Geoagiu ( hu, Algyógy, german: Gergesdorf) is a town in

Hunedoara County Hunedoara County () is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Name In Hungarian, it is known as , in German as , and in Slovak ...

, in the historical region of

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 Ap ...

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, and ...

, located on the

Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'') * Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania See also * Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County * Ocna Mureș Ocna Mureș (; la, Sali ...

at an altitude of 217 metres above sea level. The river with the same name (

Geoagiu Geoagiu ( hu, Algyógy, german: Gergesdorf) is a town in Hunedoara County, in the historical region of Transylvania, Romania, located on the Mureș River at an altitude of 217 metres above sea level. The river with the same name ( Geoagiu) flows i ...

) flows in this place into the Mureș. The town has a population of 5,049. It administers ten villages: Aurel Vlaicu (until 1925 ''Binținți''; ''Bencenc''), Băcâia (''Bakonya''), Bozeș (''Bózes''), Cigmău (''Csigmó''), Gelmar (''Gyalmár''), Geoagiu-Băi (''Feredőgyógy''), Homorod (''Homoród''), Mermezeu-Văleni (''Nyírmező''), Renghet (''Renget'') and Văleni (''Valény'').

History

The first settlements in the area can be found in the time of the Dacians, in the 1st century BC, as shown by archeological discoveries. After the Roman conquest, the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

built the fort of Germisara in the 2nd century, however, it kept the original Dacian name. Germisara was defended by the

Legio XIII Gemina , in English the 13th Twin Legion was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was one of Julius Caesar's key units in Gaul and in the civil war, and was the legion with which he crossed the Rubicon in January, perhaps the 10th, 49 BC. The legi ...

. The name of ''Germisara'' meant "hot water" (''germi'' = "heat", ''sara'' = "waterfall") and it showed that the Dacians already knew of the thermal springs of the area. Another opinion that the name came from the Hungarian name of the Geoagiu River (''Gyógy''), which means "curative". But more probably, the name is coming from the Hungarian word ''dió'' (nut as fruit) with the suffix -d, so, after the first documentary citation, "villa Gyog" from 1291 appeared as Dyod és Dyog (1397), Aldyogh (1407), Algyogh (1412), Aldyod (1439), Alsodyod alio nomine Alsoffalwa (around 1444). The first documentary citation of Geoagiu (it was written as "villa Gyog") was in the year 1291, when it was used as a land in the vicinity of ''Bintinti'' (now the village ''Aurel Vlaicu''). At the 2011 census, 89.7% of inhabitants were

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...

, 8.81% Roma and 0.71%

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

. There are remains of the old Roman way made of plate stones from Geoagiu to Geoagiu Băi. The city days are on August 14–17.

Natives

Ion Budai-Deleanu Ion Budai-Deleanu (January 6, 1760 – August 24, 1820) was a Romanian scholar, philologist, historian, poet, and a representative of the Transylvanian School. He was born in Csigmó (today Cigmău), a village in the town of Algyógy (today Geoa ...

Aurel Vlaicu Aurel Vlaicu (; 19 November 1882 – 13 September 1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor and early pilot.Gheorghiu, 1960 Early years and education Aurel Vlaicu was born in the village of Binținți in Transylvania, Aus ...

References

Towns in Romania Populated places in Hunedoara County Spa towns in Romania Dacian towns Localities in Transylvania {{Hunedoara-geo-stub