The Impact of the Transylvanian Saxons on Current Place Names in the Romanian Carpathians

Abstract

Abstract The Transylvanian Saxons are among the German ethnic communities that have a long tradition in the current territory of Romania. Their number and ratio in the ethnic structure of the country decreased considerably after the Second World War as a result of migratory flows caused by the geopolitical circumstances of the 20th century. Nevertheless, this ethnic community has had a major impact, visible to this day, on the arrangement of the geographical space and the place-name heritage in the areas of origin located in the Carpathian and Sub-Carpathian areas of Southern and Northern Transylvania, respectively. The preservation and conservation of the cultural heritage, specific to the regions that were inhabited by the Transylvanian Saxons, is a major objective of Romanian and European policies in the field. Given the context, this paper aims at highlighting the current place-name heritage of Saxon origin, official and informal alike, in the areas that were inhabited by this ethnic community. Data and information gathered from historical, statistical and bibliographic sources, as well as field information were used for this research.