Buzău Pass () is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

that follows the Buzău River and connects

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

with

Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...

over the

Buzău Mountains The Buzău Mountains are a set of six mountains ranges in Romania which are part of the Curvature Carpathians region of the Outer Eastern Carpathians. These six mountain ranges are as follows: * * * * * *. The Penteleu and Ivănețu Massifs are ...

, in the

Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya Sy ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Geography

The pass is traversed by

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

DN10 DN10 () is a national road in Romania that runs from Buzău to Brașov, crossing the Carpathian Mountains through the Buzău Pass. The road follows the Buzău River valley and is an important connection between Transylvania and the cities of s ...

, from Crasna, in

Covasna County Covasna County (, , ) is a county (județ) of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Sfântu Gheorghe. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 210,177, making it the second least populous of Romania's 41 counties and the ...

, to

Gura Siriului Siriu is a commune in Buzău County, Muntenia, Romania, in the valley of the river Buzău. It is composed of five villages: Cașoca, Colțu Pietrii, Gura Siriului, Lunca Jariștei (the commune centre), and Mușcelușa. Geography Location Siriu ...

, in

Buzău County Buzău County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Buzău. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 432,054 and the population density was 70.7/km ...

. The road follows the course of the

Buzău River Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Car ...

;

Lake Siriu Lake Siriu is an artificial dam lake in Romania, on the Buzău River valley. Construction of the dam started in 1982, and the 42 MW Nehoiașu hydroelectric plant was opened in 1994. The dam is a high embankment dam with a clay core, the sec ...

is an artificial dam lake on the river, located at the southern end of the pass.

History

The Buzău Pass was one of the passes used by invaders, such as

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

and

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

, to attack

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. This is why the nearby region, known as

Țara Bârsei Țara Bârsei ( ; ) is a historic and ethnographic area in Brașov County, southeastern Transylvania, Romania with a mixed population of Romanians, Germans, and Hungarians. Geography Țara Bârsei lies within the Southern Carpathians mounta ...

was settled by

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

in the 13th century, who built fortifications, to be prepared against such an invasion. Nevertheless, many invasions were conducted through the Buzău Pass, including the Turkish attacks of 1421, 1432, 1438, and 1508, as well as the Tatar invasion of 1658. When Ottoman forces or other invaders would break through the pass, the village of Prejmer was the first place they encountered; the village was destroyed over 50 times between the 13th and 17th centuries, while the

Prejmer fortified church The Prejmer fortified church (; ) is a Lutheran fortified church in Prejmer (''Tartlau''), Brașov County, in the Transylvania region of Romania and the ethnographic area of Țara Bârsei. The church was founded by the Germanic Teutonic Knights, ...

was only rarely captured. RO BZ Siriu Cheia Buzaului

References

Mountain passes of Romania Mountain passes of the Carpathians Geography of Buzău County Geography of Covasna County {{Romania-geo-stub