Brașov County is a county of Romania, in Transylvania, with the capital city at Brașov. The county incorporates within its boundaries most of the Medieval "lands" Burzenland and Făgăraș.
Name
In Hungarian, it is known as Brassó megye, and in German as Kreis Kronstadt. Under Kingdom of Hungary, a county with an identical name was created in 1876, covering a smaller area.
Traditionally the Romanian population was concentrated in the West and South-West of the County, the Hungarians are in the East part of the county, and the Germans were in the North and around Brașov city.
Brașov is one of the most prosperous regions of Romania and has a tradition in industry. During World War II, IAR 80 and towards the end of the war Bf 109, fighter aircraft were built in Brașov. During the communist period it was heavily industrialised, and its heritage were some very large industrial complexes. Some of them managed to survive and adapt to the capitalist type market economy, some of them didn't, leaving behind them a high rate of unemployment. Due to new investments, mainly foreign ones, the economy managed to partially recover. The predominant industries in the county are:
Mechanical and automotive industry.
Chemical industry.
Construction materials.
Food industry.
Around Victoria there are big chemical complexes which pollute the region.
Tourism
Brașov contains some of the most attractive tourist destinations in Romania. The main tourist attractions in the county are:
Historically, the county was located in the central part of Greater Romania, in the southeastern part of Transylvania. Its capital was Brașov. Its territory included the part of the old region of Țara Bârsei. The county's territory was enlarged as a result of the administrative reform of 1925. Its territory covered the eastern part of today's Braşov County, and the south of today's Covasna County. It was bordered on the west by the counties of Făgăraș and Muscel, to the north by Trei Scaune County, to the east by Buzău County, and to the south by the counties of Prahova and Dâmbovița.
History
Prior to World War I, the territory of the county belonged to Austria-Hungary and was identical with the Brassó County of the Kingdom of Hungary. The territory of Brașov County was transferred to Romania from Hungary as successor state to Austria-Hungary in 1920 under the Treaty of Trianon. In 1938, King Carol II promulgated a new Constitution, and subsequently he had the administrative division of the Romanian territory changed. were created to be ruled by rezidenți regali - appointed directly by the King - instead of the prefects. Brașov County became part of Ținutul Argeș. In 1940, part of the county was transferred back to Hungary with the rest of Northern Transylvania under the Second Vienna Award. Beginning in 1944, Romanian forces with Soviet assistance recaptured the ceded territory and reintegrated it into Romania. Romanian jurisdiction over the entire county per the Treaty of Trianon was reaffirmed in the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947. The county was disestablished by the communist government of Romania in 1950, and re-established in 1968 when Romania restored the county administrative system.
Administration
Until the administrative reform of 1925, Brasov County was divided into three administrative districts, 23 rural communes, and one urban commune. After 1925, the area of the county was similarly divided into three districts:
As a mountain county, agriculture was poorly developed in Brașov. Much of the county's land was covered with potatoes, and orchards were planted in the hilly areas. An important concern was livestock breeding. Such industry as there was in the county was concentrated in the city of Brașov. In 1925, it had production centers in the chemical, metallurgical, construction, food, textile, machine, pharmaceutical and light industries. Surrounding areas excelled in the metallurgy, extractive, construction, food, textile and light industry. The city of Brașov was also the main outlet of the county for local products. Among the natural richness of the county were Zizin's mineral waters, containing sodium bicarbonate, iron, iodine, and carbonic acid. Lignite was exploited at Prejmer, and bituminous coal at Vulcan and Cristian.
Education
In 1925, there was a state high school for boys and another one for girls, four religious high schools for boys, a gymnasium, six secondary schools, four commercial schools, a normal school for educators, a school of arts and crafts and a school of state for commercial and industrial apprentices. The number of state primary schools was 19 and the religious was 53
Population
The census of 1920 reported 101,953 inhabitants, of which 36,138 were ethnic Romanians, 33,584 Hungarians, 30,281 Germans, 1,560 Jews, and 390 of other nationalities. According to the census data of 1930, the county's population was 168,125, of which 49.9% were Romanians, 26.6% Hungarians, 19.8% Germans, as well as other minorities. In the religious aspect, the population consisted of 48.8% Eastern Orthodox, 27.8% Lutheran, 9.9% Roman Catholic, 6% Reformed, 2.4% Greek Catholic, 1.7% Jewish, as well as other minorities.
Urban population
In 1930, the urban population of the county was 59,232, of which 39.3% were Hungarians, 32.7% Romanians, 22.0% Germans, 3.8% Jews, as well as other minorities. As a mother tongue in the urban population, Hungarian was 42.2%, followed by Romanian, German, Yiddish as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was made up of 30.0% Eastern Orthodox, 22.3% Roman Catholic, 22.0% Evangelical, 13.9% Reformed, 4.4% Jewish, 3.5% Greek Catholic, 3.2% Unitarian, as well as other minorities.
