Racoviţa, Sibiu

Racoviţa
—  Commune  —
Racoviţa Location of Racoviţa
Coordinates: 45°40′45″N 24°20′38″E / 45.67917°N 24.34389°E / 45.67917; 24.34389Coordinates: 45°40′45″N 24°20′38″E / 45.67917°N 24.34389°E / 45.67917; 24.34389
Country	Romania
County	Sibiu County
Status	Commune
First mentioned	1443
Villages	Racoviţa, Sebeşu de Sus
Government
– Mayor	Peciu-Florianu Florina[1] (Democratic Liberal Party)
Area
– Total	34.5 km2 (13.3 sq mi)
– Housing	3.5 km2 (1.4 sq mi)
Population (2002)
– Total	2,884
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	557195
Website	[1]

Racoviţa (Racoviţa-Olt until 1931; German: Rakovitza or Rakevets; Hungarian: Oltrákovica or colloquially Rákovica) is a commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 2,884 inhabitants (2002 census) and is composed of two villages, Racoviţa and Sebeşu de Sus.

The first official mention of the then-village was in a May 22, 1443 "gift" act of John Hunyadi. Church documents first mention the village on July 8, 1647, when George I Rákóczi names Ion din Ţichindeal as archpriest over 17 villages around Sibiu, including Racoviţa. The rich history of the village is linked to the military border with Transylvania established by empress Maria Theresa of Austria in 1765. At the time, Racoviţa was part of the 7th Company of the First Border Regiment in Orlat.

Starting in 1698, before the village was completely militarized, the village and its area were confronted with severe religious conflicts due to the decision made by the Alba-Iulia Orthodox Church to unite with the Catholic Church.

Soldiers and villagers participated enthusiastically in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Once the military border was abolished in 1851, important village members took initiative to manage the Regiment School Funds and became actively involved in the Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and the Culture of Romanian People.

During World War I soldiers from Racoviţa were involved from 1916 to 1918 and received distinctions for fighting against "Russian Poland", Galicia, Albania, Italy, Serbia and even France.

Geography

Racoviţa Commune, is situated at the base of Suru Peak (2281m) on the contact between the foothills of the Fagaras Mountains and the low terrace of the floodplain, on the left bank of the Olt River, at an altitude of 385 meters.^[2] The commune is borders to the north and northeast with the town Avrig, border which extends from the confluence of the Mârşa Valley with the Olt River to the Sorliţei Peak, border established after the year 1200 ^[3] and marked with border signs called 'morminţi'.

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  Holy Trinity Church, dedicated in 1887

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  The Monument of Romanian Heroes

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  The first document mentioning the locality, May 22, 1443

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  Toponymic map of the Romanian village Racoviţa, Sibiu.

See media gallery from ro.wikipedia.org

1. ^ "Rezultatele alegerilor locale din 2008". Biroul Electoral Central. http://www.beclocale2008.ro/documm/pdftur12_finale_last/Pales_moc12.pdf. Retrieved 20 iunie 2008. 
2. ^ Altitudes are taken from the "Touristenkarte der Section "Hermannstadt" de S.K.V, Blatt II (Fogarascher Gebirge), Hermannstadt, 1921
3. ^ S. Lupşa, Satul lui Gheorghe Lazăr, in "Mitropolia Ardealului", VII, nr.7-8/1962, p.483, n.5.