Brasov (Hungarian Brassó), city in central Romania and capital of Brasov County, in the foothills of the Transylvanian Alps. The city is a commercial, manufacturing, and railroad center. Important manufactures are transportation equipment, machinery, chemicals, musical instruments, and textiles, especially woolen goods. Agricultural products are processed here, and oil from the surrounding area is refined. Brasov is noted as a winter-sports center and resort.
Places of interest in the city include remnants of a citadel built in 1553, a 14th-century Gothic church, the 13th-century Church of Saint Bartholomew, and the town hall (1420). Two cultural centers are the Brasov Regional Library, which has collections of ancient Romanian manuscripts, and a historical museum housed in the 15th-century building of the first Romanian school. The Transylvania University of Brasov (founded in 1971) is also here.
