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{{about||the village also in Brașov County|Ucea|the village in Cluj County|Cătina, Cluj|the village in Vrancea County|Tănăsoaia|other settlements named Földvár in Hungarian|Földvár (disambiguation)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}
{{Infobox Romanian subdivision
|type               = commune
|county             = Brașov
|name               = Feldioara
|image_flag         =
|image_shield       = Historical Burzenland Feldioara CoA.png
|image_skyline      = Ansamblul bisericii evanghelice fortificat-vedere aeriana.JPG
|image_caption      = Fortified Saxon Evangelic church in Rotbav
|image_map          = Feldioara jud Brasov.jpg
|map_caption        =
|leader_name        = Sorin Taus<ref>{{cite web |url=https://prezenta.roaep.ro/locale27092020/romania-pv-final |title=Results of the 2020 local elections |publisher=Central Electoral Bureau |access-date=9 June 2021 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|leader_party       = PNL
|term               = 2020&ndash;2024
|coordinates = {{coord|45|49|0|N|25|35|30|E|region:RO|display=it}}
|elevation          = 389
|elevation_min      = 
|elevation_max      = 
|area_total         = 75.97
|population_total   = auto
|population_as_of   = 
|population_footnotes = 
|postal_code        = 507065
|area_code          = (+40) 0268
|website            = {{URL|https://primaria-feldioara.ro/}}
}}
'''Feldioara''' ({{langx|de|Marienburg}}, {{IPA|de|maˈʁiːənbʊʁk||Marienburg.ogg}}; {{langx|hu|Földvár}} or ''Barcaföldvár'') is a commune in [[Brașov County]], [[Transylvania]], [[Romania]], about {{cvt|15|km}} north of the city of [[Brașov]]. It is composed of three villages: '''Colonia Reconstrucția''' (''Bohntelep''), '''Feldioara''', and '''Rotbav''' (''Rothbach''; ''Szászveresmart'').

==Geography==
The commune is located in the east-central part of the county, in the northern  reaches of the [[Burzenland]]. It is situated on the left bank of the [[Olt (river)|Olt River]], which mostly follows the border with [[Covasna County]]. The rivers [[Bârsa (Olt)|Bârsa]] and [[Homorod (Dumbrăvița)|Homorod]] discharge into the Olt near Feldioara.

The commune is crossed by [[Roads in Romania|national road]] {{ill|DN13|ro}}, which links Brașov with [[Sighișoara]] and [[Târgu Mureș]]. Road {{ill|DN13E|ro}} branches off in Feldioara, passes through [[Sfântu Gheorghe]] ({{cvt|26|km}} to the east) and [[Covasna]], and ends in [[Întorsura Buzăului]]. The train stations in Feldioara and Rotbav serve the [[Căile Ferate Române|CFR Main Line 300]], which connects [[Bucharest]] with the [[Hungary–Romania border|Hungarian border]] near [[Oradea]].

==Name==
===Feldioara===
Feldioara has a [[Middle Ages|medieval]] fortress long believed to have been built by the [[Teutonic Knights]]. However, more recent studies show that the Fortress in Feldioara was actually constructed by the local community.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} The name of the village comes from the Hungarian word ''földvár'', which means "the clay fortress". The ruins of the fortress can still be seen today. The German name Marienburg means "fortress of the [[Mary, the mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]]".

===Rotbav===
Rotbav is the Romanian name of the formerly Saxon village of Roiderbrich (Transylvanian-Saxon name), called Rothbach in German and (Szász-)Veresmart and (Szász-)Vörösmárt in Hungarian, Szász meaning Saxon.

===Colonia Reconstrucția===
Colonia Reconstrucția is the Romanian Communist-era name<ref name= EAV>Varga, E. Árpád (2011). ''Ethnic and religious statistics of Transylvania based on census data, 1852–2011: Brasó County'' (in Hungarian). databank.ro</ref> of a workers' settlement established in the 1930s around a new brick factory and initially called after it, '''Colonia Bohn''' in Romanian and '''Bohntelep''' in Hungarian.<ref name= Bohn>{{cite web |title= Prima fabrică de țigle şi cărămizi Bohn |trans-title= The First Bohn Factory for Tiles and Bricks |publisher=Centrul Regional Timișoara |lang= ro |url=http://cautare-tm.arhivelenationale.ro/cautare-tm/detail.aspx?ID=28804 |access-date=2019-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208085309/http://cautare-tm.arhivelenationale.ro/cautare-tm/detail.aspx?ID=28804 |archive-date=2022-02-08}}</ref>
<ref name= ColB>{{cite web |title=Erdélyi és moldvai helységnévtár |trans-title= Directory of places in Transylvania and Moldavia |publisher= Transindex |lang= hu |url=http://szabo.adatbank.transindex.ro/index.php?action=megye&megye=8&kezd=31 |access-date=2019-09-20}}</ref> The company running the factory was nationalised by the new Communist regime in 1948 and the factory was renamed Reconstruția ('Reconstruction'),<ref name= 48CR>{{cite book |author=Pepene |display-authors=etal |title= Monografia Județului Brașov 1948 |trans-title= Brașov County Monograph 1948 |page=180 |year=2013 |publisher=Suvenir |location=Braşov |isbn=9786069310397}}</ref> with the settlement being administratively detached in the 1950s from the village of Feldioara under the name of '''Colonia Reconstruția'''.<ref name= EAV/>

==History==
At [[Rotbav Bronze Age site|"La Pârâuț" in Rotbav]], archaeologists discovered an important Bronze Age site with six distinct occupation layers.

The [[castra of Feldioara]] was a fort in the [[Roman province]] of [[Dacia]] and part of the [[Limes Alutanus]] defensive system.

===Feldioara: the Marienburg fortress===
====German Knights', then Saxon stronghold====
Between 1211 and 1225, {{ill|Marienburg, Feldioara|lt=Marienburg|de|Marienburg (Feldioara)}} ('Castle of Mary') was the [[Teutonic Order]]'s quarter in [[Burzenland]]; their ''[[Ordensburg]]'' would later become a [[Transylvanian Saxons |Saxon]] peasants' stronghold.<ref>''Ol' man river: geo-archaeological aspects of rivers and river plains'', Morgan de Dapper et al, Ghent: Academia Press in cooperation with Ghent University, Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History of Europe, 2009, {{ISBN|978-90-382-1404-7}}, {{ISBN|90-382-1404-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Sterns |first=Indrikis |chapter=VIII: The Teutonic Knights in the Crusader States |pages= 315-378 (see [https://books.google.com/books?id=tgfMNfBIgSwC&pg=PA361 361]-362 on Transylvania intermezzo) |title=A History of the Crusades: The Impact of the Crusades on the Near East |editor-first1=Norman P. |editor-last1=Zacour |editor-first2=Harry W. |editor-last2=Hazard |publisher=The University of Wisconsin Press |location=Madison |year=1985 |volume=V |isbn=0299091449 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tgfMNfBIgSwC}}</ref> A 1439 document states that the civilians of Feldioara built this fortress "with great financial and physical expenses" in order to protect their families and possessions.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} The fortress withstood the [[Ottoman Turks|Turkish]] invasion of 1421, but it was severely damaged by a second invasion in 1432. It took until 1457 to restore it.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}

====Second Battle of Marienburg (1612)====
[[File:RO BV Feldioara 1612 Saxon students monument 02.jpg|thumb|left|1913 monument to the Saxon students of {{ill|Kronstadt's high school|de|Honterus-Gymnasium}} fallen in 1612 in Feldioara<ref name= ADZ>{{cite news |title= Kronstadts Übergabe kam nicht in Frage |trans-title= Kronstadt's handover was out of question |lang=de |date= 19 October 2012 |newspaper=[[Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung|ADZ]]/Karpatenrundschau |url=https://adz.news/karpatenrundschau/artikel-karpatenrundschau/artikel/kronstadts-uebergabe-kam-nicht-in-frage/ |access-date= 29 August 2024}}</ref>]]

During the battles of 1612, the armies led by Prince [[Gabriel Báthori]] conquered the fortress, and in September the army of Kronstadt (Brașov) had Marienburg under siege for three days.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

On September 16, 1612, a battle was fought between the regular, mainly Hungarian army led by Báthori, and the Kronstadt host led by city judge [[Michael Weiß (politician)|Michael Weiss]], consisting mainly of motivated, but militarily undertrained Saxons - [[Burgher (social class)| burghers]] of Kronstadt and Burzenland peasants -, but also of local Hungarians and [[Szekler]]s, supported by Bathori's rival, {{ill|András Géczi|hu|Ghiczy András}}, by cavalry sent by [[Radu Mihnea]] of [[Wallachia]] (the first to give way when they came under attack), and a hodgepodge of unreliable mercenaries.<ref name= ADZ/> The Saxons lost the fight and Weiss was killed on the battlefield.<ref name= ADZ/> This is known as the Second Battle of Marienburg, the first one being fought in 1529.<ref name= ADZ/>

====Later history of the fortress====
The fortress – long out use for its original purpose – was used as a granary until 1838, when a major earthquake damaged it. After this event, even the fortress guardian left the building. Since then the fortress has lain in ruins.

In 2013-2017, the ruined fortress has been renovated and rebuilt.

===Colonia Reconstruția===
In 1936, the Bohn & Co. Brick and Tile Factory from [[Jimbolia]] founded a subsidiary on the outskirts of Feldioara.<ref name= Bohn/> A workers' settlement began to develop in the vicinity of the new brick factory, with Romanian and Hungarian workers moving in. Its Romanian name was Colonia Bohn, and Bohntelep its Hungarian name.<ref name= ColB/>

In 1948, the factory was nationalised and renamed Reconstruția ('Reconstruction'). At that time, 380 workers worked there and produced 16 million bricks and 5 million roof tiles a year.<ref name= 48CR/>

In the 1950s, the settlement separated from Feldioara under the name Colonia Reconstruția. In 1956, it had 754 inhabitants, and in 1977 it had already 1,067 (523 Hungarians and 512 Romanians). The population then started to decrease, in 2011 sinking to 647 inhabitants.<ref name= EAV/>

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
|source = Census data
|2002 |6435 
|2011 |6154
|2021 |6311
}}
At the [[2011 Romanian census|2011 census]], Feldioara had 6,154 inhabitants; of those, 88.8% were [[Romanians]], 6.9% [[Hungarians in Romania|Hungarians]], and 3.5% [[Romani people in Romania|Roma]]. At the [[2021 Romanian census|2021 census]], the commune had a population of 6,311, of which 84.3% were Romanians, 3.6% Hungarians, and 3.23% Roma.<ref name="RPL2021">{{cite web|url=https://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Tabel-1.03_1.3.1-si-1.03.2.xls|title=Populația rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Romania)|INSSE]]| language=ro|date=31 May 2023}}</ref>

==Natives==
*[[Edith Soterius von Sachsenheim]] (1887–1970), painter

== See also ==
* [[List of fortified churches in Transylvania]]
* [[Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania]]
* [[List of castles in Romania]]
* [[Rotbav Bronze Age site]]
* [[Dacian fortress of Feldioara]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
*{{YouTube|id=8yV0HqSkbw8|title=The Feldioara Fortress}}
*{{YouTube|id=4fxTJl4abL4|title=The Marienburg Medieval Fortress, Feldioara}}

{{Gallery
|File:CetateFeldioara.jpg|Feldioara fortress
|File:Marienburg Kirche.jpg|Feldioara [[fortified church]]
|File:Rotbav Fortified Church.jpg|Rotbav fortified church
}}

{{Brașov County}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Communes in Brașov County]]
[[Category:Localities in Transylvania]]
[[Category:Țara Bârsei]]