Blaj

Municipality

Greek-Catholic Cathedral

Coat of arms

Nickname(s): Little Rome

Blaj

Location of Blaj

Coordinates: 46°10′31″N 23°54′52″E / 46.17528°N 23.91444°ECoordinates: 46°10′31″N 23°54′52″E / 46.17528°N 23.91444°E

Romania

Alba County

Government

• Mayor

Gheorghe Valentin Rotar (Democratic Liberal Party)

Area

• Total

98.93 km² (38.20 sq mi)

Population (2011)

• Total

20,630

Time zone

EET (UTC+2)

• Summer (DST)

EEST (UTC+3)

Website

http://www.primariablaj.ro/

Blaj (Romanian pronunciation: [blaʒ]; archaically spelled as Blaș; Hungarian: Balázsfalva; German: Blasendorf; Transylvanian Saxon dialect: Blußendref) is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 20,630 inhabitants.

The landmark of the city is the fact that it was the principal religious and cultural center of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church in Transylvania.

Blaj is first mentioned in 1271 as Villa Herbordi, after the deed of a Count Herbod. In 1313, the domain passed to Herbod's son Blasius Cserei. Started as a hamlet for the twenty families of servants of the noble's court, it was awarded town status on May 19, 1737.

Blaj is the principal religious and cultural center of Greek Catholics in Transylvania. At 27 October 1687 begins the history of the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic, history directly connected to the history of the town Blaj. It all started at the end of the treaty through which Transylvania was entering under the protection of Austria, renouncing the protection of the Turkish Empire.

The first public school in Romanian was established in Blaj in 1754. Blaj was the first place to have Romanian written with Latin alphabet instead of Cyrillic in which it had traditionally been written. Blaj was also a center for the Romanian Age of Enlightenment, being the founding site of the Şcoala Ardeleană society that promoted the Roman cultural heritage of the Romanians. Thus Blaj gained the nickname "The Little Rome".

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Wikipedia