Norwich bulletin., 1916-09-14
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

Hermannstadt, against which the new enemy of the Central Powers, the Roumanians, inaugurated a campaign simultaneously with their declaration of hostilities, is the subject of today s
 war geography bulletin issued by the National Geographic Society:
 "The former capital Of Pennsylvania
 like the present capital, Kronstadt, has four names-Hermannstad (German)
 Nasyszeben (Hungarian). Sibiiu (Rou- manian) and Cibinium (Roman). Its distinction as the seat of government of the adjacent mountainous province having been taken from it, it is now
 the administrative center of the coun- ty of Hermannstadt familiarity known
 as Saxon Land because it is supposed to have been colonized by Germans under the leadership of Hermann, a
 citizen of Nuremberg who arrived in this attractive locality sometime dur ing the twelfth century.
 "The city, wkich boasts a. popula- ton of more than 30,090, three -ffths
 of whom are SaXons and a fourth are
 Roumanians, clings to a hillside in the of the Alt (Aluta) which in turn is one of the important aff1uents of the
 Danube, far to the south.
 '1n medieval days the last of the
 native Magyar monarchs accorded the city many special privileges and it's commerce with the East f1ourished,
 despite the fact that during the 18th
 and 16th centuries it was on several occasions besieged by Turkish forces on their way through Hungary to boasted strong Qualifications of which there remain today only a few frag- ments of walls and one or two towers
 standing near the municipal theater building. The center of the old town, the main business section, is known as %1,4z
 stands enc of the most interesting buildings of the city, the Rathaus, once the fortified dwelling of a patrician but
 purchased during the middle ages by the citizens and converted into a town hall. It contains the achieves of the
 Saxon Nation.' Another impressive
 structure is the Prudential Palace,
 built by Baron Brukenthal, governor
 of Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1787. It contains a large art collection and a magnificent library of more than 100.- 900 volumes together with many val
 uable manuscripts. The ecclesiastical buildings worthy of consideration are:
 the Protestant Church of the 14th-16th century, noted for 8 magnificent cup 1 shaped fount cast by Meister Leon.
 hardus in 143s: the New Church, which bellies it's name in that it is | nearly 800 years old; the Chapel by Elisabeth Tor, with its massive cruel | fix carved from a single block of stone, | and the Creek Oriental cathedral, built l only 20 years ago.
 "Hernannstadts industrial activities are numerous and varied, its manu- l factures including soaps, candles, hats, boots, linen, woolen and leather goods horn combs, gunpowder, ropes and ma | chinery. In peace times it is garri- soned by about $500 soldiers, being the headquarters of the 18th Army Corps As an adjunct of its martial life there | is military school here, and among l the popular places of recreation are the military swimming baths.
 "The nearest point on the Rou-
 manian border lies due south of Her
 mannstadt at the Rotenturm Pass,
 about 14 miles distant in an airline. Kronstadt is to the east, a distance of miles"