Tălmaciu

Sister cities

• Vitré

History

The first documents referring to Tălmaciu (Tholmach) are from 1318. After the Saxon colonisation of Transylvania, Tălmaciu was the administrative center for the settlements of Tălmăcel, Boița, Turnul Roșu, Racovița, Sebeșul de Jos, and Plopi. After 1453 the administrative center was moved to Sibiu. It officially became a town in 1989, as a result of the Romanian rural systematization program. Because using the Olt Pass to the south requires passing through Tălmaciu, it has witnessed numerous historical events: * The Romans passed through during the battles between the troops of Emperor Trajan and King Decebalus of Dacia. * 1599: Mihai Viteazu's troops regrouped here before the battle of Șelimbăr. * 1848: the Czarist troops battled General Bem's army. * 1916: the Romanian Army used the town to stage the battle for Sibiu. On 29 August 1916, during the Battle of Transylvania, Tălmaciu (then part of the Hungarian half of Austria-Hungary) was occupied by General Ioan Culcer's Romanian 1st Army. The most powerful unit of the 1st Army was the I Corps. It was its only army corps and as such the only unit of the 1st Army to comprise multiple divisions. The I Corps was commanded by General Ioan Popovici. In the middle of September, Culcer moved the I Corps headquarters to Tălmaciu, to direct the operations of the two divisions located there. Popovici arrived in Tălmaciu along with his staff on 16 September. Tălmaciu was evacuated by the Romanians on 28 September, towards the end of the Battle of Nagyszeben. Tălmaciu also served as the air base for the 1st Army's squadron, consisting of (depending on source) 3 or 6 aircraft.

Geography

Tălmaciu is situated at the confluence of the Sadu and Cibin rivers, before the confluence of the Cibin with the Olt River. It lies on one of the main access routes between Transylvania and Wallachia, at the northern entrance of the Turnu Roșu Pass; the European route E81 passes through it. The town administers two villages: *Colonia Tălmaciu (Feltrinellitelep), to the north; *Tălmăcel (Kistalmács), to the west. It also administered four other villages until 2004, when they were split off to form Boița Commune.

Most-observed species

• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  201
• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  173
• Common Merganser

  Mergus merganser Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  132
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  130
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  126
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  114
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  113
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  111

Most recent

• M 4.3 — 2020-03-19
  8 km NNW of Glod, Romania
• M 4.3 — 2015-12-29
  7 km WNW of Brezoi, Romania
• M 4.5 — 2012-01-01
  4 km W of Albeni, Romania
• M 2.8 — 2008-03-30
  4 km SSE of Corbi, Romania
• M 3.4 — 2006-08-10
  6 km NNW of Uricani, Romania
• M 3.1 — 2006-08-09
  5 km SSW of Uricani, Romania