Cricău ( hu, Boroskrakkó; german: Krakau) is a commune located in the central part of Alba County,

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...

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

. It has a population of 2,097 and is composed of three villages: Craiva (''Királypataka''), Cricău and Tibru (''Tibor''). The commune is situated on the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau ( ro, Podișul Transilvaniei; hu, Erdélyi-medence) is a plateau in central Romania. The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the East ...

, west of Teiuș, and north of the county seat,

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historica ...

. The river Cricău flows through the commune.

History

Ancient times

The Dacian fortress on top of ''Piatra Craivii'' is believed by many archaeologists to be the location of

Apulon Apulon (''Apoulon'', ''Apula'') was a Dacian fortress city close to modern Alba Iulia, Romania. The Latin name of Apulum is derived. The exact location is believed by many archaeologists to be the Dacian fortifications on top of ''Piatra Craivi ...

. Apulon was an important Dacian political, economic and social center, the capital of the Apuli tribe. It was first mentioned by the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

geographer

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of import ...

in his '' Geographia'', under the name Apulon. It is also depicted in the

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

as an important city named Apula, at the cross road of two main routes: one coming from Blandiana, the other from Acidava. The two roads merge at Apula, with the next stop on the route being Brucla. The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

name of Apulum is derived from ''Apulon''.The history of the city
Retrieved 4 February 2012.

Natives

* Nicolae Stanciu (b. 1993)

Gallery

File:Ansamblul bisericii reformate fortificate - Cricau.jpg, Reformed Church File: Cricau Festival 2013 - Romans - 08.jpg, Dacian citadel festival File: Cricau Festival 2013 - Dacians - 2.jpg, Dacian citadel festival File: Cricau Festival 2013 - Sanziene - 24.jpg, Sânzienele - Dacian citadel festival File:Alba Iulia National Museum of the Union 2011 - Wall from Piatra Craivii Dacian Fortress-2.JPG, Wall from Piatra Craivii Dacian Fortress in display at the National Museum of the Union,

File:Alba Iulia National Museum of the Union 2011 - Wall from Piatra Craivii Dacian Fortress-3.JPG, Wall from Piatra Craivii Dacian Fortress File:Alba Iulia National Museum of the Union 2011 - Import Pieces from Roman World found at Dacian Settlement of Piatra Craivii.JPG, Import items from the Roman world found at Dacian settlement of Piatra Craivii, File:Alba Iulia National Museum of the Union 2011 - Late Bronze Age Vessels and Bronze Objects.JPG, Late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

vessels and bronze objects, from various locations in Alba County, including Piatra Craivii

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cricau Communes in Alba County Localities in Transylvania