Brasov
County
One hundred and seventy-six kilometres from Bucharest, Romania’s Capital
City, there stands the municipality of Brasov, the seat of the county
with the same name. The road takes you along the Prahova Valley, through
the Predeal Pass, as Brasov is a town situated “high up” in Romania.
Human traces in the area date back to 60,000 years
ago, the inhabitants of these parts having, undoubtedly, crossed all
the specific stages of ancient European civilisations. The most impressive
monument of the Antiquity is the Dacian Sanctuary of Racos, hardly
accessible, unfortunately, to eager tourists. Another testimony of
a glorious past history is the Roman camp of Rasnov, standing at the
north-eastern border of the Roman Empire, that stretched, in the second
century AD, up to the municipality of Brasov. An inscription in stone
gives the ancient Dacian name of the locality, Cumidava. Brasov and
its neighbourhood, the vast Tara Barsei (Land of Barsa), as this tableland
is known, played an important role in the Middle Ages owing to three
strategic points that secured economic, military and political leverage.
The first is the Citadel of Fagaras from where, they say, Prince Negru
set out to found the Romanian country south of the Southern Carpathians.
The citadel and the region known as the Tara Fagarasului (Fagaras
Land) were, for quite a long time, an area of uninterrupted Romanian
administration, in keeping with the ancient customs of the land, as
well as a foothold in Transilvania for the Wallachian princes. The
second point is the Bran Castle, towering over a pass through which
merchandise circulated as far as to Flanders and Germany, as well
as south and east, to Turkey and the Near East. Finally, the third
point is Brasov, first attested in a document in the year 1234, the
most important town in Transilvania in the Middle Ages, an economic
stronghold in the 14th to the 16th centuries. The locality was pivotal
for the life of the Romanian Principalities of Transilvania, Tara
Romaneasca (Wallachia) and Moldova, enjoying important commercial
privileges. In Brasov, riches amassed, people used to meet, roads
criss-crossed, and ideas were bandied. This advantageous geographical
position put Brasov well ahead Sibiu, Bistrita, Cluj, Sighisoara and
other cities in Transilvania. The powerful guilds, at the head with
the goldsmiths, the weavers, the armourers, accounted for the fact
that Brasov was not only a transit town but also a booming town of
craftsmen. The devastating fire of 1689 left not many wooden one-floor
houses standing, more exactly only a few constructions made prior
to the 17th century. Some others were demolished for political-strategic
(the Citadel on Tampa) or for town planning reasons (the walls in
the northern part of the town). Nonetheless, Brasov still boasts several
old architectural monuments that have withheld the vicissitudes of
time. To name only the church in the Bartolomeu district, one of the
oldest constructions in Romanic style, the Black Church, the biggest
Gothic abode in south-western Europe, the Old Square with the Council’s
Building, the trade mark of Brasov, and a favourite meeting place
or promenade for locals and tourists alike. The oldest part of the
town, the Scheii Brasovului, is dominated by the slender silhouette
of the St. Nicholas Church, a genuine cathedral of Romanian Orthodoxism,
erected under the care of several princes from Tara Romaneasca and
Moldova. The wooden gates and the road-side altars in the vicinity
give the Schei a distinct, unique flavour. Going
down into “the citadel”, we can meet all the important architectural
styles of Europe, from Renaissance, Baroque, to Art Nouveau, blending
harmoniously, next to the modern constructions that extend into the
eastern part without disturbing the patina of the town’s old section.
The mediaeval architectural touch can also be frequently perceived
in other localities of the county, as the inhabitants of these places,
often harassed by foreign inroads, built, in the 14th and 15th centuries,
various strongholds. Their ruins still tower over the localities of
Rasnov, Rupea and Feldioara. Most of the villages inhabited today
by Transilvanian Saxons (a German population colonised in Transilvania
in the 12th century) preserve fortified churches, establishments for
prayer and shelter. The biggest of this kind is that at Prejmer, while
the ones at Visori and Homorod are just as interesting. The villages
of Fagaras expanse, at the foot of the mountains, feature churches
with paintings created by masters of the 17th and 18th centuries,
arrived from Tara Romaneasca, or by natives of these parts who had
learnt the trade of painting south of the Carpathians. The prevailing
architectural style is Brancovenesc, the Romanian version of the European
Renaissance. A visit to Brasov will also reveal several tokens of
an active cultural life. Thus, the statue of Johannes Honterus, near
the Black Church, worked by the Finnish sculptor Haaro Magnussen,
presents this outstanding humanist, a luminary abreast of the European
movement of the 16th century, who introduced Protestantism in Brasov
and created several important pedagogic and geographic writings. Another
statue, in the yard of the St. Nicholas Church, features deacon Coresi,
the first printer of books in Romanian. His works, published after
1570, were circulated throughout the Romanian territories. Therefore,
it is no exaggeration to say that, alongside northern Tara Romaneasca,
the area of Brasov was the cradle of the literary Romanian language.
Also in the yard of the St. Nicholas Church there stands the building
of the first Romanian school, founded five centuries ago. Today, it
has been turned into a museum that shelters various peerless collections.
The Memorial House of the Mureseni, in the Council’s Square, reminds
of the first political newspaper of the Romanians living in Transilvania,
issued in 1838, Gazeta de Transilvania. Not far from the Square, there
lies the Andrei Saguna High School, constructed in 1850, where the
first operetta composed by Ciprian Porumbescu was performed. In fact,
in 1869, Brahms gave a concert at Brasov. As a town and county seat,
Brasov is most attractive for its tourist offer. Here, the season
never ends. The area is graced by variegated relief contours, but
still the mountains represent the main attraction. At the foot of
the Postavarul Mount, some 15 kilometres from Brasov, there is Poiana
Brasov, the most important and most well-known mountain resort in
Romania. Here winter sports can be practised by beginners and top
performers from November to March, thanks to the abundant snow. Similar
facilities can be found in the town of Predeal that allows easy access
to the Bucegi massif, much sought-after by mountaineers, climbers
and ordinary tourists. No more than 30 kilometres from Brasov, the
Bran-Rucar corridor – the old trade route crossing once the mountains
from Tara Romaneasca to Transilvania – is teeming with people all
year round, drawn not only by the fame of the Bran Castle but also
by the beauty of the scenery, of the villages spread across the summits,
and also by the marvellously fresh and pure air. Agro-tourism has
been booming lately, and it provides excellent opportunities to taste
the yummy cuisine of the area. In the south-west, near the town of
Zarnesti, Piatra Craiului, the most spectacular mountain top in the
county, welcomes all lovers of climbing and trekking, as well as more
experimented and hard-tested mountaineers. To the west there rise
the peaks of the Fagaras Mountains which the reputed French geographer
Emm. de Martonne named the Alps of Transilvania. These are impressive
mountains providing spectacular sights: peaks looming in the distance,
among the clouds, like Gothic steeples, with glacial lakes situated
at over 2,000 m altitude, and shady valleys where you can ski, sometimes
even in July. To the north, the highway to Rupea crosses the Bogatii
woods, much sought after by hunters and trout buffs. No matter the
season chosen, the visitors of Brasov are sure to have the opportunity
to indulge in some cultural event. For instance, April is the month
of the International Festival of Contemporary Theatre. Then, the first
Sunday after the Romanian Orthodox Easter there is a celebration called
the Junii Brasovului (Lads of Brasov). People from Schei, dressed
in picturesque costumes and organised in seven groups, ride their
splendid horses through Brasov. Then they compete in throwing the
mace and dancing the traditional round dance. May is the time for
the International Salons of Photo Art, and the Jazz and Blues Festival.
In August, Brasov becomes the European capital of pop music as for
a week the old square of the Council is the stage of The Golden Stag
International Festival. Thus Brasov was the town that first launched
to fame Julio Iglesias, Jacques Hustin, Helena Vondrachkova, and others.
Then Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, Jimmy Smith, Toto Cutugno are only
some of the stars who have hit the boards of the Brasov Festival.
Autumn is the season of the International Competition of Young Conductors
and of the Book Salons. Early in December, groups coming from all
over the Continent, alongside teams from Romania, take part in a Festival
of Winter Customs, heralding the nearing Yule-tide.
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Geographical
Outline
Brasov County, whose seat town bears the same name, lies in central-eastern
Romania, at the junction of the trade roads connecting the Balkans
to the rest of Europe. It stretches on 5,363 sq. km, which represents
2.2 per cent of the country’s territory. Brasov’s farming land sums
up 2,975.2 sq. km, that is 55.5 per cent of the total surface of the
county, and its 1,182 sq. km of arable land take 22 per cent of the
total farming land. The population of the county stands at over 636,400
people. The density of 120 inhabitants per sq. km places Brasov seventh
in Romania. The county of Brasov boasts the highest degree of urbanism
throughout the country, 76.2 per cent of the population living in
municipalities and towns, and 23.8 per cent in communes and villages.
The active population amounts to 262.9 thousand persons, i.e. 41.2
per cent of the total population in the county, and is distributed
on sectors of activity as follows: 49 per cent in industry, 15 per
cent in agriculture, 6 per cent in construction, and 30 per cent in
trade and services. The municipality of Brasov, the county seat, has
a population of more than 320,000 inhabitants. Fifty per cent of the
county’s population is concentrated here, as well as 65 per cent of
the county’s urban population. Other important towns are Fagaras (45
thousand inhabitants), Sacele (30 thousand inhabitants), Zarnesti
(26.6 thousand inhabitants), Codlea (24.4 thousand inhabitants), Rasnov
(16.4 thousand inhabitants), Victoria (10.7 thousand inhabitants),
Predeal (6.9 thousand inhabitants), Rupea (6.2 thousand inhabitants).
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Touristic
Information
Situated in the central part of our country, on the middle way
of the Olt River, the Brasov county is in fact the land of tourism.
It's easier to speak about the places without a tourist interest
than to mention the numberless points where eye and heart are
fascinated by the wonderful landscapes. In this zone, the line,
volume and color are gathered in such a pictural landspace which
calls permanently the beauty lovers to visit it. In winter, spring,
summer and autumn, the landscape changes only its color, but not
its beauty and splendor. The Southern part of this county which
has the municipality of Brasov as its geographical center - where
the Golden Stag international pop music Festival is held - there
are places of a national tourist interest as Poiana Brasov, Predeal,
Bran - Dracula's Land - forming a real tourist reservation. On
a surface of only 40 km in radius, the Olt River Meadow meets
the mountainous massive as the Postavarul, Bucegi, Piatra Craiului
or Piatra Mare up to 2,500 m above the sea. In this special area
the variety and novelty reign. The landscape passes from the green
of the rich flora in plain to the austere gray of the rocks, then
again to the colorful mountain pastures. The mountains are covered
by oak, beech and fir trees. Here the chamois, Carpathian stag,
roebuck, brown bear, wolf, lynx, wild boar, fox, and hare are
at home. Being the second in the Romanian tourism after the seaside
of the Black Sea, the Brasov county is on first place in the Romanian
mountain one. Thanks to its natural landscape as well as to its
place in a central region of tourist interest, the Brasov county
is on the first places in the Romanian tourism. From here many
other tourist zones begin like the spokes of a wheel : the Prahova
Valley with its famous Sinaia, Azuga, Busteni Spas, the Bran -
Rucar Pass, the Olt Valley ant the mountain and hilly zones of
the Covasna county.This is the ideal region where the pleasure
tourism, short holidays, climbing or different sports can be done.
Starting Brasov, Poiana Brasov, Predeal, Bran, Zarnesti, Rasnov,
Vama Buzaului or the town of Victoria, the mountain can be reached
on the first step to tens kilometers. From here, on railway or
roads all points of tourist interest can be reached in half of
a day at the most. The Brasov county has to be also mentioned
for its numberless historical, architectural, cultural and art
monuments. There are old architectural piles of buildings which
are relevant to the history and civilization of the region. Among
them there are the fortified Transylvanian Saxon churches which
are a characteristic defining phenomenon for the civilization
of Transylvania. In the same time there are a lot of natural monuments
as Poiana Narciselor (The Clearing of Narcissuses) near by the
town of Fagaras, the Harman - Dealul Lempes Marshes, with their
special micro-climate and flora, Tigaile Ciucasului, Bucsoiu or
Caldarea Malaiestilor in the Bucegi Mountains with an unique landscape
value. Summing up it's possible to say that thanks to its hotels
in Brasov, Poiana Brasov and Predeal, to the picturesque peasant
households in Bran, Poiana Marului, Tara Barsei, Tara Fagarasului
and Vama Buzaului, the Brasov county offers a hospitable home
to all its guests who want to see, to feel the nature and peoples
in an exceptional tourist region confirmed as such by the ones
who visited it.
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Economy
Profile
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