NAGYSZEBEN (Ger. Hermannstadt, Rumanian Sibiu)  , a town of Hungary, in Transylvania, the capital of the county of Szeben, 122 M . S.S.E. of Kolozsvar by rail . Pop . (r9oo) 26,077, of whom 16,141 were Saxons (Germans), 7106 Rumanians, and 5747 Magyars . It is beautifully situated at an altitude of 1411 ft. in the fertile valley of the Cibin (Hungarian, Szeben), encircled or, all sides by the Transylvanian Alps . It is the seat of a Greek Orthodox (Rumanian) archbishop, and of the superintendent of the Protestants for the Transylvanian circle . Some parts of Nagyszeben have a medieval appearance, with houses built in the old German style . The most noteworthy of its public buildings is the handsome Protestant Church, begun in the 14th century and finished in 1520, in the Gothic style, containing a beautiful cup-shaped font, cast by Meister Leonhardus in 1438, and a large mural painting of the Crucifixion by Johannes von Rosenau (1445) . In the so-called New Church, comprising the west part of the whole building, which is an addition of the 16th century, are many beautiful memorials of Saxon notables . Other buildings are: the Roman Catholic parish church, founded in 1726; the church of the Ursuline nuns, built in 1474; the town hall, an imposing building of the 15th century, purchased by the municipality in 1545 and containing the archives of the " Saxon nation." The Brukenthal palace, built in 1777-1787 by Baron Samuel von Brukenthal (1721-1803), governor of Transylvania, contains an interesting picture-gallery with good examples of the Dutch school, and a library . The museum contains a natural history section with the complete fauna and flora of Transylvania, and a rich ethnographical section . Nagyszeben has a law academy, a seminary for Greek Orthodox priests, a military academy and several secondary schools .

There are manufactures of

cloth, linen, leather, caps, boots, soap, candles, ropes, as well as breweries and distilleries . The German name of the town is traceable to Hermann, a citizen of Nuremberg, who about the middle of the 12th century established a colony on the spot . In the 13th century it bore the name of Villa Hermanni . Under the last monarchs of the native Magyar dynasty Hermannstadt enjoyed exceptional privileges, and its commerce with the East rose to importance . In the course of the 15th and 16th centuries it was several times besieged by the Turks . At the beginning of 1849 it was the scene of several engagements between the Austrians and Hungarians; and later in the year it was several times taken and retaken by the Russians and Hungarians .