Transylvanian Saxon culture

The UNESCO-recognized Evangelical Lutheran fortified church of Biertan (‹See Tfd›German: Birthälm) in Sibiu County (‹See Tfd›German: Kreis Hermannstadt) is a prominent symbol of Transylvanian Saxon culture in Transylvania, Romania and a World Heritage Site since 1993 (alongside other Saxon villages with fortified churches).

The Transylvanian Saxon culture refers to the regional culture of the Transylvanian Saxons (‹See Tfd›German: Die Siebenbürger Sachsen, Romanian: Sași transilvăneni or sași transilvani, Hungarian: erdélyi szászok), an ethnic German group (part of the Germans of Romania and one of the most significant constituent groups therein; also significantly related in particular to the Luxembourgers) which has been living in Transylvania (‹See Tfd›German: Siebenbürgen, Romanian: Transilvania), present-day central Romania since the mid and mid-late 12th century onwards, thus being one of the oldest groups of the German diaspora still residing in Eastern and Central Europe, alongside the Baltic Germans (‹See Tfd›German: Deutsch-Balten) and the Zipser Germans (‹See Tfd›German: Zipser Sachsen).[1][2][3]

The regional culture of the Transylvanian Saxons includes their dialect, namely Transylvanian Saxon (‹See Tfd›German: Siebenbürgisch-Sächsisch, Romanian: Dialectul săsesc) which is one of the oldest German dialects (spoken since the High Middle Ages onwards), their cuisine, their literature, their folk dances, their traditional costumes (‹See Tfd›German: Sächsische Trachten), their celebrations and cultural festivals, their traditional music, their regional anthem (i.e. Siebenbürgenlied), their history, former regional governance as the Transylvanian Saxon University (Latin: Universitas Saxonum, ‹See Tfd›German: Sächsische Nationsuniversität), local architecture represented by the many villages with fortified churches (‹See Tfd›German: Kirchenburgen or Wehrkirchen), and heraldic (including their coat-of-arms).[4][5][6]

  1. ^ "Transylvanian Saxons". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  2. ^ Victor Rouă (3 October 2015). "The History of the Transylvanian Saxons". The Dockyards. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  3. ^ Siebenbürgisches Kulturzentrum Schloss Horneck E.V. "Transylvania and the Transylvanian Saxons". Schloss Horneck. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  4. ^ Andrea Corsale; Monica Iorio (2014). "Transylvanian Saxon culture as heritage: Insights from Viscri, Romania". Academic Article. 52: 22–31. doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.12.008. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Saxon Heritage in Romania". Romania Tourism. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  6. ^ Tomáš Drs at the Institute of Ethnology, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic (2015). "Current Manifestations of the Ethnic Identity of Transylvanian Saxons". Ethnologia Actualis, Vol. 15, No. 2/2015. 15 (2): 46–65. doi:10.1515/eas-2015-0016. S2CID 53395586.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)