Codlea (Transylvanian Saxon dialect: Zäöeden; ) is a city in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania.

Name

The Romanian name "Codlea" could be a derivation from the Latin codella, a diminutive of Latin coda (edge, rearward); or it could be a derivation from the Slavic kotlík ("kettle"), as the Măgura Codlei (in this reading: "Kettle Hill") looks like a kettle. In Romanian, măgură means "large hill, mound, forest located on a high place". The hill also provides the Hungarian name of the city, Feketehegy, "Black Hill". The German name's origin is unknown, but there is a theory that it was derived from Zeidler, an antiquated word for "beekeeper".

History

During the 13th century, the Teutonic Order built a fortress known as Schwarzburg ("black castle") near the "Măgura Codlei". The castle's name was first noted in 1265 and was rebuilt for the last time in 1432 by the craftsmen's guild that worked in the town. The city of Codlea is believed to have been also founded by Germans. The fortified church in the city is the largest in the Burzenland historic region. Codlea was well known for its flowers and was called the city of flowers.

Climate

Codlea has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb in the Köppen climate classification).

Population

As of the 2011 census, 90.2% of inhabitants were Romanians, 5.6% Roma, 2.8% Hungarians, and 1% Germans. As of 2002, 86.8% were Romanian Orthodox, 3.7% Roman Catholic, 3.1% Pentecostal, 2.2% Christian Evangelical, 1% Evangelical Augustan Confession, and 0.8% Reformed.

Natives