Orăştie

VIIIth to 9th century - First signs of human settlement.
1206 - King of Hungary, Andrew II, mentioned Romosul, a village near Orăştie, as one of the first three villages in Transylvania comprising Saxon colonists.
1224 - Andrew II confirmed the privileges of the Saxon colonists and mentioned the existence of Romanian (Blachi) and Pecheneg (Bisseni) populations in the town.
1241 - Orăştie was devastated during the Mongol invasion.
1309 - Orăştie had approx. 1,600 inhabitants.
1324 - Hungarian King Charles I Robert, awarded it the rank of town.
1376 - 19 guilds (fraternitas) are mentioned as active in the town.
1420 - The county is raided by the Ottomans, who are said to have taken about 20,000 prisoners (could be an exaggeration).
1425 - Saxons from Orăştie became suppliers of the Turks. Town is mentioned under its German name, Bros or Broos.
1436 - Hungarians are mentioned as living in the center of the town.
1438 - An Ottoman army entered Transylvania near Orăştie and damaged the town's fortress.
1479 - An Ottoman army of 60,000 raided Transylvania. Orăştie was set on fire. On their way back, they were attacked by Transylvanian troops (some under the command of Pavel Chinezul) near Orăştie. The Turks lost half of their forces.
1500 - The annual fair on Saint Nicholas Day was held for the first time in history.
1509 - The first mention of Gypsies in Orăştie: "The ledger of Sibiu city, registres a payment made in favor of two employers sent to Orăştie to escort some Gypsies held and accused of violent crimes in the market place in Orăştie."
1577 - The first mention of the Hungarian name for the town, Szászváros (meaning: Saxon Town).
1599 - Michael the Brave asked the town for a loan of 1,000 florins.
1582 - The Old Testament of Orăştie, one of the first Romanian-language translations of the Bible was printed here.
1602 - General Giorgio Basta garrisoned 400 Imperial soldiers in the town. Their actions persuaded the townsfolk to flee or otherwise barricade themselves in the church's castle. Later, in the same year, general Gabriel Bethlen, with an army of Tatars, Turks, Hungarians and Serbs besieged the town. The Imperial soldiers were denied access to the church's castel and all but 11 were killed. In August, Basta retook Transylvania and hanged the Mayor of Orăştie and two other prominent burghers.
1604 - 1,500 of Basta's soldiers were garrisoned in the town. Because of extreme famine, there cannibalism extended.
1605 - A large part of the town was destroyed.
1661 - An Ottoman army in pursuit of John Kemény, set on fire Orăştie and Sebeş.
1663 - The reformed college of the town was established by Michael I Apafi
1697 - The first pharmacy of the town, "Graffius", was established.
1733 - The tax registry mentioned 2,800 inhabitants in 568 families: 240 Romanian families, 170 Hungarian, 100 Saxon, 50 Gypsy and 8 Greek.
1738 - The plague caused the deaths of 156 people.
1749 - The Roman Catholic church was built in the shape that it still has: in 1880 a tower was added.
1752-1756 - 144 colonists from Upper Austria settle the town.
1757-1758 - Another 222 colonists from the same region.
1784 - The peasants' rebellion of Horea, Cloşca and Crişan.
1786 - A census under Emperor Joseph II counted 3,190 people in the town.
1820-1823 - The Lutheran church was build, with a tower being added in 1841.
1828 - A large fire destroys 127 houses.
1848 - Fightings between forces of Hungarian Revolutionary forces under general Józef Bem, and the Austrian armies.
1853 - Transylvania was reorganised in 10 counties. The third one was centered on Orăştie. The county has 134,77 square miles/348,90 square km and 214,165 inhabitants. According to etnical criteria, its population comprised: 192,995 Romanians, 7,809 Hungarians, 1,063 Germans (and 12,297 of other categories). The religious divisions: 160,603 Eastern Orthodox, 38,550 Eastern Rite Catholics, 8,565 Lutherans, 4,283 Roman-Catholic, 2,141 Calvinists and 23 of other religions.
1854 - Orăştie had 4,207 inhabitants.
1857 - Census counted 5,029 inhabitants: 1,850 Eastern Orthodox, 1,136 Roman Catholic, 884 Lutheran, 688 Calvinist, 486 Eastern Rite, 24 Jewish, 19 Unitarian and 5 Armenian.
1867 - The synagogue was build.
1869 - First bank was established: "Brooser Vorschuss-verein".
1877 - Orăştie had 5,661 inhabitants.
1880 - Orăştie had 1,086 houses and 5,451 inhabitants: 2,312 Romanians, 1,427 Germans, 1,227 Hungarians, 16 Slovaks, 8 Serbs, 176 other nationalities, 138 foreigners and 147 of unknown maternal language (a category that included Gypsies); 2,030 Eastern Orthodox, 1,002 Roman Catholic, 964 Lutheran, 769 Calvinist, 523 Eastern Rite, 163 Jewish.
1900 - Orăştie had 6,238 inhabitants. Electrical street lighting was introduced.
1910 - 6,937 inhabitants (of which 3,276 Romanians).
1930 - 7,377 inhabitants.
1941 - 9,751 inhabitants.
1948 - 8,819 inhabitants.
1956 - 10,488 inhabitants.
1960 - 11,726 inhabitants.
1966 - 12,822 inhabitants.
1973 - 14,994 inhabitants.
2002 - 20,000 inhabitants.

[edit] References

1. Chronicles and documents about the history of Orăştie - vol. 1 1200-1541, Anton E. Dörner.
2. Orăştie - 750 years, Ion Iliescu, Tiberiu Istrate.
3. Orăştie - 775, dr. Anton E. Dörner, Vasile Ionaş, Ioachim Lazăr, Mihai Căstăian.
4. Orăştie - Encyclopedia, Petru Baciu.