Pătârlagele is a town in Buzău County

Buzau County

Buzău is a county of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Buzău.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 496,214 and the population density was 81/km².*Romanians – 97%*Roma – under 3% declared, and others....

, Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

. In 2002 it had a population of 8,414.

Geography

Pătârlagele is located in the western part of the county, along the national road connecting Buzău

Buzau

The city of Buzău is the county seat of Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Wallachia. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carpathian Mountains and the lowlands of Bărăgan Plain.The city's name dates back to 376 AD when the name...

 and Braşov

Brasov

Brașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....

. It lies in the Pătârlagele hollow, between the Carpathian Mountains

Carpathian Mountains

The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...

 and the Subcarpathian Hills.

The town administers fourteen villages: Calea Chiojdului, Crâng, Fundăturile, Gornet, Lunca, Mănăstirea, Mărunţişu, Muşcel, Poienile, Sibiciu de Sus, Stroeşti, Valea Lupului, Valea Sibiciului and Valea Viei.

Neighbours

• The Colţi
  Colti
  Colţi is a commune in Buzău County, Romania, located in the Pătârlagele hollow, at the curvature of the Carpathian mountains, 13 km away from the town of Pătârlagele. It is composed of four villages: Aluniş, Colţi, Colţii de Jos and Muscelu Cărămăneşti....
  
   and Bozioru
  Bozioru
  Bozioru is a commune in Buzău County, Romania. It is composed of ten villages: Bozioru, Buduile, Fişici, Găvanele, Gresia, Izvoarele, Nucu, Scăeni, Ulmet and Văvălucile....
  
   communes, to the north
• The Pănătău
  Panatau
  Pănătău is a commune in Buzău County, Romania. It is composed of nine villages: Begu, Lacu cu Anini, Măguricea, Pănătău, Plăişor, Râpile, Sibiciu de Jos, Tega and Zahareşti....
  
   and Cozieni
  Cozieni
  Cozieni is a commune in Buzău County, Romania. It is composed of twenty villages: Anini, Bălăneşti, Berceşti, Ciocăneşti, Cocârceni, Colţeni, Cozieni, Faţa lui Nan, Glodurile, Izvoru, Lungeşti, Nistoreşti, Pietraru, Punga, Teişu, Trestia, Tulburea, Valea Banului, Valea Roatei and Zăpodia....
  
   communes, to the east
• The Cislău
  Cislau
  Cislău is a commune in Buzău County, Romania, in the valley of the Buzău River. It is composed of five villages: Bărăşti, Buda Crăciuneşti, Cislău, Gura Bâscei and Scărişoara....
  
   commune, to the south
• The Cătina
  Cătina
  Cătina may refer to several places in Romania:*Cătina, a commune in Buzău County*Cătina, a commune in Cluj County*Cătina, a village in Floreşti Commune, Prahova County...
  
  , Calvini
  Calvini
  Calvini is a commune in Buzău County, Romania. It is composed of five villages: Bâscenii de Jos, Bâscenii de Sus, Calvini, Frăsinet and Olari....
  
   and Chiojdu
  Chiojdu
  Chiojdu is a commune in the northwestern hill and mountainside region of Buzău County, Romania. Made up of six villages on the bank of the Bâsca Chiojdului River, a small tributary to Buzău River, it is the center of a region known for the good preservation of old traditions and folk art,...
  
   communes, to the west

History

The first evidence of the existence of the Pătârlagele commune dates back from 1524-1527 http://www.cdep.ro/proiecte/2004/000/80/8/em088.pdf, but it probably existed before the establishment of the medieval state of Wallachia

Wallachia

Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...

.

The name Pătârlagele comes from the German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 form of the name Peter (in Romanian

Romanian language

Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...

, Petre or Petru), and the German word lager, meaning camp. The German origin of the name can only be explained by the presence of the Teutonic knights

Teutonic Knights

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

 on the other side of the Carpathians, in Ţara Bârsei, during the years 1211-1225 and their conquest of the Buzău Mountains, where they raised fortifications against the Cumans

Cumans

The Cumans were Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. After Mongol invasion , they decided to seek asylum in Hungary, and subsequently to Bulgaria...

.

Pătârlagele Commune received town rights in 2004. http://www.cdep.ro/proiecte/2004/000/80/8/doc088.pdf