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{{Short description|Historical region in Central Europe}}
{{alternateuses}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Siebenbürgen|the band|Siebenbürgen (band)}}
{{Distinguish|Transnistria}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Transylvania
| common_name = Transylvania
| native_name = {{lang|ro|Transilvania}} / {{native name|ro|Ardeal}}<br/>{{native name|hu|Erdély}}<br/>{{native name|de|Siebenbürgen}}<br /> ''Siweberjen'' (])
| image_flag = File:Flag of Transylvania (Local).svg
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Transylvania.svg
| coa_size = 70
| national_anthem =
| image_map = Transylvania, Banat, Crisana and Maramures.svg
| map_caption = {{legend|#FF9955|Transylvania}}{{legend|#FFCCAA|], ] and ]}}{{legend|#FFF6D5|], ], ], ], and ]}}
| capital =
| largest_city = ]
| official_languages = ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cdep.ro/pls/dic/site.page?den=act2_2&par1=1#t1c0s0a13|title=Constitution of Romania|publisher=Cdep.ro|access-date=2 October 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907214119/http://www.cdep.ro/pls/dic/site.page?den=act2_2&par1=1#t1c0s0a13|archive-date=7 September 2017}}</ref>
| languages2_type = Recognised minority<br />languages<!--Protected and/or co-official (regional) languages--><ref>{{cite web|title=Reservations and Declarations for Treaty No. 148 – European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages|url=http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/148/declarations?p_auth=63PpH3zN|website=Council of Europe|access-date=3 December 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208122308/http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/148/declarations?p_auth=63PpH3zN|archive-date=8 December 2015}}</ref>
| languages2 = {{Collapsible list
| titlestyle=background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
| title= ''See here''
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
| ]
}}
| ethnic_groups = {{unbulleted list
| 76.42% ]
| 17.36% ]
| 4.53% ]
| 1.69% ]
}}
| ethnic_groups_year = ]
| ethnic_groups_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Tabel-2.02.1-si-Tabel-2.02.2.xlsx |title=Populaţia rezidentă după etnie (Recensământ 2021) |publisher=INS |website=www.insse.ro |access-date=2023-09-24|language=ro}}</ref>
| demonym = Transylvanian
| religion = {{ublist |item_style=white-space;
|{{Tree list}}
* 90.42% ]
** 65.96% ]
** 15.04% ]
** 9.32% ]
** 2.10% other ]
{{Tree list/end}}
|0.27% undeclared / <br/>no religion
|0.0% no data
|8.31% ]
}}
| religion_year = ]
| religion_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Tabel-2.04.1-si-Tabel-2.04.2.xlsx |title=Populaţia rezidentă după religie (Recensământ 2021) |publisher=INS |website=www.insse.ro |access-date=2023-09-24|language=ro}}</ref>
| government_type =
| leader_title1 =
| leader_name1 =
| leader_title2 =
| leader_name2 =
| legislature =
| upper_house =
| lower_house =
| sovereignty_type = ]
| established_event1 =
| established_date1 =
| established_event2 =
| established_date2 =
| established_event3 =
| established_date3 =
| established_event4 =
| established_date4 =
| established_event5 = ]
| established_date5 = 1 December 1918/1923
| established_event6 =
| established_date6 =
| established_event7 =
| established_date7 =
| established_event8 =
| established_date8 =
| established_event9 = ]
| established_date9 = 27 December 1989<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IsJADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA218|title=Political Leadership: A Pragmatic Institutionalist Approach|first=Robert|last=Elgie|date= 2017|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781137346223|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qu3TAAAAMAAJ&q=emblem|title=Romania Directory|date=1990|publisher=Editura Cronos|isbn=9789739000000|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocumentAfis/20050|title=DECRET-LEGE 2 27/12/1989 – Portal Legislativ|website=legislatie.just.ro}}</ref>
| established_event13 =
| established_date13 =
| established_event14 = ] the ]
| established_date14 = 1 January 2007
| area_km2 = 100,390
| area_footnote = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://insse.ro/cms/sites/default/files/field/publicatii/anuarul_statistic_al_romaniei_carte-ed.2022.pdf |title=Romanian Statistical Yearbook (2022) – 1.8 Administrative organisation of Romanian territory, on December 31, 2021 (p.17)|publisher=] |access-date=20 March 2023 |url-status=live|archive-date=20 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320054533/https://insse.ro/cms/sites/default/files/field/publicatii/anuarul_statistic_al_romaniei_carte-ed.2022.pdf}}</ref>
| area_rank = 106th <!-- Area rank should match ]-->
| area_sq_mi = 38,720 <!--Do not remove per ]-->
| percent_water = 3
| population_estimate = 6,478,126<ref>{{cite web |url=http://statistici.insse.ro:8077/tempo-online/#/pages/tables/insse-table |title=POP105A – Populația rezidentă la 1 Ianuarie pe grupe de vârste, sexe și medii de rezidență, macroregiuni, regiuni de dezvoltare și județe |publisher=] (TEMPO –statiscal data) |website=www.insse.ro/cms/en |date=5 September 2023 |access-date=24 September 2023 |language=ro}}</ref>
| population_census = {{decreaseNeutral}} 6,461,780{{efn|name=data1|The sixteen counties that form the historical region of Transylvania.}}<ref name="Census2021">{{cite web|url=https://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Tabel-1.01.xls |title=Populația la Recensămintele 1948–2021 |publisher=INS |website=www.insse.ro |access-date=2023-09-24|language=ro}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = January 2023
| population_estimate_rank = 107th
| population_census_year = ]
| population_census_rank =
| population_density_km2 = 64.5
| population_density_sq_mi = <!--Do not remove per ]-->
| population_density_rank = 122nd
| GDP_PPP =
| GDP_PPP_year =
| GDP_PPP_rank =
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $41,633<ref name="IMFWEORO"/>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
| GDP_nominal = {{increase}} $194.00 billion<ref name="IMFWEORO">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April/weo-report?c=968,&s=NGDPD,%20PPPGDP,%20NGDPDPC,%20PPPPC,&sy=2019&ey=2025&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023 Edition. (Romania) |publisher=] |website=IMF.org |access-date=11 April 2023 }}</ref>
| GDP_nominal_year = 2023
| GDP_nominal_rank = 57th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $28,574<ref name="IMFWEORO"/>
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 39th
| Gini = <!--number only-->
| Gini_year =
| Gini_change = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref = <ref name=eurogini>{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tessi190/default/table?lang=en |title=Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey|publisher=] |website=ec.europa.eu |access-date=16 August 2022}}</ref>
| Gini_rank =
| HDI = 0.829 <!--number only-->
| HDI_year = 2022<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2021/2022|language=en|publisher=]|date=8 September 2022|access-date=8 September 2022}}</ref>
| HDI_rank = 33rd
| currency = ]
| currency_code = RON
| time_zone = ]
| utc_offset = +2
| utc_offset_DST = +3
| time_zone_DST = ]
| date_format = dd.mm.yyyy&nbsp;(])
| drives_on = Right
| calling_code = ]
| patron_saint =
| iso3166code = RO
| cctld = ]<sup>a</sup>
| footnote_a = Also ], shared with other ] member states.
| today =
}}


'''Transylvania''' ({{langx|ro|Transilvania}} {{IPA|ro|transilˈvani.a|}} or {{lang|ro|Ardeal}}; or {{langx|hu|Erdély}} {{IPA|hu|ˈɛrdeːj|}}; {{langx|de|Siebenbürgen}} {{IPA|de|ˌziːbm̩ˈbʏʁɡn̩||De-Siebenbürgen.ogg}} or {{lang|de|Transsilvanien}}, historically {{lang|de|Überwald}}; ]: ''Siweberjen'') is a ] in ], encompassing central ]. To the east and south its ] is the ] and to the west the ]. Broader definitions of Transylvania also include the western and northwestern Romanian regions of ] and ], and occasionally ]. Historical Transylvania also includes small parts of neighbouring ] and even a small part of south-western neighbouring ] to its north east (represented by ]).
'''Transylvania''' (]: ''Transilvania'' or ''Ardeal''; ]: ''Erdély''; ]: ''Siebenbürgen''; see also ]) forms the western and central parts of ]. Transylvania was a principality during the ].


Transylvania is known for the scenery of its Carpathian landscape and its rich history, coupled with its multi-cultural character. It also contains Romania's second-largest city, ], and other very well preserved medieval iconic cities and towns such as ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. It is also the home of some of Romania's ] such as the ], the ], the ] and the ].
==Geography==
]


It was under the rule of the ], part of the ] (168 BC – 106 AD), ] (106–271), the ], the ] (4th–5th centuries), the ] (5th–6th centuries), the ] (6th–9th centuries), the ], and the 9th century ]. During the late 9th century, Transylvania was reached and ], and ] family from the ] ruled it in the 10th century. King ] asserted his claim to rule all lands dominated by Hungarian lords. He personally led his army against his maternal uncle ] and Transylvania became part of the ] in 1002.
The territory known today as Transylvania, consists of a region of 16 counties (]: ]), which cover nearly 103 600 km&sup2; in central and northwest Romania, and comprises over half of Romania's landmass. The 16 counties are ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].


After the ] in 1526 it belonged to the ], from which the ] emerged in 1570 by the ]. During most of the 16th and 17th centuries, the principality was a ] of the ]; however, the principality had dual ]ty (] and ]).<ref>Dennis P. Hupchick, , Palgrave Macmillan, 1995, p. 62</ref><ref>Peter F. Sugar, , University of Washington Press, 1993, pp. 150–154</ref>
The Transylvanian plateau, 300 to 500 metres (1,000-1,600 feet) high, is drained by the ], ], ], and ] rivers, as well as other tributaries of the ]. ] (318,027) is the chief city; other major urban centers are ] (317,651), ] (283,901), ] (206,527), ] (172,824), ] (155,045), ] (149,577), ] (137,976), and ] (115,630).


In 1690, the ] gained possession of Transylvania through the ].<ref>{{cite book |author=Béla Köpeczi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VElpAAAAMAAJ&q=%22+in+1690%2C+the+Habsburgs+gained+possession+of+Transylvania+by+right+of+the+Hungarian+crown.%22 |title=History of Transylvania: From 1606 to 1830 |date=2008 |publisher=Social Science Monographs |isbn=978-0-88033-491-4 |access-date=2017-07-10}}</ref><ref>Peter F. Sugar. (''History of East Central Europe''), University of Washington Press, July 1983, p. 163</ref><ref name="books.google.com2">Paul Lendvai, Ann Major. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2003, p. 146;</ref> After the failure of ] in 1711,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glockner |first1=Peter G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FAAMAQAAMAAJ&q=%22+In+1711,+after+the+Peace+Treaty+of+Szatmar,+Austrian+control+was+firmly+established+over+all+of+Hungary+and+Erdely,+and+the+princes+of+Transylvania+were+replaced+by+Austrian+governors.+%22 |title=Encyclopaedia Hungarica: English |last2=Bagossy |first2=Nora Varga |date=2007 |publisher=Hungarian Ethnic Lexicon Foundation |isbn=978-1-55383-178-5 |language=en}}</ref> Habsburg control of Transylvania was consolidated, and Hungarian ] were replaced with Habsburg imperial governors.<ref name="Britannica3"> (2009). ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved July 7, 2009</ref><ref name="Leopoldinum2"> (2009). ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved July 7, 2009</ref> During the ], the Hungarian government proclaimed union with Transylvania in the ] of 1848.<ref>Laszlo Péter, , Brill, 2012, p. 56</ref> After the failure of the revolution, the ] decreed that the ] be a separate crown land entirely independent of ].<ref name="hoelseth.com">. (Section I, Art. I and Section IX., Art. LXXIV)</ref> The separate status of Transylvania ended with the ],<ref>John F. Cadzow, Andrew Ludanyi, Louis J. Elteto, , Kent State University Press, 1983, p. 79</ref> and it was reincorporated into the ] (]) as part of the ].<ref>James Minahan: , Greenwood Press, Westport, CT</ref> It was also during this period that Romanians experienced the awakening of self-consciousness as a nation, manifested in cultural and ideological movements such as ],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pavel |first=Eugen |date=2018 |title=The Transylvanian School – Premises Underlying the Critical Editions of Texts |page=1 |url=https://www.academia.edu/70072431 |access-date=6 August 2023 |website=Academia.edu}}</ref> and drafted political petitions such as
== Economy ==
].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Török |first=Borbála Zsuzsanna |date=27 October 2015 |title="1 Landeskunde, honismeret – Patriotic Scholarship and Vernacular Languages". In Exploring Transylvania |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004303058_003 |access-date=6 August 2023 |website=brill.com|doi=10.1163/9789004303058_003 }}</ref> After ], the National Assembly of Romanians from Transylvania proclaimed the ] on 1 December 1918, and Transylvania became part of the ] by the ] in 1920. In 1940, ] reverted to ] as a result of the ], but it was returned to ] after the end of ].


In popular culture, Transylvania is commonly associated with ] because of the influence of ]'s 1897 novel '']'' and the many subsequent books and films that the story has inspired.<ref name="query.nytimes.com">{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DE143BF931A1575BC0A965958260 |work=The New York Times |title=Travel Advisory; Lure of Dracula In Transylvania |date=1993-08-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.icromania.com/infoTransylvania.asp |title=Romania Transylvania |website= Icromania.com |date=2007-04-15 |access-date=2012-07-30}}</ref> Many ] were furious with ] for strengthening the borders of ], which interfered with their control of trade routes, and his extreme sadism and barbarity, which by a collection of credible historical accounts of diverse origins, most of which were non-Saxon, led to the industrial-scale execution of over 100,000 people{{cn|date=October 2023}} by impaling, some of whom were Saxons. The victims were often arranged in grotesque displays intended to terrorize various groups, including the Saxons. In retaliation, the Saxons distributed poems of cruelty and other propaganda characterising the sadistic Vlad III Dracula as a drinker of blood.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/298070110/Die-Geschichte-Dracole-Waide|title=Consuming News: Newspapers and Print Culture in Early Modern Europe (1500–1800)|editor=Gerhild Scholz Williams |editor2=William Layher |pages=14–34
Transylvania is rich in mineral resources, notably ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. There are large iron and ], chemical, and ] industries. Stock raising, ], ] production, and fruit growing are important occupations. ] is another valuable resource.
|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref>


==Etymology==
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.
{{Main|Historical names of Transylvania}}
The earliest known reference to Transylvania appears in a ] document of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1078 as {{lang|la|ultra silvam}}, meaning "beyond the forest" ({{lang|la|ultra}} meaning "beyond" or "on the far side of" and the ] of {{lang|la|Sylva}} ({{lang|la|sylvam}}) "woods, forest"). Transylvania, with an alternative Latin prepositional prefix, means "on the other side of the woods". The Medieval Latin form {{Lang|la-x-medieval|Ultrasylvania}}, later {{Lang|la-x-medieval|Transylvania}}, was a direct translation from the ] form {{lang|hu|Erdő-elve}}, later {{lang|hu|Erdély}}, from which also the Romanian name, {{lang|ro|Ardeal}}, comes.<ref name=engel>Engel, Pál (2001). ''Realm of St. Stephen: History of Medieval Hungary, 895–1526 (International Library of Historical Studies)'', p. 24, London: I.B. Taurus. {{ISBN|1-86064-061-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Pop|first=Ion-Aurel|trans-title=The Medieval History of Transylvania: from the Romanian Ethnogenesis until Michael the Brave|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/30886268/Istoria-Transilvaniei-Medievale|title=Istoria Transilvaniei Medievale: De la Etnogeneza Romanilor pana la Mihai Viteazul|accessdate=2013-10-03 |year=1997|language=ro}}</ref> That also was used as an alternative name in ] {{lang|gmh|überwald}} ("beyond the forest") (13th–14th centuries) and ] {{lang|uk|Залісся}} ({{lang|uk-Latn|Zalissia}}).


Historical names of Transylvania are:
== Population ==
* {{langx|bg|Седмиградско|Sedmigradsko}}, {{lang|bg|Трансилвания}} {{lang|bg-Latn|Transilvanija}}
* {{langx|hr|Sedmogradska}}, {{lang|hr|Erdelj}} (hist.), {{lang|hu|Transilvanija}}
* {{langx|de|Siebenbürgen}} ({{IPA|de|ziːbm̩ˈbʏʁɡŋ̍||De-Siebenbürgen.ogg}}), {{lang|de|Transsilvanien}}
* {{langx|hu|Erdély}} ({{IPA-hu|ˈɛrdeːj|}})
* {{langx|la|Ultrasilvania}}, {{lang|la|Transsilvania}}
* {{langx|pl|Siedmiogród}}, {{lang|pl|Transylwania}}
* {{langx|rom|Transilvaniya}}
* {{langx|ro|Ardeal}} ({{IPA|ro|arˈde̯al|}}), {{lang|ro|Transilvania}} ({{IPA|ro|transilˈvani.a|}})
* {{langx|ru|Трансильвания|Transil'vaniya}}, {{lang|ru|Седмиградье}}
* {{langx|sr|Ердељ/Erdelj}}, {{langx|sr|Трансилванија/Transilvanija}}
* {{langx|sk|Ardieľ, Sedmohradsko}}
* ]: ''Siweberjen''
* {{langx|tr|Erdel}}
* {{langx|uk|Семигород|Semyhorod}}, {{lang|uk|Залісся}} {{lang|uk-Latn|Zalissiya}}, {{lang|uk|Трансильванія}} {{lang|uk-Latn|Transyl'vaniya}}
* {{langx|yi|זיבנבערגן|Zibnbergn}}, {{lang|yi|זימבערגן}} {{lang|yi-Latn|Zimbergn}}, {{lang|yi|טראַנסילוואַניע}} {{lang|yi-Latn|Transilvanye}}


* The German name {{lang|de|Siebenbürgen}} means "seven castles", after the seven (]) ]' cities in the region. This is also the origin of the region's name in many other languages, such as the ] {{lang|hr|Sedmogradska}}, the ] {{lang|bg|Седмиградско}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|Sedmigradsko}}), ] {{lang|pl|Siedmiogród}}, ] {{lang|yi|זיבנבערגן}} ({{lang|yi-Latn|Zibnbergn}}), and ] {{lang|uk|Семигород}} ({{lang|uk-Latn|Semyhorod}}).
According to the census in ], the province has a population of 7,221,733 persons, with a large Romanian majority. In addition, sizable ] (1,415,718 in all Romania), ] and ] communities live in Transylvania.
* The Hungarian form {{lang|hu|Erdély}} was first mentioned in the 12th-century {{lang|la|]|italic=yes}} as {{lang|hu|Erdeuleu}} (in modern script {{lang|hu|Erdeüleü}}) or {{lang|hu|Erdő-elve}}. The word {{lang|hu|erdő}} means forest in Hungarian, and the word {{lang|hu|elve}} denotes a region in connection with this, similarly to the Hungarian name for Muntenia ({{lang|hu|Havas-elve}}, or land lying ahead of the snow-capped mountains). {{lang|ota-Latn|Erdel}}, {{lang|ota-Latn|Erdil}}, {{lang|ota-Latn|Erdelistan}} are derived from Hungarian {{lang|hu|Erdély}}.
* An occurrence of the form ''Ardeliu'' in a ] document written by a Romanian chancellery is attested in 1432. The Romanian {{lang|ro|Ardeal}} is derived from the Hungarian {{lang|hu|Erdély}}.<ref name=Ardeliu>{{Cite journal |last=Pascu |first=Ștefan |title=Voievodatul Transilvaniei |volume=I |year=1972 |page=22 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kristó |first=Gyula |title=A korai Erdély |publisher=Szegedi Középkorász Műhely |year=2002 |isbn=9634825583 |page=24 |trans-title=The early Transylvania}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Drăganu |first=Nicolae |url=https://documente.bcucluj.ro/web/bibdigit/periodice/anuarulinstitutuluideistorienationala/1923/BCUCLUJ_FP_BALP_42_1923_002_001.pdf |title=Anuarul Institutului de Istorie Națională |year=1924 |volume=II |location=] |page=237}}</ref>


==Etymology== == History ==


{{Main|History of Transylvania}}
Transylvania was first referred to in a ] document in ] as "Ultra silvam," meaning "beyond the forest." That name was later changed to "Transylvania," which has the same meaning.


]]]
The German name ''Siebenbürgen'' means "seven cities", after the ]' cities in this region. The Romanian name ''Ardeal'' and the Hungarian name ''Erdély'' are of uncertain origins (''see ]'').


The first known civilization to inhabit the territory was the ], of the ]. From the 4th century BC, ] ] came to domination. The indigenous ] engaged in politics from the 1st century BC and united under ], forming their kingdom ].<ref>] (2000): ]</ref>
==History==


The ] made heavy efforts to seize the territory from ], resulting in the formation of ] in 106, after ]'s ]. During Roman rule, the territory, depleted of its indigenous population, was repopulated with Latin colonists and its rich resource stock was systematically exploited. However, the growing threat of ] and ] invasions made Emperor ] withdraw his legions and evacuate the citizens south of the ] in 275, when the province became occupied by the ].<ref>Tóth, Endre (1994): </ref> In 376, a powerful nomadic people, the ], defeated and shattered the Goths, and settled in the area. After the death of Hun ], their empire disintegrated and the ] conquered the region in 455, under ].<ref>Gündisch, Konrad: </ref> For two centuries, the Gepids controlled Transylvania. The ] systematically pushed the Gepids out of ]. ], on the other hand, successfully fought battles against the Eastern Roman Empire.<ref name=":2" /> They were defeated by the ] and ] in 567.<ref name=":2">Bóna, István (1994): </ref> In the following years, the Avars took full control over Transylvania, heavily settling the area with ] who accepted their suzerainty. The expansion of the ], however, imposed a growing threat on them and their khaganate was crushed in the ].<ref>] (2006): ]</ref><ref>Bóna, István (1994): </ref> The Avars and Slavs, although substantially depleted in number, continued to inhabit the ].<ref>] (1962): ]</ref> The ] expanded into ] in the 9th century.<ref>Bóna, István (1994): </ref> Smaller Slavic polities were also present, nevertheless they could hardly keep their independence.<ref>Makkai, László (1975): ]</ref>
=== Ancient History: Transylvania as the heartland of the Dacian state ===


In the late 9th century, Transylvania was reached and conquered by the ]. There is an ongoing scholarly debate over the demographics in Transylvania at the time. According to the theory of Daco-Roman continuity, ] continuously lived on the territory. Opponents of that hypothesis point to the lack of written, archaeological and linguistic evidence to support it.<ref>Farkas, Zoltán (2007): ]</ref> Hungarian medieval chronicles claimed that the ] people descended from the ], who remained in Transylvania, and later, in combination with the returning ], ] the ].<ref>]: </ref><ref>Veszprémy, László; Schaer, Frank (1999): </ref><ref>Geréb, László (1993): (in Hungarian)</ref><ref>Geréb, László (1957): (in Hungarian)</ref> According to the '']'', the Vlach (''Blacorum, Blacus'') leader ] ruled part of Transylvania before the ] arrived. Historians debate whether he was a historical person or an imaginary figure. The ] from the ] governed Transylvania in the 10th century. ] asserted his claim to rule all lands dominated by Hungarian lords. He personally led his army against his maternal uncle ] and Transylvania became part of the ] in 1002.<ref name="Engel 2005 27">{{cite book |title=The Realm of St Stephen |last=Engel |first=Pal |author2=Andrew Ayton |year=2005 |publisher= Tauris|location= London|isbn=1-85043-977-X |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vEJNBqanT_8C&pg=PA27}}</ref> Place names derived from the ] evidence that major Hungarian groups settled in Transylvania from the 950s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bóna |first=István |editor1-last=Köpeczi |editor1-first=Béla |editor2-last=Barta |editor2-first=Gábor |editor3-last=Bóna |editor3-first=István |editor4-last=Makkai |editor4-first=László |editor5-last=Szász |editor5-first=Zoltán |editor6-last=Borus |editor6-first=Judit | title=History of Transylvania |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |year=1994 |pages=62–177 |chapter=From Dacia to Transylvania: The Period of the Great Migrations (271&ndash;895); The Hungarian&ndash;Slav Period (895&ndash;1172) |isbn=963-05-6703-2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kristó |first=Gyula |year=2003 |title=Early Transylvania (895-1324) |publisher= Lucidus Kiadó |isbn=963-9465-12-7}}</ref> In the 12th and 13th centuries, Southeast and Northeast Transylvania was settled by Saxon colonists. In Romanian historiography, ] constituted an important part of Transylvania's population even on the eve of the ].<ref name="Sedlar">{{cite book |author=Jean W Sedlar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3o5lrvuwOVwC&pg=PA9 |title=East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500 |publisher=University of Washington Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-295-97291-6 |pages=9–}}</ref><ref name="=De Medio Aevo">{{cite journal |author=Madgearu |first=Alexandru |date=2018 |title=The Mongol domination and the detachment of the Romanians of Wallachia from the domination of the Hungarian Kingdom |url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/DMAE/article/download/76013/4564456556992 |journal=De Medio Aevo |pages=219–220 |access-date=}}</ref> Hungarian historiography claims that the Vlach population entered Transylvania from the ] only in the 12th century,<ref name="Sedlar2">{{cite book |author=Jean W Sedlar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3o5lrvuwOVwC&pg=PA9 |title=East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500 |publisher=University of Washington Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-295-97291-6 |pages=9–}}</ref> and the devastating invasion of Mongols had also as consequence the large-scale immigration by Romanians, however the immigration of Romanians did not happen all at once, the process of settlement stretched over several centuries.<ref name=":252">{{Cite book |last=Makkai |first=László |title=History of Transylvania Volume I. From the Beginnings to 1606 - III. Transylvania in the Medieval Hungarian Kingdom (896–1526) - 3. From the Mongol Invasion to the Battle of Mohács |publisher=Columbia University Press, (The Hungarian original by Institute of History Of The Hungarian Academy of Sciences) |year=2001 |isbn=0-88033-479-7 |language=English |chapter=The Mongol Invasion and Its Consequences |chapter-url=http://mek.niif.hu/03400/03407/html/76.html}}</ref> After the ] and Ottoman arrival at the Hungarian border, thousands of ] and ] refugees came to Transylvania.
]
]'s in color]]
] in 1190, during the rule of ]]]Between 1002 and 1526, Transylvania was part of the ], led by a ] appointed by the ].<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2004|title=Stephen I|url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3404706129/GVRL?u=aubu98092&sid=GVRL&xid=fed217b4|journal=Encyclopedia of World Biography|volume=14|pages=427–428|via=Gale Virtual Reference Library}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Merriam-Webster's geographical dictionary|publisher=CREDO|year=2007|edition= 3rd |chapter=Hungary}}</ref> After the ] in 1526, Transylvania became part of the ]. Later, in 1570, the kingdom became the ] by the ], which was ruled primarily by ] ]. The Eastern Hungarian king became the first ], according to the treaty. The ] continued to be part of the ] in the sense of public law, which stressed in a highly significant way that ] possessions belonged to the ] and he was not permitted to alienate them.<ref>Anthony Endrey, , Hungarian Institute, 1978, p. 70</ref>
] in 1606–60]]


The ] acquired the territory shortly after the ] in 1683. In 1687, the rulers of Transylvania recognized the suzerainty of the Habsburg emperor ], and the region was officially attached to the Habsburg Empire. The Habsburgs acknowledged the Principality of Transylvania as one of the ],<ref name="boundary">{{cite web|title=''International Boundary Study'' – No. 47 – April 15, 1965 – Hungary – Romania (Rumania) Boundary|publisher=US Bureau of Intelligence and Research|url=http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS047.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303212328/http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS047.pdf|archive-date=March 3, 2009}}</ref> but the territory of the principality was administratively separated<ref name="britannica_a">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1459175/Diploma-Leopoldinum |title=Diploma Leopoldinum (Transylvanian history) |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=2012-07-30}}</ref><ref name="britannica.com">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/603323/Transylvania |title=Transylvania (region, Romania) |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=2012-07-30}}</ref> from Habsburg Hungary,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sugar|first=Peter F.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LOln4TGdDHYC&dq=independent+principality+that+was+not+reunited+with+Hungary&pg=PA163|title=Southeastern Europe under Ottoman Rule, 1354-1804|date=2012-07-01|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-80363-0|page=163|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Cadzow|first1=John F.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fX5pAAAAMAAJ&q=diploma+leopoldinum+transylvania|title=Transylvania: The Roots of Ethnic Conflict|last2=Ludanyi|first2=Andrew|last3=Elteto|first3=Louis J.|date=1983|publisher=Kent State University Press|isbn=978-0-87338-283-0|page=79|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lendvai|first=Paul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9yCmAQGTW28C&dq=diploma+leopoldinum+transylvania&pg=PA146|title=The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat|date=2003|publisher=C. Hurst|isbn=978-1-85065-682-1|page=146|language=en}}</ref> and subjected to the direct rule of the emperor's governors.<ref name="encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com">{{cite web|url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Grand+Principality+of+Transylvania |title=Definition of Grand Principality of Transylvania in the Free Online Encyclopedia |publisher=Encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com |access-date=2012-07-30}}</ref> In 1699 the Ottomans legally acknowledged their loss of Transylvania in the ]; however, some ] elements within the principality submitted to the emperor only in the 1711 ], when Habsburg control over Principality of Transylvania was consolidated. The ] was reintroduced 54 years later in 1765.
] gives an account of the ], who lived in Transylvania during the ].


The ] against the Habsburgs started in 1848, and grew into a war for the total independence of the ] from the ]. ], the leader of the Austrian army, was appointed plenipotentiary to restore order in Hungary after the conflict. He ordered the execution of ] of ], and Prime Minister ] was executed the same day in ]. After a series of serious Austrian defeats in 1849, the ] came close to the brink of collapse. Thus, the new young emperor ] had to call for Russian help under the Holy Alliance. Czar Nicholas I answered, and sent an army of 200,000 men with 80,000 auxiliary forces. Finally, the joint army of Russian and Austrian forces defeated the Hungarian forces. After the restoration of Habsburg power, Hungary was placed under martial law. Following the Hungarian Army's surrender at Világos (now ], Romania) in 1849, their revolutionary banners were taken to Russia by the Tsarist troops and were kept there both under the Tsarist and Communist systems (in 1940 the Soviet Union offered the banners to the Horthy government).
A kingdom of ] was in existence at least as early as the beginning of the ] under a king, ]. Under ], the greatest king of Dacia and a contemporary of ], the Dacian kingdom reached its maximum extent. The area now constituting Transylvania was the political center of ].


After the ] of 1867, the Principality of Transylvania was once again abolished. The territory then became part of ],<ref name=Britannica/><ref name="MSNEncarta">"Transylvania", Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2008.</ref> an addition to the newly established ]. Romanian intellectuals issued the ] in protest.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070424202011/http://www.hungarian-history.hu/lib/pas/pas14.htm |date=2007-04-24 }} in Pașcu, Ștefan. ''A History of Transylvania''. Dorset Press, New York, 1990.</ref>
The Dacians are often mentioned under ], according to whom they were compelled to recognize ] supremacy. However they were by no means subdued, and in later times seized every opportunity of crossing the frozen ] during winter and ravaging the Roman cities in the recently acquired ] ].


The region was the site of an important ] during World War I, which caused the replacement of the German Chief of Staff, temporarily ceased German offensives on all the other fronts and created a unified Central Powers command under the German Kaiser. Following defeat in ], Austria-Hungary disintegrated. Elected representatives of the ] from Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș backed by the ], proclaimed ] on 1 December 1918. The ''Proclamation of Union'' of Alba Iulia was adopted by the Deputies of the Romanians from Transylvania and supported one month later by the vote of the Deputies of the Saxons from Transylvania.
The Dacians built several important fortified cities, among them ], near today's ].
] being ceded to ]. The region was returned to Romania after ]]]
The ] of ], the ] (also called ''Unification Day'',<ref>CIA World Factbook, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505143044/http://www.cia.gov/publications/factbook/geos/ro.html#Govt |date=2020-05-05 }}</ref>) occurring on December 1, celebrates this event. The holiday was established after the ], and marks the unification not only of Transylvania but also of the provinces of ], ] and ] with the ]. These other provinces had all joined with the Kingdom of Romania a few months earlier. In 1920, the ] established new borders and much of the proclaimed territories became part of Romania. Hungary protested against the new state borders, as they did not follow the real ethnic boundaries, for over 1.3 or 1.6 million Hungarian people, representing 25.5 or 31.6% of the Transylvanian population (depending on statistics used),<ref name="Történelmi világatlasz">{{cite book|title = Történelmi világatlasz|language=hu|trans-title=World Atlas of History|publisher = Cartographia|year = 1998|isbn = 963-352-519-5}}</ref><ref name="Varga">Varga, E. Árpád, , Translation by Tamás Sályi, Budapest, March 1999, pp. 30-34</ref> were living on the Romanian side of the border, mainly in the ] of Eastern Transylvania, and along the newly created border.]]]


In August 1940, with the arbitration of Germany and Italy under the ], Hungary gained ] (including parts of ] and ]), and over 40% of the territory lost in 1920. This award did not solve the nationality problem, as over 1.15–1.3 million Romanians (or 48% to more than 50% of the population of the ceded territory) remained in Northern Transylvania while 0.36–0.8 million Hungarians (or 11% to more than 20% of the population) continued to reside in ].<ref>{{cite book|author=Keith Hitchins|author-link=Keith Hitchins|title=Romania|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eKkegAiLtzMC&pg=PA486|year=1994|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=978-0-19-822126-5|pages=486–}}</ref> The Second Vienna Award was voided on 12 September 1944 by the ] through (Article 19), and the 1947 ] reaffirmed the borders between Romania and Hungary as originally defined in the Treaty of Trianon, 27 years earlier, thus confirming the return of Northern Transylvania to Romania.<ref name=Britannica>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Transylvania|url=http://britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/603323/Transylvania|encyclopedia=]|publisher=]|year=2008|access-date=2008-08-01}}</ref>
The ] expansion in the ] brought the Dacians into open conflict with Rome. During the reign of ], the Dacians were engaged in several wars with the Romans (from ] to ]). After two severe reverses, the Romans gained an advantage, but were obliged to make peace owing to the defeat of ] by the ]. As a result, the Dacians were left independent, but had to pay an annual tribute to the Emperor.


From 1947 to 1989, Transylvania, along with the rest of Romania, was ]. The ] between ethnic ] and ] in March 1990 took place after the ] and became the most notable inter-ethnic incident in the post-communist era.
In ]-] ] began a military campaign (Dacian Wars) against the Dacians which included the siege of the Dacian capital Sarmizegetusa and the occupation of part of the country. Decebalus was left as a client king under a Roman ]. Three years later, the Dacians rebelled and destroyed the Roman troops in Dacia. The second campaign (]-]) ended with the suicide of Decebalus and the conversion of parts of Dacia into the Roman province ]. The history of the Dacian Wars is given in ], but the best commentary upon it is the famous ] in ].


<gallery class="center">
=== Early Middle Ages: From Dacia to the Great Migrations ===
File:Sarmisegetusa Regia - Templele patrulatere mici - Zona sacra – Gradistea Muntelui, Muntii Sureanu, Hunedoara, Romania 19.JPG|Ruins of ]
File:Castrum Apulum 2011 - Porta Principalis Dextra-1.jpg|Roman city of ]
File:Lanzedelli - Târg în Transilvania 3.jpg|A market scene in Transylvania, 1818
File:Original_Photo_National_Museum_of_Union-Alba_Iulia.jpg|The National Assembly in ] (December 1, 1918), declaring the ]
</gallery>


==Geography and ethnography==
The Romans exploited the gold mines in the province extensively, building access roads and forts to protect them, like ]. Colonists from ], ], ], ], ], and other Roman provinces were brought in to settle the land, developing cities like Apulum (now ]) and Napoca (now ]) into ]s and ]s.
] seen from the west end, in ]]]
]
]


The ], {{convert|300|to(-)|500|m|ft|abbr=off}} high, is drained by the ], ], ], and ] rivers, as well as other tributaries of the ]. This core of historical Transylvania roughly corresponds with nine counties of modern Romania. The plateau is almost entirely surrounded by the ], ] and ] branches of the ]. The area includes the ]. Other areas to the west and north are widely considered part of Transylvania; in common reference, the Western border of Transylvania has come to be identified with the present Romanian-Hungarian border, settled in the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, although geographically the two are not identical.
The Dacians rebelled frequently, with the biggest rebellion occurring at the death of Trajan. ] and ]s were allowed to settle inside Dacia Trajana after repeated clashes with the roman administration. During the ] increasing pressure from the free Dacians (]) and ] forced the Romans to abandon exposed Dacia Trajana.


Ethnographic areas:
In ], the Roman emperor ] abandoned Dacia Trajana and reorganised a new Dacia Aureliana inside former Moesia Superior.
* Transylvania proper:
The abandonment of Dacia Trajana by the Romans is mentioned by ] in his BREVIARIVM LIBER NONVS.
** ] (Szeben-hegyalja)
** ] (Câmpia Transilvaniei/Mezőség)
** ] (Burzenland/Barcaság)
** {{Interlanguage link multi|Țara Buzaielor|ro}}
** ] (Kalotaszeg)
** ] (Kővár)
** ] (Fogaras)
** ] (Hátszeg)
** {{ill|Țara Hălmagiului|ro}}
** {{ill|Țara Mocanilor|ro}}
** ]
** ] (Nösnerland/Naszód vidéke)
** {{Interlanguage link multi|Țara Silvaniei|ro}}
** {{Interlanguage link multi|Ținutul Pădurenilor|ro}}
** ] (Székelyföld/Székely Land)
* ]
** {{ill|Țara Almăjului|ro}}
* ]
** {{ill|Țara Zarandului|ro}}
* ]
** ] (Avasság)
** {{ill|Țara Lăpușului|ro}} (Lápos-vidék)


==Administrative divisions==
''The province of Dacia, which ] had formed beyond the Danube, he gave up, despairing, after all ] and ] had been depopulated, of being able to retain it. The Roman citizens, removed from the town and lands of ], he settled in the interior of Moesia, calling that Dacia which now divides the two ], and which is on the right hand of the Danube as it runs to the sea, whereas Dacia was previously on the left.''
{{Transylvania Labelled Map|float=right}}
The area of the historical Voivodeship is {{convert|55146|km2|0|abbr=on}}.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228094241/http://romaniatraveltourism.com/node/326 |date=2020-02-28 }} at romaniatraveltourism.com</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}


The regions granted to Romania in 1920 covered 23 counties including nearly {{convert|102200|km2|0|abbr=on}} (102,787–103,093&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> in Hungarian sources and 102,282&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> in contemporary Romanian documents). Nowadays, several administrative reorganisations make the territory cover 16 ] (]: '']''), with an area of {{convert|100290|km2|0|abbr=on}}, in central and northwest Romania.
The former Dacia Trajana province was controlled by the Visigoths and Carpians until they were in turn displaced and subdued by the ] in ]. The Huns, under the leadership of ], established a base in the ] which lasted until Attila's death in ].


The 16 counties are: ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].
After the disintegration of Attila's empire, the territory of Transylvania was controlled by the remnants of various confederates (], ], ]) of Attila's Huns, and the ]. No major power was able to exert control over the region for any great length of time, until the ] from ] established their military leadership. The Avar ] was, however, crushed by the ] under Khan ] at the beginning of the ] and Transylvania, along with eastern ], was incorporated into the ].


Transylvania contains both largely urban counties, such as Brașov and Hunedoara counties, as well as largely rural ones, such as Bistrița-Năsăud and Sălaj counties.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/REZULTATE-DEFINITIVE-RPL_2011.pdf |title=Microsoft Word – REZULTATE DEFINITIVE RPL2011.doc |access-date=2018-04-17 |archive-date=2013-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130717125951/http://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/REZULTATE-DEFINITIVE-RPL_2011.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
According to ], a chronicle dating from the ], the states of ] - ruler of the ]s (]) in Ardeal (Transylvania proper), ] in ], and ] in Byhor (] and ] counties), were defeated by the ] in Transylvania during the ]. Gesta Hungarorum and ] also speak of three rulers called Geula/Gyyla/Gylas in Transylvania. (see ] article). The existence of these leaders is a subject of debate between various historians. According to some recent research, the ] might have retained at least nominal control of parts of the Carpathian Basin until around 1000.


Since 1998, Romania has been divided into eight ], acting as divisions that coordinate and implement socio-economic development at regional level. Six counties (Alba, Brașov, Covasna, Harghita, Mureș and Sibiu) form the ], another six (Bihor, Bistrița-Năsăud, Cluj, Maramureș, Satu Mare, Sălaj) form the ], while four (Arad, Caraș-Severin, Hunedoara, Timiș) form the ].
In ] Catholic missionaries established a church in a fort at the site of the present-day city of ].


== Cities and towns ==
The history of Transylvania during the early ] is difficult to ascertain due to the scarcity of reliable written or archeological evidence. There are two major conflicting theories concerning whether or not the Romanized ] population (the ancestors of the ]) continued to live in Transylvania after the withdrawal of the Romans, and therefore whether or not the Romanians were present in Transylvania at the time of the ], particularly at the time of the ] conquest; see: ].These conflicting hypotheses are often used to back competing ] claims by Hungarian and Romanian ].


{{Largest cities
=== Late Middle Ages: Transylvania as part of the Kingdom of Hungary ===
| country = Romania
| kind = cities of Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș historical regions
| stat_ref = (2021 population by place of residence)
| list_by_pop =
| div_name =
| div_link = Counties of Romania{{!}}County


In ] Stephen, prince of Hungary, swore allegiance to ], and became King ], adopting ] and bringing about the ] of the Magyars. Stephen's maternal uncle ], the ruler of Transylvania, antagonised the new king by giving refuge to his opponents. Gyula also maintained control of the economically important Transylvanian ]s. In ], Stephen led an army into Transylvania and Gyula surrendered without a fight. This made possible the organisation of the Transylvanian Catholic episcopacy which was finished in ] when the bishop of ] as the legate of the ] paid a visit to Stephen; together they approved the division of the dioceses and their boundaries. The authority of the ] over Transylvania was consolidated in the ] and ] centuries.


|city_1 = Cluj-Napoca
The ], a Hungarian-speaking community of uncertain origin, may have entered Transylvania before the Magyars conquered the Carpathian basin. By the 12th century the Szeklers were established in eastern and southeastern Transylvania as border guards.
|div_1 = Cluj County{{!}}Cluj
|pop_1 = 286,598
|img_1 = Biserica romano-catolică "Sfântul Mihail".jpg


|city_2 = Timișoara
In the ] and ] centuries, the areas in the south and northeast were settled by ] colonists called (then and now) ]s. ''Siebenbürgen'', the German name for Transylvania, derives from the seven principal fortified towns founded by these ]. The German influence became more marked when, early in the 13th century, King ] called on the ] to protect Transylvania in the ] from the ], who were followed in ] by the ]. The Cumans ] to Catholicism, and, after they were defeated by the Mongols, looked for refuge in Transylvania; Erzsebet, a Cumanian princess, married ] in ].
|div_2 = Timiș County{{!}}Timiș
|pop_2 = 250,849
|img_2 = Piața Victoriei Timișoara.jpg


The administration of Transylvania was in the hands of a ], who by the mid-13th century controlled the whole region.


|city_3 = Brașov
]
|div_3 = Brașov County{{!}}Brașov
|pop_3 = 237,589
|img_3 = BVCouncilSquare0.jpg


|city_4 = Oradea
], Romania]]
|div_4 = Bihor County{{!}}Bihor
|pop_4 = 183,105
|img_4 = Primăria și Centrul Municipiului Oradea.JPG


|city_5 = Arad, Romania{{!}}Arad
After the suppression of the Budai Nagy Antal-revolt in ], the political system was based on ] (''The Unity of the Three Nations''). Society was divided into three privileged nations, the nobility (mostly ]), the ], and the ] burghers. These nations, however, corresponded more to social and religious rather than ethnic divisions. The Romanians were ], having the right to own land or access to nobility only through conversion to ], thus they were only tolerated by this system. Although the class of ]s consisted mostly of ], it also included people of Saxon, Szekler, and Hungarian origin. On the other hand, a few Romanians succeeded in entering the ranks of the nobility after converting to Catholicism. Romanian culture developed during this period- for instance, the first Romanian book was printed there.
|div_5 = Arad County{{!}}Arad
|pop_5 = 145,078


|city_6 = Sibiu
A key figure to emerge in Transylvania in the first half of the ] was ], who was of a ] ] family. Hunyadi was awarded numerous estates and a seat in the royal council for his services to ], King of ] and ]. After supporting the candidature of ] to the throne of Hungary, he was rewarded in ] with the captaincy of the fortress of Nándorfehérvár (]) and the ] of Transylvania. His subsequent military exploits against the ] brought him further status as the ] of ] in ] and papal recognition as the ] of Transylvania in ]. John Hunyadi was also the father of ].
|div_6 = Sibiu County{{!}}Sibiu
|pop_6 = 134,309


|city_7 = Târgu Mureș
{{clr}}
|div_7 = Mureș County{{!}}Mureș
|pop_7 = 116,033


|city_8 = Baia Mare
=== Transylvania as an independent principality ===
|div_8 = Maramureș County{{!}}Maramureș
|pop_8 = 108,759


|city_9 = Satu Mare
When the main Hungarian army and King ] ] were slain by the Ottomans in the ] (]), ], governor of Transylvania, took advantage of his military strength and put himself at the head of the nationalist Hungarian party, which opposed the succession of Ferdinand of Austria (later ]) to the Hungarian throne. As John I he was elected king of Hungary, while another party recognized Ferdinand. In the ensuing struggle Zapolya received the support of ], who after Zapolya's death in ] overran central Hungary on the pretext of protecting Zapolya's son, John II. Hungary was now divided into three sections: West Hungary, under Austrian rule; central Hungary, under Turkish rule; and semi-independent Transylvania, where Austrian and Turkish influences vied for supremacy for nearly two centuries.
|div_9 = Satu Mare County{{!}}Satu Mare
|pop_9 = 91,520


|city_10 = Bistrița
Transylvania was now beyond the reach of ] religious authority, allowing ] and ] preaching to flourish. In ], ] was appointed as court physician, and his radical religious ideas increasingly influenced both the young king John II and the Calvinist bishop ], eventually converting both to the ] (Unitarian) creed. In a formal public disputation, Francis David prevailed over the Calvinist ]; resulting in ] in the formal adoption of individual freedom of religious expression under the Edict of ] (the first such legal guarantee of religious freedom in Christian Europe).
|div_10 = Bistrița-Năsăud County{{!}}Bistrița-Năsăud
|pop_10 = 78,877


|city_11 = Alba Iulia
The Báthory family, which came to power on the death of John II in ], ruled Transylvania as princes under the Ottomans, and briefly under ] suzerainty, until ].
|div_11 = Alba County{{!}}Alba
|pop_11 = 64,227


|city_12 = Reșița
The younger Stephen Báthory, a Hungarian Catholic who later became King ] of ], undertook to maintain the religious liberty granted by the Edict of Turda, but interpreted this obligation in an increasingly restricted sense. The latter period of Báthory rule saw a four-sided conflict in Transylvania involving the Transylvanians, the ]ns, the Ottomans, and the ] of ], Prince ].
|div_12 = Caraș-Severin County{{!}}Caraș-Severin
|pop_12 = 58,393


|city_13 = Deva, Romania{{!}}Deva
]
|div_13 = Hunedoara County{{!}}Hunedoara
|pop_13 = 53,113


|city_14 = Zalău
] gained control of Transylvania in ] after the ] in which he defeated ]'s army. Báthory was killed by Szeklers who hoped to regain their old privileges with Michael's help. In May ] Michael also gained control of ], uniting the three principalities of Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania (the three main parts of present-day ]). The union did not last long, however, as Michael was assassinated by ] mercenaries under the command of the Habsburg general ] in August ]. Basta finally subdued Transylvania in ] and initiated a reign of terror in which he was authorised to appropriate the land of noblemen, ] the population, and reclaim the principality for Catholicism through the ].
|div_14 = Sălaj County{{!}}Sălaj
|pop_14 = 52,359


|city_15 = Hunedoara
]
|div_15 = Hunedoara County{{!}}Hunedoara
]
|pop_15 = 50,457


|city_16 = Sfântu Gheorghe
From ]-], the ] magnate of ] ] led a successful rebellion against Austrian rule. Bocskai was elected Prince of Transylvania on ] ] and prince of Hungary two months later. The two main achievements of Bocskai's brief reign (he died ], ]) were the Peace of ] (], ]), and the Truce of ] (November ]). By the Peace of Vienna, Bocskai obtained 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 ], as well as his own recognition as independent sovereign prince of an enlarged Transylvania. Almost equally important was the twenty years Truce of Zsitvatorok, negotiated by Bocskai between the emperor and the sultan.
|div_16 = Covasna County{{!}}Covasna
|pop_16 = 50,080


|city_17 = Turda
Under Bocskai's successors Transylvania had its golden age, especially under the reigns of ] and ]. Gabriel Bethlen, who reigned from ] to ], perpetually thwarted all efforts of the emperor to oppress or circumvent his subjects, and won reputation abroad by championing the Protestant cause. Three times he waged war on the emperor, twice he was proclaimed ], and by the ] (], ]) he obtained for the Protestants a confirmation of the Treaty of Vienna, and for himself seven additional counties in northern Hungary. Bethlen's successor, George I Rákóczi, was equally successful. His principal achievement was the Peace of ] (], ]), the last political triumph of Hungarian Protestantism, in which the emperor was forced to confirm again the articles of the Peace of Vienna. Gabriel Bethlen and George I Rákóczi also did much for education and culture, and their era has justly been called the golden era of Transylvania. They lavished money on the embellishment of their capital Gyulafehérvár (], ''Weißenburg''), which became the main bulwark of ]ism in ]. During their reign Transylvania was also one of the few European countries where ]s, ]s, ]s, and ]s lived in mutual tolerance. ] ], however, were denied equal rights. Despite the efforts of ], a Romanian ] bishop, the nation status promised to those Romanians who converted to Catholicism was also not granted.
|div_17 = Cluj County{{!}}Cluj
|pop_17 = 43,319


|city_18 = Mediaș
=== Austrian Rule and the Austro-Hungarian Empire ===
|div_18 = Sibiu County{{!}}Sibiu
|pop_18 = 39,505


|city_19 = Lugoj
After the defeat of the Ottomans at the ] in ], the Habsburgs gradually began to impose their rule on the formerly autonomous Transylvania. Apart from strengthening the central government and administration, the Habsburgs also promoted the Roman Catholic Church, both as a uniting force and also as an instrument to reduce the influence of the Protestant nobility. By creating a conflict between Protestant and Catholic elements, the Habsburgs hoped to weaken the estates. In addition, they tried to persuade Orthodox clergymen to join the ] (Greek Catholic) Church, which accepted four key points of Catholic doctrine and acknowledged papal authority, while still retaining Orthodox rituals and traditions. In ] and ], ] decreed Transylvania's ] to be one with the Roman Catholic Church. Many, but not all, priests converted, although it was not clear to them what the difference was between the two denominations.
|div_19 = Timiș County{{!}}Timiș
|pop_19 = 35,450
From ] onward, Austrian control over Transylvania was consolidated, and the princes of Transylvania were replaced with Austrian governors. The proclamation (]) of Transylvania as a grand principality was a mere formality. The pressure of Austrian bureaucratic rule gradually eroded the traditional independence of Transylvania. In ] the Romanians petitioned ] for recognition as the fourth "nation" of Transylvania and for religious equality, but the Transylvanian ] rejected their demands, restoring the Romanians to their old status.


|city_20 = Miercurea Ciuc
In early ], the Hungarian Diet took the opportunity presented by the ] to enact a comprehensive legislative program of reforms, referred to as the April Laws, which also included provision for the union of Transylvania and Hungary. The Romanians of Transylvania initially welcomed the revolution believing that they would benefit from the liberal reforms. However, their position changed due to the opposition of Transylvanian nobles to reforms such as emancipation of the serfs, and the failure of the Hungarian revolutionary leaders to recognise Romanian national interests. A Romanian national assembly at ] in the middle of May, produced its own revolutionary program calling for proportionate representation of Romanians in the Transylvanian Diet and an end to social and ethnic oppression. The Saxons were worried from the start about the idea of union with Hungary, fearing the loss of their traditional privileges. When the Transylvanian Diet met on ] the vote for union was pushed through despite the objection of many Saxon deputies. On ], the Emperor sanctioned the union vote of the Diet. Military executions, the arrest of revolutionary leaders and other activities which followed the union hardened the position of the Saxons. In September 1848, another Romanian assembly in Blaj denounced union with Hungary and called for an armed rising in Transylvania. Warfare erupted in November with both Romanian and Saxon troops, under Austrian command, battling the Hungarians led by the Polish general ]. Within four months, Bem had ousted the Austrians from Transylvania. However, in June ], Tsar ] responded to an appeal from Emperor ] to send Russian troops into Transylvania. After initial successes against the Russians, Bem's army was defeated decisively at the Battle of Temesvár (]) on ]; the surrender of Hungary followed.
|div_20 = Harghita County{{!}}Harghita
|pop_20 = 34,484
}}


], commonly known as Cluj, is the second most populous city in Romania (as of the 2021 census), after the national capital ], and is the seat of ]. From 1790 to 1848 and from 1861 to 1867, it was the official capital of the ]. ] is an important tourist destination, being the largest city in a mountain resorts area, and a central location, suitable for exploring Romania, with the distances to several tourist destinations (including the ] resorts, the monasteries in northern ], and the wooden churches of ]) being similar.
After quashing the revolution, Austria imposed a repressive regime on Hungary and ruled Transylvania directly through a military governor, with German again becoming the official language. Austria abolished the Union of Three Nations and granted citizenship to the Romanians. Although the former serfs were given land by the Austrian authorities, it was often barely sufficient for subsistence living. These poor conditions obliged many Romanian families to cross into ] and ] searching for better lives. However, in the compromise (]) of ] which established the ], the special status of Transylvania ended and it became a province under Hungarian control. While part of Austria-Hungary, Transylvania's Romanians were oppressed by the Hungarian administration through ]; the German Saxons were also subject to this policy, but not as heavily as were Romanians.


] is one of the most important cultural centres of Romania and was designated the ] for the year 2007, along with the city of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sibiu2007.ro/index_en.php|title=Sibiu Cultural Capital Website|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061015213159/http://www.sibiu2007.ro/index_en.php|archive-date=2006-10-15}}</ref> It was formerly the centre of the ] culture and between 1692 and 1791 and 1849–65 was the capital of the ].
]


], a city located on the ] in Alba County, has since the ] been the seat of Transylvania's ]. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the ] and the later ]. Alba Iulia also has historical importance: after the end of World War I, representatives of the Romanian population of Transylvania gathered in Alba Iulia on 1 December 1918 to proclaim the ] with the ]. In Transylvania, there are many medieval smaller towns such as ], ], ], and ].
During this historical period, when Transylvania was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire under Hungarian administration, "Transylvania proper" consisted of a 15-county (]: megye) region, covering 54,400 km&sup2; in the southeast of the former ]. The former Hungarian counties were ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. Today, Transylvania proper includes only 9 of the aforementioned 16 Romanian counties: ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. In addition to Transylvania proper, modern Transylvania includes part of the ], part of the ], and the former ].


<gallery class="center">
{{clr}}
File:Cluj-Napoca_(Biserica_Romano-Catolică_Sfântul_Mihail).jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Kolozsvár}}, {{langx|de|Klausenburg}})
File:Brasov, Romania (26523347959).jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Brassó}}, {{langx|de|Kronstadt}})
File:Sibiu 200811 800px.jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Nagyszeben}}, {{langx|de|Hermannstadt}})
File:Arad City Hall (30112380741).jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Arad}}, {{langx|de|Arad}})
File:Cetatea_Alba_Iulia_din_aer_toamna.jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Gyulafehérvár}}, {{langx|de|Karlsburg}}) defense wall of ]
File:Palatul Culturii (Targu Mures).jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Marosvásárhely}}, {{langx|de|Neumarkt am Mieresch}})
File:Timisoara - Catholic Dome in Union Square.jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Temesvár}}, {{langx|de|Temeschburg}})
File:Primăria și Centrul Municipiului Oradea.JPG|] ({{langx|hu|Nagyvárad}}, {{langx|de|Großwardein}})
File:Sighisoara. Biserica din deal.jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Segesvár}}, {{langx|de|Schäßburg}})
File:Biserica Sfânta Margareta.jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Medgyes}}, {{langx|de|Mediasch}})
File:Bistrița de sus.jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Beszterce}}, {{langx|de|Bistritz}})
File:Sebes evangelical church 3.JPG|] ({{langx|hu|Szászsebes}}, {{langx|de|Mülbach}})
File:Centrul Vechi Baia Mare.jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Nagybánya}}, {{langx|de|Frauenbach}})
File:Dévai vármegyeház.jpeg|] ({{langx|hu|Déva}}, {{langx|de|Diemrich}})
File:Miercurea_Ciuc_2010,_The_Petőfi_Street.jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Csíkszereda}}, {{langx|de|Szeklerburg}})
File:2011-IMG 4425.jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Torda}}, {{langx|de|Thorenburg}})
File:Sepsiszentgyorgyi reformatus vartemplom.jpg|] ({{langx|hu|Sepsiszentgyörgy}}, {{langx|de|Gergen}})
File:Aiud-Turnul dogarilor si biserica reformata-2.JPG|Aiud Citadel in ] ({{langx|hu|Nagyenyed}}, {{langx|de|Straßburg am Mieresch}})
</gallery>


==Population==
=== Transylvania as part of Romania ===
{{See also|Demographics of Romania}}
Although ] was a ], ] refused to join the ] and stayed neutral when the ] began. In ] Romania joined the ] by signing the Military Convention with the ], which recognised Romania's rights over Transylvania. As a consequence of the Convention, Romania declared war against the ] on ] ], and crossed the ] into Transylvania, thus forcing the Central Powers to fight on yet another front. A German-]n counter-offensive began the following month in ] and in the Carpathians, driving the Romanian army back into Romania by mid-October and eventually leading to the capture of ]. The exit of Russia from the war in March ] in the ] left Romania alone in Eastern Europe, and a peace treaty between Romania and Germany was negotiated in May 1918. However, the resulting ], never ratified in Romania, was denounced in October 1918 by the Romanian government, which then re-entered the war on the ] side. The Romanian Army advanced to the ] in Transylvania.


===Historical population===
By mid-1918 the Central Powers were losing the war, and the ] empire had begun to disintegrate. The nations living inside Austria-Hungary proclaimed their independence from the empire during September and October 1918. The leaders of Transylvania's National Party met and drafted a resolution invoking the right of self-determination (]) of Transylvania's Romanian people, and proclaimed the unification of Transylvania with Romania. In November, the ], which represented all the Romanians of Transylvania, notified the Budapest government that it had assumed control of twenty-three Transylvanian counties and parts of three others. A mass assembly on 1st of December 1918 in ] passed a resolution calling for unification of all Romanians in a single state. The National Council of the Germans from Transylvania approved the Proclamation, as did the Council of the ] from the ]. In response, the Hungarian General Assembly of ] reaffirmed the loyalty of Hungarians from Transylvania to Hungary on ] 1918.
{{See also|History of Transylvania#Historical population|Hungarian minority in Romania|Székelys|Transylvanian Saxons|List of Transylvanians}}
], 1910.]]
Official censuses with information on Transylvania's population have been conducted since the 18th century. On May 1, 1784 the Emperor ] called for the first official census of the ], including Transylvania. The data was published in 1787, and this census showed only the overall population (1,440,986 inhabitants).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hungarian-history.hu/lib/transy/transy03.htm |title=www.hungarian-history.hu |access-date=2017-07-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202185918/http://www.hungarian-history.hu/lib/transy/transy03.htm |archive-date=2017-02-02 }}</ref> ], a 19th-century Hungarian statistician, estimated in 1842 that in the population of Transylvania for the years 1830–1840 the majority were 62.3% ] and 23.3% ].<ref>Elek Fényes, ''Magyarország statistikája'', Vol. 1, Trattner-Károlyi, Pest. VII, 1842</ref>


In the last quarter of the 19th century, the Hungarian population of Transylvania increased from 24.9% in 1869 to 31.6%, as indicated in the 1910 Hungarian census (the majority of the ] reported Hungarian as their primary language, so they were also counted as ethnically Hungarian in the 1910 census). At the same time, the percentage of the Romanian population decreased from 59.0% to 53.8% and the percentage of the German population decreased from 11.9% to 10.7%, for a total population of 5,262,495. ] policies greatly contributed to this shift.<ref name="ia">{{cite journal|title=The Problem of Treaty Revision and the Hungarian Frontiers|journal=International Affairs|year=1933|first=Robert William|last=Seton-Watson|volume=12|issue=4|pages=481–503 |doi=10.2307/2603603|jstor=2603603}}</ref>
In December 1918 the Romanian army was stationed on the Mureş river, but crossed the demarcation zone and advanced up to Cluj and then up to ], after making a request to the Powers of Versailles on the grounds of protecting the Romanians in Transylvania. In February 1919, the escalating violence in the area - ] elements were making efforts to spread the "Bolshevik Revolution" - led to the creation of a Neutral Zone between Romania and Hungary.


The percentage of the Romanian majority has significantly increased since the declaration of the union of Transylvania with Romania after World War I in 1918. The proportion of Hungarians in Transylvania was in steep decline as more of the region's inhabitants moved into urban areas, where the pressure to assimilate and Romanianize was greater.<ref name="Varga"/> The expropriation of the estates of Magyar ]s, the distribution of the lands to the Romanian peasants, and the policy of cultural ] that followed the ] were major causes of friction between Hungary and Romania.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Transylvania|url=http://www.bartleby.com/65/tr/Transylv.html|encyclopedia=]|access-date=2008-11-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905190712/http://bartleby.com/65/tr/Transylv.html|archive-date=2008-09-05}}</ref> Other factors include the emigration of non-Romanian peoples, assimilation and internal migration within Romania (estimates show that between 1945 and 1977, some 630,000 people moved from the ] to Transylvania, and 280,000 from Transylvania to the Old Kingdom, most notably to ]).<ref name="Varga"/>
The Prime Minister of the newly proclaimed independent Republic of Hungary resigned in March 1919, refusing to officially recognize the ] which placed Transylvania under the sovereignty of Romania. When the ] of ], led by ], came to power in March 1919 it proclaimed the ] and after promising that Hungary would regain the lands that were under its control during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it decided to attack ] and Romania. The Hungarian Army began the offensive in Transylvania in April 1919 along the ], and Mureş rivers. A Romanian counter-offensive pushed forward to reach - and halt at - the ] River in May. A new Hungarian offensive in July penetrated 60 km into Romanian lines before a further Romanian counter-offensive led to the occupation of the Hungarian capital ] in August, putting an end to the Hungarian Soviet Republic. The Romanian army withdrew from Hungary between October 1919 and March 1920.


=== Current population ===
The ], formally signed in June 1919, recognised the sovereignty of ] over Transylvania. The Treaties of ] (1919) and ] (signed on June ]) further elaborated the status of Transylvania and defined the new border between the states of Hungary and Romania. ] and ] were crowned at ] in the year ].


According to the results of the ], the total population of Transylvania was 6,789,250 inhabitants and the ethnic groups were: Romanians – 70.62%, Hungarians – 17.92%, Roma – 3.99%, Ukrainians – 0.63%, Germans (mostly Transylvanian Saxons and Banat Swabians, but also Zipsers, Sathmar Swabians, or Landlers) – 0.49%, other – 0.77%. Some 378,298 inhabitants (5.58%) have not declared their ethnicity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.recensamantromania.ro/rezultate-2 |title=RPL 2011 – VOLUMUL I: POPULAŢIA STABILĂ (REZIDENTĂ) – STRUCTURA DEMOGRAFICĂ, Table no. 7 |website=recensamantromania.ro}}</ref> The ethnic Hungarian population of Transylvania form a majority in the counties of ] (73.6%) and ] (84.8%). The Hungarians are also numerous in the following counties: Mureș (37.8%), Satu Mare (34.5%), Bihor (25.2%), and Sălaj (23.2%).
In August ], during the ], ] gave the northern half of Transylvania to ] by the second ]. The ] (]) after the end of the ] rendered the ], and the territory of northern Transylvania was returned to ]. The post-WWII borders with ], agreed on at the ] were identical with those set out in ].


=== Historical population === == Economy ==

], now repurposed as a tourist attraction]]
]

Transylvania is rich in mineral resources, notably ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Transylvania's GDP (nominal) is $194 billion and its GDP per capita measures around $28,574.{{when|date=October 2022}} Transylvania's Human Development Index is ranked 0.829, which makes Transylvania the 2nd most developed region in Romania after ] and makes it comparable to countries like the Czech Republic, Poland and Estonia.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

There are large iron and ], chemical, and ] industries. Stock raising, ], ] production and fruit growing are important occupations. Agriculture is widespread in the ], including growing cereals, vegetables, viticulture and breeding cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry. ] is another valuable resource.

], ] and ] industries are important in urban and university centers like ] (], ]), ] (], ] and ]), ], ], ] and ]. The cities of ] and ] are connected with a strong ] tradition, and according to the same classifications top performance hospitals exist there.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ms.ro/upload/CLASIFICAREA%20SPITALELOR-1.pdf |title=Clasificarea spitalelor |access-date=2016-01-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035718/http://www.ms.ro/upload/CLASIFICAREA%20SPITALELOR-1.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 }}</ref>

Native brands include: ] of ] (trucks and buses), ] of ] (fertilizers), ] of ] (pharmaceuticals), ] of ] (finance), ] and ] of ] (natural gas), ] of ] (alcoholic beverages), ] of ] (alcoholic beverages), the state owned ],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://romarm.ro/en/informatii-despre-companie/exhibitions/subsidiaries-sub2/ | title=ROMARM &#124; National Defense Company in Romania &#124; call us 40213171971 }}</ref> and others.

The ], located in the south of ], has been a major ] throughout the second half of the 19th century and the 20th century, but many mines were closed down in the years following the collapse of the communist regime, forcing the region to diversify its economy.

During the Second World War, Transylvania (the Southern/Romanian half, as the region was divided during the war) was crucial to the Romanian defense industry. Transylvanian factories built until 1945 over 1,000 warplanes and over 1,000 artillery pieces of all types, among ].<ref>Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, ''Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945'', pp. 29-30, 75, 149, 222-227 and 239-272</ref>

==Culture==
], Romanian poet, translator, teacher, and journalist, best known for his verses describing, praising and eulogizing rural life]]
The culture of Transylvania is complex because of its varied history and longstanding multiculturalism, which has incorporated significant Hungarian (see ]) and German (see ]) influences.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itcnet.ro/folk_festival/culture.htm |title=Cultura |date=2007-12-31 |access-date=2016-05-08 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231125142/http://www.itcnet.ro/folk_festival/culture.htm |archive-date=December 31, 2007 }}</ref>

The region was the birthplace of the ] movement, its members, namely ], ], and ], being responsible for the early version of ].<ref></ref>

With regard to architecture, the Transylvanian ] is preserved to this day in monuments such as the ] in ] (14th and 15th centuries) and a number of other ], as well as the ] in ] (14th century), and the ] in ] (15th century).

Notable writers such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] were born in Transylvania. Liviu Rebreanu wrote the novel ''Ion'', which introduces the reader to a depiction of the life of Romanian peasants and intellectuals of Transylvania at the turn of the 20th century. Károly Kós was one of the most important writers supporting the movement of ].

== Religion ==
Transylvania has a very rich and unique religious history. Since the ], different Christian denominations have coexisted in this religious melting pot, including ], other ], ] and ], ], ], and ] branches. ] is the largest religion, but other faiths also are present, including ] and ]. Under the ], Transylvania served as a place for "religious undesirables". People who arrived in Transylvania included those that did not conform to the ] and were sent here forcibly, as well as many religious refugees. Transylvania has a long history of religious tolerance, ensured by its religious pluralism.


Transylvania has also been (and still is) a center for Christian denominations other than ], the form of Christianity that most Romanians currently follow. As such, there are significant numbers of inhabitants of Transylvania that follow ] and ], and ]. Even though before 1948, the population of Transylvania split between Eastern Orthodox, Greek Catholic and other forms of Christianity, during the Communist Period the Orthodox Church was much more favored by the state which has led to Eastern Orthodoxy being the religion of the majority of Transylvanians.<ref name="poperamet">Earl A. Pope, "Protestantism in Romania", in Sabrina Petra Ramet (ed.), ''Protestantism and Politics in Eastern Europe and Russia: The Communist and Postcommunist Eras'', ], Durham, 1992, p.158-160. {{ISBN|0-8223-1241-7}}</ref><ref>. cnewa.org</ref> However, among the Hungarian and German minorities only a small part are Eastern Orthodox. The main two religions of the Hungarian minority are Reformed (Calvinism) and Roman Catholicism;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nyugatijelen.com/allaspont/reszleges_kozossegi_radiografia_1.php|title=Részleges közösségi radiográfia|language=ro|work=Nyugati Jelen|access-date=19 March 2023|date=19 January 2023|author=Chirmiciu András|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032617/https://www.nyugatijelen.com/allaspont/reszleges_kozossegi_radiografia_1.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> among Germans the main religions are Roman Catholicism (slightly over half of ]), followed by Lutheranism and Eastern Orthodox.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Date-provizorii-RPL_cu-anexe_30122022.pdf|title=Primele date provizorii pentru Recensământul Populației și Locuințelor, runda 2021|language=ro|website=recensamantromania.ro|access-date=19 March 2023}}</ref> There are also ] and ], particularly in Banat and Crișana. ], located in ] is the only university in ] that has four faculties of ] (Orthodox, Reformed, Roman Catholic, and Greek Catholic).<ref>{{cite book |url=http://admitere.ubbcluj.ro/ro/info/brosuri/ |title=Ghidul studentului din Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai |page=5 |website=Admitere.ubbcluj.ro |access-date=2016-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426170927/http://admitere.ubbcluj.ro/ro/info/brosuri |archive-date=2016-04-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
]
{| class="wikitable" border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="border-collapse:collapse;" {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!Year||Total||Romanians||Hungarians||Germans
|- |-
! || colspan=2 | 1930 ||colspan=2 | 2011
|1869|| 4,224,436 ||59%||25%||9.5%
|- |-
! Denomination
|1880||4,032,851||57%||26%||9.0%
| Number || Percent
| Number || Percent
|- |-
| ]
|1890||4,429,564||56%||27.1%||12.5%
| 1,933,589 || 34.85
| 4,478,532 || 65.96
|- |-
| ]
|1900||4,840,722||55%||29.5%%||11.9%
| 1,385,017 || 24.96
| 142,862 || 2.10
|- |-
| ]
|1910||5,262,495||53.7%||31.6%||10.7%
| 946,100 || 17.05
| 632,948 || 9.32
|- |-
| ]
|1919||5,259,918||57.1%||26.5%||9.8%
| 1,038,464 || 18.72
| 675,107 || 9.34
|- |-
| ]
|1920||5,208,345||57.3%||25.5%||10.6%
| 37,061 || 0.66
|-
| 339,472 || 4.70
|1930||5,114,214||58.3%||26.7%||9.7%
|-
|1941||5,548,363||55.9%||29.5%||9%
|-
|1948||5,761,127||65.1%||25.7%||5.8%
|-
|1956||6,232,312||65.5%||25.9%||6%
|-
|1966||6,736,046||68%||24.2%||5.6%
|-
|1977||7,500,229||69.4%||22.6%||4.6%
|-
|1992||7,723,313||75.3%||21%||1.2%
|} |}
There are also small denominations like ], ] and more.


'''<u>Others</u>'''
]
* Nowadays, there is a very small number of Muslims (]) and Jews (]), but back in 1930, with 191,877 inhabitants, Jews represented 3.46% of Transylvania's population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etnosfera.ro/pdf/2009/2/04.pdf|title=Situatia demografica a cultelor dupa 1918|access-date=2018-04-16|archive-date=2017-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215064621/http://www.etnosfera.ro/pdf/2009/2/04.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Atheists, agnostics and unaffiliated account for 0.27% of Transylvania's population.
''Data refers to extended Transylvania (with ], ] and ]).''<ref>{{cite web| url = http://dspace.bcucluj.ro/bitstream/123456789/64159/1/BCUCLUJ_FP_186593_1937-1938.pdf| title = Anuarul statistic al Romaniei, 1937 si 1938}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.recensamantromania.ro/rezultate-2/ |title=Populația stabilă după religie – județe, municipii, orașe, comune |work=Institutul Național de Statistică}}</ref>


== Tourist attractions ==
=== Coat of Arms of Transylvania ===


] ({{langx|hu|Déva vára}}, {{langx|de|Diemricher Burg}})]]
The Coat of Arms of Transylvania has three parts:
], ] ({{langx|hu|Vajdahunyad}}, {{langx|de|Eisenmarkt}})]]
], ] ({{langx|hu|Barcarozsnyó}}, {{langx|de|Rosenau}})]]
], ] ({{langx|hu|Berethalom}}, {{langx|de|Birthälm}})]]
], ] ({{langx|hu|Törcsvár}}, {{langx|de|Die Törzburg}})]]
]]]


* ], also known as ]'s Castle
* a ] (a bearded vulture representing the medieval nobility) with the Sun and the Moon (both representing the ]) on a blue background
* ]
* a red dividing band
* The very well preserved medieval towns of ], ] (] 2015), ] (] in 2007), ], and ] (] and alleged birthplace of ])
* seven red towers on a yellow background representing the seven castles of the ]
* The city of ] and the nearby ] ski resort
* The town of ] with the 14th century ]
* The citadel and the ] city centre of ]
* The ], the oldest church in Romania that still holds services<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.romanianmonasteries.org/other-monasteries/densus |title=Travel to Romania – Densuș Church (Hunedoara) |publisher=Romanianmonasteries.org |date=2006-05-31 |access-date=2012-07-30}}</ref>
* The ], including ] (])
* The Roman forts including ], ], ], ], and ]
* The ] (also known as Lake Ghilcoș)
* The ] ]
* The ] in ]
* The ] region
** The ] (the only one of that kind in the world)
** The ] (])
** The cities of ] and ]
** The villages in the ], ], and ] valleys
* ] (])
* The ]:
** ]
** The ]<ref name=itsromania.com>{{cite web |url=http://www.itsromania.com/apuseni-caves.html |title=Apuseni Caves |publisher=Itsromania.com |access-date=2012-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316120700/http://www.itsromania.com/apuseni-caves.html |archive-date=2012-03-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
** ] in ], the third largest glacier cave in the world<ref name=itsromania.com/>
* The ]
* The ] Salt Mine: according to Business Insider, it is one of the ten "coolest underground places in the world".
* The ] hiking and biking trail


=== Festivals and events ===
Note. The Diet of Transylvania made in 1659 the coat of arms, the furnitures being dealt between the privileged nations: the emerging aquila was decided to be symbolizing the ], the seven boroughs the ] and the moon and sun the ]. The ] proposal to include a representation of ] on the coat was not accepted. Anyway the only aborigines in Transylvania did not have a representation of their own.


===See also=== ==== Film festivals ====
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]


* ], ] – Romania's biggest film festival
==Tourist attractions==
* ], Cluj-Napoca
* ], Cluj-Napoca
* Humor Film Festival, ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timisoreni.ro/despre/zilele_filmului_de_umor/|title=Zilele Filmului de Umor 2014|work=timisoreni.ro|access-date=25 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-film-17557648-noua-editie-zilelor-filmului-umor-timisoara.htm|title=O nouă ediție a Zilelor Filmului de Umor la Timișoara|work=HotNewsRo|date=26 June 2014|access-date=25 January 2015}}</ref>


==== Music festivals ====
* The ] cities of ], ], ], and ]
* The city of ] and the nearby ] ski resort
* The city of ] with the ] ]
* The ] of the ] area
* The ], including (]
* ]


* ], ]
==Culture==
* ], ]
* ], ] ], ], and ]
* ], Târgu-Mureș
* ], ] ] born in Kolozsvár (today ])
* ], Cluj-Napoca – Romania's biggest music festival
* ], ] and ]
* ], Cluj-Napoca
* ], Romanian revolutionary
* ], Sibiu
* ] - in the Western world, Transylvania is famously the home of ]'s ].
* Rockstadt Extreme Fest, ]
* ], Bontida, Cluj-Napoca

==== Others ====

* ], Sighișoara
* ]
* Festivalul Medieval Cetăți Transilvane Sibiu

== Historical coat of arms of Transylvania ==

{{Main|Coat of arms of Transylvania}}

]

The first heraldic representations of Transylvania date from the 16th century. The ] of 1659 codified the representation of the privileged nations (] (Union of the Three Nations)) in ]. It depicted a black eagle (]) on a blue background, representing the ], the Sun and the Moon representing the ], and seven red towers on a yellow background representing the ] of the ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ströhl |first=Hugo Gerard |url=http://www.austria-lexikon.at/attach/Wissenssammlungen/Symbole/Wappenrolle_Str%C3%B6hl_1890/Wappenrolle_1890_Text.pdf |title=Oesterreichish-Ungarische Wappenrolle |publisher=Verlag vom Anton Schroll & Co |year=1890 |location=Vienna |page=XV |author-link=Hugo Gerard Ströhl |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref> The ] were granted by Queen ] in 1765, when she established a ] within the ].

In 1596, ] created a coat of arms for Transylvania, consisting of a shield with a rising eagle in the upper field and seven hills with towers on top in the lower field. He published it in his work "''Chronologia''", issued in ] the same year.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hulsius |first=Levinus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bsA9AAAAcAAJ |title=Chronologia in qua provinciae... |year=1596 |location=Nuremberg |language=Latin}}</ref> The seal from 1597 of ], ], reproduced the new coat of arms with some slight changes: in the upper field the eagle was flanked by a sun and a moon and in the lower field the hills were replaced by simple towers. The coat of arms of ] beside the coat of arms of the ], included the Transylvanian, Wallachia and Moldavian coat of arms, he used the title ], ] and ]. A short-lived heraldic representation of Transylvania is found on the seal of ]. Besides the Wallachian eagle and the ], Transylvania is represented by two lions holding a sword standing on seven hills. Hungarian ] used the symbols of the ] usually with the ] since the 16th century because ] maintained their claims to the throne of the ].

While neither symbol has official status in present-day ], the ] is marshalled within the national ], it was also a component of the ].

<gallery class="center">
File:Coa Transylvania Country History v4.svg|Coat of arms of Transylvania by ] (1596)
File:SigismundBathory1597.jpg|Coat of arm of ], Prince of Transylvania (1586–1598, 1598–1599, 1601–1602)
File:Stema Mihai Viteazul.jpg|Seal of ] during his personal union of ], ] and Transylvania (1599–1600)
File:COA Bathory Zsofia.jpg|Coat of arms of ], ] (1642–1657, 1657–1658, 1659–1660)
File:Coat of arms of Transilvania in Stematographia.jpg|Coat of arms of Transylvania by ] (1741)
File:Wappen Großfürstentum Siebenbürgen.png|Coat of arms of Transylvania by ]
File:Erdely-Cimere-1765.jpg|Coat of arms of Transylvania (1765)
File:Kreisregierung Vorarlberg.jpg|Coat of arms of Transylvania in an ] coat of arms (1850)
File:Coa Hungary Country History Mid (1867).svg|alt=kingdom hungary 1867|Coat of arms of Transylvania in the coat of arms of the ] (1867–1915)
File:Wappen Ungarische Länder 1867 (Mittel).png|Coat of arms of Transylvania in the coat of arms of the ] (1867–1915)
File:Wappen Ungarische Länder 1915 (Mittel).png|Coat of arms of Transylvania in the coat of arms of the ] (1915–1918)
File:Kingdom of Romania - Medium CoA.svg|Coat of arms of Transylvania in the coat of arms of the ] (1921–1947)
File:Coat of arms of Romania.svg|Coat of arms of Transylvania in the coat of arms of ] (2016)
</gallery>

==In popular culture==
{{Main|Transylvania in popular culture}}
] as ]]]

Following the publication of ]'s ''The Land Beyond the Forest'' (1888), ] wrote his ] novel '']'' in 1897, using Transylvania as a setting. With its success, Transylvania became associated in the English- and Spanish-speaking world with ]s. Among the first actors to portray ] ] was ], who was born in Lugos (now ]), in present-day Romania. There is also an American animated movie franchise called '']'', which plays on the association of Transylvania and Dracula.

Transylvania has also been represented in fiction and literature as a land of mystery and magic. For example, in ]'s novel '']'', the main character, Sherine Khalil, is described as a Transylvanian orphan with a ] mother, in an effort to add to the character's exotic mystique.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} The so-called Transylvanian trilogy of historical novels by ], ''The Writing on the Wall'', is an extended treatment of the 19th- and early 20th-century social and political history of the country. The Principality of Transylvania is also a playable nation in '']''.

== See also ==

* ]
* ], an unofficial anthem of Transylvania and the anthem of the ]
* ]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==


{{reflist}}
==References==
* {{1911}}


== Further reading ==
==External links==
* - about contemporary Transylvania
*, Klaus Popa, Germany
*, Alina Mungiu Pippidi, Bucharest, Romania
*, Katherine Lovatt, in Central Europe Review, Vol 1, No 14 27 September 1999.
*, Klaus Popa, Germany
*, Dr. Konrad Gündisch, Oldenburg, Germany
*
*


* ], ''Erdély történetének atlasza'' (''Historical Atlas of Transylvania''), with text and 102 map plates, the first ever historical atlas of Transylvania (Méry Ratio, 2011; {{ISBN|978-80-89286-45-4}})
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Transylvania|volume=27|pages=210–211}}
* Zoltán Farkas and Judit Sós,
* ], '']'' (New York Review of Books Classics, 2005; {{ISBN|1-59017-166-7}}). Fermor travelled across Transylvania in the summer of 1934, and wrote about it in this account first published more than 50 years later, in 1986.
* {{Cite book|last1=Pop|first1=Ioan-Aurel|last2=Nägler|first2=Thomas|last3=Magyari|first3=András|title=The History of Transylvania, vol. I–III|publisher=Romanian Academy, Center for Transylvanian Studies – Romanian Cultural Institute|location=Cluj-Napoca|year=2018|isbn=978-606-8694-78-8}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Köpeczi|first1=Béla|last2=Makkai|first2=László|last3=Mócsy|first3=András|title=History of Transylvania|publisher=Atlantic Research and Publications|location=New Jersey|year=1994|isbn=963-05-6703-2|language=en|volume=I-III|url=https://mek.oszk.hu/03400/03407/html/index.html|last4=Szász|first4=Zoltán|translator-last=Kovrig|translator-first=Benett}}


== External links ==


{{wikivoyage}}
{{Romanian_historical_regions}}
{{Commons category|Transylvania}}
*
* {{usurped|1=}}, Katherine Lovatt, in ''Central Europe Review'', Vol. 1, No. 14, 27 September 1999.
* by Dr. Konrad Gündisch, Oldenburg, Germany
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505040138/http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/boner/toc_pag.shtml |date=2018-05-05 }}, by ], 1865
* {{in lang|hu}}


{{Romanian historical regions}}
]
{{Authority control}}
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{{Coord|46.5|N|25|E|display=title}}


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Latest revision as of 09:22, 5 January 2025

Historical region in Central Europe For other uses, see Transylvania (disambiguation). "Siebenbürgen" redirects here. For the band, see Siebenbürgen (band). Not to be confused with Transnistria.
TransylvaniaTransilvania / Ardeal (Romanian)
Erdély (Hungarian)
Siebenbürgen (German)
Siweberjen (Transylvanian Saxon)
Flag of Transylvania Flag Coat of arms of Transylvania Coat of arms
  Transylvania  Banat, Crișana and Maramureș  Bukovina, Dobruja, Moldavia, Muntenia, and Oltenia
Largest cityCluj-Napoca
Official languagesRomanian
Recognised minority
languages
See here
Ethnic groups (2021)
Religion (2021)
Demonym(s)Transylvanian
Establishment history
Area
• Total100,390 km (38,760 sq mi) (106th)
• Water (%)3
Population
• January 2023 estimate6,478,126 (107th)
• 2021 censusNeutral decrease 6,461,780
• Density64.5/km (167.1/sq mi) (122nd)
GDP (PPP)estimate
• Per capitaIncrease $41,633
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• TotalIncrease $194.00 billion (57th)
• Per capitaIncrease $28,574 (39th)
HDI (2022)Increase 0.829
very high (33rd)
CurrencyRomanian leu (RON)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Date formatdd.mm.yyyy (AD)
Drives onRight
Calling code+40
ISO 3166 codeRO
Internet TLD.ro
  1. Also .eu, shared with other European Union member states.

Transylvania (Romanian: Transilvania [transilˈvani.a] or Ardeal; or Hungarian: Erdély [ˈɛrdeːj]; German: Siebenbürgen [ˌziːbm̩ˈbʏʁɡn̩] or Transsilvanien, historically Überwald; Transylvanian Saxon: Siweberjen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains and to the west the Apuseni Mountains. Broader definitions of Transylvania also include the western and northwestern Romanian regions of Crișana and Maramureș, and occasionally Banat. Historical Transylvania also includes small parts of neighbouring Western Moldavia and even a small part of south-western neighbouring Bukovina to its north east (represented by Suceava County).

Transylvania is known for the scenery of its Carpathian landscape and its rich history, coupled with its multi-cultural character. It also contains Romania's second-largest city, Cluj-Napoca, and other very well preserved medieval iconic cities and towns such as Brașov, Sibiu, Târgu Mureș, Bistrița, Alba Iulia, Mediaș, and Sighișoara. It is also the home of some of Romania's UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Villages with fortified churches, the Historic Centre of Sighișoara, the Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains and the Roșia Montană Mining Cultural Landscape.

It was under the rule of the Agathyrsi, part of the Dacian Kingdom (168 BC – 106 AD), Roman Dacia (106–271), the Goths, the Hunnic Empire (4th–5th centuries), the Kingdom of the Gepids (5th–6th centuries), the Avar Khaganate (6th–9th centuries), the Slavs, and the 9th century First Bulgarian Empire. During the late 9th century, Transylvania was reached and conquered by the Hungarian tribes, and Gyula's family from the seven chieftains of the Hungarians ruled it in the 10th century. King Stephen I of Hungary asserted his claim to rule all lands dominated by Hungarian lords. He personally led his army against his maternal uncle Gyula III and Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1002.

After the Battle of Mohács in 1526 it belonged to the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, from which the Principality of Transylvania emerged in 1570 by the Treaty of Speyer. During most of the 16th and 17th centuries, the principality was a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire; however, the principality had dual suzerainty (Ottoman and Habsburg).

In 1690, the Habsburg monarchy gained possession of Transylvania through the Hungarian crown. After the failure of Rákóczi's War of Independence in 1711, Habsburg control of Transylvania was consolidated, and Hungarian Transylvanian princes were replaced with Habsburg imperial governors. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian government proclaimed union with Transylvania in the April Laws of 1848. After the failure of the revolution, the March Constitution of Austria decreed that the Principality of Transylvania be a separate crown land entirely independent of Hungary. The separate status of Transylvania ended with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, and it was reincorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary (Transleithania) as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was also during this period that Romanians experienced the awakening of self-consciousness as a nation, manifested in cultural and ideological movements such as Transylvanian School, and drafted political petitions such as Supplex Libellus Valachorum. After World War I, the National Assembly of Romanians from Transylvania proclaimed the Union of Transylvania with Romania on 1 December 1918, and Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Romania by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. In 1940, Northern Transylvania reverted to Hungary as a result of the Second Vienna Award, but it was returned to Romania after the end of World War II.

In popular culture, Transylvania is commonly associated with vampires because of the influence of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula and the many subsequent books and films that the story has inspired. Many Transylvanian Saxons were furious with Vlad the Impaler for strengthening the borders of Wallachia, which interfered with their control of trade routes, and his extreme sadism and barbarity, which by a collection of credible historical accounts of diverse origins, most of which were non-Saxon, led to the industrial-scale execution of over 100,000 people by impaling, some of whom were Saxons. The victims were often arranged in grotesque displays intended to terrorize various groups, including the Saxons. In retaliation, the Saxons distributed poems of cruelty and other propaganda characterising the sadistic Vlad III Dracula as a drinker of blood.

Etymology

Main article: Historical names of Transylvania

The earliest known reference to Transylvania appears in a Medieval Latin document of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1078 as ultra silvam, meaning "beyond the forest" (ultra meaning "beyond" or "on the far side of" and the accusative case of Sylva (sylvam) "woods, forest"). Transylvania, with an alternative Latin prepositional prefix, means "on the other side of the woods". The Medieval Latin form Ultrasylvania, later Transylvania, was a direct translation from the Hungarian form Erdő-elve, later Erdély, from which also the Romanian name, Ardeal, comes. That also was used as an alternative name in German überwald ("beyond the forest") (13th–14th centuries) and Ukrainian Залісся (Zalissia).

Historical names of Transylvania are:

  • The German name Siebenbürgen means "seven castles", after the seven (ethnic German) Transylvanian Saxons' cities in the region. This is also the origin of the region's name in many other languages, such as the Croatian Sedmogradska, the Bulgarian Седмиградско (Sedmigradsko), Polish Siedmiogród, Yiddish זיבנבערגן (Zibnbergn), and Ukrainian Семигород (Semyhorod).
  • The Hungarian form Erdély was first mentioned in the 12th-century Gesta Hungarorum as Erdeuleu (in modern script Erdeüleü) or Erdő-elve. The word erdő means forest in Hungarian, and the word elve denotes a region in connection with this, similarly to the Hungarian name for Muntenia (Havas-elve, or land lying ahead of the snow-capped mountains). Erdel, Erdil, Erdelistan are derived from Hungarian Erdély.
  • An occurrence of the form Ardeliu in a Church Slavonic document written by a Romanian chancellery is attested in 1432. The Romanian Ardeal is derived from the Hungarian Erdély.

History

Main article: History of Transylvania
Map of Dacia under Burebista

The first known civilization to inhabit the territory was the Agathyrsi, of the Scythic cultures. From the 4th century BC, Celtic La Tène culture came to domination. The indigenous Dacian tribes engaged in politics from the 1st century BC and united under King Burebista, forming their kingdom Dacia.

The Roman Empire made heavy efforts to seize the territory from King Decebalus, resulting in the formation of Roman Dacia in 106, after Trajan's costly and bloody wars. During Roman rule, the territory, depleted of its indigenous population, was repopulated with Latin colonists and its rich resource stock was systematically exploited. However, the growing threat of East Germanic and Carpic invasions made Emperor Aurelian withdraw his legions and evacuate the citizens south of the Lower Danube in 275, when the province became occupied by the Goths. In 376, a powerful nomadic people, the Huns, defeated and shattered the Goths, and settled in the area. After the death of Hun King Attila, their empire disintegrated and the Gepids conquered the region in 455, under King Ardaric. For two centuries, the Gepids controlled Transylvania. The Ostrogoths systematically pushed the Gepids out of Pannonia. King Elemund, on the other hand, successfully fought battles against the Eastern Roman Empire. They were defeated by the Lombards and Avars in 567. In the following years, the Avars took full control over Transylvania, heavily settling the area with Slavic tribes who accepted their suzerainty. The expansion of the Frankish Empire, however, imposed a growing threat on them and their khaganate was crushed in the Avar Wars. The Avars and Slavs, although substantially depleted in number, continued to inhabit the Carpathian Basin. The First Bulgarian Empire expanded into Southern Transylvania in the 9th century. Smaller Slavic polities were also present, nevertheless they could hardly keep their independence.

In the late 9th century, Transylvania was reached and conquered by the Hungarian conquerors. There is an ongoing scholarly debate over the demographics in Transylvania at the time. According to the theory of Daco-Roman continuity, Romanians continuously lived on the territory. Opponents of that hypothesis point to the lack of written, archaeological and linguistic evidence to support it. Hungarian medieval chronicles claimed that the Székely people descended from the Huns, who remained in Transylvania, and later, in combination with the returning Hungarians, conquered the Carpathian Basin. According to the Gesta Hungarorum, the Vlach (Blacorum, Blacus) leader Gelou ruled part of Transylvania before the Hungarians arrived. Historians debate whether he was a historical person or an imaginary figure. The gyulas from the seven chieftains of the Hungarians governed Transylvania in the 10th century. King Stephen I of Hungary asserted his claim to rule all lands dominated by Hungarian lords. He personally led his army against his maternal uncle Gyula III and Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1002. Place names derived from the Hungarian tribes evidence that major Hungarian groups settled in Transylvania from the 950s. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Southeast and Northeast Transylvania was settled by Saxon colonists. In Romanian historiography, Romanians constituted an important part of Transylvania's population even on the eve of the Mongol Invasions. Hungarian historiography claims that the Vlach population entered Transylvania from the Balkans only in the 12th century, and the devastating invasion of Mongols had also as consequence the large-scale immigration by Romanians, however the immigration of Romanians did not happen all at once, the process of settlement stretched over several centuries. After the Battle of Kosovo and Ottoman arrival at the Hungarian border, thousands of Vlach and Serbian refugees came to Transylvania.

Administrative divisions in Eastern Hungary, Voivodate of Transylvania's in color
Kingdom of Hungary in 1190, during the rule of Béla III

Between 1002 and 1526, Transylvania was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, led by a voivode appointed by the King of Hungary. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Transylvania became part of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom. Later, in 1570, the kingdom became the Principality of Transylvania by the Treaty of Speyer, which was ruled primarily by Calvinist Hungarian princes. The Eastern Hungarian king became the first prince of Transylvania, according to the treaty. The Principality of Transylvania continued to be part of the Kingdom of Hungary in the sense of public law, which stressed in a highly significant way that John Sigismund's possessions belonged to the Holy Crown of Hungary and he was not permitted to alienate them.

Administrative map of the Principality of Transylvania in 1606–60

The Habsburgs acquired the territory shortly after the Battle of Vienna in 1683. In 1687, the rulers of Transylvania recognized the suzerainty of the Habsburg emperor Leopold I, and the region was officially attached to the Habsburg Empire. The Habsburgs acknowledged the Principality of Transylvania as one of the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, but the territory of the principality was administratively separated from Habsburg Hungary, and subjected to the direct rule of the emperor's governors. In 1699 the Ottomans legally acknowledged their loss of Transylvania in the Treaty of Karlowitz; however, some anti-Habsburg elements within the principality submitted to the emperor only in the 1711 Peace of Szatmár, when Habsburg control over Principality of Transylvania was consolidated. The Grand Principality of Transylvania was reintroduced 54 years later in 1765.

The Hungarian revolution against the Habsburgs started in 1848, and grew into a war for the total independence of the Kingdom of Hungary from the Habsburg dynasty. Julius Jacob von Haynau, the leader of the Austrian army, was appointed plenipotentiary to restore order in Hungary after the conflict. He ordered the execution of The 13 Hungarian Martyrs of Arad, and Prime Minister Batthyány was executed the same day in Pest. After a series of serious Austrian defeats in 1849, the empire came close to the brink of collapse. Thus, the new young emperor Franz Joseph I had to call for Russian help under the Holy Alliance. Czar Nicholas I answered, and sent an army of 200,000 men with 80,000 auxiliary forces. Finally, the joint army of Russian and Austrian forces defeated the Hungarian forces. After the restoration of Habsburg power, Hungary was placed under martial law. Following the Hungarian Army's surrender at Világos (now Șiria, Romania) in 1849, their revolutionary banners were taken to Russia by the Tsarist troops and were kept there both under the Tsarist and Communist systems (in 1940 the Soviet Union offered the banners to the Horthy government).

After the Ausgleich of 1867, the Principality of Transylvania was once again abolished. The territory then became part of Transleithania, an addition to the newly established Austro-Hungarian Empire. Romanian intellectuals issued the Blaj Pronouncement in protest.

The region was the site of an important battle during World War I, which caused the replacement of the German Chief of Staff, temporarily ceased German offensives on all the other fronts and created a unified Central Powers command under the German Kaiser. Following defeat in World War I, Austria-Hungary disintegrated. Elected representatives of the ethnic Romanians from Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș backed by the mobilization of Romanian troops, proclaimed Union with Romania on 1 December 1918. The Proclamation of Union of Alba Iulia was adopted by the Deputies of the Romanians from Transylvania and supported one month later by the vote of the Deputies of the Saxons from Transylvania.

Romania's territorial losses in 1940, showing Northern Transylvania being ceded to Hungary. The region was returned to Romania after World War II

The national holiday of Romania, the Great Union Day (also called Unification Day,) occurring on December 1, celebrates this event. The holiday was established after the Romanian Revolution, and marks the unification not only of Transylvania but also of the provinces of Banat, Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom. These other provinces had all joined with the Kingdom of Romania a few months earlier. In 1920, the Treaty of Trianon established new borders and much of the proclaimed territories became part of Romania. Hungary protested against the new state borders, as they did not follow the real ethnic boundaries, for over 1.3 or 1.6 million Hungarian people, representing 25.5 or 31.6% of the Transylvanian population (depending on statistics used), were living on the Romanian side of the border, mainly in the Székely Land of Eastern Transylvania, and along the newly created border.

Territorial evolution of Romania in the 20th century, excluding changes during World War II

In August 1940, with the arbitration of Germany and Italy under the Second Vienna Award, Hungary gained Northern Transylvania (including parts of Crișana and Maramureș), and over 40% of the territory lost in 1920. This award did not solve the nationality problem, as over 1.15–1.3 million Romanians (or 48% to more than 50% of the population of the ceded territory) remained in Northern Transylvania while 0.36–0.8 million Hungarians (or 11% to more than 20% of the population) continued to reside in Southern Transylvania. The Second Vienna Award was voided on 12 September 1944 by the Allied Commission through the Armistice Agreement with Romania (Article 19), and the 1947 Treaty of Paris reaffirmed the borders between Romania and Hungary as originally defined in the Treaty of Trianon, 27 years earlier, thus confirming the return of Northern Transylvania to Romania.

From 1947 to 1989, Transylvania, along with the rest of Romania, was under a communist regime. The ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș between ethnic Romanians and Hungarians in March 1990 took place after the fall of the communist regime and became the most notable inter-ethnic incident in the post-communist era.

Geography and ethnography

Turda Gorges seen from the west end, in Cluj county
Geogel, Romanian Orthodox wooden church
Geographical map of Romania

The Transylvanian Plateau, 300 to 500 metres (980–1,640 feet) high, is drained by the Mureș, Someș, Criș, and Olt rivers, as well as other tributaries of the Danube. This core of historical Transylvania roughly corresponds with nine counties of modern Romania. The plateau is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern, Southern and Romanian Western branches of the Carpathian Mountains. The area includes the Transylvanian Plain. Other areas to the west and north are widely considered part of Transylvania; in common reference, the Western border of Transylvania has come to be identified with the present Romanian-Hungarian border, settled in the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, although geographically the two are not identical.

Ethnographic areas:

Administrative divisions

Bihor Arad Timiș Caraș-Severin Hunedoara Satu Mare Sălaj Alba Sibiu Brașov Covasna Harghita Mureș Cluj Bistrița-Năsăud Maramureș

Light yellow – historical region of Transylvania
Dark yellow – historical regions of Banat, Crișana and Maramureș
Grey – historical regions of Wallachia, Moldavia and Dobruja

The area of the historical Voivodeship is 55,146 km (21,292 sq mi).

The regions granted to Romania in 1920 covered 23 counties including nearly 102,200 km (39,460 sq mi) (102,787–103,093 km in Hungarian sources and 102,282 km in contemporary Romanian documents). Nowadays, several administrative reorganisations make the territory cover 16 counties (Romanian: județ), with an area of 100,290 km (38,722 sq mi), in central and northwest Romania.

The 16 counties are: Alba, Arad, Bihor, Bistrița-Năsăud, Brașov, Caraș-Severin, Cluj, Covasna, Harghita, Hunedoara, Maramureș, Mureș, Sălaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, and Timiș.

Transylvania contains both largely urban counties, such as Brașov and Hunedoara counties, as well as largely rural ones, such as Bistrița-Năsăud and Sălaj counties.

Since 1998, Romania has been divided into eight development regions, acting as divisions that coordinate and implement socio-economic development at regional level. Six counties (Alba, Brașov, Covasna, Harghita, Mureș and Sibiu) form the Centru development region, another six (Bihor, Bistrița-Năsăud, Cluj, Maramureș, Satu Mare, Sălaj) form the Nord-Vest development region, while four (Arad, Caraș-Severin, Hunedoara, Timiș) form the Vest development region.

Cities and towns

   Largest cities of Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș historical regions in Romania
"NIS 2021 Census" (2021 population by place of residence)
Rank Name County Pop. Rank Name County Pop.
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca
Timișoara
Timișoara
1 Cluj-Napoca Cluj 286,598 11 Alba Iulia Alba 64,227 Brașov
Brașov
Oradea
Oradea
2 Timișoara Timiș 250,849 12 Reșița Caraș-Severin 58,393
3 Brașov Brașov 237,589 13 Deva Hunedoara 53,113
4 Oradea Bihor 183,105 14 Zalău Sălaj 52,359
5 Arad Arad 145,078 15 Hunedoara Hunedoara 50,457
6 Sibiu Sibiu 134,309 16 Sfântu Gheorghe Covasna 50,080
7 Târgu Mureș Mureș 116,033 17 Turda Cluj 43,319
8 Baia Mare Maramureș 108,759 18 Mediaș Sibiu 39,505
9 Satu Mare Satu Mare 91,520 19 Lugoj Timiș 35,450
10 Bistrița Bistrița-Năsăud 78,877 20 Miercurea Ciuc Harghita 34,484

Cluj-Napoca, commonly known as Cluj, is the second most populous city in Romania (as of the 2021 census), after the national capital Bucharest, and is the seat of Cluj County. From 1790 to 1848 and from 1861 to 1867, it was the official capital of the Grand Principality of Transylvania. Brașov is an important tourist destination, being the largest city in a mountain resorts area, and a central location, suitable for exploring Romania, with the distances to several tourist destinations (including the Black Sea resorts, the monasteries in northern Moldavia, and the wooden churches of Maramureș) being similar.

Sibiu is one of the most important cultural centres of Romania and was designated the European Capital of Culture for the year 2007, along with the city of Luxembourg. It was formerly the centre of the Transylvanian Saxon culture and between 1692 and 1791 and 1849–65 was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania.

Alba Iulia, a city located on the Mureș River in Alba County, has since the High Middle Ages been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom and the later Principality of Transylvania. Alba Iulia also has historical importance: after the end of World War I, representatives of the Romanian population of Transylvania gathered in Alba Iulia on 1 December 1918 to proclaim the union of Transylvania with the Kingdom of Romania. In Transylvania, there are many medieval smaller towns such as Sighișoara, Mediaș, Sebeș, and Bistrița.

Population

See also: Demographics of Romania

Historical population

See also: History of Transylvania § Historical population, Hungarian minority in Romania, Székelys, Transylvanian Saxons, and List of Transylvanians
Ethno-linguistic map of Austria-Hungary, 1910.

Official censuses with information on Transylvania's population have been conducted since the 18th century. On May 1, 1784 the Emperor Joseph II called for the first official census of the Habsburg Empire, including Transylvania. The data was published in 1787, and this census showed only the overall population (1,440,986 inhabitants). Fényes Elek, a 19th-century Hungarian statistician, estimated in 1842 that in the population of Transylvania for the years 1830–1840 the majority were 62.3% Romanians and 23.3% Hungarians.

In the last quarter of the 19th century, the Hungarian population of Transylvania increased from 24.9% in 1869 to 31.6%, as indicated in the 1910 Hungarian census (the majority of the Jewish population reported Hungarian as their primary language, so they were also counted as ethnically Hungarian in the 1910 census). At the same time, the percentage of the Romanian population decreased from 59.0% to 53.8% and the percentage of the German population decreased from 11.9% to 10.7%, for a total population of 5,262,495. Magyarization policies greatly contributed to this shift.

The percentage of the Romanian majority has significantly increased since the declaration of the union of Transylvania with Romania after World War I in 1918. The proportion of Hungarians in Transylvania was in steep decline as more of the region's inhabitants moved into urban areas, where the pressure to assimilate and Romanianize was greater. The expropriation of the estates of Magyar magnates, the distribution of the lands to the Romanian peasants, and the policy of cultural Romanianization that followed the Treaty of Trianon were major causes of friction between Hungary and Romania. Other factors include the emigration of non-Romanian peoples, assimilation and internal migration within Romania (estimates show that between 1945 and 1977, some 630,000 people moved from the Old Kingdom to Transylvania, and 280,000 from Transylvania to the Old Kingdom, most notably to Bucharest).

Current population

According to the results of the 2011 census, the total population of Transylvania was 6,789,250 inhabitants and the ethnic groups were: Romanians – 70.62%, Hungarians – 17.92%, Roma – 3.99%, Ukrainians – 0.63%, Germans (mostly Transylvanian Saxons and Banat Swabians, but also Zipsers, Sathmar Swabians, or Landlers) – 0.49%, other – 0.77%. Some 378,298 inhabitants (5.58%) have not declared their ethnicity. The ethnic Hungarian population of Transylvania form a majority in the counties of Covasna (73.6%) and Harghita (84.8%). The Hungarians are also numerous in the following counties: Mureș (37.8%), Satu Mare (34.5%), Bihor (25.2%), and Sălaj (23.2%).

Economy

The former salt mine of Salina Turda, now repurposed as a tourist attraction
Rural landscape in Transylvania, including meadows and small hilly forests.

Transylvania is rich in mineral resources, notably lignite, iron, lead, manganese, gold, copper, natural gas, salt, and sulfur.

Transylvania's GDP (nominal) is $194 billion and its GDP per capita measures around $28,574. Transylvania's Human Development Index is ranked 0.829, which makes Transylvania the 2nd most developed region in Romania after Bucharest-Ilfov and makes it comparable to countries like the Czech Republic, Poland and Estonia.

There are large iron and steel, chemical, and textile industries. Stock raising, agriculture, wine production and fruit growing are important occupations. Agriculture is widespread in the Transylvanian Plateau, including growing cereals, vegetables, viticulture and breeding cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry. Timber is another valuable resource.

IT, electronics and automotive industries are important in urban and university centers like Cluj-Napoca (Robert Bosch GmbH, Emerson Electric), Timișoara (Alcatel-Lucent, Flextronics and Continental AG), Brașov, Sibiu, Oradea and Arad. The cities of Cluj Napoca and Târgu Mureș are connected with a strong medical tradition, and according to the same classifications top performance hospitals exist there.

Native brands include: Roman of Brașov (trucks and buses), Azomureș of Târgu Mureș (fertilizers), Terapia of Cluj-Napoca (pharmaceuticals), Banca Transilvania of Cluj-Napoca (finance), Romgaz and Transgaz of Mediaș (natural gas), Jidvei of Alba county (alcoholic beverages), Timișoreana of Timișoara (alcoholic beverages), the state owned Cugir Arms Factory, and others.

The Jiu Valley, located in the south of Hunedoara County, has been a major mining area throughout the second half of the 19th century and the 20th century, but many mines were closed down in the years following the collapse of the communist regime, forcing the region to diversify its economy.

During the Second World War, Transylvania (the Southern/Romanian half, as the region was divided during the war) was crucial to the Romanian defense industry. Transylvanian factories built until 1945 over 1,000 warplanes and over 1,000 artillery pieces of all types, among others.

Culture

George Coșbuc, Romanian poet, translator, teacher, and journalist, best known for his verses describing, praising and eulogizing rural life

The culture of Transylvania is complex because of its varied history and longstanding multiculturalism, which has incorporated significant Hungarian (see Hungarians in Romania) and German (see Germans of Romania) influences.

The region was the birthplace of the Transylvanian School movement, its members, namely Samuil Micu-Klein, Petru Maior, and Gheorghe Șincai, being responsible for the early version of Romanian alphabet.

With regard to architecture, the Transylvanian Gothic style is preserved to this day in monuments such as the Black Church in Brașov (14th and 15th centuries) and a number of other cathedrals, as well as the Bran Castle in Brașov County (14th century), and the Hunyad Castle in Hunedoara (15th century).

Notable writers such as Emil Cioran, Lucian Blaga, George Coșbuc, Ioan Slavici, Octavian Goga, Liviu Rebreanu, Endre Ady, Elie Wiesel, Elek Benedek and Károly Kós were born in Transylvania. Liviu Rebreanu wrote the novel Ion, which introduces the reader to a depiction of the life of Romanian peasants and intellectuals of Transylvania at the turn of the 20th century. Károly Kós was one of the most important writers supporting the movement of Transylvanianism.

Religion

Transylvania has a very rich and unique religious history. Since the Protestant Reformation, different Christian denominations have coexisted in this religious melting pot, including Romanian Orthodox, other Eastern Orthodox, Latin Catholic and Romanian Greek Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, and Unitarian branches. Christianity is the largest religion, but other faiths also are present, including Jews and Muslims. Under the Habsburgs, Transylvania served as a place for "religious undesirables". People who arrived in Transylvania included those that did not conform to the Catholic Church and were sent here forcibly, as well as many religious refugees. Transylvania has a long history of religious tolerance, ensured by its religious pluralism.

Transylvania has also been (and still is) a center for Christian denominations other than Eastern Orthodoxy, the form of Christianity that most Romanians currently follow. As such, there are significant numbers of inhabitants of Transylvania that follow Latin Catholicism and Greek Catholicism, and Protestantism. Even though before 1948, the population of Transylvania split between Eastern Orthodox, Greek Catholic and other forms of Christianity, during the Communist Period the Orthodox Church was much more favored by the state which has led to Eastern Orthodoxy being the religion of the majority of Transylvanians. However, among the Hungarian and German minorities only a small part are Eastern Orthodox. The main two religions of the Hungarian minority are Reformed (Calvinism) and Roman Catholicism; among Germans the main religions are Roman Catholicism (slightly over half of Germans in Romania), followed by Lutheranism and Eastern Orthodox. There are also Pentecostals and Baptists, particularly in Banat and Crișana. Babeș-Bolyai University, located in Cluj-Napoca is the only university in Europe that has four faculties of theology (Orthodox, Reformed, Roman Catholic, and Greek Catholic).

1930 2011
Denomination Number Percent Number Percent
Eastern Orthodoxy 1,933,589 34.85 4,478,532 65.96
Greek Catholicism 1,385,017 24.96 142,862 2.10
Latin Catholicism 946,100 17.05 632,948 9.32
Mainline Protestantism 1,038,464 18.72 675,107 9.34
Evangelical Protestantism 37,061 0.66 339,472 4.70

There are also small denominations like Adventism, Jehovah's Witnesses and more.

Others

  • Nowadays, there is a very small number of Muslims (Islam) and Jews (Judaism), but back in 1930, with 191,877 inhabitants, Jews represented 3.46% of Transylvania's population.
  • Atheists, agnostics and unaffiliated account for 0.27% of Transylvania's population.

Data refers to extended Transylvania (with Banat, Crișana and Maramureș).

Tourist attractions

Drone footage of the Fortress of Deva (Hungarian: Déva vára, German: Diemricher Burg)
Corvin Castle, Hunedoara (Hungarian: Vajdahunyad, German: Eisenmarkt)
Râșnov Fortress, Râșnov (Hungarian: Barcarozsnyó, German: Rosenau)
Biertan fortified church, Biertan (Hungarian: Berethalom, German: Birthälm)
Bran Castle, Bran (Hungarian: Törcsvár, German: Die Törzburg)
Gate to Alba Carolina Citadel

Festivals and events

Film festivals

Music festivals

Others

Historical coat of arms of Transylvania

Main article: Coat of arms of Transylvania
Blue, red and yellow shield with an eagle, the sun, moon and seven castle turrets
The historical coat of arms of Transylvania

The first heraldic representations of Transylvania date from the 16th century. The Diet of 1659 codified the representation of the privileged nations (Unio Trium Nationum (Union of the Three Nations)) in Transylvania's coat of arms. It depicted a black eagle (Turul) on a blue background, representing the Hungarians, the Sun and the Moon representing the Székelys, and seven red towers on a yellow background representing the seven fortified cities of the Transylvanian Saxons. The flag and coat of arms of Transylvania were granted by Queen Maria Theresa in 1765, when she established a Grand Principality within the Habsburg monarchy.

In 1596, Levinus Hulsius created a coat of arms for Transylvania, consisting of a shield with a rising eagle in the upper field and seven hills with towers on top in the lower field. He published it in his work "Chronologia", issued in Nuremberg the same year. The seal from 1597 of Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, reproduced the new coat of arms with some slight changes: in the upper field the eagle was flanked by a sun and a moon and in the lower field the hills were replaced by simple towers. The coat of arms of Sigismund Báthory beside the coat of arms of the Báthory family, included the Transylvanian, Wallachia and Moldavian coat of arms, he used the title Prince of Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia. A short-lived heraldic representation of Transylvania is found on the seal of Michael the Brave. Besides the Wallachian eagle and the Moldavian aurochs, Transylvania is represented by two lions holding a sword standing on seven hills. Hungarian Transylvanian princes used the symbols of the Transylvanian coat of arms usually with the Hungarian coat of arms since the 16th century because Transylvanian princes maintained their claims to the throne of the Kingdom of Hungary.

While neither symbol has official status in present-day Romania, the Transylvanian coat of arms is marshalled within the national Coat of arms of Romania, it was also a component of the Coat of arms of Hungary.

In popular culture

Main article: Transylvania in popular culture
Lugosi as Count Dracula

Following the publication of Emily Gerard's The Land Beyond the Forest (1888), Bram Stoker wrote his gothic horror novel Dracula in 1897, using Transylvania as a setting. With its success, Transylvania became associated in the English- and Spanish-speaking world with vampires. Among the first actors to portray Dracula in film was Bela Lugosi, who was born in Lugos (now Lugoj), in present-day Romania. There is also an American animated movie franchise called Hotel Transylvania, which plays on the association of Transylvania and Dracula.

Transylvania has also been represented in fiction and literature as a land of mystery and magic. For example, in Paulo Coelho's novel The Witch of Portobello, the main character, Sherine Khalil, is described as a Transylvanian orphan with a Romani mother, in an effort to add to the character's exotic mystique. The so-called Transylvanian trilogy of historical novels by Miklós Bánffy, The Writing on the Wall, is an extended treatment of the 19th- and early 20th-century social and political history of the country. The Principality of Transylvania is also a playable nation in Europa Universalis IV.

See also

Notes

  1. The sixteen counties that form the historical region of Transylvania.

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Further reading

External links

Historical regions in Romania
Banat Banat (1918–)
  • Banat
Dobruja Dobruja (1878–)
Moldavia Moldavia (1859–)
Transylvania Transylvania (1918–)
Wallachia Wallachia (1859–)

46°30′N 25°00′E / 46.5°N 25°E / 46.5; 25

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