Orlat

Any legend may give birth to another legend… this is what happened at Orlat, where the villages’ elderly still tell stories about how the giants arranged the surrounding mountains, forests and valleys to create a marvellous landscape.

And the same elderly are talking about how a long time ago, when the village was attacked by invaders, people used to hide in the mountains. When the attackers left, the village leaders would get down to the village and once they made sure that the danger was gone, they would yell to those in hiding to “descend to the valley”. Back then the verb they used for “descending” was “a urla”, hence a urla - urlaţi-Orlat.

Placed at the junction of the mountains with the plain, Orlat has always had a strategic position. Romanians built surveillance towers on the surrounding heights; in the 1^st and 2^nd century there used to be a pre-feudal stronghold here which was replaced by a medieval fortress in the 13^th century.

Moreover, between 1764 and 1851 Orlat was the headquarters of the 1^st Romanian Border Regimen Commanding Office which used to defend the borders of the Hapsburg Empire from Haţeg (county of Hunedoara) to Zărneşti (county of Braşov).

The inhabitants of Orlat worked in manufacturing; in the 16^th century they set the basis of the first manufactures and in the 19^th century Orlat had a cloth, paper and wood processing factory.

Just like in any other village from Mărginime, at Orlat you may visit the orthodox church erected at the end of the 18^th century in a neoclassic style with baroque influences and a neo-byzantine mural painting. And because Orlat was the headquarters of the border regimen, for the catholic officers they built the “Germans’” church under the patronage of St. Teresa of Avilla.

If you are fond of hikes, we recommend a walk on the Platoul Cetăţii Hill (The Fortress Plateau); this offers a splendid panorama of the entire commune and of the surroundings.