Situated around 20 kilometres North-West from the city of Brasov, Rotbav is a village that is historically comprised within the Barsa Region (Burzenland). With its population of about 1,600 inhabitants, Rotbav has been founded by Saxon colonists at the mid of the 13th century, and has continued to develop and expand ever since. Bordered by the river Olt, a series of lakes, as well as forests, Rotb
av is a place that can provide enriching experiences to those who choose to visit it. Legend has it that in the first half of the 13th century, 20 Saxon families established a colony 1 and a half kilometres West from the nowadays village. Pursuant to the Tartar invasions, they had to move towards East, settling in the area which is still inhabited. They say that after one invasion, the creek in which the women washed the clothes of their men turned red from the blood they were stained with, and so the village received its name. Around the year 1300 the church was built, in a Romanic style, and it was fortified later, in the 15th century. The entry in the fortified church, which operated as a citadel, there was the gate's tower, in which the town's administration was located. By the time the church was finished, around the year 1350, the town was inhabited by 70 Saxon families. In 1371, the town is first mentioned in an official document, under the latin name of 'Ruffa Serrates' (The red shore). The town has been attacked and fire has been set in multiples instances, especially during the Turks' attacks, in 1438 and 1464. The last important fire occurred in 1732, which led to the reconstruction of the church and the fortification. An Organ was brought from Pecs, and also the tower's clock was installed, brough from Leipzig, in 1908.
