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Szászváros

Orăștie
Municipality
View from Lutheran Church tower
View from Lutheran Church tower
Coat of arms of Orăștie
Coat of arms
Location of Orăștie
Location of Orăștie
Coordinates: 45°51′N 23°12′E / 45.850°N 23.200°E / 45.850; 23.200Coordinates: 45°51′N 23°12′E / 45.850°N 23.200°E / 45.850; 23.200
Country  Romania
County Hunedoara County
Status Municipality
Government
 • Mayor Ovidiu Laurențiu Bălan (Social Democratic Party)
Area
 • Total 38.62 km2 (14.91 sq mi)
Population (2002)
 • Total 21,213
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Website http://www.orastie.info.ro/

Orăștie (Romanian pronunciation: [orəʃˈti.e]; German: Broos, Hungarian: Szászváros) is a city in Hunedoara County, south-western Transylvania, Romania.

7th–9th century – On the site of an old swamp was a human settlement, now the location of the old town center, whose remains can be traced into the 10th century when the first fortification was built with raised earth and wood .

11th–12th century – The first Christian religious edifice was raised: The Orăștie Rotunda. It is a circular chapel, with an age estimated at 1000 years. Perhaps it was used only by aristocratic families that dominated the Orăștie area and surroundings in the 11th century. Nearby there is a similar construction from the same period – The Geoagiu Rotunda.

1105 – In the wake of the First Crusade Anselm von Braz ”liber de liberis genitus”, châtelain of Logne, Walloon ministerial count settled here. The historian Karl Kurt Klein implies – though without proof – that he moved with his sons and descendants into the region where Orăștie City is located today.

1200 – According to Transylvanian chronicles, this is the year in which construction of the city walls began. Subsequently, this was abandoned because of unfavorable conditions.

1206 – The King of Hungary, Andrew II, mentioned Romos, a village near Orăștie, as one of the first three villages in Transylvania comprising Saxon colonists. The other two villages are Ighiu and Cricău.

1224 – Andrew II confirmed the privileges of the Saxon colonists and mentioned the existence of Romanian (Blachi) and Pecheneg (Bisseni) populations who lived in the forests surrounding the town. The settlement kept a number of privileges granted by the Hungarian royalty. The town was ruled by a royal judge (iudex regium), helped by 12 jurors chosen from local craftsmen and rich traders.


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