Mediaș

Sister cities

• Lutherstadt Wittenberg
• Joure
• Mineral Wells
• Sopron

History

The first signs of human communities in the area are thought to be from the middle Neolithic period. The name of the city comes from the Hungarian word meggy (sour cherry). The Romanian name originates in the German version, which comes from the Hungarian name (Medgyes). In the 13th century, the kings of Hungary invited German settlers known as Transylvanian Saxons to the area, who settled in the valley of the Târnava Mare River. * According to tradition, the town was founded in 1146, thus being one of the oldest cities in Transylvania. * 1200: Here would have lived around 100 inhabitants. * 1267: The first document that mentions the city (as Mediesy) is dated 3 June 1267. * 1283: Another reference appears in a document: Mediaș is listed as "villa Medgyes". * 1318: The Hungarian king Charles Robert of Anjou offers complete rights for the Sibiu region to people living in Mediaș, Șeica Mare, and Biertan. * 1359: Mediaș is called for the first time a city ("civitas"). The first seal of Mediaș was used in 1448. * 1414: The St. Margaret church was the first church built in Mediaș. The first document that notes the presence of a hospital in the city is dated 1487. * 1448: While preparing for his campaign against the Ottoman Empire, John Hunyadi passed through Mediaș. * 1490–1534: The city is fortified by the people living in Mediaș and Șeica Mare, after a document signed in 1477 by the king Matthias Corvinus's office. * 1517: Mediaș obtains the right to organise annual fairs. * 1557: The population of Mediaș was hit by leprosy. The plague has also devastated the population of Mediaș several times in history, in 1586, 1601–1604, 1633, 1646, 1653, 1656–1658, 1660–1661 and 1717–1718. * 1562: 34 guilds are registered. * 1586: The first mention of a school in Mediaș ("Schola…

Geography

Mediaș is located in the middle basin of Târnava Mare River, at from Sighișoara and from Blaj. The health resort Bazna, officially recognized for the first time in 1302, is from Mediaș. The health resort offers mineral water springs, rich in salts, mineral mud and a special type of salt, called "Bazna salt". The distance between Mediaș and the county's residence Sibiu is . The city administers one village, Ighișu Nou (Eibesdorf; Szászivánfalva).

Most-observed species

• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  52
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow

  Passer montanus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  44
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  39
• False-acacia

  Robinia pseudoacacia L. · Magnoliopsida
  32
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  32
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  31
• Great Spotted Woodpecker

  Dendrocopos major (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  30
• Barn Swallow

  Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  29

Most recent

• M 4.3 — 2015-12-29
  7 km WNW of Brezoi, Romania
• M 2.5 — 2006-06-08
  4 km NE of C?p??ânenii P?mânteni, Romania