Braşov / Kronstadt / Brassó

Braşov is only some 150 km from Bucharest, but it is on the northern side of the Carpathian peaks, and it has a very different history. For most of the second millennium, Transylvania was controlled by the Hungarians and Habsburg and only fell into Romanian hands in 1920. Like many cities in southern Transylvania, Braşov was founded by Saxons. The Hungarians encouraged the Saxons to settle here to help with the defence against Turks and Tatars. For a long time the city was overly German, but in the 1970s Ceauşescu struck a deal with Germany permitting many of the Germans to relocate to Germany, and this appears to have accelerated after fall of Communism. Today, you mainly here Romanian in the streets.

The city is magnifique. Or more exactly: the old parts are. The moderns parts built during communism are the usual dull bunkers of concrete. I didn't take the occasion to take photo from the Central Station, but it's astonishingly drab. Instead what you will see are some exquisite samples of Central European architecture. (And in case you wonder what counts as "Central Europe", I say it's simple: Braşov in Central Europe. Bucharest is not.)

1. Prefecture	2. Putzergasse	3. Age with Beauty	4. Revolution Memorial
5. Bulevardul 13 Noiembrie	6. B-dul 13 Noiembrie II	7. Catholic Church	8. Small Graveyard
9. 16th Century	10. Volksbank	11. Café Krone	12. The Gents
13. Putzergasse Houses I	14. Putzergasse Houses II	15. Old Town Street	16. Putzergasse Houses III
17. Piaţa Sfatului	18. String Quartet	19. Orthodox Cathedral	20. Piaţa Sfatului II
21. Black Church	22. In Need of a Face Lift	23. Synagogue	24. Residential House
25. Piaţa Unirii	26. Chapel on a Hill	27. Poarta Ecaterinei	28. St Treime
29. Small Chapel	30. Hill Fort	31. One More Elegant House	32. MCMI
33. Black Church II	34. View from Mount Tâmpa	35. Old Town View	36. Litter Interlude
37. At the Foot of the Mountains	38. Orthodox Church	39. Putzergasse Houses IV	40. Putzergasse Houses V

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