Sibiu (Romanian pronunciation: [siˈbiw], antiquated, Sibiiu; German: Hermannstadt, Transylvanian Saxon dialect: Härmeschtat, Hungarian: Nagyszeben) is a city in Transylvania, Romania, with a population of 147,245. Located some 215 km (134 mi) north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt. Now the capital of Sibiu County, between 1692 and 1791 and 1849-1865 Sibiu was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania.

Sibiu is one of the most important cultural centres of Romania and was designated the European Capital of Culture for the year 2007, along with the city of Luxembourg. Formerly the centre of the Transylvanian Saxons, the old city of Sibiu was ranked as "Europe's 8th most idyllic place to live" by Forbes.

The city administers the Păltiniș ski resort.

History

The first official record referring to the Sibiu area comes from 1191, when Pope Celestine III confirmed the existence of the free prepositure of the German settlers in Transylvania, the prepositure having its headquarters in Sibiu, named Cibinium at that time.

Sibiu (Romanian pronunciation: [siˈbiw]) is a county (județ) of Romania, in the historical region Transylvania, with the capital city Sibiu.

Name

In Hungarian, it is known as Szeben megye, and in German as Kreis Hermannstadt. During Austro-Hungarian administration, from 1876 to 1918, there was a county with similar name (see: Szeben County).

Demographics

In 2011, it had a population of 375,992 and the population density was 78/km².

At the 2011 census the county has the following population indices:

Religion:

Urbanisation - 5th most urbanised county in Romania:

Traditionally, the biggest minority in the county were Germans, but their numbers have decreased since World War II and especially the Romanian Revolution of 1989.