TRANSYLVANIA, an extensive province of the Austrian empire, on the eastern side towards the Turkish dominions. In the German language it is called Siebenbürgen, from the seven towers or fortresses by which it was formerly protected against attacks from the Ottoman power. Its Latin name, Transylvania, was derived from its local position beyond the Carpathian Mountains, as part of the ancient Dacia. In the enumeration of the Austrian dominions it is usually denominated a principality. From the 5th century downwards, it was but thinly peopled, and was rided by various chiefs of tribes. In the year 1004, it was subdued by Stephen the First, king of Hungary, who formed it into an Hungarian province, and divided and governed it by waiwodes or stadtholders. In 1536, the waiwode John Zapolya, after a war with one of his rivals for the dignity, obtained for himself, by a treaty with the emperor Ferdinand the First, the rank and authority of an independent sovereign prince. At this period the Turkish government interfered much in the affairs of the principality, which encouraged the princes of the house of Zapolya, and afterwards the house of Batori, that succeeded. Among the princes of the latter family, Bethlem Gabor and George Rakotzy were mostly distinguished by their animosity to the house of Austria, and the resolute resistance which they made to its authority. At length, in 1689, the emperor Leopold the First completely conquered Siebenbürgen, and concluded, ten years after, a peace at Carlowitz with the Turks, by which the sovereignty of the emperor, in his character of king of Hungary, was guaranteed; but the princely family were secured in their possession of subordinate authority. That house became extinct by the death of Prince Michael Aspasi in 1713, when the sole power fell into the hands of Austria. Maria Theresa raised the district to the more elevated rank of a grand principality in 1765.

This principality extends in latitude from 45° 33' 55'' to 47° 37' 3", and in longitude from 22° 40' 44” to 25° 57' 40'', and comprehends about 24,420 square English miles. It is bounded on the north by Hungary, on the north-east by Bukowina, on the east by Moldavia, on the south by Wallachia, and on the west by Hungary.

It is an elevated district, in which are to be found the sources of the great rivers that run to the Black Sea. The Carpathian range of mountains, in the form of a half-moon, almost encompasses the whole province, sending out spurs from it on both sides, which fill almost the whole surface. The valleys between these spurs vary in extent, but for the most part are highly productive when moderately cultivated. The highest points of the Carpathians within the principality are, the Butshetsch, 8160 feet, the Reticzat, 7800 feet, and the Szurul, 7126 feet, above the level of the Black Sea. The tops of these mountains are commonly clothed with snow till July. Their sides are well covered with woods to the height of about 5000 feet, when the power of vegetation begins to decline, and soon disappears, leaving the summits quite bare and naked. Among these elevations are some most extraordinary natural clefts and grottos, which invite and reward the attention and examination of the traveller

The inhabitants of this province are of no less than thirteen distinct tribes, according to their origin. The three most distinguished of these classes are called united (uniti). They are the Hungarians, the Szecklers, and the Saxons; which last were brought from the parts of Germany then called Saxony, near to Liege, Luxembourg, and Treves, in 1143, by king Seysa the Second. The land is divided among these three nations thus. The Hungarians are in the western division, which extends over one half of the land, and contains rather more than half the population, and is divided into eleven gespanschafts or waiwodeships. The land of the Szeckler is the least; it is thinly peopled, and is subdivided into five bailiwicks. The land of the Saxons is both on the north and the south side of the province, and is the best cultivated as well as the most densely inhabited, and comprises eleven bailiwicks. The remainder of the nation are denominated by their description Tolerati, consisting of Wallachians, Greeks, Armenians, Moravians, Poles, Russians, Bulgarians, Servians, Jews, and Gipsies. These last are called Pharohniens, as coming from Egypt, or supposed to have come from thence. Maria Theresa tried to accustom these people to the practices of civilized society; but her efforts, as well as those of her successors, have had but little effect, as they continue averse to agricultural labour, and indeed to any fixed course of life. The Wallachians are the most numerous of these tolerated tribes. The richer part of them have acquired landed estates, but the lower classes are very ignorant, idle, and filthy. The Armenians and the Greeks devote themselves chiefly to traffick. Among all these tribes the Saxons are the most active and orderly. Their villages and dwellings are well built, and everywhere show prosperity and purity of morals. Their written language is the High German, but they speak, or at least have the pronunciation, of the Platt Deurch. In the districts inhabited by this race, corn, wine, and culinary vegetables are produced, as well as garden flowers. In the cities of Kronstadt and Hermanstadt, they are the chief conductors of the manufacturing establishments. The religion of the principality is various; and there is a degree of obscurity in the statistical account, which renders any estimate of their relative numbers so very uncertain that only an approximation can be obtained. There are four established (privilegirte) religious sects. The Roman Catholics, who amount to about 150,000, have a bishop and other dignitaries, and forty convents. With them are joined what are called the United Greeks, who to a settled point are Catholics; and with them may be classed most of the Armenians. These have also a bishop, several dignitaries, and convents, and the number of them is estimated at 210,000, thus making the whole of the Catholics 390,000. The Reformed or Calvinist Church consists of about 300,000 persons, under a superintendent and two archdeacons, with 587 pastors. The Lutheran Church is calculated to number 250,000 souls; having a superintendent, fourteen deacons, and 286 pastors. The Unitarians or Socinians are mostly refugees from Poland, who were received into this province when persecuted in their native country, where they were joined by [7:21:346]some of the Szecklers, and a few others. Their numbers are said not to exceed 40,000 persons; but they have a bishop, 110 churches and fifty-four chapels. Each of these sects has its established institutions for education. Thus the Catholics have a college at Clausenburg, and lyceums or grammar schools at Karlsburg, Maros, Basarhely, Udvarhely, and Hermanstadt; the Protestants have colleges at Nagy-Enyed, Maros, Clausenburg, Vasarhely, and Broos; the Lutherans have colleges in Hermanstadt, in Mediaset, Schasburg, and Bisztritz; and the Unitarians have a college at Clausburg, and gymnasiums at Thorenburg and at Hermanstadt. Besides these established religious sects, there is one whose adherents are more numerous than all the others together, which is tolerated, but not privileged. These are the Greeks who believe the doctrines of the pure church of their name, under the patriarch of Constantinople. They consist of Wallachians, Bulgarians, Greeks, and the Gypsies. They have an archbishop, twenty-nine archdeacons, and 991 churches, but no institutions for education. They consist of the lowest class of labourers both in agriculture and in mining.

The greatest export of agricultural produce is that of tobacco, of which much is grown of a quality highly admired. The breeding of horses is an extensive pursuit, in which the Gypsies are said to be very skilful. The breed most common is of slight make, but very agile, strong, and capable of enduring labour. Most of the gentry support establishments to improve the breed of horses. The sheep have coarse wool, and no improvement has been recently introduced by fine-woolled rams. The cows are numerous, and afford good butter and cheese, and furnish oxen for the ploughs. As much flax and hemp are raised as is required by the inhabitants to supply the cloths and furniture made of those substances, which are spun in all the houses, and converted into cloth by itinerant weavers. The mines are a great source of wealth, and furnish the chief occupation to the poorer classes. the salt-mines are a part of that vast vein of rock-salt which commences in Wallachia, and extends to Wieliczka in Poland. From six shafts are annually extracted 1,000,900 quintals of this substance, of which nearly three fourths are sent to the provinces of Hungary, and to the Bannat. The other mines are those of gold and silver, yielding, of the former nearly 20,000, and of the latter 40,000 ounces yearly. The copper mines yield about 3000 quintals, those of lead 2500 quintals, and those of iron 70,000 quintals. Besides these, sixty quintals of quicksilver are prepared. Much of the gold is obtained by washing the sand of the rivers, a labour in which the Gypsies excel. The proprietors and directors of the mines are for the most part Germans. It is an aristocratic country, like Hungary, and, as there, the nobility are exempt from many of the taxes; and the higher clergy of the established sects are considered as noble, but not the monks or pastors. The nobles form the legislative assembly, but can enter into no affairs but such as arc suggested by the prince. With his approval, the laws may be amended or repealed, or new laws made. The prince has the sole power of making peace or war, of coining money, of conferring clerical dignities, and of granting dispensations for marriages, and is the heir of the landed property of all families that become extinct. Appeals may be made from the courts of law in Siebenbürgen, as in Hungary, to the high court of chancery, which sits at Vienna. the emperor, as prince, derives an income of L.130,000 from taxes and tithes on minerals and salt, and, besides, has the hereditary land revenues, and from the whole draws annually the sum of nearly L.500,000. According to the last calculation, at the end of the year 1836, the whole population amounted to about 2,250,000 persons. The principal cities, with their population, were, Kronstadt, or, in Hungarian, Kruhnen 30,000

Klausenburg or Kolosvar 20.000

Hermanstadt 16,000

Thorenberg or Thordaz 7,000

Strasburg or Nagy-Enyed 6,000

Carlsburg 6,000

Schasburg 6,000

Mediasch 5,000

Mullenbach 5,000

On the borders of this principality, as on the other frontiers of the Austrian dominions that are in contact with the Turks, there are what are called military colonies. These consist of soldiers who are furnished with houses and small farms, which they cultivate for their maintenance, having no pay, but the land rent-free. They are armed and clothed by the government, and being regimented, are always prepared to repel any insult from their neighbours, and to suppress any kind of disturbance. The colonists on the Siebenbürgen boundary compose five regiments, four of which are infantry, and one hussars. The staff of each regiment has its head-quarters fixed at one of the small towns on the frontier. The whole number of these colonists, including wives, children, and dependants, with colonists discharged from the service from age or other causes, is estimated at 135,000 persons. They form an active and economical militia-force.