Alțâna

Alţâna
Commune

Location of Alţâna, Sibiu
Alţâna

Location of Alţâna, Sibiu

Coordinates: 45°55′41″N 24°27′44″E / 45.92806°N 24.46222°E / 45.92806; 24.46222Coordinates: 45°55′41″N 24°27′44″E / 45.92806°N 24.46222°E / 45.92806; 24.46222
Country  Romania
County Sibiu County
Status Commune
Founded 1291 (first official record)
Government
  Mayor Brezaie Vasile (Democratic Party)
Area
  Total 83.32 km2 (32.17 sq mi)
Population (2002)
  Total 1,621
  Density 19.5/km2 (51/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal Code 557005
Website http://www.cjsibiu.ro/ro/altana.php

Alţâna (German: Alzen; Hungarian: Alcina) is a commune in the north of Sibiu County, central Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. It is composed of three villages: Alţâna, Beneşti (Bägendorf; Bendorf) and Ghijasa de Sus (Obergesäß; Felsőgezés).

Alţâna was one of the most important villages of the Transylvanian Saxon seat of Nocrich.

History

In 1910 the Agnita to Sibiu railway line was completed with at station at Alțâna and Benești however the line was closed in 2001. An active restoration group has since been formed aiming to restore the entire line to working condition.[1]

Name

The legend says that the first German villagers were led by ten "greavi". These ten men counseled in the matter of how should they name the settlement and each of them wanted to use their name. In the end, they decided to name it Alzen, which means "all ten".

Natives

References

  1. "Sibiu Agnita Railway Group". Retrieved 2 December 2015.


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