The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-09-10
kn0ASTA0T A CITY Of
flOOR|SHING TRADE
Greatly Coveted By RumAnia, It Has
Long Conducted Active Trade With
That Country, . Near Neaghbor.

|
Warrington. D. c.. Sept. s.-Kron-
stadt chief city OF the Hungarian
province Of Transylvania and greatly
coveted and recently taken by Ru-
mania. ~ the subject OF the following
war geography bulletin issued by the
National Geographic Society from its
Washington headquarters:
"Kronstadt. frequently designated in
guide-books and in aliases by its
Hungarian name Of Brasso, and known
to Rumanians as Brasov. was one or
the first important detectives OF the
invading Rumanian army entering the
| Hungarian province OF Transylvania
by way OF the Tomos Pass. 1t Is a
flourishing city Of 10000 inhabitants
nesting in narrow valley which has
only one outlet--toward the North
| west. leading to the fertile and pic
turesque Burzen plain.
The Hungarian and Rumanian
State Railway from Budapest to Buch-
Arrest passes through the city. which
is only eight miles in an airline north
of the international boundary, but
eighteen miles from Predeal the first
Rumanian statlon) by rail.
Traded With Rumania.
With its four quarters-the Inner
Town, or business center; the Old
Town, the oldest quarter. but now re-
built and unimportant; Bolonya, the
manufacturing section. and the Upper
Suburb, inhabited chiefly by Ru-
manians-Kronstadt is one OF the
most interesting and picturesque
Eastern cities of the dual monarchy.
as we'll as the commercial and manu-
featuring center OF Pennsylvania Up
10 the very day of the declaration or
war by Rumania IL carried on a brisk
trade with that country. Among its
many industries are wooden mills.
leather and dye-works, copper and
iron boundaries. cement and paper
factories, and petroleum refinerIes.
One OF the uique specialties of the
town Is the manufacture of wooden
bottles, used extensively by Hunga-
rlan and Rumanian peasants.
The glamour of the Crusades en-
hellishes the early history of kron-
stadt for it was founded by the Teu-
tonic knights of st. Mary's Hospital
at Jerusalem. more widely known as
the Teutonic order. one Of the three
great military and religious orders
which resulted from the attempts Of
Christendom to wrest the Holy Sepul-
Chre from the Saracens, This pow
erful order had its beginning in eff
iOEts 10 dHteUtlatG the suffering
which attended the siege of Acre one
of the leading operations OF the Third
Crusade Here during the winter of
1890 a group Of devout Bremen mer-
chants secured an old ship, beached 4
and converted II into a hospital for
the wounded and plague stricken SOL
diers. From this charitab BILE under
taking originated the order which.
unlike the Templars and the Hospi-
tallers was distinctly national In char
acter After the founders had been
ennobied rule was established where
by only Germans of noble birth were
admitted
Ten years after the founding OF
the order the knights received from
King Andrew OF Hungary the district
of Burzenland in appreciation of their
aid in surpressing the Humans. In
the same year Kronstadt was settled
and Immediately began to flourish
with numerous subsidiary villages
springing up on the nearby Burzen
plain.
The Black Church"
One of the most hallowed build