Brasov

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Braşov

Braşov (bräshôvˈ), Hung. Brassó, Ger. Kronstadt, city, central Romania, in Transylvania, at the foot of the Transylvanian Alps. The administrative center of the Braşov region, the city is a road and rail junction and a major industrial center. Tractors, trucks, helicopters, chemicals, and textiles are among the chief manufactures. The city is also a noted resort and winter sports center. Founded in the 13th cent. by the Teutonic Knights, Braşov was a major center of trade and industry in the Middle Ages. It enjoyed considerable autonomy under the Hapsburg empire. After World War I the city, along with Transylvania, was ceded by Hungary to Romania. There are sizable German and Hungarian minorities. From 1950 to 1960, Braşov was called Stalin or Oraşul-Stalin (city of Stalin). It has a large 14th-century church (called the Black Church because of fire damage in 1689), the 13th-century St. Bartholomew Church, and the 14th-century St. Nicholas Church (rebuilt 1751). Parts of the medieval town wall and the 17th-century citadel remain intact. There is also a polytechnic institute.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Braşov

an administrative oblast in Rumania from 1960 to 1968. In 1968 most of the territory of Braşov became part of the regions of Braşov, Sibiu, and Harghita.

Braşov

a region in central Rumania on the Transylvanian plateau and the northern slopes of the Carpathians. Area, 5, 400 sq km. Population, 461, 600 (1968).

The administrative center of the region is the town of Braşov. Braşov Region is one of the most highly developed industrial areas of the country. Among its main industries are machine-building, the electrotechnical and chemical industries, toolmaking, woodworking, and the manufacture of pulp and paper. Industry is centered in the city of Braşov (machine-building, textiles, and food) and its industrial satellite towns, such as Săcele (electrotechnical engineering), Rîsnov (tools and the chemical industry), Zărneşti (pulp and paper), Prejmer (textiles), Ghimbav (textile and paper-millboard), and Codlea (chemical industry and furniture). An important industrial center is Făgăraş, which has a chemical combine (producing ammonia, nitric acid, phenol, nitrate fertilizers, and plastics, as well as chemical machinery). In the eastern parts of the region there is suburban-type agriculture; potatoes are grown in large areas of the western part. Pigs are bred.

IU. A. KRUKOVSKII

Braşov

a city in central Rumania; administrative center of Brasov Region. Population, 172, 300 (1968) excluding suburbs and more than 200,000 including suburbs. The city arose as a transport junction of roads crossing the mountain passes in the Carpathians (Predeal and other passes). Braşov is the country’s second largest industrial center after Bucharest. The leading branch of the city’s economy is machine building: automobiles, tractors, machine tools, ball bearings, oil equipment, and so forth. The wool and knitted goods industry is of national importance. There are large enterprises of the food, chemical, oil refining, and construction materials industries. Braşov is the center of an important industrial region, which includes more than ten satellite cities: Săcele, Rîsnov, Zărneşţi, and others. The city was first mentioned in written sources in 1251. Architectural monuments include Gothic churches—Saint Bartholomew’s Church (circa 1260; rebuilt in the 15th century) and the Black Church (14th-15th centuries; interior renovated in 1689)—and the town hall (16th century; now the Art Museum). A theater, philharmonic hall, hotel, railroad station, and new residential sections were built between 1940 and 1960.

REFERENCES

Murgu M. Braşov şi ĩmprejurimi. Bucharest, 1963.
Braşov. Bucharest, 1968.

Braşov

an industrial city in central Romania: formerly a centre for expatriate Germans; ceded by Hungary to Romania in 1920. Pop.: 249 000 (2005 est.)