Alțâna (; ) is a commune in the north of

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 ...

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 ...

, in the historical region of

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 ...

. It is composed of three villages: Alțâna, Benești (''Bägendorf''; ''Bendorf''), and Ghijasa de Sus (''Obergesäß''; ''Felsőgezés'').

Geography

The commune lies on 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 ...

, on the banks of the

Hârtibaciu River The Hârtibaciu (German: ''Harbach''; Hungarian: ''Hortobágy'') is a river in the Transylvania historical region of Romania. It develops in the South Carpathians and flows into the Cibin, a tributary of the Olt, in Mohu, southeast of Sibiu.

and its right tributary, the river Zlagna. It is located in the central part of the county, northeast of the county seat,

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

, to which it is connected by

county road A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...

DJ106.

History

Alțâna was one of the most important villages of the

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sași ardeleni/transilvăneni/transilvani''; ) are a people ...

seat of

Nocrich Nocrich (; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Leuskyrch''; ) is a commune in Sibiu County, Romania, in the region of Transylvania. The commune is situated between Agnita and Sibiu. It is composed of five villages: Fofeldea, Ghijasa de Jos, Hosman, Nocrich ...

. There is an

Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

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 ...

in the village; the Romanesque basilica dates to the 13th century. In 1910 the

Agnita Agnita (; ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Ongenîtlen''; ) is a town on the Hârtibaciu river in Sibiu County, Transylvania, central Romania. It is considered the locality in the center of the country. The town administers two villages, namely Coveș (; ...

to Sibiu

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

was completed, with stations at Alțâna and Benești; however, the line was closed in 2001. An active restoration group has since been formed aiming to restore the entire line to working condition.

Name

The legend says that the first German villagers were led by ten "". These ten men counseled in the matter of how should they name the settlement and each of them wanted to use their name. In the end, they decided to name it Alzen, which means "all ten".

Natives

* Adolf Gottschling (1841–1918), a professor at the Brukenthal College in Sibiu and one of the pioneers of meteorology in Transylvania.

References

Communes in Sibiu County Localities in Transylvania {{Sibiu-geo-stub