At your arrival in Transylvania, you will find reminders of the first Germans that came here eight centuries ago. Its German, Hungarian and Romanian cultural traditions,  play a great role in its cultural and ethnic diversity.

The Transylvania plateau is surrounded by mountain peaks and drained by sparkling rivers which makes it both a pleasant place for a relaxing holiday with a landscape, pleasing to the eye and an exciting place for adventure-seeking travelers.

If you find yourself tempted to stay a little longer, don’t worry. You’re not the only one who finds these places delightful. As soon as you enter the old city square, with its light-colored houses and its majestic yet sheltering church, you will forget the rushing city life that goes on behind the peaceful walls. This is true not only in the big cities like Brasov, Sibiu, Sighisoara, Medias, Sebes, but also for countless villages spreaded all over the beautiful hills of Transylvania.

The Fortified Churches are an unique and interesting fenomenon. They can be found in only a few places throughout Europe and there were more than 300 Fortified Saxon Churches in Transylvania. Some of them are extinct, some of them are on the virge of extinction but most of them are still proudly standing, even in abandoned and forgotten villages.

Saxon villages in Transylvania:

Agarbiciu (Arbegen), Aiud (Strassburg), Altana (Alzen), Apold (Trappold), Archita (Arkeden), Bagaciu (Bogeschdorf), Bod (Brenndorf), Bradeni (Henndorf), Bradu (Gierelsau), Bran (Törzburg), Brasov (Kronstadt), Bruiu (Braller), Calnic (Kelling), Cata (Katzendorf), Chirpar (Kirchberg), Cisnadie (Heltau), Cisnadioara (Michelsberg), Cloasterf (Klosdorf), Cincsor (Klein-Schenk), Cincu (Großschenk), Codlea (Zeiden), Copsa Mare (Großkopisch), Cristian (SB) (Großau), Cristian (BV) (Neustadt), Crit (Deutschkreuz), Curciu (Kirtsch), Dacia (Stein), Darjiu (Dersch), Darlos (Durles), Drauseni (Draas), Fagaras (Fogarasch), Fiser (Schweischer), Garbova (Urwegen), Ghimbav (Weidenbach), Halchiu (Heldsdorf), Harman (Honigberg), Iacobeni (Jakobsdorf), Malancrav (Malmkrog), Marpod, Mercheasa (Streitfort), Merghindeal (Mergeln), Mesendorf (Meschendorf), Movile (Hundertbücheln), Netus (Neithausen), Nocrich (Leschkirch), Ocna Sibiului (Salzburg), Rasnov (Rosenau), Retisu (Reterstorf), Roades (Radeln), Roandola (Randhal), Rosia (Rothberg), Rusi (Reußen), Saes (Schaas), Sanpetru (Petersberg), Sebes (Mühlbach), Seica Mare (Groß-Scheken), Selistat, Sibiu (Hermannstadt), Sighisoara (Schäßburg), Soala (Schaal), Soars, Somartin (Martinsberg), Stejerisu (Propsdorf), Sura Mare (Großscheuern), Sura Mica (Klein-Scheuern), Toarcla (Tarteln), Ungra (Galt), Vulcan (Wolkendorf), Vurpar (Burgberg).

Deva Fortress was  formed as a result of the volcanic activity that took place in Neogene (10-6 million years ago). Further erosion of the existing sedimentary rocks destroyed the old relief, lining out the sub volcanic body, actually a circular neck.Even though it has only 371 m, Fortress Hill dominates the surrounding regions with 100-180 m.

In a Mediterranean influenced climate, on Fortress Hill a rich vegetation with numerous endemic elements develops, for which it has been declared a reservation in 1958. Among the fauna, there are a few Horned Vipers (Vipera Amonytes). At the bottom of the hill, in the North, there are thermal bicarbonated  mineral waters (17-18 C), used for salt baths.
In the superior part of the meadow there are the ruins of the Deva Fortress. Built in the 13-th century, in a strategic area, at the narrowing of the Mures Valley and the river entrance in the defile between the Poiana Rusca Mountains and the Apuseni Mountains, the Deva Fortress was one of the most powerful fortresses of Transylvania.

It’s first documentary attestation is in 1269, in an act issued by Stefan,the king of Hungary, where “castrum Deva” is mentioned. The citadel functioned between XIV-XV centuries as a voievodal residence and walach district.
Beginning with 1453, Iancu de Hunedoara transformed it in an nobility castle. During the Turkish invasions of 1550, 1552 and 1557, the fortress was under siege several times and occupied in 1557 by sultan Soliman the Great, who gave it to queen Isabella of Hungary and her son Ioan Sigismund

The citadel served in the 16-th century also as a prison, this is where David Ferencz, the founder of the Unitarian church, and Moise Szekely, leader of the Transylvania nobles hostile to the imperial power. From 1686, it’s under Austro-Hungarian rule, domination maintained until the 19-th century.

During the 1986 uprising, it has been sieged by the peasants lead by Horia, Cloşca and Crişan. At the end of the 18-th century, the fortress loses it’s strategic importance, abandoned for some time. It gets it’s importance back only in 1817, when emperor Francisc I, passing through Deva decided to restore it.
During the 1848-1849 revolution, the Austrian garrison inside, finding out about the revolutionary victories against the imperial army, mines the walls. In august 1849, the explosion of the ammo deposit blows up the walls.

Today, the belts of fortified walls still remain with square or round towers, the gates, and in the center, ruins of the nobility palace (remains of vaulting in Gothic style with renaissance influence) and the guard room.
The Deva Fortress still draws visitors, through it’s ruins as well as through the dominant position of the city. The access is done easily following one of the two trails that climb from the city park. Fortress Hill is also an important view spot with a wonderful panorama of the city of Deva, Mures Valley and the Apuseni Mountains.

For book a tour, visit www.bucovinakaitartravel.com

The ASTRA Museum of Folkloric Traditional Civilization is situated in the Dumbrava Forest, at a distance of 4 kilometers from the city.
The museum functions since 1963 under the name of the Museum of Folkloric Technique and stretches over 96 hectares and an exhibition circuit of 10 kilometers in length.
The museum hosts original monuments representative for the values of the Romanian village.

Dwellings from various parts of the country, interior decorations preserved in the original form, peasant industrial installations, traditional means of transportation etc are displayed here.
All the domains such as agriculture, rising animals, apiculture, fishing and hunting are illustrated by means of characteristic households such as sheepfolds, wine cellars, small factories, etc.
The museum is structured in five large sectors including the related thematic groups.
Besides these sectors, there also exists a modern wood sculpture exhibition stretching over 3 hectares, comprising the works of renowned Romanian and foreign artists, inspired from the universe of the traditional village.

Due to its new thematic concept, this museum in Sibiu became a true “museum of the traditional folkloric civilization in Romania”. The name “ASTRA” is due to the continuation, in all fields (heritage, exhibition, educational), of the valuable traditions of the first historical-ethnographic museum of Romanians in Transylvania, founded in Sibiu in 1905 and closed in 1950, because of “ideological” reasons.

Its heritage (transferred in 1950 to the Brukenthal Museum) was included within the “ASTRA” National Museum Complex in 1990, at the present being composed of 35 240 objects and forming the basis for the future “ASTRA” Museum of Transylvanian Civilization, with a modern, innovative and interdisciplinary concept.
Its gates are generously opened all year long, day and night, for the nocturnal visits the museum is equipped with a lighting system with spotlights and special effects.

For book a tour, visit www.bucovinakaitartravel.com

Most travelers who come to Bucegi have heard about the Romanian Sphinx, a strange configuration of rock high on the mountain. Tourists are drawn to its human appearance: proportionate face, distinct lips, cheeks and large eyes beneath a wide forehead. The sight is a thrilling image for the imagination.

It is believed the Sphinx, which stands 2,216 meters high, is a representation of the supreme divinity of an ancient people, the Pelasgi. They were a pre-Indo-European tribe who lived near the Aegean Sea, until the Greek tribes’migration up to Eland, Small Asia and Egypt.

“The enormously colossal figure in the Dacian Carpathians transmits a sovereign expression of dignity and an immensity of power that could not possibly represent anyone else but the great, national god of the Pelasgian tribes, whom has been granted all the most imposing heights of the mountains,” said historian N. Densusianu.

Many historians believe the Egyptian Sphinx in Gizeh is a copy of the Sphinx on the Bucegi Platform because of its resemblance to Zeus. In support of this hypothesis, a resemblance has been acknowledged between the Bucegi Sphinx and a sculpture of Zeus, which was discovered in Italy and now is preserved at the Vatican. This bust presents Zeus’s traits in a barbarous, severe figure, characteristic of the Thracian’s.

Also the fact that both sphinxes measure the same height is curious, as is the fact that all Egyptian deities have human bodies and animal heads, except for the Great Egyptian Sphinx, which has a lion’s body and a human head.

Near the Romanian Sphinx on the Bucegi Platform, there also stands a group os stones known as “Babele”, or Old Women. The rocks look like giant mushrooms. The three formations are each 3.5 meters high and the diameters of the pedestals vary between 2 and 4 meters. Two of the caps are square, but the top on the third is elliptical. To maintain their connection with the sphinx, they were nicknamed “The Cyclopean Altars from the Caraiman”, and are devoted to Earth and sky, to sun and moon, and to Mars, the god of war and of agriculture.

Their presence has produced many legends and theories. According to some researchers, the rocks were molded by water and wind and permanently maintained by the process of freezing and thawing. The alternation between grit stone and limestone in the platform also must be taken into account. Yet, researchers cannot deny human involvement in shaping the more or less regular forms; scientific proof cannot thoroughly explain these phenomena. For this reason, the legends continue and the rock formations have been connected with the supernatural.

The “Trovants” are stones or sandstone concretions that secrete cement and appear to grow by themselves. They consist of a stone core with an outer shell of sand believed to be the result of cementation that occurred millions of years ago.

After heavy rain small forms appear on the rocks leading them to be dubbed “growing stones” by locals. Examples of trovants can be seen at the Trovant Museum (Muzeul Trovantilor) in Costesti, in the Valcea region of Romania.

The Trovants Museum Natural Reserve, located at 8 km from Horezu, in the village Costesti, declared UNESCO monument, spreads on valleys and hills strange hoodoos, also named „the stones that are growing”, having sizes starting with several millimeters to 6-8 meters.

The Trovants Museum Natural Reserve is situated in Costesti village (Valcea County), in south of village, near National Road 67. It has 11000 sqm and was created as a geological reserve.

In various structural units from Romania there are sand or gress levels with trovants, but the ones in Costesti are impressive because of diversity of their shapes and their dimensions (up to 5 m).

The term “Trovant” is usual in Romanian terminology for geology. The trovants (cemented sand) represent local cementation in the reservoir of sand that contains them and the cementation various shapes, some of the very strange. 6 million years ago ther was a sedimentation basin here. The sand reservoir was formed as a consequence of the succesiv sedimentation of detritic material, transported by rivers from the continent.

Along with this sediments, from the water get accumulated chemical substances in excess (carbonates). The, over the first beds of sand the sedimentation continues and the sand gest compressed under the beds above. the water is eliminated through the empty spaces between the sand particles, that get pressed.

The two essential conditions for the trovants formation are:

- existence of sand sediments and conservation of a vast porosity, despite the normal compression caused by the pressure

- presence of local concentrations - “segregation” of specific minerals from secondary components dispersed in the host rock.

“Trovants Museum Natural Reserve “ was created in 2004 and is administrated by “Kogayon Association”, a nongovernmental organization of environment protection.

The church of Densus, a village in Tara Hategului (Hateg County), located few kilometers far from Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa is still keeping its secrets so that no one can certainly say when it was built. Historians have different opinions. Some of them say that it was built on the ruins of a pre – Christian edifice in Dacia, others believe that it was built on the foundation of a temple dedicated to god Mars, many say that the church was initially a mausoleum dedicated to general Longinus Maximus that was killed by the Dacians, Nicolae Iorga places it in the 16th century, while art historian Vataseanu believes that it dates from the last quarter of the 13th century.
What is certain is this: at this point, it is the oldest church in Romania in which services are still officiated.

Densus Church, Hunedoara County.

The church is 30 meters long, 8 meters wide, 18 meters high and it has an interior space of 15 square meters. The walls were built of bricks with Roman inscriptions, capitals, tombstones, sewerage pipes, blocks, marble, columns and sculptures taken from Ulpia Traiana. The pronaos, under the form of an “L”, is uncovered, and guarded by four thick pillars covered with tombstones. The altar table is also made of a tombstone whose letters were deleted. Above, there are two lions that stay back on back. The naos is pierced by a tower around which there is a narrow space covered by a prop vault, and at East there is a semicircular niche.

Densus Church, Hunedoara County.

The roof is made of stone plates. The mural paintings inside the church, on an ultramarine background, dates from the 15th century, and the painter who made it put a simple signature: Stefan. Baby Jesus, dressed in a Romanian popular outfit, and hold by Virgin Mary is represented on one of the pillars. Unfortunately, many paintings were destroyed by Reformists during Middle Ages.

Specialists say that the church of Densus could be a copy of San Nicoara Church from Curtea de Arges, of which only some ruins are to be found nowadays. The coincidence is that it has the same dedication day as the church from Arges, namely Saint Nicholas’ day.

The mural paintings inside the church, on an ultramarine background, dates from the 15th century - Densus Church.

A turning point in the history of this church is placed in the middle of the 19th century. At some point the inhabitants of the village wanted to put it down so that they can built a larger one. Finally it was saved by the authorities in Budapest, who considered it a monument and forbade its destruction. Before 1989, the image of the Church of Densus was on one of the most popular postal stamps, the one of 40 bani.
Few years ago, with the help of the American ambassador in Bucharest, Michael Guest, the church received a 20 000 dollars donation from the United States of America, money that was used to renovate a great part of its mural paintings.

Sarmizegetusa was the most important Dacian military, religious and political centre. Erected on top of a crag 1,200 metres high, the fortress was the core of the strategic defensive system in the Orăştie Mountains (in present-day Romania), comprising six citadels.

The fortress, a quadrilateral formed by massive stone blocks (murus dacicus), was constructed on five terraces, on an area of almost 30,000 m². Sarmizegetusa also had a sacred precinct—among the most important and largest circular and rectangular Dacian sanctuaries the famous Circular Calendar Sanctuary is included.

The civilians lived around the fortress, down the mountain on man-made terraces. Dacian nobility had flowing water, brought through ceramic pipes, in their residences. The archaeological inventory found at the site shows that Dacian society had a high standard of living.

The Dacian capital reached its acme under King Decebal who fought two wars against the Emperor Trajan of the Roman Empire in 101-102, the first successfully repelling the Roman invaders, and again in 105-106, the second culminating in the Battle of Sarmisegetusa, and the defeat of the Dacians. The Roman conquerors established a military garrison there. Later, the capital of Roman Dacia was named after the Dacian capital—Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa, established 40 km from the ruined Dacian capital.

All the six fortresses—Sarmizegetusa, Blidaru, Piatra Roşie, Orăştioara de Sus Costeşti, Căpâlna, Alba Căpâlna and Băniţa that formed the defensive system of Decebalus are part of a UNESCO World heritage site.

Sarmizegetusa is also the name of a commune in modern-day Romania, in the Ţara Haţegului depression, Hunedoara County, where the ruins of Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa are located. This second city was the biggest city in Roman Dacia, with a partly conserved forum, an amphitheatre, and several temples. The city was destroyed by the Goths.

Hunedoara, is also well known as the castle of the Corvin Family, which was build in the 14th century. The castle of Hunedoara is the symbol of the Hungarian presence in these regions.The fortress was extensively restored by Iancu de Hunedoara, prince of Transylvania, at the end of the XIV century. The Castle is a great example of Gothic architecture. The castle of Hunedoara became one of the biggest in the world, standing as a witness to the greatness of noble family and warriors who were the owners. The legend says that this is the real castle of Dracula and is the scariest place on earth.

The castle was restored and transformed into a museum since 1974, gradually it was expanded into the collections of archeology, ethnography, decorative art and old books. It became an independent institution under the coordination of the town council of Hunedoara in 1990.

For those who are impressed by the presence that dominates the city of Hunedoara, attracted by the Middle Age and unique monument in Romania, one of the most interesting in Europe, you are welcome to visit Corvins Castle

A magic  place straight out of the pages of a fairytale, a magical mix of winding cobbled alleys, steep stairways, secludedsquares, towers and turrets… Situated beside the Tarnava Mare river, The Citadel of Sighisoara was founded by german settlers in the 12thcentury. The first documentary evidence dates from 1298.

Built by the Saxon colonists living in Transylvania, who had to watch over the frontiers of the Hungarian kingdom in the 12th and13th centuries, the fortress gathered inside its walls: Saxon, Romanian and Hungarian craftsmen. That’s the reason why the citadelwas named in all the three languages: Schäßburg, Sighisoara, and Segesvar. More than that, the craftsmen were organized in guilds, eachof them administrating a defense tower.

The defense walls are 960 meters long, and of the 17 towers there are only nine left, except for the clock tower.

It is difficult to present in a few words the multitude of attraction points of this town: towers, bastions, churches and houses. Being the last inhabited medieval citadel in Eastern Europe, with an authentic medieval architecture, Sighisoara is a well-known and loved tourist destination in Europe. Since 1999, the historic center of Sighisoara is part of the UNESCO World Heritage patrimony.

Not far from Sighisoara you can also discover some other famous locations like Biertan and Saschiz fortified churches, Cris castle and more.

Voronet Monastery - built in 1488, the Voronet Monastery is considered to be the “Sistine Chapel of the Orient” because of the great frescoes situated on the western wall and named “Doomsday”. Also, “ The Voronet blue” is considered by art specialists to be unique in the world and famous like Rubes Red or Veronese Green.

Thus, the Bran castle - better known as Dracula’s Castle - is one of the most valuable architectural monuments that also had precise military and economic functions - which are extensively presented by the scholar Ioan Prahoveanu in his work, The Bran Castle. The link made by the vampire-seeking tourist between this castle and King Vlad the Impaler owes a lot to the fact that the Castle of Bran was situated on the Bran Pass, which separated Saxon of Transylvania traders from the Wallachian trade fairs where they could sell their goods. Stories of cruel punishments applied to smugglers abound hence the relationship with the Castle of Bran officials may have been a little strained at times.

Yet, whether Vlad the Impaler really ruled over the Castle of Bran is a moot point for there exists no written evidence to support this claim. Apart from administrative documents there is really very little in terms of the political and military events of the time. One thing is certain, though. In the autumn of 1462, the King of Hungary, Matei Corvin’s army captures Vlad close to the Oratii Citadel, near Rucar - which is situated at about 25 kilometres from Bran - and imprisons him in the Bran Castle for almost two months. From here he will be moved to the Visegrad Citadel.

The belief in ghosts and other evil spirits is an essential component of popular mythology. Yet, beyond this imaginary universe populated with vampires and ghosts, tourists will find the peace and tranquillity of the peasant village of Bran. Here, in the bosom of the Carpathian Mountains, one can find legends that can rival the world’s greatest legends such as the ones that Prometheus was chained in the Caucasus mountains because of his teaching humans to use the fire on the Bran Keys Rock or, the one according to which the Old Lady Dochia was turned to stone in the Bucegi mountains.

Many traditional customs are still alive in this area - including those with a legal character like, for instance, the oral communication of the village elders’ decisions through the village or, sheep shearing with a twist i.e. keeping the sheep safe from evil spirits named “iele” etc. Moreover, the twelve-day cycle of the winter festivities that marks the burial of the old year and the beginning of the new one revolves around three main events: Christmas (the 25th of December), the New Year (the 1st of January) and Epiphany (the 6th of January). Every one of these events is marked by rituals, which follow old customs that gather together the entire community such as, Christmas carols, plugusorul and roscovaitul (New Year carols), traditional masked games as well as many other carols and customs that have the meaning of purifying the spirit of this place from evil spirits.

Traditional customs relating to death and marriage are must see events. Traditional dress and dances signify fertility and prosperity rituals that are particular to this region. Knitting, sheep shearing customs and last, but not least, traditional food are but some of the reasons that make travelling to this region a truly meaningful endeavour.

Rasnov Fortress was built about 800 years ago on a rocky hilltop, elevated at about 150m above in the small town of Rasnov. It is located 15 km southwest of Brasov and also about 15 km from Bran Castle. The fortress is on the Bran Pass, a trade route connecting Wallachia with Transylvania. It is one of the biggest rural fortresses in the country and somehow unique in that it was meant to be a place of refuge for the commoners from sieges over extended periods of time. As such it had at least 30 houses, a school, a chapel, and other buildings more commonly associated with a village.

The fortress has been restored to it’s former glory. There is also a museum here, hidden behind the ancient walls. The museum’s “piece de resistance” is a skeleton buried below a glass floor, but you may also find some really interesting artifacts in there. The inner rooms are looking more like a maze, with several wood ladders linking them and a few so-called secret passages which should keep you busy for quite a while.

Finally, the bonus: the view over the mountains, green fields and little brown dots - houses from the small surrounding villages is magnificent!

While nearly everyone has heard of Count Dracula, many are not aware that the Count was in fact inspired by a real life historical figure whose horrific (mis)deeds and atrocities overshadow even those of the novel’s vampire villain and distinguish him as one of history’s cruelest figures.

Stoker’s model was Prince Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad Tepes . Vlad was a fifteenth century prince from the Wallachian province of Romania, bordered to the north by Transylvania and Moldavia, to the east by the Black Sea and to the south by Bulgaria.

Born to nobility in 1431 in a prosperous neighborhood of the Transylvanian city of Sighisoara, where his house still stands today, much of his early education was looked after by his mother. He was also taught in all the skills of war and peace that were deemed necessary for a Christian knight.

The political system at the time was extremely volatile with Wallachian politics under the influence of it’s powerful neighbors. In 1453 Constantinople and the last vestiges of the Byzantine or East Roman Empire, which had blocked Islam’s access to Europe for nearly one thousand years, succumbed to the armed might of the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mohamed the Conqueror. Long before the fall of the Imperial City, the Ottomans had penetrated deep into the Balkans. Wallachia was sandwiched between the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.

Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, the princes of Wallachia, including Dracula, attempted to maintain a precarious independence by repeatedly shifting allegiances between these powerful neighbours. At the same time, constant rivalry within the members of the royal family vying for the throne, meant that assassinations and violence were a normal part of life.

It was against this background that Dracula, on three separate occasions, ascended throne. In between, while he frequently changed loyalties, he also spent several years in prison both in Hungary and as a captive of the Ottoman Turks. It was during his second and longest reign, stretching from 1456 to 1462 that Dracula carried out his most gruesome atrocities.

More than anything else the historical Dracula is known for his inhuman cruelty. Impalement was Dracula’s preferred method of torture and execution and was the reason that he was given the additional title of “The Impaler.”

“Wood” and “water” are two words that best define Maramureş. The history, the traditions and the life of the people of Maramureş are carved in the wood of the churches and gates, and numerous rivers and streams are spread along the land like a cobweb, forming famous valleys: Mara, Iza, Vişeu, and Vaser.

Nowadays, in spite of its old age, the steam locomotives have been given one more task: that of transporting tourists. As this place is one of the few where one can ride along in a wagon pulled by steam power, every year the old Mocăniţa attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world, and offers them unforgettable railway trips.

Travellers can go by train all the way up to the end of the valley and back, enjoying the beauty of the nature. It is also possible to stop on the way, get off at one of the several halts, halte, and start a hiking trip to the mountains.

It all starts at the Vişeu de Sus railway station (Căile Ferate Forestiere Vişeu de Sus, or simply CFF Vişeu de Sus). Since this is not a regular railway station, but a forestry station, there are no passenger platforms. The place looks more like a lumberyard than a railway station, smelling of freshly cut wood.

Very early in the morning the Mocăniţa is made ready for the day’s trip. Both the tourist wagons and the forestry wagons are attached to the steam locomotive, wood and water provisions are made – they are the fuel of the steam engine – and the mechanic starts the engine. After some time off the train goes with a long whistle, puffing along the way.

Following the cascading river, the train first passes among the houses of Vişeu de Sus. Then, after about seven kilometres, the tracks start to go deep into the wild forest, passing among the steep cliffs of the gorge, and penetrating the mountains through dark tunnels.

The silence of the nature is broken not only by the on-rushing tumultuous river and the puffs and hisses of the train, but from time to time also by the sharp whistles of the locomotive. The Mocăniţa creeps slowly up the abrupt slopes and often gives the impression that it can no longer advance and that the steam power is not sufficient. However, it manages to continue the journey and carry the tourists to picturesque places.

A week ago, HRH Prince of Wales has visited again Romania. He is a real promoter of the Romanian old Saxon villages from Transylvania. ”Transylvania is a treasure from the agricultural point of view and as regards the production of traditional healthy food, being an example to the whole world”, said on Saturday to the inhabitants of Saschiz Prince Charles warning them that such an area could be fragile and must be protected.
Prince Charles of Great Britain inaugurated in Saschiz, Mures county a center for ecological products processing, installed in the former barn of a house where the inhabitants of the Tarnava Mare area will be able to sell produce and traditional drinks. The inheritor of the British Crown showed that such systems are often fragile when it comes to the rhythm of growth and they need protection, as, according to his opinion, they represent a solution to the economic and environment present crisis.
“ Unfortunately, the pressures of development undermine the ecological integrity of an area and its fragile economy. As a result, it is necessary that production systems of small dimensions be appreciated and protected so that they could be constituted, in fact, a practical answer to the economic and environmental global crisis the world has to face today. It would a tragedy that such a unique system together with its biodiversity – forests, sites, cultural and folk traditions – be lost exactly when the world starts to understand how important they are as ecosystems “ Prince Charles said.

Putna Monastery - Built during 1466-1469, it is one of the most important cultural, religious and artistic centers established in medieval Moldavia. As many other monasteries, it was built by Stephen the Great. The church was unusually large for its time, but the explanation was that it was built to be the burial place of the king, his family and his successors.

Putna Monastery

A magic  place straight out of the pages of a fairytale, a magical mix of winding cobbled alleys, steep stairways, secludedsquares, towers and turrets… Situated beside the Tarnava Mare river, The Citadel of Sighisoara was founded by german settlers in the 12thcentury. The first documentary evidence dates from 1298.

Built by the Saxon colonists living in Transylvania, who had to watch over the frontiers of the Hungarian kingdom in the 12th and 13th centuries, the fortress gathered inside its walls: Saxon, Romanian and Hungarian craftsmen.

The Chronology of the life of Vlad the Impaler

1431 - the birth of Vlad, Vlad the Devil’s second son, and the future king Vlad the Impaler;

1442-1448 - Young Vlad is sent hostage to the Otoman Empire;

1448 - Vlad the Impaler occupies for a short while Wallachia’s throne;

1448-1456 - Vlad the Impaler as a fugitive in Moldova and Transylvania;

1456 - with help from Transylvania, Vlad the Impaler occupies Wallachia’s throne;

1457 - Vlad the Impaler aids his cousin Stephan the Great to occupy Moldova’s throne;

1459 (spring) - Vlad the Impaler forbids Transylvanian traders to stop purchasing goods from directly from the producers while while trading with Wallachian traders is restricted to the border trading places;

1459 (prior to the 23rd of April) - the killing of a group of hostile boyars;

1460 (post-22nd of April) - Vlad the Impaler overruns the county of Barsa and pillages a number of settlements as reprisals for the support offered to his rival to the throne, Dan;

1460, the 1st of October - Vlad the Impaler comes to an agreement with the city of Brasov that the rest of Transylvanian inhabitants contribute with 4000 soldiers in the fight against the Ottomans;

1462, the 11th of February - Vlad the Impaler seeks Matyas Corvinus’ - the Hungarian king - help in the fight against the Ottomans;

1462 (June-September) - Vlad the Impaler’s wars against the Ottomans;

1462 (prior to the 26th of November) - Vlad the Impaler is arrested at the request of Matyas Corvinus, near to the Dambovita Castle, imprisoned for about two months in the Bran Castle and then moved to the Visegrad Castle where he will stay for the next 12 years;

1476, the 26th of November - Vlad the Impaler becomes king of Wallachia for the second time;

the end of 1476 - Vlad the Impaler is killed by the Ottomans with the help of traitor boyars.

Vlad Dracul House