefactors belonging to any nation, especially Romanians" in Transylvania, the only possibility for Romanians to retain or access nobility was through conversion to Roman Catholicism.
In some border regions (Maramureş, Ţara Haţegului) the Orthodox Romanian ruling class of nobilis kenezius (classed as lower nobility in the Kingdom as a whole) had the same rights as the Hungarian nobilis conditionarius.
After the suppression of the Budai Nagy Antal-revolt in 1437, the political system was based on Unio Trium Nationum (The Union of the Three Nations).
A key figure to emerge in Transylvania in the first half of the 15th century was John Hunyadi.
Transylvania as an independent principality
The 16th century was marked by the struggle between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Empire.
Due to the fact that Transylvania was now beyond the reach of Catholic religious authority, Protestant preaching such as Lutheranism and Calvinism were able to flourish.
The Báthory family came to power in 1571 and ruled Transylvania as princes under the Ottomans, and briefly under Habsburg suzerainty, until 1600.
The Calvinist magnate of Bihar county Stephen Bocskai managed to obtain, through the Peace of Vienna (June 23, 1606), religious liberty and political autonomy, the restoration of all confiscated estates, the repeal of all "unrighteous" judgments, and a complete retroactive amnesty for all Hungarians in Royal Hungary, as well as his own recognition as independent sovereign prince of an enlarged Transylvania.
Austrian rule
After the defeat of the Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the Habsburgs gradually began to impose their rule on the formerly autonomous Transylvania.
The revolutionary year 1848 was marked by a great struggle between the Hungarians, the Romanians and the Habsburg Empire.
Having quashed the revolution, Austria imposed a repressive regime on Hungary, ruled Transylvania directly through a military governor and granted citizenship to the Romanians.
Transylvania as part of Romania
Since the Austro-Hungarian empire had begun to disintegrate after the end of the First World War, the nations living inside proclaimed their independence from the empire. The leaders of Transylvania's Romanian National Party passed a resolution calling for unification of all Romanians in a single state after a mass assembly on 1 December in Alba Iulia which was approved by the National Council of the Germans from Transylvania and the Council of the Danube Swabians from the Banat.
The Treaty of Versailles placed Transylvania under the sovereignty of Romania, an ally of the Triple Entente, and after the defeat in 1919 of Béla Kun's Hungarian Soviet Republic by the Romanian army, the Treaties of St. Germain (1919) and Trianon (signed in June 1920) further elaborated the status of Transylvania and defined the new border between the states of Hungary and Romania.
In August 1940, the second Vienna Award gave the northern half of Transylvania to Hungary but after the Treaty of Paris (1947) at the end of the Second World War the territory was returned to Romania.
Historical coat of arms of Transylvania
The Diet of 1659 codified the representation of the privileged nations in Transylvania's coat of arms. Seven red towers on a yellow background representing the seven fortified cities of the Transylvanian Saxons
(The red dividing band was originally not part of the coat of arms.)
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Coat of Arms of 1659 |
Landesfarben of Transylvania in Austria-Hungary, reflecting the tinctures of the coat-of-arms |
As part of the coat of arms of Hungary before the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 |
As in the coat of arms of Romania at present |
Tourist attractions
The medieval cities of Alba Iulia, Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, and Sighişoara The Székely Land - mountains, spas, mofette, Hungarian traditions and folk culture The city of Braşov and the nearby Poiana Braşov ski resort The city of Hunedoara with the 14th century Hunyadi Castle The citadel and the Sezession city centre of Oradea The Wooden Churches of the Maramureş region The Dacian Fortresses of the Orăştie Mountains, including Sarmizegetusa The Saxon fortified churches|
Arad cultural center |
Arad Evangelical church |
Bran Castle |
Black Church in Braşov |
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Braşov Council Square (Piaţa Sfatului) |
Catholic Cathedral in Cluj-Napoca |
Orthodox Cathedral in Cluj-Napoca |
Hunedoara Castle |
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Maramureş wooden churches |
The Theatre in Oradea |
The town hall in Oradea |
Dacia Hotel in Satu Mare |
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View of Sibiu |
Sighişoara clock tower |
View of Sighişoara |
Cathedral in Timişoara |
Culture
For people connected to Transylvania's cultural life, see: List of Transylvanians.
Transylvania in fiction
In the Western world, Transylvania is famously the home of Bram Stoker's Count Dracula.
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