CUGIR



CUGIR is a little town with a population of approx. 30000, located in the south-western part of Transylvania at the base of Parâng Mountains(part of the Transylvanian Alps) 17 km south of Mures River and the E68 highway, half way between the cities of Alba Iulia and Deva. Numerous archeological discoveries prove that life in the region flourished as early as the Bronze Age, around the 10th century BCE, Cugir being part of the territory known as "The Iron Gates of Transylvania", a region famous for its natural iron resources. In 88-44 BC, king Burebista, the most powerful of the kings of Thrace, according to the historian Acronion, establishes the new capital in the area, at Sarmizegetusa Regia (located in the Surianu Mountains west of Cugir). In this period of time the settlement of Cugir(villa Kunentum) is known as an important center for metal extracting and processing with its famous workshops producing tools, weapons and coins. Throughout the history the name of the town is mentioned in many documents under different names in different languages, therefore the old settlement "villa Kunentum" becomes in 1493 villa Kudzyr, in 1566 Kwczyr, in 1599 - Kuchir, in 1656 - Kuchjir, in 1673 - Kucsir, in 1733 - Kuser, in 1750 - Kudsier, 1760-1762 - Kudzser, in 1805 Kudsir and in 1850 - Kusir.


The Town of Cugir seen from The Citadel Hill
The Uptown seen from the outskirts at the bottom of Dragana Mountain
The Mozaic Boulevard through the Modern Part of The Town becomes lively in the evening
 
 
 
The Midtown with The Old and The New Orthodox Churches
The Entrance to The Old 1809 Orthodox Church which was originally built as a Catholic Church
Some of the oldest apartment buildings in the town with The Citadel Hill dominating the landscape
 
 
 
The Main Street in the proxymity of The Old Stadium, The Factory's Main Gate and The Secondary Train Station with Dragana Mountain in the background
The old Uptown houses on the Main Street known as
The Main Street heading north towards the Upper Main Square
 
 
 
The Neighbourhood near The Main Train Station
The Uptown Main Bus Terminal Parking next to The Train Station
The Main Passanger Train Station
 
 
 
The Train Station Travel Office
The Train Station's Movement Office
The Train Station Neighbourhood and the moutainous landscape of The Uptown
 
 
 
The Neighbourhood at the base of The Citadel Hill
The Earth remains of the The Thracian Citadel
One of The Treasures discovered in Cugir - Most of the discoveries are in display in museums in Deva and Alba-Iulia
 
 
 
The Festival of The Autumn in Cugir
The Procession of The Locals displaying their Costumes and Traditions
The Procession on The Main Street through The Uptown
 
 
 

Cugir at night The New Stadium The Hotel-Restaurant 'Dragana' The Orthodox Church Panoramic view of The Old Town

THE HISTORY OF CUGIR AND THE SURROUNDING REGION

In the 10th century according to Anonimus, the author of the cronicle "Gesta Hungarorum", the hungarian penetration into Transylvania begins. In the beginning of the 11th century (1003) the Hungarian Empire expanded and managed to gain control over the western part of Transylvania. The hungarian kings after Stephen I, imposed their military supremacy pushing the border of their kingdom to the Eastern Carpathians, declaring this territory as "Fundus Regius" (royal land or territory). The fact that the occupation of Transylvania lasted almost two centuries suggests that there was a fierce resistance. In 1141-1162, the king Geza II begins the colonization with saxons (hospites saxonici) in the "uncertain territories" at the south border of Transylvania, the territories Alba, Sibiu and Bistrita. Later, during the reign of Andrew II (1205-1235) the saxons receive the privilege of "Andreanum" (1224), through which the colonized region between Orăstie and Baraolt is organized as an autonomic territory with numerous privileges in exchange of financial and military obligations to the hungarian king. The romanians in this territory had the same obligations to the hungarian crown, in exchange for their freedom.


After the rebellion at Bobâlna (1473), the Transylvanian aristocracy, the hungarian, saxon and szeckler aristorcracy and clergy formed an alliance "unio trium nationum", and declared total slavery forever and 'tying to the land' of the romanian peasants in Transylvania. After the rebellion lead by Gheorghe Doja (1514) and its bloody defeat, the feudal law adopted in 1514 by the aristocracy stripped the peasants from every right they had. In its literary work the scholar Gheorghe Baritiu from Blaj describes the law 'written with human blood', which states that the peasant cannot own the land, which can only belong to the aristocrats, which have the whole power to use it as they like: The Lords (aristocrats) can take the land from the peasants, whenever they please, without any remuneration ? they (the peasants) cannot have any land property ? they owe tenth of their whole products, from hunting and cattle ? (the peasant - r. iobag) doesn't have the right of inheritance and isn't a juridical person and can be arrested anytime... In the same literary work he mentions that in spite of the atrocities of the feudal laws, there was a considerable number of inhabitants who knew how to conserve their freedom. Most of these were the romanian and saxon inhabitants of the submountaineous meridional villages (southern part of Transylvania, Meridional Carpathians/Transylvanian Alps).


In the mid 18th century, to counteract the numerous rebellions and the forces of the feudal aristocracy which wanted the authority over Transylvania, the empress Maria Teresa of Habsburg sends the general baron N. A. Buccov in Transylvania (1761) which ends the confessional fights, and to create a counter-weight capable to defeat the stubbornness of the arrogant nobles in Transylvania he organizes the institution of the "Frontier Police". The institution also recruited with force and oppression romanians from the territory in between Baraolt and Orâstie (1764). Like in many other places, in Cugir the locals put up a fierce resistance against the enrolment. Because of this the habsburg authorities adopted here as in the rest of Transylvania, the tactic of "breaking of the village", which meant the forced removing of the locals from their houses and the colonization of the villages with foreigners from other regions of the empire, or with peasants from other regions of Transylvania. After the authorities leave the region, the locals come back and reclaim with force their houses chasing away the 'frontier colonists'. As a result of this drastic action determines the comeback of the austrian authorities, which, while occupying the locality, organize a bloody massacre in the place known today as the old market of the town. Severe clashes occurred again in the area when the authorities decided to "brake" the neighboring villages Sibot and Vinerea to establish the 4th company. Therefore, in 1764, after severe conflicts and pressure, the regiments were established: two frontier police regiments of 3000 soldiers, one with residence at Orlat, the other one at Năsăud, two szeckler infantry regiments, one romanian chivalry regiment (dragons) and one szeckler hussar regiment of 1000 horsemen each. In 1768 another romanian frontier police battalion is being established in which the villages between Hateg and Caransebes were included, so that the total effective force of the romanian and szeckler frontier police in Transylvania was of approx. 17000 soldiers.


At the beginning of the Habsburgic reign over Transylvania, Vienna hadn't encouraged the process of development of manufacturing in this principality, not to put in disadvantage the interests of Austrian industry. But after Austria-Hungary lost Silezia, one of the most industrialized provinces of Austria, the Viennese authorities noticed that the internal production couldn't cover the always growing needs of the Empire, therefore, the Austrian business world and authorities begin to invest more and more founds in the mining and manufacturing industry in Transylvania. The authorities planned to cover the necessities of the army with equipment and armament, but also to value the immense richness of the Transylvanian land. To stimulate the development of the mining industry, in 1764 Queen Maria-Teresa begins to allow long-term loans without interest to concessionaires that pledge to exploit the mines. In spite of all these the manufacturing situation in Transylvania at the end of the 18th century was precarious. Three factors of vital importance were missing: raw material, money and work force.


The state and concessionaire manufactories used free workers brought from Stiria, Carinthia, Tyrol, Slovakia or Dalmatia, but the local men, the peasants represented the main work force. The thirst of getting rich on behalf of the peasant population without defense that represented free labor pushed the feudal aristocracy in the 18th century to major actions like stealing and seizing of romanian villages and their grounds, pastures, agricultural land and forest. One of the methods used to dispossess the peasant of its land was to establish manufactories on the lands that belonged to the villages. The development of these events is forgoing the establishment of the factory in Cugir. The Austrian authorities decided to establish at the end of the 18th century, at the frontier between Transylvania and Tara Romaneasca (Wallachia), in Cugir and Sibisel factories for metal processing, just after 15 years after the suppression of the rebellion of Horia, Closca and Crisan, were meant to exploit the richness of the land but also to insufflate obedience towards the habsburgic Crown. According to documents, the factory in Cugir was established in the year 1799.




Cugir