History of Transylvania issue of international contention. This has abated (but not disappeared) since the Revolution of 1989 restored democracy in Romania. Transylvania retains a significant Hungarian-speaking minority, slightly less than half of which identify themselves as Székely. Ethnic Germans in Transylvania (known as Saxons) comprise about one percent of the population; however, Austrian and German influences remain in the architecture and urban landscape of much of Transylvania. The region's history may be traced through the religions of its inhabitants. Most Romanians in Transylvania belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church faith, but from the 18th to the 20th centuries the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church
Early German colonists in Transylvania Early German colonists in Transylvania Medardus de Nympz is the Latinized name of Medard zu Nimesch, an early medieval German colonist in Transylvania. Born around 1215 in the Moselle Franconian area of Luccelemburc (Luxembourg), Medardus served during his early years as a "squire" (Edelknecht) in the Horseman Entourage of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. In 1237 Medardus was appointed a Knight of the Holy Roman Empire in recognition of his valiant services at the Battle of Cortenuova. In 1243 Medardus followed the invitation of the Hungarian King Bela IV to settle in Transylvania (ad retinendam coronam), which had been