Blaj

The city has 20,758 inhabitants (as of 2002). In 1910 there were 2204 inhabitants, 1560 Romanians, 500 Hungarians and 135 Germans. It lies at an altitude of 257 m . Here the river Târnava Mare (German Große Kokel , Hungarian Nagy-Küküllő ) unites with the river Târnava Mică (German Kleine Kokel , Hungarian Kis-Küküllő ) to the Târnava ( Kokel , Hungarian Küküllő ).

history

Naming

The first documented mention of Blasendorf goes back to 1252, when Count Herbord and his brother Laurentius bought the property where the Big and Small Kokel met . In 1313 Herbord's son, Blasius, became master of this property. The current name Blasendorf comes from him. In the course of history one comes across the Latin name Villa Blasii and the Hungarian Balázsfalva .

Important events

Holy Trinity Cathedral

In the middle of the 17th century, Blasendorf was repeatedly attacked and destroyed by the Ottomans .
On September 12, 1658, Prince George II Rákóczi received envoy from the ruler of Wallachia , Mihnea III. in order to strengthen the alliance between Wallachia and Transylvania and to be able to better defend against the Ottomans.
On October 27, 1687, after Austria had conquered Transylvania and expelled the Ottomans, the treaty between Austria and Transylvania was also signed in Blasendorf, according to which Transylvania was an autonomous principality under the care of Austria.
In 1737, Blasendorf was transferred to the Greek Catholic Diocese of Transylvania , and the bishop Inocențiu Micu-Klein moved the seat from Făgăraș to Blasendorf. This was an important turning point, as Blasendorf developed strongly from now on. Micu-Klein himself drew the city's plans and founded the first schools.
Micu-Klein and his followers Samuel Micu , Gheorghe Șincai , Petru Maior and Ion Budai Deleanu , the founders of the “Transylvanian School” cultural movement, laid the foundations for the Romanian national consciousness in Blasendorf; they believed they had shown that the Romanian people have lived in this area continuously since the Romans, and that they also speak a Romance language (the controversial Dako-Romance theory of continuity ).

Painting from the National Assembly 1848

National Assembly of Blaj : Because of the general displeasure, the Blasendorf philosophy teacher Aron Pumnul called on the provosts to send a few people from each village to a meeting. This took place on May 15, 1848 on the "Câmpia Libertății", the "Field of Freedom", after the bishops of higher places obtained approval. 40,000 Romanian farmers flocked from all over Transylvania. Numerous pastors, lawyers and other citizens took part in this meeting, headed by the two bishops, the Orthodox Andrei Șaguna and the Greek Catholic Ioan Lemeni . It was Simion Bărnuţius revolutionary Preamble adopted.

economy

The region of Blaj is a growing area for the white grape variety "Royal Girl Grape" .

In addition to the typical regional wood processing industry (furniture production), there is a metal processing industry.

On April 25, 2006, Bosch Rexroth AG , Schweinfurt , a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH , Stuttgart , laid the foundation stone for a new plant for the manufacture of components for linear technology . The factory was completed in early 2007 and production began with 180 employees. As of May 2019, the site has 3400 employees and is divided into two business areas. Another investment of around seven million euros, which should create 250 jobs, is planned.

Community partnerships

Blaj maintains a partnership with the municipality of Allschwil in the Swiss canton of Basel-Landschaft . There is also a partnership with the Malteser Aid Service in Bad Soden-Salmünster .

education

The Inochentie Micu Clain high school is located in Blaj .

Sports

The volleyball players from CS Volei Alba-Blaj are multiple Romanian champions and also play in the European CEV Cup and the Champions League .

Personalities

Born in Blasendorf

Dieter Roth (* 1983), German boxer
Egon Roth (* 1980), German boxer

Temporarily worked in Blasendorf

Alexandru Borza (1887–1971), botanist, worked as a teacher in Blasendorf

Web links

Commons : Blaj - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ 2011 census in Romania ( MS Excel ; 1.3 MB)
↑ Mayoral elections 2016 in Romania ( MS Excel ; 256 kB)
^ Ciprian Mailat: Bosch, the pillar of development in Blaj. Piata Presei, May 14, 2019, accessed May 23, 2019 (Romanian).

[1] 2011 census in Romania ( MS Excel ; 1.3 MB)

[2] Mayoral elections 2016 in Romania ( MS Excel ; 256 kB)

[3] Ciprian Mailat: Bosch, the pillar of development in Blaj. Piata Presei, May 14, 2019, accessed May 23, 2019 (Romanian).