or Brashov German Kronstadt
City (pop., 2002: 588,366), Romania.
It lies in the foothills of the Transylvanian Alps north of Bucharest . Founded by Teutonic Knights in 1211, it became the centre of a Saxon colony trading in cloth and metalwork throughout much of Walachia and Moldavia . The substantial autonomy of its German inhabitants ended in 1876 with the abolition of their separate national status. Brasov is today a centre for heavy manufacturing.