The Rucăr-Bran Pass, also called in English the Bran Pass (german: Törzburger Pass, hu, Törcsvári-szoros), is a mountain pass in

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 ...

, linking the counties of

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census ( 2011), Brașov has a po ...

and Argeș. It has some of the most spectacular natural views in Romania, looking over the

Bucegi Mountains The Bucegi Mountains (Romanian: ''Munții Bucegi'' ) are located in central Romania, south of the city of Brașov. They are part of the Southern Carpathians group of the Carpathian Mountains. At , '' Omu'' is its highest point. To the east, the ...

of the

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ro, Carpații Meridionali ; hu, Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the ...

. The Pass starts in the commune of Rucăr, Argeș County, and runs for about in a northeasterly direction. The communes of Fundata (including Șirnea village) and Moieciu, both in Brașov County, lie within the Pass, which ends in

Bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains ...

National road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

DN73 DN73 ( ro, Drumul Național 73) is a national road in Romania which links Pitești with Brașov. It is a high-traffic road and the preferred route for trucks. Near Câmpulung the road crosses the Southern Carpathians along the Dâmbovița Riv ...

runs through the Pass, connecting the city of

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in the historical re ...

, southwest of Rucăr, to the city of

, northeast of Bran.

History

In 1382,

Bran Castle Bran Castle ( ro, Castelul Bran; german: Schloss Bran; hu, Törcsvári kastély) is a castle in Bran, southwest of Brașov. It is a national monument and landmark in Transylvania. The fortress is on the Transylvanian side of the historical ...

was built by the

Transylvanian Saxons The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ( ...

of Brașov to defend the Pass from the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. In the year 1413, a customs post in the Pass was licensed by the ruler of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

. This charged a duty on all goods brought through the Pass. Southwards the usual trade route ran to Cetățeni, branching out to Popești and Hirsova.David Turnock, ''The Making of Eastern Europe: from the earliest times to 1815'' (1988), p. 41

Notes

External links

Foggy weather on Rucar-Bran Pass
at Youtube.com Mountain passes of Romania Southern Carpathians Geography of Argeș County Geography of Brașov County {{Romania-geo-stub