Hațeg

Hațeg is a town in Hunedoara County made up of Hațeg and Nălațvad and the villages of Silvașu de Jos and Silvașu de Sus, with a population of 8,793 at the 2021 census. It is the centre of the historic Hațeg Country, recorded as "terra Harszoc" in the Diploma of the Knights Hospitaller of 1247. The town appears in documents as "villa Hatzak" in 1360 and "civitas Hachzak" in 1366. In 1765, Hațeg was militarised and became the seat of the 2nd company of the First Border Regiment of Orlat, until the regiment was disbanded in 1851. The town's historic centre is a listed monument (LMI code HD-II-s-B-03325) and includes the urban ensembles of Piața Unirii, Piața Bucura and the Libertății, Horea, Mihai Viteazul, Bisericilor and Tudor Vladimirescu streets. Buildings listed separately include the Orthodox church of St Nicholas (1821-1828), the synagogue (1864), the Roman Catholic church, the Reformed church, the former bank that is now the Hotel Ferdinand, and the I. C. Brătianu National College (1912). The Geopark House of the Hațeg Country UNESCO International Geopark, run by the University of Bucharest, is at 9A Libertății Street. Prislop Monastery lies within the town's territory, in the village of Silvașu de Sus, and near the town is the bison reserve in Slivuț Forest, where a pair of European bison was brought from Poland in 1958.