The
Burzenland (
listen (help·info);
Hungarian Barcaság;
Romanian Tara Bârsei) is a historic and ethnographic area in southeastern
Transylvania,
Romania with a mixed population (
German,
Romanian,
Hungarian).
[1] Since the
exodus of most of the German-speaking
Transylvanian Saxons in the 20th century, this region has been predominantly inhabited by Romanians.
The Burzenland lies within the Carpathian Mountains, bordered approximately by Apata in the north, Bran in the southwest and Prejmer in the east. Its most important city is Brasov. Burzenland is named after the stream Bârsa (Barca, Burzen, 1231 Borza),[1] which flows into the Olt river.[2][3] The Romanian word bârsa is supposedly of Dacian origin (see List of Romanian words of possible Dacian origin).
Based on archaeological evidence, it seems German colonization of the region started in the middle of 12th century during the reign of King Géza II of Hungary.[4] The German colonists from this region are attested in documents as early as 1192 when terra Bozza is mentioned as being settled by Germans (Theutonici).[5]
In 1211 the region was given to the Teutonic Knights by King Andrew II of Hungary in return for guarding the southeastern border of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Cumans. While the king retained his right to mint currency and claims on gold or silver deposits that would be uncovered, he granted the Teutonic Order the right to establish markets and administer justice. The crusaders were also free from taxes and tolls.[6] The Teutonic Knights began building wood-and-earth forts in the area and they had constructed five castles (quinque castra fortia)[5] Marienburg, Schwarzenburg, Rosenau, Kreuzburg, and Kronstadt,[6] some of which were made of stone.[6] The military order was successful in reducing the threat of the nomadic Cumans. German already in Transylvania and volunteer settlers from the Holy Roman Empire developed farms and villages nearby to support the forts and settle the land.[6] Whether the territory was already populated at the time is disputed. Some medieval sources indicate it was uninhabited,[7] a view challenged by some scholars invoking archaeological[4][5] and documentary evidence.[5][8] Bountiful agricultural yields led to further colonization by German immigrants.[6]
