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| Grave Marker of Patras |
After the cemetery, we drove to the Memorial Museum
to the Victims of Communism in Sighetu.
Sighetu was an important Jewish settlement until the spring of 1944,
when most of the Jews were transported to Auschwitz. After WWII, the Communists established one of
the most notorious prisons here for dissidents, intellectuals, and anyone else
who would question the regime. Between
1948 and 1952, about 180 Romanian intellectuals and government elite were
imprisoned here and 51 died in the prison.
The prison was finally closed in 1974 and reopened in the early 90’s as
the Memorial Museum.
Dinner this evening was another delicious
home-cooked meal of chicken and dumpling soup, fried chicken and pork, and
cabbage. Dessert was a home-made donut
that you filled with a choice of jams.
After the dinner, we had a private folk show with music and dancers from
Maramures. There were 3 teenage girls, 2
teenage boys, a violinist, drummer, and a guitarist. They were very good, and had us up dancing to
one of the songs.
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| Folk Dancers |
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| Trying to keep up with the dancers |
As we drove away from Vadu Izei, Val stopped at a
village market that is only open on Thursday.
Here the townspeople can buy shoes, clothing, tools, produce, and
livestock. They had a lot of piglets for
sale as well as a few sheep and cows.
Bill even found a sanding disc that he bought.
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| Village Market - shoes anyone? |
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| Typical dress for women |
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| Pigs for sale |
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| Wool anyone? |
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| Notice the little basket hats on the men |
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| Farmer's mode of travel |
Leaving Maramures, we stopped at the Greco-Catholic
wooden church of the Holy Archangels in Surdesti. It was built in 1721. Val had to walk around the homes in the area
to find the woman caretaker who had a key to open the church. These churches are still in use today.
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| Church of the Holy Archangels |
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| Woman returning from market |
After
lunch, we drove to the old salt mines in Turda.
It has been documented that salt was being mined in this area from as
early as 1075. There were three bell
shaped mines at this location. Mining
was stopped in 1932 because of the small amount and the outdated technical
equipment. Today it is a tourist
attraction and center for halo therapy for people with lung problems. We walked through the top tunnels of the mine
and stopped at the top of the Iosif Mine.
It is a conical chamber 400’ dep and 140’ wide at the base. Because its
shape and lack of communications with the other major mining points this mine
has a powerful sound echo. When Val
clapped his hands, the echo reverberated about 15 times. At this point, Val and I descended (by
elevator) to the ground level of one of the mines that has been turned into a
halo therapy location. (Bill decided not
to go.) It is about 400’ below the ground level. People using this mine for curative purposes must
stay on the ground level for about 6-8 hours.
Therefore, this ground floor contains a series of recreational
attractions: an amphitheater, Ferris
wheel, mini golf course, and bowling lanes. It was really unique. I wanted to go on the Ferris wheel, but it
was closed for painting. We then took
another elevator down about 2 stories to the lowest point of the mine where
there is lake with an island in the middle.
You could rent rowboats so Val took me on a trip around the island. It was so much fun and such a unique
activity!
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| Inside the Turda salt mine |
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| Miniature Golf in bottom of mine |
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| Ferris Wheel |
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| Hanging Salt Crystals |
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| Looking down at the salt lake |
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| A rowboat ride on the lake |
After leaving the salt mines, we
drove to Alba Iulia, one of the oldest cities in Romania and the spiritual
capital of the country. From 1599 to 1601, Alba Iulia was
the capital of the united principalities of Walachia, Transylvania and Moldavia. It was the site of the proclamation
of Transylvania's unification with Romania on 1 December 1918 and of the coronation of King
Ferdinand in 1922. In the center of the
city sits the Alba Carolina Fortress, built between 1714
and 1738. The fortification has seven bastions (Eugene of Savoia, St. Stefan,
The Trinity, St. Michael, St. Carol, St. Capistrano and St. Elisabeth) that
make it into a star-shaped, Vauban-style fortress. Inside the fortress are most
of the important civic buildings of Alba Iulia – the Reunification
Cathedral (Greek Orthodox church), a Roman Catholic church, the university and
the remains of the Roman legionary camp.
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| Alba Iulia |
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| Greek Orthodox church |
The Reunification Cathedral was
built between 1921 and 1923 in the shape of a Greek cross with an open
porch. It was here on 15 October 1922
that the Romanian monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Mary were crowned.
We walked around the fortress and into the Roman Catholic Church (there were services
going on in the Reunification Cathedral so we could not see it). Outside he Cathedral were over a 1000 crows
sitting on the roof. As evening
approached, the buildings were lit up with revolving colored lights.
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| Crows on the church |
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| Third Gate of the Fortress |
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| Building lit up atnight |
We finally reached our
destination for the night – Sibiu – around 7:30 PM. Val recommended a Romanian restaurant with a
German flair – Hermania. Although they
were busy, Val was able to persuade them to find us a table. We had a very enjoyable meal which was
followed by a small glass of blueberry brandy.
It was very delicious – about 10 times better than plum brandy!
We
started the next morning with a walking tour around the old city of Sibiu. Sibiu was the largest and wealthiest of the
seven walled citadels built in the 12th century by German settlers known as
Transylvanian Saxons. Today it still retains its distinctive Germanic
feeling. Surrounded by imposing walls,
Sibiu’s original fortifications included 39 defensive towers, five bulwarks,
four gates and five artillery batteries.
Sibiu’s Old Town retains the grandeur of its earlier days when rich and
powerful guilds dominated regional trade.
Sections of the medieval wall still guard the historic area, where
narrow streets pass steep-roofed 17th century buildings with gable overhangs
before opening into vast, church-dominated squares such as Great Square and
Little Square.
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| Roman Catholic Church |
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| Inside Catholic Church |
We
walked around the Great Square where the Roman Catholic Church dominates the
north side. This beautiful baroque
structure with classical decorations was built between 1726 and 1738. The tower was attached to the nave in 1738 and
one year later, a cross was seated on the top. The completely renovated interior is
magnificent with gold-laced walls and colorful ceiling frescoes.
Our
walking tour included a trip to see some of the remaining walls and towers,
Huet Square with it lovely Lutheran Church, and a quick peek inside a Romanian
Orthodox Church with its beautifully painted frescos. The Lutheran Cathedral of Saint Mary is the
most famous Gothic-style church in Sibiu and its massive 230’ steeple is a
landmark of the city. The four turrets
situated on top of the steeple were a sign to let foreigners know that the town
had the right to sentence to death.
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| Main Square of Sibiu |
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| Potter's Tower in the wall |
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| Romanian Orthodox Church |
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| Inside Orthodox Church |
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| Lutheran Cathedral of Saint Mary |
Enroute
to Sighisoara, we stopped Biertan, one of the most important Saxon villages
with fortified churches in Transylvania.
The Biertan fortified church was the Evangelic Episcopal See for 300
years (1572 – 1867) and the religious center for the Saxons in Transylvania. Bill and Val walked up 187 steps to get to
the church while I took the pathway up – either way it was a steep climb.
For several centuries,
Sighisoara was a military and political stronghold. During the 14th - 16th
centuries, the Saxon and Magyar craft guilds erected towers around the citadel
walls to protect the town from Turkish raids. Laid out on two to four levels,
the towers stored ammunition and food supplies and were provided with firing
windows for cannons, shells and arrows. Of the original fourteen towers and
five artillery bastions, nine towers and two bastions have survived the test of
time.
Sighisoara's main attraction
is the Clock Tower, also known as the Council Tower, built in the second half
of the 14th century and expanded in the 16th century. The four small corner
turrets on top of the tower symbolized the judicial autonomy of the Town
Council, which could apply, if necessary, the death penalty.
In the 17th century, a two-plate clock, with
figurines carved from linden wood, was set at the top of the tower, with one
dial looking over the Lower Town and the other facing the citadel. The
figurines, moved by the clock's mechanism, each represent a different
character.
On the citadel side we see
Peace holding an olive branch, accompanied by a drummer who is beating the
hours on his bronze drum; above them are Justice, with a set of scales, and
Law, wielding a sword, accompanied by two angels representing Day and Night. At
6 am, the angel symbolizing the day appears, marking the beginning of the
working day and at 6 pm, the angel symbolizing the night comes out carrying two
burning candles, marking the end of the working day.
The dial overlooking the Lower City features
a set of seven figurines, each representing the pagan gods who personified the
days of the week: Diane (Monday), Mars (Tuesday), Mercury (Wednesday), Jupiter
(Thursday), Venus (Friday), Saturn (Saturday)and the Sun (Sunday). There is
only one man that is qualified to make repairs on this clock.
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| Bell Tower in Sighisoara |
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| Sighisoara from the Bell Tower |
We climbed up the clock tower
and were rewarded with a splendid view of the city. There is an outside ledge around the top that
made for great photos. Val said there
was a special treat for Bill at the top.
Inside the tower is a display honoring Dr. Obert, a German pre-WWII
rocket scientist, and Von Braun’s mentor.
We
also visited the Evangelical Church, another of the old fortified churches of
the Transylvanian Saxons. This one was
built on the top of a hill (another long hike), but it differs from most of the
other fortified churches in that it had a crypt in the basement of the church.
. In addition to the church on the top,
there was a German High School (still in use today) – those kids are probably
in very good shape if they have to walk that hill every day!
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| Evangelical Church |
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| Inside the Evangelical Church |
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| Transylvania Hotel |
As
we were leaving Sighisoara, Bill had Val drive by the Hotel Transylvania so he
could get a picture of it! It was a fairly long drive back to Sibiu, so after a
quick dinner at another good Romanian restaurant, it was off to bed.
The
next morning we said goodbye to Transylvania as we drove toward Bucharest. As we drove over the Carpathian Mountains,
the fall colors were gorgeous. However
as we ascended toward the top, the weather became very foggy and then sleet and
snow began to fall. At the top, Val
stopped at a little ski resort – it was beginning to look like winter
there. After we drove through the tunnel
at the top and started our descent down, it was amazing how quickly the weather
turned. The sun came out and it warmed
up rather quickly. Driving down from the
mountain, we were treated to waterfalls and more of the gorgeous fall
foliage. We stopped for lunch at a
restaurant on an artificial lake that was created by the Vidraru Dam, built
during the Communist era . After another
wonderful lunch we stopped for a few minutes at the Dam. It was built on the Arges River between 1961
and 1966 and was the first dam built in Romania. It is approximately 360’ high. On the hill overlooking the dam is a statue
of Prometheus with a lightning bolt in his hand, a symbol of electricity.
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| Winter conditions on top of mountain |
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| Road leading down from top |
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| Waterfall on trip down the mountain |
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| Fall Foliage |
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| Fall Foliage |
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| Artificial made by Dam |
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| Add caption |
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| Vidraru Dam |
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| Statue of Prometheus |
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| Fall Splendor |
A
little further on down the road we stopped for another photo opportunity – this
time the real castle of Count Vlad (Vlad Tepes) – Poienari Castle. It was built on the top of a mountain (1489
steps to reach the top). The Count’s
father had been killed by a group of noblemen.
Count Vlad captured the men, but instead of executing them, he sentenced
them to build this castle, carrying the stone blocks up the hill on their
backs. The castle is only a ruin
now. A large section fell off the back
during an earthquake. Needless to say,
Bill and I did not walk up all those steps – the camera zoom gave us a good
picture of the castle’s ruins.
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| Count Vlad Dracula's Castle |
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| Monastery at Curtea de Arges |
Our
last stop before reaching Bucharest was at the monastery at Curtea de Arges. The church , built between 1512 and
1517, was beautiful. It has been restored several times, the last
one being in 1885. One of the unique
features in this church is part of the Bible that was hand painted by Queen
Elisabeth of Romania. The monastery also
contains the tombs of Kings Ferdinand and Carol (Charles) I and Queens
Elisabeth and Maria.
There is a legend about the construction of this
monastery:
The legend has it that one day, a very wealthy and religious
Wallachian prince, the Black Prince, rode with nine masons and their master,
Manole, to find a place and build a church more beautiful than anyone may have
seen before. The masons started to work, but whenever they reached to the top,
the walls would collapse before they could ever finish it. They decided that
the first human being they would lay their eyes upon was to be sacrificed in
order to see their work done. And it so happened the Manole 's wife showed up
to bring her husband's lunch, so that he had to keep his vow and buried his own
wife alive within the church walls. The place of this entombment can
still be seen between two walls of the southern front side of the church. This
is how the monastery could be finished, and the prince was pleased to find that
it was as beautiful as it could be. But the prince would not want Manole to
build another church that could match his own. So he ordered the scaffolding
removed, which left Manole stranded on the roof. In an attempt to escape,
Manole made himself a pair of wings from shingles, but they were of no avail,
and he would crash to the ground like Icarus and die. Upon his crash, on that
very spot, a spring would gush forth, which is now called Manole's well. Today
people throw coins in its basin, to make their wishes come true.
We finally reached Bucharest about 5 PM. Our trip to Romania was finished. Tomorrow we would fly to Spain to spend some
time with Juan, the exchange student the Stevens hosted 2 years ago. Romania was all that we expected and much
more. The country side is beautiful, and
the people friendly and helpful. Our
preconceptions of Transylvania and Maramures still living in the 18th
and 19th centuries were both true and untrue. The main roads are well maintained, most
people have cars and cable tv, and school is mandatory through the age of 14. But many still farm the land as they have
done for centuries and still get around on horse drawn carts (that are allowed
on the main roads). They are a proud,
happy, and self-sufficient people. It
was sad to leave, but we take with us many wonderful memories of Transylvania
and Maramures.
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