Ațel

Ațel (; Transylvanian Saxon: Hätselderf; ) is a commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Ațel and Dupuș (Tobsdorf; Táblás).

The commune first appears in written history in 1283 as villa Echelini. Later appearances in written documents are villa Heclini (1289), Hetzelini villa and villa Eczlen (1359), Ecczel (1365), and Heczeldorf (1548). A church is mentioned as of 1380.Léstyán, Ferenc: Megszentelt kövek. A középkori erdélyi püspökség templomai, Budapest, Arcanum, 2003,

Demographics Population numbers (grouped by ethnicity) from 1850 to 2021:

YearRomaniansRomaHungariansGermans (Transylvanian Saxons)Jews Slovaks RussiansOther/Unknown Total18502,0781524541,35919 - - -4,0621900 671-241,350 ---22,0471941 718-241,690 ---12,4331977 867-151,255 ---2102,3471992Varga E. Árpád: Erdély etnikai és felekezeti statisztikája (1850–1992) 2,672205585263 - - - -3,726 2002Aţel Commune Hall 1,288 118 34 92 - 6 - 2 1,540 2011National Institute of Statistics 1,1381542077 --3371,429 2021 1,018861657 ---861,263

Local architecture The local medieval Evangelical Lutheran fortified church of Ațel was built by the native Transylvanian Saxon community and completed by the end of the 15th century; it is surrounded by double walls. Above the entrance rises the Old School tower, and close by is the Oat Tower. The fortified church of Dupuș was also built during the 15th century.

Notes

References Edroiu, Nicolae, Comuna Ațel : Studiu monografic complex, Editura Eurodidact, 2002 Augustin Ioan, Hanna Derer. The Fortified Churches of the Transylvanian Saxons. Noi Media Print, 2004