Predeal (; hu, Predeál) is a town in Brașov 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 ...

. Predeal, a mountain resort town, is the highest town in Romania. It is located in the

Prahova Valley Prahova Valley (Romanian: ''Valea Prahovei'') is the valley where the Prahova river makes its way between the Bucegi and the Baiu Mountains, in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania. It is a tourist region, situated about north of the capital city ...

at an elevation of over . The town administers three villages: Pârâul Rece, Timișu de Jos and Timișu de Sus. Predeal is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with

Macugnaga Macugnaga (Walser German: ''Z'Makana'') is a mountain village and a comune at elevation, in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the north of the Piedmont region of Italy. It is located at the base of Monte Rosa (), the second-tallest mounta ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Beginning in the 2000s, the area experienced a boom in construction, and now many wealthy families own mountain retreats in Predeal. During the 2013 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, it hosted the cross-country skiing and snowboarding competitions.

Name

The name Predeal is derived from the Slavic word '' predel'', which means "border".

History

The town was severely damaged during the Battle of Predeal Pass in World War I. Although the town itself was lost to the attacking Central Powers' forces, the battle ultimately resulted in a Romanian defensive victory.

Geography

Predeal is situated in the Centru development region of Romania, in the Prahova Valley, in the southern part of Brașov County. Neighboring towns include

Azuga Azuga is a small resort town in the mountains of Prahova County in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania. It is located at the foot of the Baiu Mountains and contains several ski slopes, including the longest ski run in Romania, the S ...

to the south,

Bușteni Bușteni () is a small mountain town in the north of Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, at the bottom of the Bucegi Mountains, that have a maximum altitude of . Its name literally means tree-logs in Romani ...

to the southwest, Râșnov to the northwest and Brașov to the north. The town is mountainous, with the Piatra Mare mountains to the north, the Bucegi mountains to the southwest and the Postăvarul Massif to the northwest. The

woods Woods or The Woods may refer to: Common meanings * Woodland * Forest * Wood, solid material from trees or shrubs Places United States * Woods, Kentucky * Woods, Oregon * Woods, a municipality in Liberty County, Florida * The Woods, a ...

around Predeal have a rich and diversified

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''biota''. Zoo ...

, including a high number of

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

s, European pine martens, bears, foxes, gray wolves,

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...

, squirrels, rabbits, badgers and

heather cocks Go Fug Yourself is a comedy blog devoted to fashion gossip. Creators The authors and owners of the blog are writers Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks, who met when they were working as recappers for the website Television Without Pity, then know ...

Climate

Predeal has a warm-summer and cold în winter (with a lot of snow)

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 freez ...

(''Dfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

Tourism

The town of Predeal is a well-known tourist destination in Romania, especially in winter. Predeal has five major ski runs, each with a difficulty grade. Most of them have snowmaking guns, and some are fitted with floodlights and ski lifts. The slopes range from (Clăbucet variantă) to (Cocoșul). Some of the town's tourist attractions include the 3 Brazi Chalet, The Susai Chalet and The Poiana Secuilor Chalet. In close proximity to Predeal are several tourist destinations, including the Peleş Castle,

Râșnov Citadel Râșnov (; german: Rosenau; hu, Barcarozsnyó; Transylvanian Saxon dialect: ''Ruusenåå''; Latin: ''Rosnovia'') is a town in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 15,022. It is located at about from the city of Bra ...

, Bran Castle, The Old Town of Brașov, Biserica Neagră and the Seven Ladders Canyon. The town has been certified as a climate resort by government decree (H.G. 226/1992) due to the strongly ionized air rich in

ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiati ...

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, vi ...

and the low

atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibar ...

. Because of this, Predeal is popular within the holistic healing community.

Infrastructure

The town is crossed by two national roads (DN73A and

DN1 DN1 ( ro, Drumul Național 1) is an important national road in Romania which links Bucharest with the northwestern part of the country and the border with Hungary via Borș. The main cities linked by DN1 are Bucharest, Ploiești, Brașov, Sibiu, ...

) and one national railway ( Line 300, one of the main lines in Romania). Predeal is one of the cities which will be crossed by the future Bucharest – Brașov motorway.

Gallery

File:Manastirea Predeal Biserica.jpg, Predeal Monastery File:Predeal 2009.jpg, Street in Predeal File:RO BV Predeal train station.jpg, Predeal railway station File:Peisaj Timisul de Jos.jpg, Timișu de Jos village

Notes

References

Strategia de dezvoltare a orașului Predeal

External links

Town map

Pictures and landscapes from the Carpathian Mountains

{{Authority control Populated places in Brașov County Localities in Transylvania Towns in Romania Prahova Valley Ski areas and resorts in Romania Place names of Slavic origin in Romania