DAY 4, Brasov

The city was described in 1235 AD under the name Corona, a Latin word meaning "crown", a name given by the German colonists. According to D. Moldovanu, the name of Brasov came from the name of local river named Barsa (also pronounced as "Bărsa"). Barsa was adopted by Slavs and transformed in Barsa and later in Barsov and finally in Brasov. According to Binder, the current Romanian and the Hungarian name Brassó (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈbrɒʃːoː]) are derived from the Turkic word barasu, meaning "white water" with a Slavic suffix -ov. Other linguists proposed various etymologies including an Old Slavic anthroponym Brasa.
The first attested mention of Brasov is Terra Saxonum de Barasu ("Saxon Land of Baras") in a 1252 document. The German name Kronstadt means "Crown City" and is reflected in the city's coat of arms as well as in its Medieval Latin name, Corona. The two names of the city, Kronstadt and Corona, were used simultaneously in the Middle Ages, along with the Medieval Latin Brassovia. From 1950 to 1960, during part of the Communist period in Romania, the city was called Orasul Stalin (Stalin City), after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
The oldest traces of human activity and settlements in Brasov date back to the Neolithic age (about 9500 BCE). Archaeologists working from the last half of the 19th century discovered continuous traces of human settlements in areas situated in Brasov: Valea Cetății, Pietrele lui Solomon, Șprenghi, Tâmpa, Dealul Melcilor, and Noua. The first three locations show traces of Dacian citadels; Sprenghi Hill housed a Roman-style construction. The last two locations had their names applied to Bronze Age cultures—Schneckenberg ‘Hill of the Snails’ (Early Bronze Age[7]) and Noua 'The New’ (Late Bronze Age. German colonists known as the Transylvanian Saxons played a decisive role in Brasov's development. These Germans were invited by Hungarian kings to develop towns, build mines, and cultivate the land of Transylvania at different stages between 1141 and 1300. The settlers came primarily from the Rhineland, Flanders, and the Moselle region, with others from Thuringia, Bavaria, Wallonia, and even France. In 1211, by order of King Andrew II of Hungary, the Teutonic Knights fortified the Burzenland to defend the border of the Kingdom of Hungary. On the site of the village of Brașov, the Teutonic Knights built Kronstadt – the city of the crown.[9] Although the crusaders were evicted by 1225, the colonists they brought in remained, along with local population, as did three distinct settlements they founded on the site of Brasov:

•     Corona, around the Black Church (Biserica Neagra)
•     Martinsberg, west of Cetățuia Hill
•     Bartholomä, on the eastern side of Sprenghi Hill

The Holy Roman Emperor and sovereign of Transylvania Joseph II awarded Romanians citizenship rights for a brief period during the latter decades of the 18th century.
In 1850 the town had 21,782 inhabitants: 8,874 (40.7%) Germans, 8,727 (40%) Romanians, 2,939 (13.4%) Hungarians.[10] In 1910 the town had 41,056 inhabitants: 10,841 (26.4%) Germans, 11,786 (28.7%) Romanians, 17,831 (43.4%) Hungarians. [10] In World War I, the town was occupied by Romanian troops between 16 August and 4 October in 1916 during Battle of Transylvania. The central area, with the Black Church in the lower-left, looking north towards the fortress on Straja hill, in 1906
 
In 1918, after the Proclamation of union of Alba Iulia (adopted by the Deputies of the Romanians from Transylvania), Deputies of the Saxons from Transylavania supported it, with their vote to be part of Romania, and declared their allegiance to the new Romanian state. The inter-war period was a time of flourishing economic and cultural life in general, which included the Saxons in Brașov as well. However, at the end of World War II many ethnic Germans were forcibly deported to the Soviet Union, and many more emigrated to West Germany after Romania became a communist country. Jews have lived in Brasov since 1807, when Aron Ben Jehuda was given permission to live in the city, a privilege until then granted only to Saxons. The Jewish community of Brasov was officially founded 19 years later, followed by the first Jewish school in 1864, and the building of the synagogue in 1901. The Jewish population of Brașov was 67 in 1850, but it expanded rapidly to 1,280 people in 1910 and 4,000 by 1940. Today the community has about 230 members, after many families left for Israel between World War II and 1989. Like many other cities in Transylvania, Brasov is also home to a significant ethnic Hungarian minority. During the communist period, industrial development was vastly accelerated. Under Nicolae Ceaușescu's rule, the city was the site of the 1987 Brasov strike. This was repressed by the authorities and resulted in numerous workers being imprisoned.