Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
official name	Sibiu
image shield	Coa_Romania_Town_Nagyszeben.svg
pushpin map	Romania
map caption	Location of Sibiu within Romania (in red)
coordinates region	RO
subdivision type	Country
subdivision name	Romania
subdivision type1	Sibiu County
subdivision name1	Municipality of Sibiu
leader title	Mayor
leader name	Klaus Johannis
leader party	Democratic Forum of Germans
established title	Founded
established date	1191 (first official record)
area total km2	121
population as of	est. January 1, 2009
settlement type	City
population total	154,548
population density km2	1273
timezone	EET
utc offset	+2
timezone dst	EEST
utc offset dst	+3
latns	N
Coordinates	45°47′45″N24°09′08″N
longew	E
elevation m	190 - 240
postal code type	Postal Code
postal code	55xxxx
area code	+40 269
blank name	Car Plates
blank info	SB
website	www.sibiu.ro
footnotes	}}

Sibiu (, antiquated, ''Sibiiu''; , ) is an important city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. It straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt. It is the capital of Sibiu County and is located some 282 km north-west of Bucharest. Between 1692 and 1791 it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania.

Sibiu is one of the most important cultural centres of Romania, and was designated a European Capital of Culture for the year 2007, in tandem with Luxembourg. Formerly the centre of the Transylvanian Saxons, the old city of Sibiu was ranked as "Europe's 8th most idyllic place to live" by Forbes.

The ski resort Păltiniş is administered by the city.

Geography and climate

Sibiu is situated near the geographical center of Romania at . Set in the Cibin Depression, the city is about 20 km from the Făgăraş Mountains, 12 km from the Cibin Mountains, and about 15 km from the Lotrului Mountains, which border the depression in its southwestern section. The northern and eastern limits of Sibiu are formed by the Târnavelor Plateau, which descends to the Cibin Valley through Guşteriţei Hill.

The Cibin river as well as some smaller streams runs through Sibiu. The geographical position of Sibiu makes it one of the most important transportation hubs in Romania with important roads and railway lines passing through it.

Sibiu's climate is temperate-continental with average temperatures of 8 to 9°C. The multi-annual average of rainfall is 662 l/mp, and there are about 120 days of hard frost annually.

City districts

The following districts are part of Sibiu. Some were villages annexed by the city but most were built as the city developed and increased its surface. {| |valign="top"|

Centru (Centre)

Lupeni

Trei Stejari (Three Oaks)

Vasile Aaron

Hipodrom I, II, III, IV

Valea Aurie (Golden Valley)

Tilişca

Ştrand

Ştrand 2

|valign="top"| Turnişor (Little Tower; )

Piaţa Cluj (Cluj Plaza)

Ţiglari

Terezian

Reşiţa

Lazaret

Guşteriţa ()

Broscărie (Blocuri Independenţa)

Viile Sibiului

Şelimbăr

|} Two main industrial areas are located within the city limits:

East industrial zone, alongside the railway to Braşov and Râmnicu Vâlcea

West industrial zone, near the exit to Sebeş, close to the Airport

The Southern part, including the ASTRA National Museum Complex and the zoo, also falls within the city limits.

Geographic location

History

The first official record referring to the Sibiu area comes from 1191, when Pope Celestine III confirmed the existence of the free prepositure of the German settlers in Transylvania, the prepositure having its headquarters in Sibiu, named ''Cibinium'' at that time. It was probably built near a Roman settlement, one that would be known during the early Middle Ages as Caedonia.

In the 14th century, it was already an important trade center. In 1376, the craftsmen were divided in 19 guilds. Sibiu became the most important ethnic German city among the seven cities that gave Transylvania its German name ''Siebenbürgen'' (literally ''seven cities''), and it was home to the ''Universitas Saxorum'', the assembly of Germans in Transylvania. Common opinion in the 17th century ascribed Sibiu the quality of being the easternmost city to be part of the European sphere; it was also the eastern terminus of postal routes.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became the second and later the first most important center of Transylvanian Romanian ethnics. The first Romanian-owned bank had its headquarters here (The ''Albina'' Bank), as did the ASTRA (Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and Romanian's People Culture). After the Romanian Orthodox Church was granted status in the Habsburg Empire from the 1860s onwards, Sibiu became the Metropolitan seat, and the city is still regarded as the third most important center of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Between the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and 1867 (the year of the ''Ausgleich''), Sibiu was the meeting-place of the Transylvanian Diet, which had taken its most representative form after the Empire agreed to extend voting rights in the region.

After World War I, when Austria-Hungary was dissolved, Sibiu became part of Romania; the majority of its population was still ethnic German (until 1941) and counted a large Romanian community, as well as a small Hungarian one. Starting from the 1950s and until after 1990, most of the city's ethnic Germans emigrated to Germany. Among the roughly 2,000 who have remained is Klaus Johannis, who is mayor of Sibiu City.

The city features in the famous novel "The Reader" (Der Vorleser) by German law professor and judge Bernhard Schlink, upon which an Oscar-winning film was based.

Milestones in Sibiu's history

1191 - Mentioned for the first time in a document of the Vatican, under the name "Cibinium" (due to the river Cibin that flows through the city)

1241 - Mongol victory over the Hungarian army, April 10

1292 - The first hospital in the Kingdom of Hungary was opened.

1380 - The first documented school in the Kingdom of Hungary.

1494 - The first pharmacy in the Kingdom of Hungary.

1534 - The first paper mill in the Kingdom of Hungary.

1544 - The first book in the Romanian language was printed in Sibiu, funded by John II Sigismund Zápolya. This was in Cyrillic letters.

1551 - Conrad Haas's experiment with rockets.

1570 - The Ottoman-dependent Principality of Transylvania was formed after the Ottoman conquest in Hungary.

1671 - Methane gas was discovered near Sibiu.

1782 - Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein discovered the chemical element tellurium.

1788 - First theatre in Transylvania.

1795 - The first lightning rod in Transylvania and in Southeastern Europe was installed in Nagydisznód (present-day Cisnădie).

1817 - The Brukenthal Museum, the first museum in Transylvania was opened.

1867 - The Principality of Transylvania was reunited with Hungary in the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary

1896 - The first use of electricity in Austria-Hungary, and the first power line in Southeastern Europe.

1904 - The second city in Europe to use an electric-powered trolley.

1918 - Upon the Union of Transylvania with Romania, Sibiu became part of Romania.

1928 - The first zoo in Romania.

1941 - Saxons lost their historical majority in the population

1989 - The third city to take part in the Romanian Revolution.

2007 - European Capital of Culture 2007

Demographics

According to the last census, from 2002, there were 154,892 people living within the city of Sibiu, making it the 15th largest city in Romania. The ethnic breakdown is as follows:

Romanians 95.7%

Hungarians 2%

Germans (Transylvanian Saxons) 1.6%

Other 0.7%

Population dynamics

1850: || 12.765 inhabitants

1900: |||| 21.465

1930: |||||||||| 49.345

1948: |||||||||||||| 60.602

1966: |||||||||||||||||||||| 109.515

1977: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 151.005

1992: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 169.610

2002: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 154.892

{|class="toccolours" style="margin: 0 1em 0 1em;" width="50%" |- ! align="center" style="background:#ccccff" colspan="2" | Census ! align="center" style="background:#ccccff" colspan="3" | Ethnic structure |- |Year |Population ofSibiu |Romanians |Hungarians |Germans |---- |1850 |12,765 |2,089 |977 |8,790 |---- |1880 |19,446 |2,810 |2,065 |14,327 |---- |1890 |21,465 |4,581 |3,199 |13,148 |---- |1900 |29,577 |7,106 |5,747 |16,141 |---- |1910 |33,489 |8,824 |7,252 |16,832 |---- |1920 |32,748 |8,553 |4,291 |18,218 |---- |1930 |49,345 |19,006 |6,782 |22,045 |---- |1941 |63,765 |33,829 |4,262 |23,574 |---- |1948 |60,602 |37,371 |5,060 |16,359 |---- |1956 |90,475 |60,526 |4,772 |24,636 |---- |1966 |109,515 |78,548 |5,124 |25,387 |---- |1977 |151,005 |119,507 |5,111 |25,403 |---- |1992 |169,610 |158,863 |4,163 |5,605 |---- |}

Population by religious denomination

Today, most of the population is of the Romanian Orthodox religion. Protestants and Roman Catholics represent about 5% of the population.

Jewish
Other

Politics

[[Image:2004 sibiu council.png|thumb|right|Sibiu city council composition: ]]

The mayor of Sibiu is Klaus Johannis, the president of the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (FDGR/DFDR). He was elected in 2000, being the first German mayor of a city in Romania since World War II. Johannis was overwhelmingly reelected in 2004 (with 88.7% of votes) and 2008 (with 83.3% of the votes cast) and his party gained an absolute majority in the city council. The German Forum also won the elections for mayor in the second and third most important towns in Sibiu county, Mediaş and Cisnădie, as well as one third (11 out of 33) of the seats in the county council.

This may seem surprising, as Germans make up less than 2% of Sibiu's population and less than 3% of the county population, but the outcome is possibly due to popular perception of the territorial leaders of Romanian parties as being corrupt.

{| cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" border="1" class="wikitable" ! style="background:#ccc" |     ! style="background:#ccc" | Party ! style="background:#ccc" | Seats in 2004 ! style="background:#ccc" | Seats in 2008 ! style="background:#ccc" colspan="14" | Current Council |- | style="background:" |   | Democratic Forum of Germans | style="text-align: right" | 16 | style="text-align: right" | 14 | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   |- | style="background:" |   | Democratic Liberal Party | style="text-align: right" | 2 | style="text-align: right" | 4 | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |- | style="background:" |   | Social Democratic Party | style="text-align: right" | 2 | style="text-align: right" | 3 | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |- | style="background:" |   | National Liberal Party | style="text-align: right" | 3 | style="text-align: right" | 2 | style="background:" |   | style="background:" |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |}

Economy

Sibiu is one of the most prosperous cities of Romania, and also receives one of the highest rates of foreign investment in the country. It is an important manufacturer of automotive components (Bilstein-Compa, Takata, Continental, and SNR 'Ball bearing'). Other local industries are machine components, textiles, agro-industry, and electrical components (Siemens).

One of the main concerns for the city is attracting new investors to locate their businesses in Sibiu, and an industrial park has been recently completed. The city also contains Romania's largest stock exchange outside Bucharest, the Sibiu Stock Exchange.

Employment breakdown by economic sector

Industry - 49%

Commerce - 15%

Construction - 7.5%

Health - 7.5%

Education - 7%

Transport - 6.5%

Transport

Sibiu is well served in terms of transport and infrastructure. In 2010 a city bypass was opened, significantly decongesting the road traffic.

Air

Sibiu has an international airport with direct connections to Germany, Austria, England and Spain as well as to other Romanian cities. The airport is one of the most modern in Romania and the runway will be able to receive all types of commercial aircraft from 2008.

Direct flights from Sibiu:

Munich (Lufthansa, Tarom)

Vienna (Austrian Airlines)

Bucharest (Blue Air, Tarom)

Timişoara (Carpatair)

Stuttgart (Blue Air)

Cologne (Blue Air)

Madrid (Blue Air)

London (Blue Air)

Valencia (Blue Air)

Road

Sibiu is an important node in the European road network, being on two different European routes (E68 and E81). At a national level, Sibiu is located on three different main national roads, DN1, DN7 and DN14.

The Romanian Motorway A1 will link the city with Piteşti and the Romanian western border, near Arad. Funding for the project is assured and work is projected to be complete by 2014. Sibiu' s ring road as part of A1 Highway was completed on December 1st 2010.

Sibiu is also an important hub for the international bus links with the biggest passenger transporter in Romania, Atlassib, based here. Transport companies are also providing coach connections from Sibiu to a large number of locations in Romania.

Rail

Sibiu is situated on the CFR-Romanian Railways Main Line 200 (Brasov - Făgăraş - Sibiu - Simeria - Arad - Romanian Western Border) and on Line 206 (Sibiu - Mediaş).

The city is served by three rail stations: the Main Station, the Little Station (''Gara Micǎ'') and Sibiu Turnişor. It has an important diesel-powered locomotives depot and a freight terminal.

Numerous InterCity trains (nicknamed Blue Arrows) connect Sibiu to other major cities in Romania: Cluj-Napoca, Braşov, Craiova, Timişoara and Bucharest.

Main sights

Much of the city's aspect is due to its position, easily defensible, but allowing horizontal development. The old city of Sibiu lies on the right bank of the Cibin River, on a hill situated at about 200 m from the river. It consists of two distinct entities: the ''Upper Town'' and the ''Lower Town''. Traditionally, the Upper Town was the wealthier part and commercial outlet, while the Lower Town served as the manufacturing area.

The Lower Town

The ''Lower Town'' (Romanian: ''Oraşul de jos'') comprises the area between the river and the hill, and it developed around the earliest fortifications. The streets are long and quite wide for medieval city standards, with small city squares at places. The architecture is rather rustic: typically two-storey houses with tall roofs and gates opening passages to inner courts.

Most of the exterior fortifications were lost to industrial development and modern urban planning in the late 19th century; only four towers still exist. A building associated with newer urbanism of the period is the ''Independenţa'' Highschool.

This area has the oldest church in the city, dating back to 1292.

The Upper Town

The ''Upper Town'' (Romanian: ''Oraşul de sus'') is organised around three city squares and a set of streets along the line of the hill. As the main area for burgher activities, the area contains most points of interest in Sibiu.

Grand Square

Grand Square (Romanian: ''Piaţa Mare'', German: ''Großer Ring'') is, as its name suggests, the largest square of the city, and has been the center of the city since the 16th century. 142 m long and 93 m wide, it is one of the largest ones in Transylvania.

Brukenthal Palace, one of the most important Baroque monuments in Romania, lies on the north-western corner of the square. It was erected between 1777 and 1787 as the main residence for the Governor of Transylvania Samuel von Brukenthal. It houses the main part of the ''National Brukenthal Museum'', opened in 1817. Next to the palace is the ''Blue House'', an 18th century Baroque house bearing the old coat of arms of Sibiu on its façade.

On the north side is the Jesuit Church, along with its dependencies, the former residence of the Jesuits in Sibiu. Also on the north side, at the beginning of the 20th century an ''Art Nouveau'' building was constructed on the west part, now it houses the mayor's office.

Next to the Jesuit Church on the north side is the ''Council Tower'', one of the city's symbols. This former fortification tower from the 14th century has been successively rebuilt over the years. The building nearby used to be the City Council's meetingplace; beneath it lies an access way between the ''Grand Square'' and the ''Lesser Square''.

On the south and east sides are two- or three-storey houses, having tall attics with small windows known as the ''city's eyes''. Most of these houses are dated 15th to 19th centuries, and most of them are Baroque in style.

Lesser Square

As its name says, the ''Piaţă Mică'' (''Small Square'') is smaller in size, being rather longer than wide. Its north-west side has a curved shape, unlike the ''Grand Square'', which has an approximately rectangular shape. Accordingly, ''Piaţă Mică'' plays a smaller part in the city's present-day life.

The square is connected to the other two squares and to other streets by small, narrow passages. The main access from the Lower City is through Ocnei Street, which divides the square in two. The street passes under the ''Liar's Bridge'' - the first bridge in Romania to have been cast in iron (1859).

To the right of the bridge is another symbol of the city, ''The House of the Arts'', an arched building formerly belonging to the Butchers' Guild. On the left side of the bridge is the ''Luxemburg House'', a Baroque four-storey building, former seat of the Goldsmiths' Guild.

Huet Square

''Huet Square'' is the third of the three main squares of Sibiu. Its most notable feature is the Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral in its center. It is the place where the earliest fortifications have been built. The buildings around this square are mainly Gothic. On the west side lies the Brukenthal Highschool, in place of a former 14th century school.

The fortifications

The city of Sibiu was one of the most important fortified cities in Central Europe. Multiple rings were built around the city, most of them out of clay bricks. The south-eastern fortifications are the best kept, and all three parallel lines are still visible. The first is an exterior earth mound, the second is a 10-meter-tall red brick wall, and the third line comprises towers linked by another 10-meter-tall wall. All structures are connected via a labyrinth of tunnels and passageways, designed to ensure transport between the city and lines of defense.

In the 16th century more modern elements were added to the fortifications, mainly leaf-shaped bastions. Two of these survived to this day, as the ''Haller Bastion'' (all the way down Coposu Boulevard) and "Soldisch Bastion".

Passage of the Stairs

The steep ''Passage of the Stairs'' leads down to the lower section of Sibiu. It descends along some fortifications under the support arches. It is the most picturesque of the several passages linking the two sides of the city.

Culture

Sibiu is one of Romania's most culturally lively cities. It has 3 theatres and a philharmonic orchestra.

The Radu Stanca National Theatre is one of the leading Romanian theatres. With origins dating back to 1787, it attracts some of the best-known Romanian directors, such as Tompa Gábor and Silviu Purcărete. It has both a Romanian-language and a German-language section, and presents an average of five shows a week.

The Gong Theatre is specialised in puppetry, mime and non-conventional shows for children and teenagers. It also presents shows in both Romanian and German.

The State Philharmonic of Sibiu presents weekly classical music concerts, and educational concerts for children and teenagers. The concerts take place in the newly restored Thalia Hall, a concert and theatre hall dating from 1787, situated along the old city fortifications. Weekly organ concerts are organised at the Evangelical Cathedral during summers, and thematic concerts are presented by the Faculty of Theology choir at the Orthodox Cathedral.

The "Festivalul International de Teatru de la Sibiu" is an annual festival of performing arts.

Museums

Sibiu's museums are organised around two entities: the Brukenthal National Museum and the ASTRA National Museum Complex. The Brukenthal Museum consists of an Art Gallery and an Old Books Library located inside the Brukenthal Palace, a History Museum located in the old town hall building, a Pharmacy Museum located in one of the first apothecary shops in Europe, dating from the 16th century, a Natural History Museum and a Museum of Arms and Hunting Trophies.

The ASTRA National Museum Complex focuses on ethnography, and consists of a Traditional Folk Civilisation Museum, a 96-hectare open-air museum located on a forest south of Sibiu, a Universal Ethnography Museum, a Museum of Transylvanian Civilisation and a Museum of Saxon Ethnography and Folk Art. Also planned is a Museum of the Culture and Civilisation of the Romany People.

There is a Steam Locomotives Museum close to the railway station, sheltering around 40 locomotives, two of which are functional.

Events

Several festivals are organised yearly in Sibiu, the most prestigious of them being the Theatre Festival, organized each spring at the end of May. Medieval Festival organized every year in August, reviving the medieval spirit of Transylvania. The Artmania Festival is held every Summer since 2006 and as of 2008 the Rockin' Transilvania Festival is also held in Sibiu. The oldest Jazz Festival in Romania is organized here, as well as the "Carl Filtsch" festival for young classical piano players, the "Astra Film" documentary film festival, the Transylvania calling Festival a Multi Cultural 6 day Open Air Music festival! 26–31 July 2007, a medieval arts festival and many more smaller cultural events.

European Cultural Capital

The designation as a European Cultural Co-Capital for 2007, owed greatly to the excellent collaboration with Luxembourg, but also to what many regard as a miraculous social rebirth taking place in the city during the last years. The Cultural Capital status was expected to bring about an abrupt increase in quantity and quality of cultural events in 2007.

Tourism

Tursib is the city's transport system and operates one tramway line to Răşinari, and 22 bus lines.

About 2000 taxis, all of which must be yellow, operate in Sibiu.

In 2007, Sibiu was the European Capital of Culture (together with Luxembourg). This was the most important cultural event that has ever happened in the city, and a great number of tourists came, both domestic and foreign.

The city of Sibiu and its surroundings are one of the most visited areas in Romania. It holds one of the best preserved historical sites in the country, many of its medieval fortifications having been kept in excellent state. Its old center has begun the process for becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. Sibiu and its surrounding area have many significant museums, with 12 institutions housing art collections, paintings, and exhibits in decorative arts, archeology, anthropology, history, industrial archeology and history of technology and natural sciences.

The city also lies close to the Făgăraş Mountains - a very popular trekking destination, close to the Păltiniş resort - a popular winter holiday destination, and it is at the heart of the former Saxon communities in Transylvania renowned for its fortified churches.

Health

Sibiu is the most important medical center of the county and an important regional center, here being present:

County Hospital & Academic Emergency Hospital;

Hospital of Pediatrics;

Military Emergency Hospital;

CFR(Romanian Railways) Hospital;

"Dr. Gheorghe Preda" Psychiatry Hospital

Polisano Hospital & Clinics

other smaller private clinics

Education

Sibiu is an important centre of higher education, with over 34,000 undergraduate students in 2007 (counting for almost one fourth of the entire population).

The Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu was founded in 1990, with five faculties: Engineering and Sciences; Letters; History and Law; Medicine; Food and Textile Processing Technology. Nowadays, it has many departments.

Andrei Şaguna Faculty of Theology

Faculty of Letters and Arts

Nicolae Lupu Faculty of History and Patrimony

Simion Bărnuţiu Faculty of Law

Hermann Oberth Faculty of Engineering

Faculty of Political Sciences,International Relations,European Studies ( recently added Security Service )

Victor Papilian Faculty of Medicine

Faculty of Sciences

Faculty of Economics

Faculty of Journalism

Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Food Industry and Environmental Protection

The University College

Department for Distance and E-Learning

Sibiu also houses the Nicolae Bălcescu Land Forces Military Academy, the Foreign Language Center as well as some private universities.

In Sibiu there are 20 educational institutions on the secondary level, the most prestigious of which are:

Gheorghe Lazăr National College - mainly sciences and informatics, with some bilingual classes, first opened in 1692 as a Jesuit College

Samuel von Brukenthal National College - German language high school

Octavian Goga National College - social sciences, sciences and informatics

Onisifor Ghibu Theoretical Highschool - informatics, social sciences and sports

Andrei Şaguna National College - training for schoolteachers, informatics, social sciences and sports

Constantin Noica Theoretical Highschool - social sciences and sciences

Sports teams

;Football (soccer)

FC Sibiu

Atletic Sibiu

CSU Voinţa Sibiu

;Rugby

CSM Sibiu

;Volleyball

CSM Sibiu (men)

CSS Sibiu (women)

;Basketball

CSU Atlassib Sibiu (men)

;Handball

CSM Sibiu (women)

CSM Sibiu (men)

;Speed Skating

CSS Sibiu

Natives

Michael Gottlieb Agnethler

Alexandru Apolzan

Arthur Arz von Straussenburg, Austro-Hungarian general

Alexandru Muşina, Romanian poet.

Florin Barbu, bass player in Romanian bands Timpuri Noi and Proconsul

Claudiu Baştea

Ion Besoiu, Romanian actor

Miklós Borsos, Hungarian sculptor

Dan Burincă

Andrei Codrescu, American writer

Sabina Cojocar, Romanian gymnast

Alexandru Curtean

Sándor Domanovszky, Hungarian historian

József Ettinger

Mihaela Fera, Olympic skier

Steve Holmes, German pornographic actor

Hermann Kusmanek von Burgneustädten, Austro-Hungarian general, see also Siege of Przemyśl

Steliana Nistor, Romanian gymnast

Hermann Oberth, Romanian and German space flight technology pioneer

Nicolaus Olahus, Romanian (Vlach) archbishop of Hungary

Oskar Pastior, Romanian-German poet and translator

Dan Perjovschi, Romanian artist

Lia Perjovschi, Romanian artist

Claudia Presecan, Romanian gymnast

Iancu Sasul, Moldavian ruler

János Márton Stock, Hungarian painter

Tobias Stranovius, Saxon painter

Viorel Tilea, Romanian diplomat

Twinned towns

Bauru, Brazil, since 1995. Columbia, USA, since 1994. Deventer, the Netherlands, since 2007. Klagenfurt, Austria, since 1990. Landshut, Germany, since 2002. Marburg, Germany, since 2005. Mechelen, Belgium, since 1996. Rennes, France, since 1999. Valencia, Venezuela, since 1993. Wirral, United Kingdom, since 1994. Takayama, Gifu, Japan, since 2009.

Legations

Currently there are two legations in Sibiu: General Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany. Honorary Consulate of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

See also

List of castles in Romania

Tourism in Romania

Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania

References

External links

Informations, pictures and videos

Sibiu Online - Official Site with information on tourism and history, Sibiu pictures, and more. In Romanian, English and German.

Sibiu European Cultural Capital 2007 - Official Site

Sibiu Tourism

Sibiu on RomaniaTourism.com. Reference regarding surface area, population, etc. Retrieved 22 November 2005.

Restoration of Historical Monuments in Sibiu - Report and Photo Gallery

Article on Sibiu as Capital of Culture in Bucharest's ''The Diplomat''

Category:1190 establishments Category:Populated places in Sibiu County Category:Cities in Romania Category:Cities of Romania served by tramway systems Category:European Capitals of Culture

ace:Sibiu als:Hermannstadt ar:سيبيو roa-rup:Sibiu az:Sibiu bar:Hermannstadt bg:Сибиу ca:Sibiu cs:Sibiu da:Sibiu de:Sibiu et:Sibiu el:Σίμπιου es:Sibiu eo:Sibiu fa:سیبیو fr:Sibiu gl:Sibiu ko:시비우 hr:Sibiu (grad) id:Sibiu it:Sibiu he:סיביו kk:Сибиу lad:Sibiu la:Cibinium lv:Sibiu lb:Sibiu lt:Sibiu li:Sibiu lmo:Sibiu hu:Nagyszeben mr:सिबिव nl:Sibiu (stad) ja:シビウ no:Sibiu nn:Sibiu pnb:سیبو pl:Sybin pt:Sibiu ro:Sibiu ru:Сибиу simple:Sibiu sk:Sibiu (mesto) sr:Сибињ fi:Sibiu sv:Sibiu tg:Сибиу tr:Sibiu tk:Hermanştat uk:Сібіу (місто) vec:Sibiu vi:Sibiu vo:Sibiu wa:Sibiu war:Sibiu zh:錫比烏

Aurel Vlaicu (; November 19, 1882 – September 13, 1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor and early pilot.

Biography

Aurel Vlaicu was born in Binţinţi (now renamed Aurel Vlaicu), Geoagiu, Transylvania. He attended Calvinist High School in Orăştie (renamed "Liceul Aurel Vlaicu" in his honour in 1919) and took his Baccalaureate in Sibiu in 1902. He furthered his studies at Technical University of Budapest and Technische Hochschule München in Germany, earning his engineer's diploma in 1907.

After working at Opel car factory in Rüsselsheim, he returned to Binţinţi and built a glider he flew in the summer of 1909. Later that year, he moved to Bucharest, in the Kingdom of Romania, where he began the construction of ''Vlaicu Nr. I'' airplane; it flew for the first time on June 17, 1910.

With his ''Vlaicu Nr. II'' model, built in 1911, Aurel Vlaicu won several prizes summing 7,500 Austro-Hungarian krone (for precise landing, projectile throwing and tight flying around a pole) in 1912 at Aspern Air Show near Vienna, where he competed against 42 other aviators of the day, including Roland Garros.

Aurel Vlaicu died in 1913 near Câmpina while attempting to cross in flight the Carpathian Mountains in his aged ''Vlaicu II'' airplane. He is buried at the Bellu cemetery, in Bucharest.

Legacy

During his short career he built three original, arrow-shaped airplanes, with flight controls in front, two coaxial propellers, NACA-like ring around the engine, and independent suspension-tricycle-landing-gear with brakes. At the time of his death, a two-seated monoplane ''Vlaicu Nr. III'', ordered by Marconi Company for experiments with aerial wireless radio, was only partially built. After Vlaicu's death the plane was completed by friends, and several short experimental flights were made during 1914. Further tests were hindered by the unusual controls of the airplane, no other pilot was familiar with.

In 1916, during the German occupation of Bucharest, ''Vlaicu III'' was seized and shipped to Germany. The airplane was last seen in a 1942 aviation exhibition in Berlin.

Vlaicu was posthumously elected to the Romanian Academy in 1948.

Bucharest City Airport in Băneasa was named after him. A TAROM Airbus A318-111 registered YR-ASA was also named after him.

External links

Aurel Vlaicu at www.earlyaviators.com

Great Britain Patent GB191026658

Aurel Vlaicu [in romanian]

Aurel Vlaicu article by Valeriu Avram[in romanian]

Category:1882 births Category:1913 deaths Category:Romanian scientists Category:People from Hunedoara County Category:Austro-Hungarian emigrants to Romania Category:Members of the Romanian Academy elected post-mortem Category:Romanian Austro-Hungarians Category:Romanian aviators Category:Romanian engineers Category:Romanian inventors Category:Aviation history Category:Aviation inventors Category:Romanian aerospace engineers Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents Category:Aviation pioneers Category:Burials at Bellu Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Romania

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