Editing Transylvanian Saxons (section)

{{Short description|German minority of Transylvania, Romania}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Transylvanian Saxons
| native_name = {{native name|de|Siebenbürger Sachsen}}<br /> ''Siweberjer Såksen'' ([[Transylvanian Saxon dialect|Transylvanian Saxon]])<br />{{native name|ro|Sași transilvăneni}}{{efn|or ''Sași transilvani''}}<br />{{native name|hu|erdélyi szászok}}
| flag = Flag of Transylvania Saxons.svg
| population = {{circa}} 11,400–{{circa}} 300,000<ref>The lowest figure displays data according to the [[2011 Romanian census]] solely for the population living in Romania at that time.</ref><ref>The lowest figure indicates the approximate contemporary distribution mostly in Transylvania, central Romania, whereas the highest one applies worldwide.</ref><ref>{{cite web|lang=de|url=https://www.schloss-horneck.de/das-schloss/siebenbuergen-und-die-siebenbuerger-sachsen|title=Siebenbürgen und die Siebenbürger Sachsen|work=Siebenbürgisches Kulturzentrum Schloss Horneck e. V.|accessdate=28 January 2023}}</ref>
| image = Universitatea Saseasca Sapte Scaune CoA.png
| caption = Flag of the Transylvanian Saxons and the coat of arms of the [[Transylvanian Saxon University]] ({{langx|la|Universitas Saxonum}}) during the [[Romania in the Middle Ages|Middle Ages in Romania]]
| region1 = Romania <br /><small>(mainly [[File:Coat of arms of Transylvania.svg|15px]] [[Transylvania]])</small>
{{Collapsible list|
| title = Counties
| [[File:Sibiu county coat of arms.png|15px]] [[Sibiu County]] ({{langx|de|link=no|Kreis Hermannstadt}})
| [[File:Stema judetul brasov nou.png|15px]] [[Brașov County]] ({{langx|de|link=no|Kreis Kronstadt}})
| [[File:Mures county coat of arms.svg|15px]] [[Mureș County]] ({{langx|de|link=no|Kreis Mieresch}})
| [[File:Actual Hunedoara county CoA.svg|15px]] [[Hunedoara County]] ({{langx|de|link=no|Kreis Eisenmarkt}})
| [[File:Stema Bistrita-Nasaud.svg|15px]] [[Bistrița-Năsăud County]] ({{langx|de|link=no|Kreis Bistritz-Nassod}})
| [[File:RO Alba County CoA.svg|15px]] [[Alba County]] ({{langx|de|link=no|Kreis Karlsburg}})
}}
| pop1 = {{circa|11,400}}–{{circa|13,000}} ([[2011 Romanian census|2011]])<ref name=":1">{{cite news|url=https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/abschied-von-der-kultur-der-rumaeniendeutschen-herbst-ueber-siebenbuergen-ld.137292|title=Herbst über Siebenbürgen|newspaper=[[Neue Zürcher Zeitung]]|date=30 December 2016|last1=Nowotnick|first1=Michaela}}</ref><ref>According to the [[2011 Romanian census]]</ref>
| languages = {{Plainlist|
 * Predominantly spoken languages: German ([[Standard German]] and the [[Transylvanian Saxon dialect]]; also [[Romanian language|Romanian]] and [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]])
}}
| religions = [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] majority with [[Calvinism|Reformed]], [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]], and [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] minorities; initially staunchly Roman Catholic until the [[Reformation]]
| related = [[Luxembourgers]], [[Germans]], [[German diaspora]], [[Flemish people|Flemings]], [[Walloons]], [[Austrians]], and even French
| footnotes = Lived since the High Middle Ages onwards in Transylvania as well as in other parts of contemporary Romania. Additionally, the Transylvanian Saxons are the eldest ethnic German group in non-native majority German-inhabited [[Central Europe|Central]]-Eastern Europe, alongside the [[Zipser Germans|Zipsers]] in Slovakia and Romania (who began to settle in present-day Slovakia starting in the 13th century).
}}

The '''Transylvanian Saxons''' ({{langx|de|link=no|Siebenbürger Sachsen}}; [[Transylvanian Saxon dialect|Transylvanian Saxon]]: ''Siweberjer Såksen''<ref>{{cite web|lang=de|url=https://www.siebenbuerger.de/zeitung/artikel/verband/8954-bodo-loettgen-positives-einwirken-und.html|title=Bodo Löttgen: Positives Einwirken und Mut zur Veränderung|author=Verband der Siebenbürger Sachsen in Deutschland e.V. (i.e. [[Association of Transylvanian Saxons in Germany]])|work=Siebenbürgische Zeitung|date=10 June 2009|accessdate=23 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|lang=de|url=https://www.siebenbuerger.de/forum/saksesch/1191-ken-det-vergessen/#forumid18130|title=Ken det Vergeßen|author=Fadderwasch|work=Siebenbürgische Zeitung|date=25 July 2010|access-date=23 February 2023}}</ref> or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; [[Transylvanian Landler dialect|Transylvanian Landler]]: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; {{langx|ro|sași}}; seldom ''sași ardeleni/transilvăneni/transilvani''; {{langx|hu|erdélyi szászok}}) are a people of mainly [[Germans|German ethnicity]] and overall [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] origin—mostly [[Luxembourgers|Luxembourgish]] and from the [[Low Countries]] initially during the medieval [[Ostsiedlung]] process, then also from other parts of present-day Germany—who settled in [[Transylvania]] in various waves, starting from the mid and mid-late 12th century until the mid 19th century. 

The first ancestors of the Transylvanian 'Saxons' originally stemmed from [[Flanders]], [[County of Hainaut|Hainaut]], [[Landgraviate of Brabant|Brabant]], [[Liège]], [[County of Zeeland|Zeeland]], Moselle, [[Duchy of Lorraine|Lorraine]], and [[County of Luxembourg|Luxembourg]], then situated in the north-western territories of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] around the 1140s and 1150s.<ref>Prof. Jan de Maere: FLANDRENSES, MILITES ET HOSPITES" A HISTORY OF TRANSYLVANIA (2013) Link: [https://www.academia.edu/34395591/_FLANDRENSES_MILITES_ET_HOSPITES_A_HISTORY_OF_TRANSYLVANIA?email_work_card=title]</ref>

Alongside the [[Baltic Germans]] from [[Estonia]] and [[Latvia]] and the [[Zipser Germans]] (also sometimes known or referred to as ''Zipser Saxons'') from [[Spiš|Zips]], northeastern [[Slovakia]], as well as [[Maramureș]] and [[Bukovina|Bucovina]], the Transylvanian Saxons are one of the three eldest [[Geographical distribution of German speakers|German-speaking]] and ethnic German groups of the [[German diaspora]] in [[Central and Eastern Europe|Central-Eastern Europe]], having continuously been living there since the [[High Middle Ages]] onwards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.schloss-horneck.de/en/the-castle/transylvania-and-the-transylvanian-saxons|author=Siebenbürgisches Kulturzentrum Schloss Horneck E.V.|title=Transylvania and the Transylvanian Saxons|work=Schloss Horneck|accessdate=9 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|lang=en|url=https://www.thedockyards.com/the-history-of-the-zipser-germans-in-central-europe|title=The History Of The Zipser Germans In Central Europe|work=The Dockyards|author=Victor Rouă|date=14 January 2023|accessdate=19 February 2023}}</ref> The Transylvanian Saxons are part of the broader group of [[Germans of Romania|Romanian Germans]] as well, being the eldest and one of the most important of all the constituent sub-groups of this ethnic community.

Their native dialect, [[Transylvanian Saxon dialect|Transylvanian Saxon]] is close to [[Luxembourgish]]. Nowadays, organisations representing the Transylvanian Saxons exist in [[Romania]], Germany, [[Austria]], Canada, and the United States (in the latter case most notably 'Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons').<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|lang=en|url=https://case.edu/ech/articles/a/alliance-transylvanian-saxons|title=Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, Souvenir Book, 75th Anniversary of Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons (1970)|date=11 May 2018 |publisher=Case Western Reserve University|accessdate=22 February 2023}}</ref> Other smaller communities of Transylvanian Saxons can be found in South Africa and Australia as well as South America (for example in [[Argentina]]).