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°ECoordinates: 45°55′41″N 24°27′44″E / 45.92806°N 24.46222°E | |
| 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
- Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet, English lawyer, politician and judge
- Adolf Gottschling (1841-1918), a professor at the Brukenthal College in Sibiu and one of the pioneers of meteorology in Transylvania
References
- ↑ "Sibiu Agnita Railway Group". Retrieved 2 December 2015.