Șoarș (;

Transylvanian Saxon dialect Transylvanian Saxon is the native German dialects, German dialect of the Transylvanian Saxons, an ethnic Germans of Romania, German minority group from Transylvania in central Romania, and is also one of the three oldest ethnic German and Geog ...

: ''Schursch''; ) is a commune in

Brașov County Brașov County () is a county (județ) of Transylvania, Romania. Its capital city is Brașov. The county incorporates within its boundaries most of the Medieval "lands" (''țări'') Burzenland and Făgăraș. Name In Hungarian language, Hungari ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is composed of five villages: Bărcuț, Felmer, Rodbav, Seliștat, and Șoarș. Each village has a fortified church.

Geography

The commune lies within the southern reaches of the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau (; ) is a plateau in central Romania. Description The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern Carpathians, Eastern, Southern ...

. The river Hârtibaciu flows through the village of Bărcuț; its left tributary, Valea Morii, flows through the village of Seliștat. Șoarș is located in the northwestern part of the county, north of

Făgăraș Făgăraș (; , ) is a municipiu, city in central Romania, located in Brașov County. It lies on the Olt (river), Olt River and has a population of 26,284 as of 2021. It is situated in the historical region of Transylvania, and is the main city of ...

, on the border with

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county () of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat () is the namesake town of Sibiu (). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Hermannstadt''. Under the ...

. The county seat,

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, ...

, is some to the southeast.

History

In October 1916, Șoarș was the site of the Battle of Báránykút, where a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

offensive was successfully repulsed by the Romanian Second Army during the

Battle of Transylvania The Battle of Transylvania was the first major operation of Romania during World War I, beginning on 27 August 1916. It started as an attempt by the Romanian Army to seize Transylvania, and potentially knock Austria-Hungary out of the war. Althou ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Economy

The Rodbav gas field is situated on the territory of the commune. It was discovered in 1935 and began production in 1938.

Natives

* (1899–1966), folklorist.

References

File:Felmer - Biserica.gif,

Fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such church (building), churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as t ...

of Felmer File:Barcut village eglise fortifiee.jpg, Fortified church of Bărcuț File:Seligstadt-1.jpg, Fortified church of Seliștat Communes in Brașov County Localities in Transylvania {{Braşov-geo-stub