Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; ; ;

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 ...

: ''Blußendref'') is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Alba County Alba County () is a county (județ) of Romania located in the historic region of Transylvania. Its capital is Alba Iulia, a city with a population of 63,536. Name "Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of the ...

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 has a population of 17,816 inhabitants as of 2021. The city administers eight villages: Deleni-Obârșie (''Obursatanya''), Flitești, Izvoarele (until 1960 ''Ciufud''; ''Csufud''), Mănărade (''Monora''), Petrisat (''Magyarpéterfalva''), Spătac (''Szászpatak''), Tiur (''Tűr''), and Veza (''Véza''). The city was the principal religious and cultural center of the

Romanian Greek-Catholic Church The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome is a ''sui iuris'' Eastern Catholic Church, in full union with the Catholic Church. It has the rank of a Major Archbishop, Major Archiepiscopal Church and it uses the Byzanti ...

History

Blaj is first mentioned in 1271 as ''Villa Herbordi'', after the deed of a Count Herbod. In 1313, the domain passed to Herbod's son Blasius Cserei and the town was mentioned as ''Blasii''. Started as a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

for the twenty families of servants of the noble's court, it was awarded town status on May 19, 1737. Blaj is the principal religious and cultural center of

Greek Catholics Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gre ...

in Transylvania. At 27 October 1687 begins the history of the

Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome is a ''sui iuris'' Eastern Catholic Church, in full union with the Catholic Church. It has the rank of a Major Archbishop, Major Archiepiscopal Church and it uses the Byzanti ...

, history directly connected to the history of the town Blaj. It all started at the end of the treaty through which

was entering under the protection of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, renouncing the protection of the

Turkish Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

. The first public school in

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

was established in Blaj in 1754. Blaj was the first place to have Romanian written with

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet, also known as the Roman alphabet, is the collection of letters originally used by the Ancient Rome, ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered except several letters splitting—i.e. from , and from � ...

instead of

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

in which it had traditionally been written. Blaj was also a center for the Romanian

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

, being the founding site of the

Transylvanian School The Transylvanian School () was a cultural and political movement which started after part of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Habsburg-ruled Transylvania accepted the leadership of the pope and became the Greek-Catholic Church (). The links with ...

that promoted the

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

cultural heritage of the Romanians. Thus Blaj gained the nickname "The Little Rome", as Romania's national poet

Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanians, Romanian Romanticism, Romantic poet, novelist, and journalist from Moldavia, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Emin ...

called it. In 1848,

Câmpia Libertății Câmpia Libertății (''The Field of Liberty'') is located in the city of Blaj, in Transylvania, Romania. It was the place where two national assemblies were held during the 1848 Revolution, the first one in May, and the second one in September. ...

in Blaj was where over 40,000 Romanians met to protest Transylvania becoming a part of Hungary, holding that the lands would be stolen from them.

Geography

Blaj lies at the confluence of the

Târnava Mare The Târnava Mare ("Great Târnava"; ; ) is a river in Romania. Its total length is and its basin size is . Its source is in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, near the sources of the Mureș and Olt in Harghita County. It flows through the Roma ...

and

Târnava Mică The Târnava Mică ("Small Târnava"; ; ) is a river in Romania. Its total length is , and its drainage basin area is . Its source is in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, in Harghita County. It flows to the west through the Romanian counties Hargh ...

rivers, where they form the

Târnava River The Târnava (full name in ; ; ; ) is a river in Romania. It is formed by the confluence of the Târnava Mare and Târnava Mică in the town of Blaj. The Târnava flows into the Mureș after 23 km near the town of Teiuș. The two source riv ...

. It is located northeast of the county seat,

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

, in a renowned wine-growing region.

Demographics

At the 2021 census, Blaj had a population of 17,816. At the 2011 census, the city had a population of 20,630, of which 16,779 (83.78%) were

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, 1,305 (6.51%)

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

, 1,850 (9.23%)

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

, and 45 (0.22%)

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

. In terms of religious affiliation, 14,784 (71.19%) were

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

, 2,732 (13.24%)

Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...

, 744 (3.58%)

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 985

Reformed Church Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

, 408

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, and 220

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

Education

The city has several high schools, including the Inochentie Micu Clain National College, the , and the Sfântul Vasile cel Mare Greek-Catholic Theological High School.

Attractions

The castle of the

Bethlen The House of Bethlen is the name of two Hungarian ancient noble families, ''Bethlen de Iktár'' and ''Bethlen de Bethlen''. Although both families have similar coat of arms, they have no proven mutual ancestry. Both can trace their noble lineage ...

dynasty is a popular tourist site near Blaj. Other sights worth visiting include the Metropolitan Palace, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the "''Buna Vestire''" Monastery, the Greeks' Church, the "Liberty Field", and

Avram Iancu Avram Iancu (; ; 1824 – September 10, 1872) was a Transylvanian Romanian lawyer who played an important role in the local chapter of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire, Austrian Empire Revolutions of 1848–1849. He was especiall ...

's oak.

Twin towns — Sister cities

Blaj is twinned with: *

Allschwil Allschwil () is a List of towns in Switzerland, village and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Arlesheim (district), Arlesheim in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Allschwil is a sea ...

Morlanwelz Morlanwelz (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 Morlanwelz had a total population of 18,595. The total area is 20.26 km2 which gives a population density of 918 inhabitants per km2 ...

Recanati Recanati () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Macerata, in the Italian region of Marche. Recanati was founded around 1150 AD from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and, in the 15th c ...

Natives

Tiberiu Bărbulețiu Tiberiu Bărbulețiu (born 1 December 1963 in Blaj) is a Romanian politician. He is a member of the National Liberal Party. He was a member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies between 2004 and 2008, and was also a Member of the European Parliament ...

(born 1963), politician *

Silviu Bindea Silviu Bindea (24 October 1912 – 6 March 1992) was a Romanian football player and coach. He represented Romania at the 1934 and 1938 World Cups as a forward, scoring twice in a first-round game in 1938. Honours Player ;Ripensia Timișoara * ...

(1912–1992), footballer *

Matei Boilă Matei Zaharia Boilă (17 April 1926 – 27 August 2015) was a conservative Romanian politician, who later became a Greek Catholic priest. Boilă was influenced by the activity of his great-uncle on his mother's side of the family, Iuliu Maniu, a Pr ...

(1926–2015), politician, Greek-Catholic priest * Bogdan Cistean (born 1986), footballer *

Sonia Colceru Sonia Colceru (born 1 January 1934) is a Romanian volleyball player. She competed in the women's tournament at the 1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held ...

(born 1934), volleyball player *

Ferenc Csentery Ferenc Csentery (December 29, 1937 – November 7, 2014) was an abstract metal sculptor known for his conceptual work related to the emergence of the US Space Program in the 1960s. He was particularly known for the high degree of technical preci ...

(1937–2014), abstract metal sculptor * Doina Ivănescu (1935–1996), volleyball player *

Bogdan Jica Bogdan Cristian Jica (born 3 iulie 2000) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga III side CIL Blaj. In his career, Jica also played for teams such as: Daco-Getica București or Dunărea Călărași. Honours ACS ...

(born 2000), footballer * Nicolae Linca (1929–2008), welterweight boxer *

Daniel Lupașcu Daniel Ștefan Lupașcu (born 17 August 1981) is a Romanian former football player who played as a striker for teams such as CSM Reșița, Apulum Alba Iulia, Bihor Oradea or Arieșul Turda, among others. He played briefly in the Romanian Lig ...

(born 1981), footballer *

Ioan Simu Ioan Simu (June 27, 1875–June 22, 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian Romanian Greek-Catholic Church, Greek-Catholic priest and politician. Biography Origins, early activity and World War I Born in the village of Ciufud, in Alsó-Feh ...

(1875–1948), Greek-Catholic priest and politician *

Ioan Suciu Ioan Suciu (December 4, 1907 – June 27, 1953) was a Romanian bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church, born into a clerical family in Blaj. Suciu studied in Rome, Italy first at Sant'Atanasio and then at the ''Pontificium Institutum Internation ...

(1907–1953), bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church *

Daniel Tătar Daniel Vasile Tătar (born 21 October 1987) is a Romanian footballer under contract with CIL Blaj. His first match in Liga I was played for CSU Voința Sibiu against Astra Ploiești. Honours Hermannstadt *Cupa României: Runner-up 2017–18 V ...

(born 1987), footballer *

Samuil Vulcan Samuil Vulcan (1 August 1758 – 25 December 1839) was the Bishop of the Diocese of Oradea Mare of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church from 1806 to 1839. Life Vulcan was born on 1 August 1758 in Veza, a former village which has since been inc ...

(1758–1839), bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church

Climate

Blaj has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Cfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

). The city has a continental temperate climate, characteristic for 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 ...

, with moderate precipitations of around 550 mm/m².

References

External links

Blaj - Sunrise of Romanians (A short documentary film about Blaj)
{{Authority control Populated places in Alba County Cities in Romania Localities in Transylvania Capitals of former Romanian counties