Hungary | Moldavia |
History of Transylvania : Narrative . References : Online Secondary Sources . Online Primary Sources . Bibliographic and Print Sources |
NARRATIVE For the history prior to 1918, see see Kingdom of Hungary 1526-1683 . 1683-1790 . 1790-1867 . 1867-1920 . 1920-1940 . 1940-1944 For the history since 1992, see Romania |
1526-1683 As a political entity, Transylvania had been established by three political acts - the Unions of the Three Estates of 1437, 1459 and by the Diet of Thorenburg 1542. The Diet decided over war and peace, fixed taxes, controlled the militia. At Thorenburg 1542, John Sigismund was elected Prince; in 1545 a standing army of 6,000 was established. The three estates also were referred to as the three nations - the Hungarians, the Szekler (Hungarian speaking pastoralists) and the Saxons (Germans). The majority Vlachs (ethnic Rumanians; by religion Orthodox christians) mostly were serfs and not represented. In the Battle of Mohacs, the Hungarian branch of the Jagiellon dynasty had ended with the death of Louis II. Hungary now was open to Ottoman raids, but also open for Emperor Ferdinand I. of Habsburg to press his claim of Hungary's crown. Hungary's diet in the meantime had elected Janos Zapilyai, the Vajda of Transylvania, king. Ferdinand's army chased him out of the country, fleeing to Poland. He submitted to Ottoman rule; an Ottoman army defeated the Habsburg forces in 1529 and laid siege to Vienna in 1529, without success. The war lingered on; the Turks took Buda in 1541. By now it had become apparent that Hungary was partitioned in three parts - Royal Hungary in the west, under Habsburg control (with core Croatia and much of Slovakia, then called Upper Hungary), Ottoman Hungary in the central plains, and Transylvania in the east, largely autonomous until 1683. In 1547 and 1568, peace was agreed upon on the basis of the status quo. Transylvania became a separate duchy which in 1528 submitted to the Ottoman Empire. In 1540 it became an independent principality; the reunion with Royal Hungary in 1548 had little effect as both territories had only a short border in Slovakia and Transylvania in effect remained independent until 1683. In 1619 Transylvania's Prince Bethlen Gabor even took up arms against the Emperor, in the cause of Hungary's protestants. In Kronstadt, Johannes Honterus published a booklet advocating the Lutheran Reformation in 1542; in 1547 the Lutheran Reformation was introduced at the Saxon churches in Transylvania. In the later 16th century there were four major churches, the Catholic, the Orthodox (Vlachs, Ruthenians), the Lutheran (Germans) and the Calvinist. Religious freedom - at the initiative of Ferenc David (1535-1579) - established at the Diet of Torda 1568 (3 accepted faiths : Catholicism, Lutheranism, Calvinism; Orthodox church, Judaism merely tolerated). In 1566 the Transylvanian diet at Sibiu decreed the expulsion of heretic (i.e. Orthodox) bishops. Transylvania did not have a capital, the diet traditionally assembled at Thorenburg. The country had a number of cities, it's mines of economic importance far beyond the country itself. Koloszvar (Cluj, Klausenburg) was the residence of Transylvania's princes. In 1582, the bible was published in a Vlach translation (translated and financed by protestant Hungarians). Peace was fragile; the Habsburgs pursued plans to both reunite Hungary, to promote the Counterreformation and to continue with their policy of centralization. In 1548/1551 they failed to acquire Transylvania; in spite of religious toleration guaranteed in the Treaty of Vienna 1606 the Jesuits made extensive use of the inquisition in subsequent years, causing Transylvania's Prince Bethlen Gabor to rise in arms in the cause of Hungary's protestants. He was elected King of Hungary by the diet of 1620, and only the appearance of an Ottoman force prevented a clash. Frequent warfare had a lasting impact on Hungary, as the population decreased and the countryside population, in order to find protection against raids, concentrated in huge villages. The ethnic pattern also was altered, to the disadvantage of the Hungarians, as other people (Serbs, Vlachs) etc. migrated into depopulated areas. Transylvania emerged as a center of Hungarian culture. Here the freedom enjoyed by Calvinists and Lutherans resulted in the emergence of Hungarian- and German-language literature; the Princes, most of all Bethlen Gabor, also favoured the arts (Transylvanian Renaissance). In 1599 Prince Michael of Wallachia temporarily occupied Alba Julia, the Transylvanian capital. 1683-1790 In Hungarian, Transylvania is called Erdely, in Rumanian Ardeal, in German Siebenbürgen. The 2nd Ottoman siege of Vienna was broken in the Battle of Kahlenberg 1683. In 1688 the Estates of Transylvania renounced the sovereignty of the Sultan over their country, and submitted to Emperor Leopold. After a brief Ottoman invasion Sept./Oct. 1690, in which the Turks proclaimed Imre Thököly Prince of Transylvania, the country was restored to Austrian sovereignty. The war was ended with the Peace of Carlovitz / Karlowitz (1699), in which the Ottoman Empire ceded Transylvania and Hungary except the Banat to Austria. The Kuruc Rebellion (1703-1711) separated Transylvania from the Austrian lands; However, Habsburg sovereignty was again recognized by Transylvania's diet in the Peace of Szatmar (1711), in which the country's privileges were confirmed. While Royal and Ottoman Hungary were reunited to form the (Habsburg) Kingdom of Hungary, Transylvania was not included, but remained a separate entity. The principality's representative body was the diet; it did not meet between 1761 and 1790. The Austrian authorities, with some success, interfered in the appointment of officials, with the result of Catholics often given preferential treatment. Transylvania had a capital of it's own - Kolozsvar (Cluj, Klausenburg), a diet of it's own dominated by the Hungarian nobility and the often German representatives of the cities. Although Transylvania granted freedom of religion, a clear distinction was made between Accepted Confessions - Lutheranism, Calvinism, Catholicism - and Tolerated Confessions/Religions (Orthodox Christianity : the Vlachs, and Judaism). The Vlachs (Romanians), which probably formed the population majority, were not represented on Transylvania's diet. The border regions of Transylvania were placed under military administration (MilitÄrgrenze). Alba Iulia was fortified 1715-1738. As Hungary had seen most of the fighting during the 16-year-long Habsburg-Ottoman war, Transylvania to a lesser extent had suffered from depopulation; a resettlement policy therefore also was less important for Transylvania then for Hungary. Yet settlement did take place, changing the ethnic balance in Transylvania in favor of the Vlach (Romanian) element. Transylvania was administrated by governors appointed from Vienna. The Habsburg administration respected the religious freedom guaranteed to Transylvania in privileges, but still favoured Catholicism. In 1713, the church at Alba Julia (Gyula Fehervar), until 1601 the seat of the bishop of Transylvania and since occupied by the protestants, was returned to the Catholic church. From 1734 onward, protestants from Austria proper who refused to convert to Catholicism were forced to transmigrate to Transylvania (until 1774, several thousand). Transylvania was a multinational state where the respective nations, better ethno-religious groups, had found a modus vivendi which was manifested in their privileges. The Transylvania Saxons (i.e. Lutheran Germans) claimed that within their community, everyone was equal before the law; therefore no Hungarian nobleman should be permitted to buy Saxon land (for noblemen claimed a higher status in front of the law). The Habsburg administration regarded both Transylvania's Hungarian nobility and its Lutheran German community as suspicious elements and, by supporting Catholicism, destabilized Transylvania's political balance. The process of destabilization received another strong impulse when Emperor Joseph II. strove to cancel all old privileges, which in case of Transylvania's Lutheran German community formed the basis of its existence and identity. Joseph II. dissolved the Transylvanian university and revoked the diploma signed by Emperor Leopold I. in 1691. In 1700, the total population of Transylvania was estimated at 500,000; a 1721 census counted 806,221 (132,570 families). In 1787, 258,339 families were counted. The Romanian population was represented by the Orthodox clergy. Campaigns to convert the Orthodox population to Catholicism, in the late 17th century, targetted the Orthodox clergy. The conditions asked of the latter for a union with Rome were the recognition of the pope, the usage of unleavened bread in holy mass, recognition of purgatory, trinity (1697/1700, accepted by Orthodox Metropolitan Atanasie of Transylvania). The Transylvanian Uniate Church was to continue practising her traditional liturgy and canonic law. At the Synod of Alba Iulia 1697, a part of the Orthodox clergy accepted the union. In 1704 a Jesuit university was established at Nagyszombat. In 1715 a Uniate diocesis was established at Fagaras. In 1759, Maria Theresia reluctantly decreed the toleration of the Orthodox Church, and permitted the Orthodox community to name their own bishop. By the 1720es, many Transylvanian Saxons returning from studies in Halle and elsewhere in (Lutheran) Germany were inspired by Pietism. The Lutheran bishop of Transylvania was suspicious of pietist ideology; the pietist preachers and teachers met many obstacles and were isolated, unable to implement lasting changes. Martin Gottlieb Seuler, a Transylvanian Saxon, joined the Freemasons in 1749 and soon after founded the first Masonic lodge in the principality, which as of short duration. The Saint Andrews' Lodge, established in the mid-1760es, was the first to last. In the 1770es, the Jesuit (since 1773 Piarist) College at Kolosvar became center of Enlightenment thought; in 1770 J. Frivaldsky suggested a comprehensive economic reform. In multiethnic Transylvania, Frivaldsky's and others' publications reached a limited, educated readership - they were written in Latin; only in the 1780es were the first scientific works published in Hungarian. Peasant rebellions 1744 (lead by Orthodox monk Visarion), 1751, 1759 (caused by heavy taxation and excessive corvee labour demands by the nobility). 1784-1785 Peasant Revolt lead by Horia. 1790-1867 Liberalism and Nationalism were the two political keywords characterizing the 19th century. Yet in Transylvania main demands of liberalism - equality before the law, the abolition of servitude, the abolition of privileges, equal treatment of all confessions and ethnies, would mean the break-up of the political structure of the country. The diet was dominated by the ethnically Hungarian nobles, which were not interested in granting personal liberty or political franchise to both Vlach and Hungarian peasants. The Lutheran Saxons also feared losing their privileges which had been restored by Joseph II. in 1790. Nationalism equally was dangerous, as it made the Hungarian nobility aware that Hungarians formed a minority in the country. The Transylvania Saxons were not very susceptible to German nationalism, for over the last century they had learned to look at the (German) administration in Vienna with scepticism. Nationalism found the most ardent supporters among Transylvania's Vlachs, who formed the majority of the population but were treated as subjects without political rights. In 1841, Transylvania had a total population of 2.14 million inhabitants, of them 1.29 million Romanians, 606.000 Hungarians, 214.000 Germans, 19.900 Gypsies, 9.100 Armenians and 3.155 Jews. Transylvania's agriculture was backward, still sticking to the medieval three field rotation system. The mass of the peasants still were serfs by status. The nobles, estate owners tried to improve their position by demanding excessive corvee labour, by appropriating the common etc. The Transylvanian economy had suffered from the factual Austrian state bankrupcy of 1811; the number of craftsmen in Transylvania declined in the early decades of the 19th century. Roads, transportation in general was poor. In 1835 Transylvania's first bank opened in Kronstadt. Trade expositions were held in Kronstadt 1843, Hermannstadt 1844. Meanwhile Hungary proper was grasped by the fever of nationalism, and in Hungary's parliament, the demand for the reincorporation of Transylvania into Hungary was frequently made. In 1842, Stephan Ludwig Roth spoke out against the Magyarization of Transylvania. Transylvania's Romanians in 1848 held a meeting at Blaj, where they rejected the union with Hungary proposed by Hungary's diet, declared Transylvania to be part of an envisioned Romania; the meeting, organized by the Romanian Orthodox Church, laid the foundation for the Romanian National Party. The delegates who attended the Blaj meeting suffered their houses being burnt down, being jailed or even being killed; in September 1848 armed resistance was organized. Meanwhile Hungary passed a law annexing Transylvania; Emperor Francis Joseph was bullied into acceptance. Transylvania's Saxon Estate, in a memorandum, postulated the emancipation of Transylvania's Romanian ethnic group. In 1849, the Hungarians executed Stephan Ludwig Roth, the administrator of Transylvania's Saxon Estate ('Nationsuniversität'). Hungary's revolt was suppressed, the war affecting Transylvania as well (230 villages razed, 40,000 killed, damage of 30 million gold florin afflicted). Transylvania continued to be administrated as a separate administrative entity. When, according to the October Diploma of 1860, a central parliament for all of the Austrian Empire was elected, Transylvania's 539,000 Hungarians and Szeklers were represented by 24 deputees, her 1,353,000 Romanians by 8 deputees, as were her 196,000 Saxons. The Transylvanian diet elected in 1863 was composed of 56 Romanians, 54 Hungarians and Szeklers and 44 Saxons and Swabians. In 1865 the Transylvanian Diet established three official languages : Hungarian, German, Romanian. In 1867 when the Austro-Hungarian Ausgleich (Compromise) was signed, in which Transylvania was fully reincorporated into Hungary; Transylvania lost her political autonomy and became subject to Magyarization policy. In 1851 the MilitÄrgrenze was dissolved, large border tracts reintegrated into Transylvania. |
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1867-1920 The incorporation of Transylvania into the Hungarian Kingdom in 1867 significantly altered the ethnic balance. The Rumanian (Vlach) ethny, hitherto the majority within Transylvania, suddenly found itself a marginalized minority within the greater Hungarian Kingdom. The Lutheran Saxons, accustomed to being a minority, now found themselves a much smaller minority in relation to the total population. Both Transylvania's Romanian and German (Saxon) ethnies resented the policy of Magyarization : Hungarian language was to be used exclusively in administration, jurisdiction and secondary education. This policy aimed at the assimilation of the ethnic minorities. The SiebenbÜrgener LandesuniversitÄt (political organization of the German community in Transylvania) was dissolved in 1876. The Romanian minority looked across the border to Romania, a state created in 1859/1861 by the merger of Wallachia and Moldavia, and an independent kingdom since 1881; the hopes of the Transylvania Saxons were directed toward Bismarck's German Empire founded in 1871. In 1868, the Transylvanian Romanians opted for a policy of passivism and abstentionism, maintained until 1905. In 1881 the Romanian National Party in Transylvania first made independence their demand. In 1906, Transylvanian Romanian Aurel Popovici (he had been sentenced to 4 years in prison in 1893 in a politically motivated trial), in his book Die Vereinigten Staaten von Grossösterreich (The United States of Great Austria) suggested the transformation of the Dual Monarchy in a federation consisting of 15 states, in which German should be the official language. Hungary's parliament resented the concept; the book was banned in Hungary. In 1907, the Apponyi law made Hungarian the language of education in all elementary schools. When World War I broke out in 1914, Hungary's Prime Minister Tisza, well aware of the sentiment in Transylvania, feared that the province might fall to Rumanian troops in case they invaded, as a large part of the population sympathized with Romania. When Romania did declare war in July 1916, his worries became fact, as much of Transylvania was occupied by Romanian forces in August. However, a Central Powers offensive beginning in September resulted in the liberation of Transylvania and the occupation of most of Romania. On November 11th 1918, Emperor Karl I. abdicated. The Empire disintegrated, as did the Kingdom of Hungary; the ethnic minorities refused to negotiate with core-Hungary's prime minister Karolyi. A meeting of Transylvanian Romanians held at Alba Julia on ec. 1st 1918 proclaimed the union of Transylvania with Romania. The Peace of Trianon 1920 awarded Transylvania to Romania; the Romanian and German community of Transylvania, the latter in the Declaration of Mediasch on January 8th 1919, had opted for annexion to Romania, expecting political autonomous status of Transylvania within the Kingdom of Romania. 1920-1940 In the Proclamation of Alba Julia (Dec. 1st 1918) the ethnic groups living in Transylvania were promised freedom of religion, the right to be educated, governed and judged in their own language, by their own teachers, representatives, judges. Representation was to be proportional. Freedom of the press and of assembly was to be granted. The proclamation further urged a land reform which would grant every peasant a farm of his own (which would come at the expense of the ethnic Hungarian nobility). The German community of Transylvania, the latter in the Declaration of Mediasch on January 8th 1919, also opted for annexion to Romania, expecting political autonomous status of Transylvania within the Kingdom of Romania. Transylvania's Hungarians, in an assembly at Cluj Dec. 22nd 1918, reaffirmed their desire for Transylvania to remain part of Hungary. Meanwhile, Hungary experienced the phase of a Soviet government and a period of Red Terror (April-August 1919), which was ended by a Romanian invasion of Hungary. The Peace of Trianon 1920 awarded Transylvania to Romania. The Land Reform was implemented in 1918-1921; 310,583 peasants (of whom 227,000 were ethnic Romanians, 82,000 ethnic Hungarians) received farms - at the expense of estate owners, mainly the Hungarian nobles and the established churches (Hungarian, Saxon). Transylvania was not treated as one administrative unit; Transylvania's 15 counties, part of Romania's overall 73 counties, were such. Hitherto, there were more and better schools for Transylvania's Hungarians, than for the country's Romanian majority. The Romanian administration worked to address this imbalance; overall, the literacy rate increased. A 1930 census established 3,200,000 Romanians in Transylvania, and 1,350,000 Hungarians, 250,000 Saxons. Contrary to the principles of the Alba Julia Proclamation (which were hardly mentioned in the Romanian constitution of 1923) Romania, a state modelled after France, was rather centralist. The school systems of the Hungarian and Cerman minorities were affected by the confiscation of land (the revenue of which in the past had been used to finance the schools). Administration officials often came from "Old Romania" and had little sympathy for the minorities. In Hungary the Horthy administration rejected the conditions of the treaty of Trianon, complained about Romanian maltreatment of her Hungarian minority. On August 20th 1940 - Romania's protector, France, had just surrendered to the German forces - Romania found herself compelled to cede most of Transylvania to Hungary. 1940-1944 On August 20th 1940 - Romania's protector, France, had just surrendered to the German forces - Romania found herself compelled to cede northern and eastern Transylvania to Hungary. Hungary formally annexed the area on October 4th. Romania's politicians, and most notably the Iron Guard adamantly maintained Romanian claims to all of Transylvania, accused Hungary's officials of atrocities against ethnic Romanians, and felt confirmed in their stand by Hungary's expulsion of Romanian nationals from the recently annexed parts of Transylvania. In December 1940, a clash between Hungarian and Romanian forces over Transylvania seemed imminent, further complicated by a conflict between the Romanian government and the Iron Guard. Domestic peace in Romania was reported restored Jan. 27th 1941; the Romanian-Hungarian dispute over Transylvania continued to be a high priority issue for both countries throughout the war. On June 22nd 1941, Romanian and Hungarian forces joined in the German invasion of the USSR; Hungary and Romania both were German Allies. In October 1941 German diplomacy attempted to settle the issue by putting pressure on Romania, in February 1942 by granting territory in Ukraine to Romania; both initiatives failed to alter Romania's attitude toward Transylvania. Hungarian-Romanian relations were tense, border violations reported in May 1942. On February 2nd 1943, the German forces at Stalingrad surrendered, and the Soviet Red Army began to retake territory, pushing closer and closer to the Balkans. An attempt by the Hungarian government to sign an armistice was foiled by the Germans in March 1944, with the Germans taking control of their former ally. The Red Army offered Transylvania to Romania if the latter would sign an armistice; Romanian PM Antonescu raised the Transylvania issue in talks with Hitler (June 1944). By August 1944, the Red Army had invaded Romanian territory; Romania applied for armistice Aug. 24th. The Antonescu administration was ousted in a coup; Romania entered into war with Hungary. The Allies granted armistice to Romania Sept.13th. The text of the armistice stipulated northern and eastern Transylvania to be returned to Romania, subject to confirmation in the peace settlement. The Red Army had entered Transylvanian territory August 10th, occupied most of it by the end of September. Historical Encyclopedias on the History of Transylvania |
Country Profiles | Current |
Article : Transylvania, from Wikipedia Article : Siebenbürgen, from GenWiki R.T. Göllner, Siebenbürgen - Transilvania - Erdely Eine multiethnische Region im europäischen Kontext 2003 |
Historic |
A. Possevino, Transilvania (1584) per cura del dr Andrea Veress, 1913, IA L.A. Gebhardi, Geschichte des Grossfürstenthums Siebenbürgen und der Königreiche Gallizien .. (1808) in German, IA J. Paget, Hungary and Transylvania; with remarks on their condition (1839), IA, J. Paget, Hungary and Transylvania; with remarks on their condition, social, political and economical, vol.1 (1850), vol.2 (1850), IA E. Gerard, The land beyond the forest: facts, figures and fancies from Transylvania vol.1 1888, vol.2 1888, IA I. Jivi-Banatanu, The Transylvania Problem, 1920, IA Transylvania under the rule of Roumania; report of the American Unitarian Commission 1921, IA Transylvanus Viator (pseudonym), In Transylvania, 1921, IA J. Ajtay, The Transylvanian Question, 1921, IA L.C. Cornish, Transylvania in 1922; report of the commission sent by the American and British Unitarian churches to Transylvania in 1922, 1923, IA L.C. Cornish, Transylvania The Land Beyond The Forest (1947), IA |
Links | General |
Category : Transylvania, from Wikipedia Kategorie : Siebenbürgen, from Wikipedia German Edition Kategoria : Erdely, from Wikipedia Hungarian Edition Categorie : Transilvania, from Wikipedia Romanian Edition |
on History |
Category : History of Transylvania, from Wikipedia Kategoria : Erdely törtenelme, from Wikipedia Hungarian Edition Categorie : Istoria Transilvaniei, from Wikipedia Romanian Edition Historical Text Archive : Articles Europe, several entries on Transylvania |
Organizations | Societies |
Academia Romana. Centrul de Studii Transilvane Cluj-Napoca Arbeitskreis für siebenbürgische Landeskunde |
Institutions |
Universität Heidelberg, Siebenbürgen-Institut Ungarisches Institut München |
Historical Dictionary |
Oesterreichische National Encyklopädie
vol.1 A-D, 1835,
vol.2 E-H, 1835,
vol.3 J-M, 1835,
vol.4 N-S, 1836,
vol.5 S-V, 1836,
vol.6 W-Z, Suppl., 1837, in German, GB Enciclopedia Romaniei, in Romanian |
Timelines |
Accounts of History | General, Modern |
Transylvania, the land beyond the forests online, from Alba Iulia Online Article History of Transylvania, from Wikipedia Istvan Lazar, Transylvania - a Short History, 1997, from Historical Text Archive |
General, Historical |
The Rise of Transylvania, from
A Short History of Austria-Hungary by H. Wickham-Steed, 1914 Laszlo Makkai and Andraj Mocsy (ed.), History of Transylvania. Vol. I, from the Beginnings to 1606, Vol. II : From 1606 to 1830, Vol. III (ed. by Zoltan Szasz) : From 1830 to 1919, online book posted by Magyar Elektronikus Konyvtar |
Specific Periods |
The Turkish Hegemony, from
History of Transylvania, caution, nationalistic Rumanian site Romania, pp.252-350 in : C.A. MacArtney, Hungary and her Successors, 1919-1937, (1937) posted by Hungarian History, online book; on the areas R. acquired from H. Elöd Kincses, Black Spring, Romania's Path from Revolution to Pogrom, December 1989 March 1990, (n.d.) posted by Hungarian History, online book M. Jokai, The golden age in Transylvania (1898), IA Louis Kossuth and the Lost Revolutions in Hungary and Transylvania (1850), IA L. Szadeczky Kadoss, Erdely es Mihaly vajda tortenete, 1595-1601. okleveltorral (1893), in Hungarian, IA Articles : Voivodeship of Transylvania, Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, Principality of Transylvania (1570-1711), Principality of Transylvania (1711-1867), Union of Transylvania with Roimania, from Wikipedia Siebenbürgen : Geschichte 1526-1705 (timeline history of Transylvania), by Christian Agnethler Daniel Feher, National Awakening ? Examine the Content of the "Romanian National Question" in Transylvania before 1848, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, Univ. of London |
Historiography |
L.L. Lote, Transylvania and the theory of Daco-Roman-Rumanian
Continuity, (1980) 1991 I.M. Bucur et al., Transylvania between Two National Historiographies. Historical Consciousness and Political Identity, Cliohworld 2009 |
Politics & Administration |
J.A. Ritter von Grimm, Die politische Verwaltung im Grossfürstenthum Siebenbürgen (1857) in German, posted on
Internet Archive F. Zieglauer, Die politische Reformbewegung in Siebenbürgen in der Zeit Joseph's II. und Leopold's II (1881) in German, posted on Internet Archive Article : Transylvanian Diet, from Wikipedia H. Connert, Die Stuhlsverfassung im Szeklerlande und auf dem Königsboden bis zum Ende des 15. Jahrhunderts; ein Vergleich 1906, IA F. Rosu, Contractual majesty : electoral politics in Transylvania and Poland-Lithuania, 1571-1586, thesis Georgetown 2009 G. Karman, The transformation of the foreign policy in Transylvania of the Rakoczis after the Thirty Years War, thesis summary Budapest 2008 |
Military |
Austrian Grenz-Infantry of the Seven Years' War, 1756 - 1763, from
miniaturen.de Die Militärgrenze - Ein Habsburger "Limes", from Flacker-Seiten, in German J. Czetz, Bem's Feldzug in Siebenbürgen in den Jahren 1848 und 1849 (1850) in German, IA G. Klapka, J. Czetz, Der Nationalkrieg in Ungarn und Siebenbürgen in den Jahren 1848 und 1849 (1851) in German, IA F.I. de Simeonibus, De bello transylvanico, 1713 (on the Habsburg-Ottoman War 1661-1664), IA |
Economy & Finances | General |
Boner, Transylvania, its Products and its People (1855) Charles Boner, Transylvania : Its Products and its People (1865), posted by Electronic Text Archive |
Finances, Taxation |
C. Wolff, Die directen Staatslteuern in sächsischen Städten : mit besonderer
Rücksicht auf Hermannstadt 1881, IA |
Agriculture |
Article Romanian Wine : Transylvania,
Silvaner,
Tokaj-Hegyalia, from EncycloWine |
Mining |
Ovidio Mera, Turda Salt Mine Showcaves : Romania Siebenbürgische Zeitung, Siebenbürgischer Bergbau: "Auraria Romano-Dacica" in deutscher Übersetzung, review 2010 U. Konz, Salz und Silber in Siebenbürgen, Siebenbürgische Zeitung 2009, review of research project & serial publication |
Manufacture |
Siebenbürgische Zeitung,
Industriegeschichte in Siebenbürgen, 2012 review |
Tourism |
C. von Greissing, Die Mineralquellen zu Zaizon in Siebenburgen, so wie die beruhmteren Curorte Siebenburgens (1855) in German,
posted on Internet Archive |
Business, Labour Organization |
Attila Hunyadi, Three Paradigms of Economic Cooperatives with Nationalist
Taxonomy in Transylvania, IEHC 2006 |
Social History |
Judith Balogh, Karrieremöglichkeiten der Szekler Adligen in der Zeit von
Stephan Bocskai, in German D.G. Scheint, Das Land und Volk der Szeckler in Siebenbürgen: In physischer, politischer, statistischer und ... (1833) in German, posted on Internet Archive Article : Transmigration (Österreich), from Wikipedia German edition |
Ethnography | General |
R.S. Charnock, The Peoples of Transylvania,
pp.clxx-clxxv in Journal of the Anthropological Society vol.7 1869, IA I.A. Pop, Nations and Denominations in Transylvania, from Tolerance and Intolerance in Historical Perspective, edited by Csaba Levai and Vasile Ves, 2003 Abstract of C. Popa-Gorjanui, Transylvanian Identities in the Middle Ages, medievalists.net Alain du Nay, Hungarians and Rumanians in the Torrents of History Elemer Illyes, National Minorities in Romania. Change in Transylvania (1982), posted by Hungarian History, online book J.F. Cadzow, A. Ludanyi, L.J. Elteto, Transylvania. The Roots of Ethnic Conflict (1983), posted by Hungarian History, online book Transylvania, p.256 in G.G. Chisholm, The world as it is; a popular account of the countries and peoples of the earth 1884, IA Sandor Biro, The Nationlities Problem in Transylvania, 1867-1940, (1992) posted by Hungarian History, online book |
Romanian |
Die rumänische Frage in Siebenbürgen und Ungarn : Replic der rumänischen academischen Jugend Siebenbürgens und Ungarns zu der von der magyarischen academischen Jugend veröffentlichten "Antwort" auf die "Denkschrift" der Studierenden der Universitäten Rumäniens 1892, IA I. Slavici, Die Rumänen in Ungarn, Siebenbürgen und der Bukowina (1881) in German, IA N. Iorga, Istoria rominilor din Ardeal si Ungaria, 1905, IA T.K. Dunlap, A union in disarray: Romanian nation building under Astra in late-nineteenth-century rural Transylvania and Hungary, thesis Rice 2002 |
Hungarian |
The Hungarians of Transylvania, from Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Rumania, timeline History of the Szekely People, from Wikipedia |
German |
The Transylvania Saxons, from genealogy.net The History of Transylvania and the Transylvanian Saxons, by Konrad Gündisch, 114 K (focusses much on the settlement history; ch. 5 : Province of the Habsburg Empire Article Landler (Protestanten), from Wikipedia German edition; Transylvanian Landler, from Wikipedia R.F. Kaindl, Geschichte der Deutschen in den Karpathenländern, v.2, v.3 (1911) in German, posted on Internet Archive F.G. Schultheiss, Deutschtum und Magyarisierung in Ungarn und Siebenbürgen (1898) in German, posted on Internet Archive J.H. Schwicker, Die Deutschen in Ungarn und Siebenbürgen (1881) in German, posted on Internet Archive Deutsches Colonialwesen in Ungern und Siebenbürgen im achtzehnten und neunzehnten Jahrhunderte , 1849, IA |
Gypsies |
J.H. Schwicker, Die Zigeuner in Ungarn und Siebenbürgen (1883) in German, posted on
Internet Archive |
Armenians |
Vortrag im Polnischen Institut:
Armenier in Siebenbürgen im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert, 2009 K. Nagy, The Catholisation of the Armenians in Transylvania (1685-1715), thesis summary |
Religion | General |
C. Agnethler, Kirche in Siebenbürgen I.A. Pop, Nations and Denominations in Transylvania, from Tolerance and Intolerance in Historical Perspective, edited by Csaba Levai and Vasile Ves, 2003 J.G. Bauhofer, History of the Protestant church in Hungary, from the beginning of the Reformation to 1850; with special reference to Transylvania 1854, IA J.P. Niessen, Battling bishops : religion and politics in Transylvania on the eve of the Ausgleich, thesis Indiana 1989 C. Simut, Church, Politics and War An Analysis from a Political and Religious Perspective of the Fundamental Events in the History of Transylvania in the XVIth and XVIIth Centuries, summary thesis Cluj-Napoca 2013 |
Orthodox |
Romanian Monasteries, scroll down for Metropolitanate of Ardeal M.G. Dampier, History of the Orthodox Church in Austria-Hungary vol.1 : Hermannstadt, 1906, IA The Metropolitanate of Hermannstadt, pp.48-52 in M.G. Dampier, The organization of the Orthodox Eastern churches 1910, IA History of the Romanian Church, from Eastern Catholic Pastoral Association of Southern California, strong on Transylvania |
Catholic |
Ordo Fratrum Minorum, scroll down for Romania;
Franciscan Provinces with their Custodies and Convents, c.1350, from
M. van der Heijden and B. Roest, click Hungaria Search OSB (Order of Saint Benedict) for Romania Kalman E., Tracking Jesuit Successes and Failures in Hungary and Transylvania, 1640-1750, Seminar and Lecture; Jezuiti in Romania, in Romanian Catholic Church in Romania, from GCatholic The Romanian Catholic Church (History of), from Chronology of Catholic Dioceses Chiesa Cattolica Rumena, from Atlas of the Church, in Italian, timeline K. Nagy, The Catholisation of the Armenians in Transylvania (1685-1715), thesis summary |
Protestant (General) |
History of Protestantism in Hungary and Transylvania, Chapter 20 of
History of Protestantism, by James A. Wylie (1878) |
Lutheran |
Kirche der Siebenbürger Sachsen (Church of the Transylvanian Saxons), by Trappold.de, in German Handbuch für die evangelische Landeskirche Augsburgischen Bekenntnisses im Grossfürstenthum Siebenbürgen (1857) in German, posted on Internet Archive Article : Landler (Protestanten), from Wikipedia German edition C. Sibeanu, The Landler from Sebes |
Calvinist |
D. Buzogany, A Short History of Transylvania and the Hungarian Reformed Church in Transylvania |
Unitarian |
Glen Buttars, Unitarian Universalist History;
M. Worth, A Short History of Orthodoxy and Heresy: A Unitarian Universalist
Perspective (2000) Article : Unitarische Kirche Siebenbürgen, from Wikipedia German edition Article : Unitarian Church of Transylvania, from Wikipedia Article : John Sigismund Unitarian Academy at Cluj-Napoca, from Wikipedia E.M. Wilbur, A History of Unitarianism: In Transylvania, England and America, Vol.I |
Anabaptist |
E. Bollobas, United in Separation, Hungarian Review IV.2 2012;
article deals with History of Hutterites in Transylvania Articles Transylvania, Alwinz, from GAMEO P.I.A. Todjeras, Die Hutterer in Siebenbürgen, thesis Wien 2008 |
Jewish |
The Jews of Transylvania, a Bibliography, from Zion Tours A. Majuru, Khazar Jews and Transylvania. A Historiographic Argument The Yivo Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe : Transylvania, Alba Iulia, Brasov, Cluj, Sibiu |
Sabbatharians |
S. Kohn, Die Sabbatharier in Siebenbürgen : Ihre Geschichte, Literatur und Dogmatik (1894) in German, posted on
Internet Archive Church of God News, Transylvania Sabbatarians |
History of Regions |
Articles Northern Transylvania,
Szekely Land,
Burzenland, from Wikipedia Articles on Counties within Kingdom of Hungary : Also-Feher County, Beszterce-Naszod County, Brasso County, Csik County, Fogaras County, Haromszek County, Hunyad County, Kis-Küküllö County, Kolozs County, Maros-Torda County, Nagy-Küküllö County, Szeben County, Szolnok-Doboka County, Torda-Aranyos County, Udvarhely County, from Wikipedia |
Local History |
History of Cluj (Kolozsvar/Klausenburg), from webcluj;
from Wikipedia Geschichte von Brasov, (Kronstadt) (History of Brasov), from 4ever Laura; from Wikipedia History of Sibiu (Hermannstadt), from Wikipedia Article : Turda (History) (Thorenburg, Torda), from Wikipedia Article : Sighisoara (History) (Schässburg, Seghesvar), from Wikipedia |
Institutions |
Culture |
Tea and Carpets : Romania : Transylvanian Carpets and
Gothic Churches |
Biographies |
Famous Transylvanians, from Transylvania Info Berühmte Siebenbürger Sachsen (Famous Transylvanian Saxons), from SibiWeb |
Environmental History |
Others |
Historical Data | Lists of Statesmen |
from World Statesmen (B. Cahoon);
from Rulers (B. Schemmel), scroll down for Transylvana Titles of European Hereditary Rulers : Transylvania Liste der Fürsten von Siebenbürgen, from Wikipedia German edition Article : Gubernator von Siebenbürgen, from Wikipedia German edition |
Lists of Bishops |
Siebenbürgen : Die Bischöfe der evangelischen Kirche A.B., posted by C. Agnethler |
Statistical Data | Population Figures |
Historical Population Statistics : Romania, by administrative divisions, from Population Statistics by Jan Lahmeyer;
data since 1948 Census Data by Hungarian County 1913, Also-Feher County, Beszterce-Naszod County, Brasso County, Csik County, Fogaras County, Haromszek County, Hunyad County, Kis-Küküllö County, Kolozs County, Maros-Torda County, Nagy-Küküllö County, Szeben County, Szolnok-Doboka County, Torda-Aranyos County, Udvarhely County, from Talma Media |
Documents | Historical Newspapers |
Siebenbürgische Zeitung, in German, 1950- |
Modern Newspapers |
Online Yearbooks | international, Transylvania Entries |
Staatskalender |
Image Databanks |
Andras Seitz, Images of Transylvania, from
Historical Text Archive Portraits of Sigismund Bathory, Prince of T., of Michael the Bold, Prince of Valachia, Stadholder of T., of Jan Zygmunt Zapolya, Prince of T., from Domenicus Custos, Atrium heroicum Caesarum, regum, [...] imaginibus [...] illustr[atum]. Augsburg 1600-1602, posted by MATEO, Univ. Mannheim |
Archival Deposits |
Laws |
Jus Transylvanico Saxonicum 1845, IA Die provisorische Civilprozessordnung für Siebenbürgen, (Ungarn, Kroatien, Slavonien, die serbische Woiwodschaft und das Temeser Banat) 1852, IA |
Treaties |
Historiography |
Document Surveys |
Leo Baeck Institute,
Survey of Archival Materials Related to Jewish Communities in Southern Transylvania and Southern Bukovina, Yerusha Project Index manuscriptorum Bibliothecae Batthyaniannae diocesis Transylvaniensis, 1871, IA F. Zimmermann, Das Archiv der Stadt Hermannstadt und der Sächsischen Nation, 1887, IA |
Document Collections |
Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der Deutschen in Siebenbürgen Online Verhandlungen der sächsischen National-Conflures Sept.-Dec. 1868, in German, IA Archivum Rakoczianum, Angol Diplomatiai Iratok (Documents from English Archives) vol.1 1871, covers 1703-1705, vol.2 1873, covers 1705-1706, vol.3 1877, covers 1706-1711, IA Recueil des griefs de la minorite hongroise de Roumanie; derivant de la violation du traite conclu a Paris le 9 dec. 1919 entre les principales puissances alliees et associees et la Roumanie au sujet de la protection des minorites vol.1 1922, IA S. Sandor (ed.), Actes et documents pour servir a l'histoire de l'alliance de George Rakoczy, prince de Transylvanie avec les français et les Suedois dans la guerre de trente ans 1874, IA Programm des Evangel. Gymnasiums A. B. Und der damit verbundenen Realschule zu Hermannstadt J, Graf Kemeny (ed.), Deutsche Fundgruben zur Geschichte Siebenbürgens vol.1 1839, vol.2 1839, IA Transylvania's Situation in 1918 in Documents, from The Great Union of the Romanians, 1st December 1918, posted by CIMEC |
Individual Documents |
M. Gal, A.G. Balogh, F. Imreh, White Book : Atrocities against Hungarians in the Autumn of 1944 (in Transylvania, Romania), (1995) posted by Hungarian History, online book ;
Transylvanian World Federation / Danubian Research and Information Center,
Genocide in Transylvania. Nation on the Death Row, (1985) posted by Hungarian History, online book ;
Arpad Kosztin, Chronicle of Cruelties. Romanian
Mistreatment of the Hungarian Mnority in Transylvania (n.d., recent), posted by Hungarian History, online book Exerzier und Dienstes-Vorschriften für die Bürgerwehr in Hermannstadt 1848, IA Law regarding the Union of Transilvania, the Banat, Crisana, The Satmar and Maramures with the old Kingdom of Romania, 1918, from The Great Union of the Romanians, 1st December 1918, posted by CIMEC Resolution of the National Assembly in Alba Iulia Dec. 1st 1918, from The Great Union of the Romanians, 1st December 1918, posted by CIMEC Harry Hill Bandholtz, An Undiplomatic Diary, by the American Member of the Inter-Allied Military Mission to Hungary 1919-1920 (2000) posted by Hungarian History, online book |
Historical Maps | general collections |
South East Europe History Map Index, from Eliznik |
responsible institutions |
entire country, modern |
Maps from Magyar Elektronikus Konyvtar : Hungary during the
Ottoman Occupation 1526-1606 Grossfürstentum Siebenbürgen um 1770, from Wikipedia |
entire country, contemporary |
Map : Nations of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, 1910 from Eotvos Univ., Budapest, Dept. of Cartography (226 k) Map : Austria-Hungary (borders of Catholic Dioceses; from Streit, Atlas Hierarchicus 1913), posted by M. Witkam Map : Walachians (Romanians) in Hungary, census 1890, from Wikimedia Commons |
detail, modern |
Maps : Erdely Administrative, 1787-2002, from Erdely Magyar Adatbank |
detail, contemporary |
Hungary County Maps 1913 : Also-Feher,
Beszterce-Naszod, Maros-Torda,
Brasso, Haromszek,
Csik, Udvarhely,
Fogaras, Szeben,
Hunyad,
Kis-Küküllö, Nagy-Küküllö,
Kolosz, Torda-Aranyos,
Szolnok-Doboka, from Talma Media |
Historical Encyclopedia Entries |
General |
Articles Transylvania,
Brasso,
Gyula-Fehervar,
Koloszvar,
Maros-Vasarhely,
Nagyszeben,
Segesvar,
Szeklers, from EB 1911 Article Siebenbürgen (Transylvania), Klausenburg, Hermannstadt, Mediasch, Kronstadt, from Meyers Konversationslexikon 1885-1892, in German Article Siebenbürgen, from Brockhaus Conversations-Lexikon 1809-1811, in German Article Siebenbürgen, from Brockhaus Bilder-Conversations-Lexikon 1837-1841, in German Articles Siebenbürgen, Siebenbürgen, Geschichte von, from Pierer's Universal-Lexikon 1857-1865, in German Articles Siebenbürgen, Comitats : Bistritz-Naszod, Csik, Fogaras, Haromszek, Hermannstadt, Hunyad, Klausenburg, Kokelburg, Szolnok-Doboka, Torda-Aranyos, Udvarhely; Cities : Fogaras, Hermannstadt, Klausenburg, Kronstadt, Mediasch, Others : Burzenland, Szekler, Unitarier, from Meyers Grosses Konversations-Lexikon 1902-1909, in German |
Religious |
Articles Transylvania, from Catholic Encyclopedia 1907-1914 edition;
from Jewish Encyclopedia 1901-1906 edition |
Economic |
Political |
Geographical |
Historical |
Histoire d'Hongrie et de Transilvanie, pp.218-333 [on 1619-1718] in vol.32
of Maximilian-Samson-Friedrich Schöll, Cours d'histoire des Etats Europeens,
depuis le bouleversement de l'empire romain d'Occident jusqu'en 1789, 1832, in French, GB |
Parliamentary Debates |
Tour Guides |
Transylvania & Roumania Section,
from Baedeker, Southern Germany and Austria, including Hungary and Transylvania : a Handbook for Travellers (1883), posted by Electronic Text Archive K. Baedeker, Southern Germany and Austria, Including Hungary and Transylvania: Handbook for Travellers (1887), IA K. Baedeker, Austria, Including Hungary, Transylvania, Dalmatia, and Bosnia: Handbook for Travellers (1900), IA |
Travelogues |
I. Edler von Born, R.E. Raspe, J.J. Ferber, Travels through the Bannat of Temeswar, Transylvania, and Hungary, in the year 1770. Described in a series of
letter to Prof. Ferber, on the mines and mountains of these different countries (1777), IA D.T. Ansted, A short trip in Hungary and Transylvania in the spring of 1862, 1862, IA |
Institutions | Archives |
Transylvania Saxons : Archives and Libraries, from Genealogienetz Category : Museums in Romania, from Wikipedia; Museums in Romania, from Virtual Library Category : Libraries in Romania, from Wikipedia |
Musea |
Monuments |
Libraries |
Sienenbürgen-Institut Heidelberg,
Siebenbürgische Bibliothek |
Official Symbols | Flags, Coats of Arms |
Coat of Arms, from International Civic Heraldry |
Coins |
Transylvania 1731 Golden Ducat, from Romanian Coins Medal Transylvania is Ours (Romanian), 1944, from Romanian Coins Romanian and Hungarian Coin and Currency Catalogue, by Levi |
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND PRINT SOURCES Bibliographies . Online Libraries . Thesis Servers . Online Journals . General Accounts . Specific Topics . Historical Dictionaries |
Bibliography | on Romania |
Rumänien, from Computatio Bookshop Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum, scroll down for series Salz und Silber in Siebenbürgen |
on Hungary |
Ungarisches Institut, München :
Studia Hungarica |
on Transylvania |
Publikationen Konrad Gündisch, from BKGE Curtis Schuh's Biobibliography of Mineralogy : Fichtel, Johann Ehrenreich von Transylvania Saxons : Bibliography, from Genealogienetz Klaus Popa, Historische Literatur über Siebenbürgen und angrenzende Gebiete Historia Transsilvaniae, p.505 in vol.8 of J.D. Reuss, Repertorium commentationum a societatibus litterariis editarum, 1810, GB Siebenbürger Landler, Publikationen über Siebenbürger Landler |
Online Libraries | general |
Google Books;
Internet Archives;
Gutenberg Library Online;
HathiTrust Münchner Digitalisierungs-Zentrum, Digitale Bibliothek |
on Hungary, Transylvania, Romania |
Corvinus Library Hungarian History,
Historical Text Archive : Europe,
Central and Eastern European Online Library (requires registration),
Electronic Text Archive, from DXARTS / CARTAH, Univ. of Washington Hungarian Electronic Library Academia, Documents in Transylvania |
Thesis Server |
Open Access Theses and Dissertations Registry of Open Access Repositories : Romania |
Online Journals | ToC online |
Centrul de Studii Transilvane, Transylvanian Review 1991- Siebenbürgen-Institut : Siebenbürgisches Archiv |
full text online |
Directory of Open Access Journals Archiv des Vereins für die Kenntnis von Siebenbürgens Vorzeit und Gegenwart vol.1 1840-1841, IA Archiv des Vereins für siebenbürgische Landeskunde vol.1 1843-1845, vol.2 1845-1846, vol.3 1847-1848, vol.4 1850-1851, IA |
General Accounts |
Istvan Lazar, Transylvania - a Short History, Safety Harbor : Ingram 1997, 274 pp., KMLA Lb.Sign. 949.84 L431t; click here for online edition, from
Historical Text Archive Milton G. Lehrer, Transylvania. History and Reality, Bartleby Press 1986 [G] |
Specific Topics |
Carl Göllner, Geschichte der Deutschen auf dem Gebiete Rumäniens (History of the Germans living in Romanian Territory),
1st Vol., 12th century - 1848, Bukarest : Kriterion 1979 (i.e. an "official (communist)" Romanian publication) in German Ernst Wagner (ed.), Quellen zur Geschichte der Siebenbürger Sachsen (Sources on the History of the Transylvania Saxons), Köln : Böhlau, 2 Vol.s, 1981, in German |
Yearbook Entries |
Article : Austria-Hungary - Roumanian Separatists, in : Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events 1894 p.69 [G] |