Zlatna
town in Alba County, Romania
Zlatna (German: Klein-Schlatten, Kleinschlatten, Goldenmarkt; Hungarian: Zalatna; Latin: Ampellum) is a town in Alba County, central Transylvania, Romania. The town administers eighteen villages: Botești (Golddorf; Botesbánya), Budeni (Higendorf), Dealu Roatei (Rotberg), Dobrot, Dumbrava, Feneș (Wildendorf; Fenes), Galați (Galz; Ompolygalac), Izvoru Ampoiului (Gross-Ompeil; Nagyompoly), Pârău Gruiului (Gruybach), Pătrângeni (Peters; Ompolykövesd ), Pirita (Pfirth), Podu lui Paul (Pauls), Runc (Goldrücken), Ruși (Rusch), Suseni (Oberdorf), Trâmpoiele (Trempojel; Kénesd), Valea Mică (Kleinwasser), and Vâltori (Waldrücken; Vultur).
Geography
Zlatna is located 36 km (22 mi) north-west of the county seat, Alba Iulia, on the border with Hunedoara County. Situated in the Zlatna depression, between the Metaliferi Mountains and the Trascău Mountains, the town lies at the confluence of the Ampoi River with Valea Morilor creek.
History
A gold mining settlement has existed in the area since Roman times, when it was known as a municipium under the name of Ampellum. The name Zlatna (derived from the Slavic term for gold) was first recorded in a 1347 document. In 1387, it was awarded town status. During 1619-1620 Gabriel Bethlen, brought to Zlatna a few hundred German and Slovak settlers for mining work. Tellurium was first discovered in a Zlatna mine in 1782 by Austrian mineralogist Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein. Zlatna regained its town status in 1968, after a time when it was officially a commune.
“Zlatna” enters the record as town in Alba County, Romania. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Zlatna, town and Alba can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Zlatna” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Zlatna, town and Alba provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 17, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q207196. The first chronological checks are 1347, 1387, 1619 and 1620.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Zlatna”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Zlatna primary sources, Zlatna archive and Zlatna research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Zlatna”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Zlatna” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.