Radio România Internațional

Tag: route

  • Active tourism in Romania

    Active tourism in Romania

    Active tourism attracts a growing number of visitors in Romania, thanks to the spectacular scenery and the diversity of the outdoor activities on offer. The Carpathian Mountains are a perfect destination for trekking, climbing and escalade, with trails marked for all levels of difficulty.

    Those who are into cycling can explore the mountain routes, Transylvania’s picturesque roads or can head towards wine cellars on two wheels. In winter, the ski resorts attract lovers of snow sports. Active tourism is also a perfect way to discover natural beauties and local traditions.

    Ana Voican creates and promotes active tourism packages in Romania. She also organizes events dedicates to all those who love active tourism.

    “ I’d say Romania is a very generous offer in the area of active tourism. Firsi off, we have an extraordinary geographical diversity enabling us to get to know active Romania all throughout the year. In thr spring, in the summer, in autumn, in winter, any time you want, there’s a lot for you to do, you’ve got a lot to choose from, while the areas you can go to are very generous to that end. Until the first snow falls, we can, as early as December 1st we can opt for cycling to Dealu Mare, for instance, nearby Bucharest, where we can visit the wine cellars.

    We can pick up an easy route, 20-kilometer long, at an altitude no highest than 200 meters, so it is suitable for adults but also for children. We can visit the objectives in the area, but we can also have a stopover at the wine cellars, to sample the wine, to enjoy the brunches and the parties together with friends and family. “

    As soon as the first layer of snow sets in, resorts are the perfect destination for those who are into winter sports. There are roughly 300 homologated ski slopes in Romania, so the offer is extremely generous.

    “As of December 1st the ski slopes are open, so we start skiing, snowboarding. We can opt for the Prahova Valley resorts, but also also for Straja, Paltinis, where usually all throughout the winter season parties are being staged, original contests open for all the people who are into doing such sports. But the best thing is that we have parties at daytime but also in the evening, for all those who, at night, want to enjoy the sight of the ski slopes.

    In resorts across Romania we can enjoy traditions, the adorning of the fir tree, we can listen to carols, we can welcome Santa Claus. However, during the day, we can take trailing routes and thus get to know the objectives of the respective region. We appreciated a lot and promoted the packages that also offer SPA relaxation options.

    And at this point I should like to mention Herculane Spa, Govora Spa, Felix Spa, as, apart from this SPA side, with jacuzzi, therapies, they can go on a trailing route in the nature reserves, they can do bird watching, they can watch the fauna of the season, also relax through doing a bit of power walk they can of course blend into the relaxation side. “

    And, if we want to do some exercise when we are on a family holiday, Romania also comes up with offers to that end. With more on that, here is Ana Voican, a promoter of active tourism and an events organizer.

    „It is the area I hold most dear: active tourism. I should go, as we speak, to Balvanyos Resort, for instance and I should choose as there I have access to four-star facilities. However, I also access to the SPA area, indoor or outdoor swimming pools. I can also go with the family, with my two children and also make the most of the scenery in the region. We can also go sledging, we can also do outdoor activities usually staged at the time of the winter holidays. So the whole range of activities is very well-defined, actually.

    Spring is the season of the bicycle rides and of trekking, but also the season of events. TRACK „Also, we begin practicing water sports, rafting, kayak, and we can put them all together in a package, and then summer also comes. For the summer, we prepared a festival for families and children. It happens on Whitsuntide over June 6 and 9 in Buzau Mountains. For two days running, we’re going to camp, we’re going to live under the sky full of start, in tents, in caravans, we’re also going to gave glamping accommodation, little houses and we shall do lots of outdoor activities.

    We ‘re going to cut ourselves off from the hubbub of the city a little bit and we’re going to relax in the middle of nature, together with the children, where we seek connection, with nature, but also with the family, through activities boy scouts only do, we get to know nature, we survive in nature and we have fun as well.

    We shall stage creative workshops, educational workshops, we shall look at the stars and we shall see the constellations, we’re going to have campfires with live concerts. There are a great many things we can appreciate and put to good use and I think it is high time we considered such experiences as well. “

    Via Transilvanica, the road that unites, is a long-distance tourist trail, 1, 400 kilometer-long, cutting across Romania. It is destined to walking, bicycle riding or taking it on horseback. The route is signaled with painted marking signs, indicator poles, while marking each one-kilometer distance is an individually sculpted andesite milestone. They are highly likely to make the world’s longest art gallery, accompanying travelers all along their trailing route.

    Ana Voican:

    “I should like us to focus, a little bit, on a highly appreciated project, which is well worth mentioning in all these talks where experiences are highlighted. I’m speaking about Via Transilvanica, where a lot has been invested in marking the itinerary, which can be walked as a trail route, but also as a cycling route, in some of its segments. It is absolutely breathtaking and is worth visiting since it offers a complete image about Romania, which can be crossed by foot.

    I interacted with the foreign tourists. The first thing they answer, to the question why have you chosen Romania as your destination is because Romania is wild, wild Romania. They have access to animals they can see not only on TV or through, but they can see with their own eyes when they take our trails. They are literally surprised with how many things they can see, things they cannot otherwise see in the countries they come from. “

    Ana Voican, a promoter of active tourism in Romania and an event organizer, tells us most of the tourists who opt for active tourism offers in Romani come from the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany Spain and United States. In the digital era, when we are surrounded by screens, everybody appreciates the reconnection with nature.

  • Walking on Brâncuși’s route in Gorj County

    Walking on Brâncuși’s route in Gorj County

    UNESCO included on its world heritage list, in 2024, the Heroes’ Path, a sculptural ensemble in Târgu Jiu made by Constantin Brâncuși. The ensemble includes four major works: The Table of Silence, the Alley of Chairs, The Gate of the Kiss and the Endless Column. They were created and sculpted by the great Romanian sculptor between 1937 and 1938. The four works have been included in a cultural and tourist route, whose theme is culture, history, religion and monumental art. The route is called “The Peasant Genius Constantin Brâncuși and Gorj County’s cultural heritage.”

     

    Laura Dragu Popescu is the president of Gorjul Professional Tourism Employers’ Association. She told us that the objectives included in the route are the works of the great sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, to be found outdoors, in the city of Târgu Jiu. The route also includes the Saint Apostles Peter and Paul’s Church, the Sohodol Gorges, a traditional architecture museum, two famous monasteries, as well as memorial houses.

     

    So here we are travelling on Brâncuși’s route with our guide Laura Dragu Popescu: “If we were to interpret this monumental ensemble, we can say that, at the Table of Silence, the hero has the last supper with his family, before the battle. He then walks along the Alley of Chairs, where the chairs symbolize the persons who do not participate in the war. At the Gate of the Kiss, he gives one last embrace to his loved ones. After or during the battle, the hero’s soul travels to God. Man’s soul travels to God passing through Saint Apostles Peter and Paul’s Church. We then carry on along The Heroes’ Path with the road taking us to the Endless Column. This is how we can interpret this axis, which is part of the Cultural and Artistic Route called ‘The Peasant Genius Constantin Brâncuși and Gorj County’s cultural heritage’. This route includes visits to the Constantin Brâncuși Memorial House in Hobița, to Polovragi Monastery, to Tismana Monastery along the Sohodol Gorges to the Memorial House of Maria Apostol, a local and very popular traditional music vocalist, to Lainici Monastery, to the Traditional Architecture Museum in Gorj, inCurtișoara, where a manor that belonged to Tătărăscu family can be visited.“

     

    Then in the city of Târgu Jiu, the Ecaterina Teodoroiu Memorial House and Mausoleum can be visited. Along this route, full of culture, history, religion and monumental art,a beautiful part of the historical and picturesque Gorj is presented: “It is a delight even for the most demanding tourist who goes to Gorj County and chooses to cover this route. Tourists who visited Gorj in the past return in very large numbers. This happens in the case of both individuals and groups, who opt for spending three nights and four days as part of this tourist program, in Gorj County.If tourists from abroad choose to come to the historic and picturesque Gorj county, they can land at Bucharest airport. There are many travel options from Bucharest to Târgu Jiu, from regular buses, which have daily departures from the Militari Bus Station to trains that leave Bucharest and pass through Târgu Jiu.”

     

    About 30 km from the county seat, Târgu Jiu, following this route, you will reach the Tismana Monastery, a place full of spirituality, a place recommended by Laura Dragu Popescu, president of the Gorjul ProfessionalTourism Employers’ Association: “The monastery was founded by Saint Nicodemus the Holy, from Tismana. Next to the monastery, there is the Gold Museum, a historical objective, made with the help of the National Bank. It is a return into history, it is the place where the Treasure of Romania once rested (during the Second World War) during years laden with pain for the Romanian people. Around the Tismana Monastery, there are very beautiful trails, up to three hours long. The longest route is three hours long and is done on the top of the mountain that leads to Cioclovina de Sus. This route is wonderful and can be covered by people with normal physical resistance. On the way to the Tismana Monastery, tourists can see the memorial house of the great artist from Gorj, Constantin Brâncuși. Tismana Monastery is a success story among the unique places in beautiful Romania. Lovers seek to see the moonrise at Tismana. They say that the most spectacular moonrise is on the mountains around Tismana locality. Gastronomy in Tismana is special, the locality hosting the Trout Festival, which is always celebrated on Annunciation Day, on March 25.”

     

    On the other hand, in the Curtișoara Village Museum, tourists can see the traditional architecture specific to the area. The oldest house exhibited here was built over 200 years ago and dates back to 1802. The museum also exhibits two churches, one of which was established in 1821. Laura Dragu Popescu gives us more details: “There are many elements that appeal to lovers of traditional houses. Both themed tours and many musical productions take place here. Inside the museum, there is a house called Casa Gheorghe Zamfir. In the house, you can see objects that belonged to the panpipe player Gheorghe Zamfir. As a curiosity, one will find, within the premises of this museum, a traditional house with interesting architecture from the Gilort area. Inside, there are personal items of other popular artists known in our area. So, the new and the old are valued in this museum of traditional folk architecture in Gorj County. It is located quite close about ten km from Târgu Jiu.”

     

    The cultural-tourist route ‘The Peasant Genius Constantin Brâncuși and the Gorj county’s cultural heritage’ can be covered by tourists who love originality in every season of the year. Moreover, the statistical data confirm that Gorj county is doing very well in terms of the number of accommodation places. Hotels and guesthouses will give you the opportunity to stay in a safe destination from three to seven days, basically a good part of a vacation. And whoever comes to the historic and picturesque Gorj once, will surely return. (EN, LS)

  • Via Danubiana

    Via Danubiana

    Work is in progress, in Romania, for an ecotourism route, meant to provide the explorer with one-of-a-kind experiences, ranging from the natural and cultural heritage to the landscapes, unique in Europe. The Danube Gorges, the Iron Gates, the islands and islets the river forms in its course, the Danube Delta or the spectacular areas where the river flows into the Black Sea, all these are but a few of the Danube’s attraction points. The project has been developed by the Greener Association. With more on the association itself, here is its PR director, Alexandra Damian.

    „We have been developing projects in several fields since 2008, when the Association was founded. We seek to build a culture of responsibility and of the volunteering for people and nature, in Romania. We plant trees, we get involved in combatting river Danube’s pollution with plastic, we have a large-scale program With Clean Water, where we carry activities of sanitation on banks of the Danube and its tributaries. We installed several floating dams in a bid to stem the flow of waste that are carried by the course of the river and its tributaries, and, basically, we promote the natural areas that can be found in Romania, so we somehow get closer to nature in a way we have forgotten to that, sort of, as of late. “

    Through the creation of a wide-scope ecotourism route along the Danube, tourists who love natural areas will discover the tremendous potential the area offers. Also, the local community will benefit from a sustainable economic development. With details on that here is the Greener Association’s PR director, Alexandra Damian. But how the idea of the Via Danubiana came about?

    ” The idea of the project has laid dormant for a couple of years now, with us, it existed in a drawer. We very much wanted to create this ecotourism route since we all know the Danube offers unique experiences. From the point where it enters Romania and all the way to the point where if flows into the Black Sea, we come across many beautiful places, a natural and cultural heritage, landscapes which are unique in Europe, reason enough for us to bring to the fore one of Romania’s less-promoted areas. “

    In the region, a series of protected areas and Natura 2000 sites have been identified, while the trail crosses forest areas along the shore, islands, canals and islets. As we speak, these are not accessible to the lay public because of the lack of infrastructure and poor promotion. We continue to map the more than one thousand kilometres river Danube flows in Romania.

    “We’re speaking about the mapping of the natural objectives, of the cultural and historical assets, of the local cuisine, all that can be found along the river. In the initial stage, we marked the segment flowing through Giurgiu County along a distance or around 100 kilometers, a zone which is rich in protected areas, in Natura 2000 sites, in cultural and historical objectives, which are very important yet very little promoted. The route we have mapped also goes through shore forests, islands, canals, islets lovers of nature will definitely want to discover. In September we placed the first milestone in Giurgiu County’s commune of Gaujani, at the Youth Educational Centre. It is one of the milestone points along the route. We’re next going to place two other milestones, in two other strategic points along the route. “

    The route offers a great many ways to spend your leisure time, only one hour’s drive from Bucharest. For the lovers of nature, the area benefits from an attractive list of species and can become the perfect place for birdwatching and the observation of the fauna and flora that are typical for river Danube. Along the route, we come across several natural protected areas, with more than 300 species of extremely rich flora and fauna, with very important invertebrate species, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals.

    From a cultural and historical point of view, there are several points of interest, which are nonetheless unbeknownst to the lay public and hitherto un-signalled, such as the ruins of Mircea the Elder’s fortress in Giurgiu, a period half-buried house or the range of bunkers in Slobozia. Also, for those who love the local cuisine, some of the culinary traditions can be revitalized, such as the pies that are specific for the Romanian-Bulgarian space, riparian to the Danube Delta, the pepper salads or the salads prepared with aubergines baked on glowing embers, or the goose thick soup. All the details needed for the journey along the Danube have already been published in a Traveller’s Guide you can access at viadanubiana.ro.

    “We have already launched the site. There we have GPS coordinates for those who want to walk along the trail, at viadanubiana.ro. We’ve also published a Traveller’s Guide in Giurgiu County. We very much want those who love nature, those who are into outdoor walks, those who love the Danube and the Delta, we want them to come join us. Given that, as we speak, we only map a segment, 100 out of the 1,000 kilometres, they can get involved in all sorts of ways so that we can extend the route, so we can map just as we’ve mapped Giurgiu County and the other regions along the Danube. Also, donations are welcome, products can be bought in the shop that has especially been created for Via Danubiana. They can obviously get involved as volunteers in the activities we are going to stage and can of course become ambassador of the new route. “

    At vianubiana.ro you can access the whole range of options for the lovers of nature to get involved, in a bid to support the project. So far, appeals to volunteering have been successful, said Greener Association’s PR director, Alexandra Damian. Volunteers from outside Romania have also joined in.

    “We’ve had, we’re open and, of course, we shall continue to have volunteers from many countries, especially along the river. We had volunteers from Germany, Austria, Ukraine who helped us in the activities we have staged so far. That’s for sure, we wait them to join us in the future as well. “
    Who has walked a segment along the Danube at least once, they’re sure to have unforgettable memories, related to the impressive landscape offered by the river in certain areas, or to the historical vestiges people come across along the route or to the traditional food carefully prepared by the locals. Added to that are the species of birds and animals that are typical for the region and which, on the banks of the river, they can find food, resting or nesting areas. Furthermore, the Danube’s Romanian segment flows through 11 of Romania’s main 28 protected areas.”

  • The cultural-tourist route of open-air museums in Romania

    The cultural-tourist route of open-air museums in Romania

    The cultural-tourist route of open-air museums in Romania, developed at the national level and recognized by the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism, has been launched in Romania considering the large number of tourists who showed interest in these objectives. Developed at the initiative of the County Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art in Baia Mare, the tourist program offers tourists a foray into traditions, in 11 tourist and cultural sites in Romania’s ethnographic heritage.

     

    Monica Mare, the manager of the Maramureș County Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art from Baia Mare says that the idea was born out of the need to promote museums, being a good opportunity to capitalize on the heritage of traditional Romanian architecture:  “The idea of ​​the project initially started with eight museums. We have also created several leaflets on which one can find a map with these museums. If you are in Bucharest, you can start the route from there, from the Dimitrie Gusti Village Museum in Bucharest, which is probably the most visited among the ethnographic museums in Romania, and after that, you can head towards the center of Romania. Tourists can go through the Golești Museum, after that they can reach Brașov, then Sibiu, where they can go to the ASTRA Museum, then travel to Transylvania, to the museum in Cluj and get closer to Maramureș, where they will find two ethnographic museums included in the route, the Village Museum from Baia Mare and the Maramureș Village Museum from Sighetu Marmației, respectively. Also here, in our area, in Oraș Country, in the vicinity of Maramureș, we have the Negrești Oaş Museum, and if we cross the mountains, to Bukovina, we find the Bukovina Village Museum. It depends on how much time the tourist has to visit and we thought that this route can be fully covered or the visitor can choose, in a first phase, a few museums in the area of ​​interest and after that we can arouse their curiosity to reach other areas of the country.”

     

    All open-air museums develop projects throughout the year, but especially in the warm season, which is the high season for visiting. You will be able to see folk craftsmen at work and you will be able to buy items they have created. Moreover, you’ll even be able to participate in the crafting art of the artisans:  “The Baia Mare Village Museum also has such programs. Throughout the year, we organize fairs, and we also have a souvenir shop, where we try to capitalize on the work of the Maramureș craftsmen. The other museums in the country also have such stores. Craftsmen need to be promoted. For the traditions to be passed on to future generations, the craftsmen must understand, especially the younger craftsmen who take over the crafts, that one can live from one’s craft and it is our duty, as ethnographic museums, to support the craftsmen, to make them known. Together with the centers of traditional culture, which have records of these craftsmen, we try to promote them at the travel fairs we participate in, and in the activities carried out by the museum.”

     

    As soon as you enter the Maramureş-style gate of the Baia Mare Village Museum, you are transposed into a world of the authentic Maramureş village, says Monica Mare, manager of the Maramureș County Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art:  “If the Museum in Sighet only preserves objects of traditional architecture from Maramureș Voivodeship, the Village Museum in Baia Mare takes you to the Maramureş villages from all four ethnographic areas. We call them countries: Codru, Chioar, Lăpuș and Maramureș Voivodeship. You can visit a house in Lăpuș, with its thatched roof. You can go inside and see how people used to live, where the fire was made, you can see the oven, or how the baby was rocked in the cradle, or what the guest room looked like, where the most beautiful textiles and the dowry chest were kept and where people met at major life events. The oldest monument we have is our little church, a monument from 1630, which is placed on the hill, as are most of the churches in the Maramureş villages, and practically the museum was formed around it. It was the first monument brought here to the Village Museum. It makes our village alive. The village on the hill, as we call it, is alive, because services are still held in the church on the big holidays and on Sundays. There is a whole community that comes here to worship.”

     

    Another tourist asset promoted at Baia Mare’s Village Museum is the oldest house as part of the museum’s heritage, dated 1758.

    Monica Mare: “The team I coordinate for the time being can boast the fact that, although the years are complicated and the budget is tight, as usual, last year we succeeded to open, for the public, a new traditional architecture asset we transferred to our museum. A house from Chioar Country, a very beautiful one, typical for the Chioar Country style, which we placed in the vicinity of the church, is also from Chioar Country. The blue of the house is so very specific for Maramures, it can be visited by tourists. Also, from Maramures Country we boast the Petrova House, where the founder of the Romanian School of Stomatology, Gheorghe Bilașcu, was born, and these are but a few of the landmarks we offer so you can pay us a visit. I am just saying, “Come on, come to Maramures !” Visit the Village Museum in Baia Mare and all the museums included in the Romanian open-air museum’s ethnographic route! ”

     

    We found out from the manager of the Baia Mare-based Maramures County Ethnography and Traditional Art Museum, Monica Mare, that the available prospectuses are in Romanian and English. At the main assets as part of the visiting circuit there are plaques with a QR code for additional info, which direct you to the site of the institution, where translations are available in the most widely-spoken languages. In another move, children and youngsters can participate in a treasure hunt. They will be dared to cut themselves off from their own cell phones and visit the musem in a different manner. Also, the bigger museums lying along the cultural-tourist route of open-air museums in Romania have a wide range of promotion materials. The Museum in Sibiu, for instance, has Astra App, an application offering guidance, audio guidance included, in several of the most widely-spoken languages. (LS, EN)

  • Life and advice on Via Transilvanica from Christine Thϋrmer

    Life and advice on Via Transilvanica from Christine Thϋrmer

    In one of her
    sleepless nights Christine Thϋrmer learnt about Via Transilvanica and set out on
    this journey alone, as she’s always done boldly and fearlessly. And instead of
    learning how to ask for things in Romanian or to thank she chose to learn only
    two words, ‘singura’ the Romanian for ‘alone’ and ‘urs’, which is ‘bear’ in
    Romanian. She hiked through the area while the road wasn’t marked yet and
    befriended Alin over a pint of the local plum brandy called ‘palinca’.


    Christine: When I came here first I couldn’t speak a single word. I believe
    that any route teaches you something, you may learn things on the way. So, in
    Romania I learnt the word ‘singura’, alone because the lady who welcomed me
    when I arrived had cooked a meal for four persons and I had to say pas. Had to
    tell her that I was alone and can eat for two people but not for four. The
    second word was ‘urs’ the Romanian for bear because there is still this danger.
    So, this is what my Romanian sounds like, ‘alone, bla,bla, bla, urs, urs.


    Alin Uşeriu,
    coordinator of the Tăşuleasa Social Association, initiator of the Via
    Transilvanica project, also known as the road you cannot get lost on, recalled
    how happy he was when he met Christine:


    Alin Useriu: I
    have fallen in love with Christine forever because the project we coordinated
    and implemented in the past five years needed an ambassador like someone from
    heaven and Christine proved to be that very ambassador. She is actually the
    first woman to have finished Via Transilvanica because she walked over 60
    thousand kilometers around the world. Then she dedicated an entire chapter to
    Via Transilvanica in the book she wrote. We couldn’t get a better international
    ambassador for this route and because she reaches out exactly to the people who
    must come to Via Transilvanica she is also very present here. We are glad that
    she liked it and that she keeps pointing this hiking route to her very numerous
    readership. Furthermore, she is also very generous. She presented us with her
    first book, which we have translated because we wish to build this social category
    of hikers who can found themselves on such picturesque roads like Via
    Transilvanica. So we are going to launch a book by Christine shortly!


    Alin Uşeriu told
    us why Christine’s book is worth reading


    Alin Useriu: Christine
    has just come back from Japan and she says that our route has a correspondent
    in Japan now. I can say there was no better decision in my life than to set out
    on a long journey. I went to Camino de Santiago, but after I had met Christine
    I realized that I wasn’t actually prepared for that trip. I was carrying a 17
    kilo backpack and I was trying to reach the destination before everybody on
    that way. Christine came and told me, ‘your backpack should not weigh more than
    5-6 kilos. You have to leave at home all the unnecessary things, including
    those in your head.’ That was my first right step so to say, and the moment
    zero of my becoming a real rambler on Via Transilvanica. It was a true deep
    spiritual experience for me.


    Meeting you is
    the most important thing, Alin went on to say adding:


    Alin Useriu: This
    is what a long-distance walk does: it allows one to meet oneself, at a certain
    point. I arrived in Caraş Severin and at a certain time I realized that ivy is
    my favourite plant because unless it had a tree, a building or other structure
    to climb on, it would grow on the ground like other plants. And I believe that
    this credo of ours, Via Transilvanica, made this route possible in five years.
    And I was in good health to cover all these 14 hundred kilometers and meet
    people who said, ‘how wonderful it was for this to happen in our location!’
    Christine has her own stone in the town of Cugir. It’s a very pretty stone
    carved by a Bulgarian, Ivan Ivanov and features a woman standing on the globe,
    as she actually is, a globetrotter who surrounded the earth one and a half
    times! I believe the most important word here is cooperation. Because if we
    want to have a better world we need to cooperate with each other and find
    solutions. And this is what we are so beautifully doing here at Via
    Transilvanica, a project, which has even attracted such an experienced hiker as
    Christine. The Road that Unites People’ is a slogan we took very seriously and
    have been cooperating to have a journey and road we cannot get stranded
    on.


    Christine Thϋrmer wants to
    encourage women to set out on this adventure because they are those who are
    waiting for the right time: to get ready, get money and all or get fit and in
    this way they become unable to enjoy the trip altogether. Her message is that
    if she, who is neither fit nor slim, who is actually overweight, wears glasses
    and has flat feet can, we all can.


    (bill)

  • Limes dacicus

    Limes dacicus

    The frontiers are physical or mental limits people have set for themselves, by their own free will or which nature raised, to withstand peoples expansion bouts. Technically, archaeologists labelled the oldest frontier in the Romanian space using the phrase limes dacicus. It runs in the western half of Romanias territory, along a distance of 1,000 kilometers. It is the frontier that Rome, conquering Dacia, traced, also physically, and which stood the test of time, even to this day.



    Ovidiu Țentea is a historian and an archaeologist with Romanias National History Museum and with him, we made our attempt to retrace the direction of that limit of the ancient world.



    “The phrase limes dacicus encapsulates the frontiers of the Roman province Dacia, the province which, during Emperor Trajans reign, was embedded into the Roman Empire for 160 years. The limits are physical but also administrative, for a province that was part of the Roman Empire. Physically, were speaking about the limits made of what has survived on the ground, traces of the frontiers, more or less visible. It is an extremely diverse and complex frontier, the most complex frontier that has been documented for the Roman Empire which exists on the territory of a state, but also the longest one. On the other hand, it is an administrative limit, since the Romans, well, its simply pointless for us to cling to the Latin word limes, back then hey did not believe their Empire had any ending or any limitation on the ground. It is a materialization, if you will, a tactical and a military one, in certain areas, being more of a mental frontier, material evidence of the then concluded agreements. All agreements they had with their neighbours had to be materialized on the ground through a frontier, through what today is, lets just say, a ploughed strip of land.”



    With the map of Romania in hand, and heading from the west to the east, clock-wise, we tried to mark the most important points of the limes. Ovidiu Tentea:



    “There are two defence lines that were operational in different timeframes. We have the inclusion of the Apuseni Mountains and of the gold mining areas, on the ground were quite familiar with the legionnaire castra of Apulum (Alba Iulia) and Potaissa (Turda), yet their emergence was tardier. The frontier was materialized somewhere further to the west, the data we have about that are not quite clear. Then it crosses the counties of Cluj and Salaj, through the area of the Meses Gate, where it is better known and here we are, on the inner area of the Carpathian Arc, towards the north. Were now eastward bound, we cross the mountains through the Rucăr-Bran corridor and were hitting the course of the Danube, along a route which has been more or less materialized on the ground, on the territory of todays Arges and Teleorman counties. Here we have the cross-alutan line, the so-called limes transalutanus, which ran concurrently, or in different timeframes, with the line of the Olt river. “



    But how was a ground frontier materialized, which was so long? Ovidiu Țentea:



    “In antiquity, the frontiers were rather routes the army was marching along. According to the enemy or the climate conditions, or even in keeping with the political circumstances, if you will, they were materialized on the ground, or not. For instance, in Banat, we have two roads with no fortifications proper, yet we have two lines of fortifications, which point to certain moments: to Trajan or Hadrians reigns, to Antoninus Piuss reign. Then there is the late 2nd century, the crisis of the 3rd, therefore the frontier changes, being well or less well-known. The most spectacular part of that segment can be found in north-western Transylvania, in the Cluj-Sălaj-Bistrița area, where very many towers are materialized, networks of towers defending certain areas, where the troops were stationed, in fortifications. Signalling rules were very well-known, the earth walls, the fortified moats. The system was very complex, and also very well documented. “



    The observation of the limes dacicus reveals the dynamics of a certain organization pattern, also telling us the existing limit was not set once and for all. Ovidiu Țentea:



    “As were heading towards the north east and east the traces are not that well documented, but they close the Carpathian Arc on the inside, then, via the Southern Carpathian gorges, the connection was provided with the alutanian and the cross-alutanian line, respectively, so the frontier could be closed to the east. Of course, there were enough troops, at least in the first half of the 2nd century and until the crisis caused by the Marcomannic wars, when troops decreased in numbers and large-scale operations were unfolding, so we get to know the major wars of that time. After that, historical sources do not materialize them anymore, but we do know that in time, the number of troops decreased, which happened all throughout the empire, so we can only discuss that episodically. Early into the 2nd century, there is the first organization, during Trajans reign, when the administrative aspect of that is rather less conspicuous, it is more like a military matter, it is a military district. After the first conflict of 117-118 AD, Hadrian is the first to organize that space administratively, naming it Dacia Superior, Dacia Inferior and subsequently, Dacia Porolisensis. So there were three provinces, with three governors. Which were reorganized, after Marcus Aurelius.”



    Limes dacicus was the first civilization frontier of the Romanian space. Now it has become part of the universal heritage. (EN)


  • Limes dacicus

    Limes dacicus

    The frontiers are physical or
    mental limits people have set for themselves, by their own free will or which
    nature raised, to withstand people’s expansion bouts. Technically, archaeologists
    labelled the oldest frontier in the Romanian space using the phrase limes dacicus.
    It runs in the western half of Romania’s territory, along a distance of 1,000 kilometers. It is
    the frontier that Rome, conquering Dacia, traced, also physically, and which
    stood the test of time, even to this day.


    Ovidiu Țentea is a historian and an
    archaeologist with Romania’s National History Museum and with him, we made our
    attempt to retrace the direction of that limit of the ancient world.


    The
    phrase limes dacicus encapsulates the frontiers of the Roman province Dacia,
    the province which, during Emperor Trajan’s reign, was embedded into the Roman Empire
    for 160 years. The limits are physical but also administrative, for a province that
    was part of the Roman Empire. Physically, we’re speaking about the limits made
    of what has survived on the ground,
    traces of the frontiers, more or less visible. It is an extremely diverse and complex
    frontier, the most complex frontier that has been documented for the Roman Empire which exists on the territory of a state, but also the longest one. On the
    other hand, it is an administrative limit, since the Romans, well, it’s simply
    pointless for us to cling to the Latin word limes, back then hey did not believe their
    Empire had any ending or any limitation on the ground. It is a materialization,
    if you will, a tactical and a military one, in certain areas, being more of a mental
    frontier, material evidence of the then concluded agreements. All agreements
    they had with their neighbours had to be materialized on the ground through a
    frontier, through what today is, let’s just say, a ploughed strip of land.


    With the map of Romania in hand,
    and heading from the west to the east, clock-wise, we tried to mark the most important
    points of the limes. Ovidiu Tentea:


    There are two defence lines that were
    operational in different timeframes. We have the inclusion of the Apuseni Mountains
    and of the gold mining areas, on the ground we’re quite familiar with the legionnaire
    castra of Apulum (Alba Iulia) and
    Potaissa (Turda), yet their emergence was tardier. The frontier was materialized somewhere further to the
    west, the data we have about that are not quite clear. Then it crosses the
    counties of Cluj and Salaj, through the area of the Meses Gate, where it is
    better known and here we are, on the inner area of the Carpathian Arc, towards
    the north. We’re now eastward bound, we cross the mountains through the Rucăr-Bran corridor and we’re hitting the course of
    the Danube, along a route which has been more or less materialized on the
    ground, on the territory of today’s Arges and Teleorman counties. Here we have
    the cross-alutan line, the so-called limes transalutanus, which ran concurrently,
    or in different timeframes, with the line of the Olt river.


    But how was a ground frontier materialized,
    which was so long? Ovidiu Țentea:

    In antiquity, the frontiers were rather routes the
    army was marching along. According to the enemy or the climate conditions, or
    even in keeping with the political circumstances, if you will, they were materialized
    on the ground, or not. For instance, in
    Banat, we have two roads with no fortifications proper, yet we have two lines
    of fortifications, which point to certain moments: to Trajan or Hadrian’s
    reigns, to Antoninus Pius’s reign. Then there is the late 2nd
    century, the crisis of the 3rd, therefore the frontier changes, being well
    or less well-known. The most spectacular part of that segment can be found in
    north-western Transylvania, in the Cluj-Sălaj-Bistrița
    area, where very many towers are materialized, networks of towers defending certain
    areas, where the troops were stationed, in fortifications. Signalling rules were very well-known, the earth walls,
    the fortified moats. The system was very complex, and also very well
    documented.


    The observation of the limes dacicus reveals the
    dynamics of a certain organization pattern, also telling us the existing limit
    was not set once and for all. Ovidiu
    Țentea:


    As we’re heading towards the north east and east the traces are not that
    well documented, but they close the Carpathian Arc on the inside, then, via the
    Southern Carpathian gorges, the connection was provided with the alutanian and
    the cross-alutanian line, respectively, so the frontier could be closed to the
    east. Of course, there were enough troops, at least in the first half of the 2nd
    century and until the crisis caused by the Marcomannic wars, when troops decreased
    in numbers and large-scale operations were unfolding, so we get to know the major
    wars of that time. After that, historical sources do not materialize them anymore,
    but we do know that in time, the number of troops decreased, which happened all
    throughout the empire, so we can only discuss that episodically. Early into the
    2nd century, there is the first organization, during Trajan’s reign,
    when the administrative aspect of that is rather less conspicuous, it is more
    like a military matter, it is a military district. After the first conflict of
    117-118 AD, Hadrian is the first to organize that space administratively,
    naming it Dacia Superior, Dacia Inferior and subsequently, Dacia Porolisensis. So there were three provinces, with
    three governors. Which were reorganized, after Marcus Aurelius.


    Limes dacicus was the first civilization frontier of the Romanian space.
    Now it has become part of the universal heritage. (EN)

  • Medieval Romanian rulers and their age

    Medieval Romanian rulers and their age


    Stephen
    the Great was the most important ruling prince in the history of Moldavia. Stephen
    the Great ruled Moldavia for 47 years, between the second half of the 15th
    century and the early 16th century, actually between 1457 and 1504. It
    was a most remarkable feat in itself, not only because of its duration, at a
    time when instability was rampant, but also because of the management of power.
    Stephen the Great knew how to play an intelligent game between Hungary and
    Poland, then the regional powers, and the Ottoman Empire, in turn being their
    ally and their opponent.


    The Romanian historians of the Romantic period in the 19th
    century created a heroic image of Stephen the Great, as well as an image of a
    powerful and thriving Moldavia. However, even during such an auspicious reign as
    that of Stephen the Great, the principality of Moldavia still lay at the periphery
    of European civilization. If we look into the external and internal documents
    of that time, we can see Moldavia was a marginal territory, with people living
    on limited means and with a high degree of insecurity. Historian and archeologist
    Adrian Andrei Rusu is the author of the most recent work on Stephen the Great’s
    ruling period. Rusu focuses on the material civilization of Moldavia in the
    second half of the 15th century. The historian is set to bust the exaggerations of
    historians of the Romantic period as well as the archaeological errors. Historian
    Ovidiu Cristea is affiliated to the Nicolae Iorga Institute of History. Dr
    Cristea told us the discrepancy between what the authors of the documents say
    and the historians is caused by the difficulty to tailor the language and the
    content of the past to suit the demands of the present.

    Ovidiu Cristea:


    I am quoting one of
    professor Rusu’s tenets: the medieval reality could not have been covered by
    the dictionaries of the chancellery language. And at this point, a very good
    example was provided by Umberto Eco. Examining Marco Polo’s text,
    Eco used to say Marco Polo mentioned some sort of unicorn because, to the best
    of his knowledge at that time, what he had seen, and which was in fact a
    rhinoceros, could not possibly have been expressed through an appropriate word.
    Using his knowledge of the medieval bestiary, Polo spoke about a unicorn
    instead of of mentioning a rhinoceros. And that can also happen when we run
    into apparently unusual objects, whose usefulness is unbeknownst to us.


    Historian Adrian Rusu said that in his most recent research nhe focused,
    among other things, on as detailed as possible descriptions of daily life, in a
    bid to make the Moldavian world at the time of Stephen the Great accessible to contemporary
    readership. A case in point was the recast of the residence where Stephen the Great
    used to live, which was something that had never been done before.


    Dr Adrian Adrei Rusu:


    I had to go over
    the entire archaeological and architectural information for a second time
    around and prove that in his Suceava castle, Stephen had princely suites. He
    had an assembly hall with a gothic vault, with very beautiful keys and, come to
    think of it, the Moldavian rulers even had a bathroom, a cold-water bathroom
    and a hot-water bathroom. There also was a garden, which was absolutely normal
    for all neighboring princely and royal courts. It was hard to imagine for those ruling princes, especially for
    Stephen the Great, who had a long-lasting and unswerving reign, which was
    strongly built into all sectors of civilization, to be deprived of something which,
    in his time, simply went with the territory.


    As for the dynamism of the economic activity in Moldavia, historian
    Adrian Rusu expressed his skepticism.


    We’re speaking about the great trade route,
    crossing Moldavia from north to south, but shipment was only made of
    pepper and silks, and that could not be a driving force for civilization. Very
    few people got rich doing that kind of trade. Other people got rich, the Saxons
    in Transylvania, Brasov and Bistritsa got rich, in Moldavia they were selling
    nails, hammers, hacksaws, timber, textile, all that the ordinary people of that
    time needed. All those products, in fact, pushed society forward. There also
    was a come-and-go movement of craftsmen, they did not settle in Moldavia.
    They came and worked seasonally, yet they worked constantly because Stephen the
    Great offered them an inflow of construction yards, he guaranteed their payment
    and that is how that string or architectural foundations came into being and
    which also began to perform stylistically.


    Under the circumstances, how was it possible for Stephen the Great’s
    reign to be that long? Here is historian Adrian Rusu once again, attempting an
    explanation.


    Clearly it is all about his personal qualities. The man understood
    his time, and understood his competitors. It was all clear that one year after
    the next during his reign, he was threatened by the rivals who could turn up in
    droves from everywhere. He was capable of knowing his country, his was a
    governance solution he inherited from John Hunyadi. If you want to know your
    country, you need to go places all the time so that people can see you. It wasn’t
    written anywhere, but everyone could tell it was a princely suite coming. There were
    signs of display of the princely authority we were not that much aware of: how exactly
    the ruling prince showed up before his country ? .


    In 2006,
    as part of the Great Romanians contest, Stephen the Great was voted the greatest
    Romanian ever to have existed. Yet about the voivode and his age, we need to
    know all about that using a language
    which remains a language of the past but which always needs to be adapted to
    the present.

    (EN)


  • The Black Sea – a new migrant route to the West

    The Black Sea – a new migrant route to the West

    The famous “Balkan route” of migrants heading to the West might be replaced by a “Black Sea route” that would make Romania a transit country. Officials of Frontex — the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, have recently launched this warning. Their main argument is the increasing number of migrants who, squashing in small boats, reach Romania’s territorial waters on their clandestine trip to rich countries in Western Europe. Data show that most of these migrants are Syrian and Iraqi. Recently, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned of the creation of a new route via Romania.



    The EU’s regional director for IOM, Eugenio Ambrosi, has warned that hundreds of migrants have already arrived in Romania, crossing the Black Sea in various ships. According to Ambrosi, this is a clear sign that traffickers and smugglers are testing new ways to carry on with their business. Data centralized by Frontex show that the number of clandestine migration cases in the Black Sea varies. In 2014, 430 people tried to enter Romania while a year later 68 people did the same. At present, the Coast Guard is faced with similar incidents every week. The question now is whether an older route, previously used by human traffickers, might be re-opened.



    PhD Professor Stefan Popescu, specializing in the history of international relations, believes that traffickers are now testing a new route: “For the time being it’s too early to say this is an alternative route. I think it has more to do with blocking the route to the Balkans via Libya, and putting in more thorough border checks. When Greece strengthened its external border control, Bulgaria closed down its border with Turkey, and has been closely monitoring it since March 2016. A great number of migrants would transit Jordan and Egypt into Libya. From there they reached Italy by sea, or countries even further west, such as Morocco or Spain. This migratory flow was never fully kept in check, proof thereof being some 121 thousand migrants who this year crossed the Mediterranean into Europe. Of course, the numbers are much lower compared to the 278 thousand arrivals in Italy last year. It is staggering, considering that only 9 thousand migrants arrived in Spain this year and some 7 thousand in Greece, also via the Mediterranean. So if we were to strike a balance, for the time being we’re dealing with isolatedevents aimed at testing this new route, considering that the easiest way into Europe, the Balkans, is now blocked. And it’s not just Greece that has imposed stricter border controls. The agreement with Turkey is, to a certain extent, working, despite declarations and threats from Mr. Erdogan, and against the backdrop of measures taken by Hungary and Austria and reluctance expressed by Germany”.



    Most migrants who reach Romania have no wish of staying; they just want to reach western Europe. Refugee centers in Romania currently accommodate some 1,500 people, whereas the mandatory quota the Commission has allotted Romania is 4 times bigger. According to official figures, most migrants come from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia. They are desperate people fleeing conflict areas, who’ve seen their loved ones killed, and their livelihood and homes wiped out.



    But among them are also people who seek economic opportunities: “There’s been talk about Somalia, and we now see Somali coming from Eritrea and Nigeria. By 2050 the population of Sub-Saharan Africa will double, to reach 2 billion people. If we were to add the 400 million in Northern Africa, Europe will face a tremendous pressure. The migration flows are bound to get worse. Our only trump card right now is our geographical setting. Think of Lampedusa Island, which is part of Italy’s territory. The island is closer to Libya than Europe. So migrants can easily reach Lampedusa or Malta”.



    On the other hand, the number of migrants who forcefully cross the Serbian border into Romania, on their way to Western Europe, has sensibly increased. The Romanian Border Police say they are now dealing with ever growing numbers of illegal migrants trying to reach Europe from the Middle East, Asia or Africa. Since the beginning of the month the Border Police has apprehended nearly 150 migrants who were attempting to illegally cross the border, double the number reported in August. Under these circumstances, the Interior Ministry announced tougher border checks on the country’s southwestern borders.

  • Qu’est ce qu’un whistleblower ?

    Qu’est ce qu’un whistleblower ?

    L’équivalent roumain du mot anglais ‘whistleblower’ ou du français ‘lanceur d’alerte’ est une expression – « avertisseur d’intégrité » – dont la définition est à retrouver dans le texte d’une loi, 571, adoptée en 2004. Adopté dans le contexte de la conclusion des négociations d’adhésion de la Roumanie à l’UE, cet acte législatif repose sur le principe de protection des fonctionnaires publics qui dénoncent des irrégularités ou des illégalités produites dans une entreprise ou une agence gouvernementale.

    Le conseiller juridique Codru Vrabie, membre de l’Association ‘Funky Citizens’, impliquée dans l’élaboration de la loi mentionnée, nous fournit une définition plus exacte. Qu’est-ce que, donc, un avertisseur d’intégrité ? : «C’est le salarié ou le fonctionnaire de bonne foi qui observe une mauvaise conduite là où il travaille et tire la sonnette d’alarme, sollicitant que la direction prenne les mesures nécessaires pour résoudre les déficiences. Si la personne en question ne fait pas confiance à sa hiérarchie, elle peut s’adresser à des instances extérieures. »

    La Roumanie a donc réglementé la catégorie de « l’avertisseur d’intégrité » depuis une dizaine d’années. Récemment, l’Initiative régionale anti-corruption (composante du Pacte de stabilité en Europe du Sud-Est) a désigné la loi roumaine comme une des meilleures du monde en la matière. Reste à voir comment elle est appliquée et, surtout, si les fonctionnaires s’en servent. Codru Vrabie : «Moi, j’ai connaissance d’une 50e de cas et il y en d’autres, en province, qui en sont au courant d’autres situations. A mon avis, il devrait y avoir entre 300 et 500 avertisseurs d’intégrité, apparus ces 12 dernières années, mais je ne détiens pas de chiffres officiels. Les institutions publiques roumaines ne se sont pas dotées de procédures de protection de ces lanceurs d’alerte et ne rapportent donc pas de tels cas. Par ailleurs, en termes de jurisprudence, il est impossible de faire des recherches sur la base de la loi de 2004 dans le système informatique des cours de justice, parce que ce texte est invoqué uniquement par la défense, il ne constitue pas le sujet principal d’un procès. »

    Des événements récents liés à l’activité de la Compagnie nationale des autoroutes et des routes nationales de Roumanie sont une bonne occasion de regarder de plus près l’application de cette loi. En 2013, lorsqu’il occupait la fonction de directeur commercial de la Compagnie, Liviu Costache a découvert des cas de vols dans plusieurs gares de péages. Il s’est mis à enquêter là-dessus, mais la direction de la Compagnie ne l’a pas soutenu dans sa démarche, ce qui a fini par le pousser à démissionner. Dans ce cas précis, la loi de l’avertisseur d’intégrité a été bel et bien ignorée.

    Liviu Costache : « Ce qui est grave c’est que les autorités, et je pense à la Compagnie nationale des autoroutes et des routes nationales, tentent d’introduire, dans les règlements internes et même dans la convention collective, l’interdiction, pour les salariés, de parler de telles choses. Par exemple, on nous a collé un avertissement pour avoir raconté des choses inventées dans une émission de télévision ; mais nous avions dit la vérité, la preuve – l’ancien directeur général de la Compagnie est actuellement placé sous contrôle judiciaire. Plus grave encore. Il faut l’autorisation du directeur général pour parler publiquement. C’est une violation grave des articles de la Constitution qui garantissent la liberté d’expression. »

    Et pourtant, Liviu Costache est optimiste quant aux procès qui reposent sur ses enquêtes. Entre temps, Narcis Neaga n’est plus directeur de la Compagnie nationale d’autoroutes et de routes nationales et il est enquêté sous contrôle judiciaire par la Direction nationale anticorruption. Cette situation est également due aux actions de deux dénonciateurs : Alin Goga, ancien directeur des investissements de la direction régionale des routes et des ponts de Craiova, et Claudiu Tutulan, chef de la Direction des ponts et des routes de Craiova également. Le premier a dévoilé dans une émission télévisée les problèmes survenus dans la construction d’un secteur de l’autoroute reliant les villes de Sibiu et d’Orastie. Le secteur en question été fermé pour des travaux de réparation, quelques mois seulement après son inauguration, mais Alin Goga n’est toujours pas content, surtout que la loi 571/2004 ne l’a pas aidé. Ecoutons-le : « Les choses vont très lentement. Toutes les personnes incriminées dans un rapport du corps de contrôle du ministre des Transports, et que nous avons aussi dénoncées, occupent les mêmes postes, à l’exception de Narcis Neaga. Et cela n’est pas du tout en règle. Nous avons agi conformément à un modèle hiérarchique et nous avons informé le directeur général de l’époque qui n’a pas voulu m’écouter et n’a pas pris des mesures. Après avoir présenté les faits à la presse, ils m’ont menacé de m’attaquer en justice. J’attends toujours qu’ils déposent des plaintes pénales contre moi. Je me sens protégé par Dieu et par mes amis, par ma famille, pour le reste, personne ne te protège en Roumanie. Cette loi est à mon avis inutile. Même si elle précise clairement qu’elle s’applique aux compagnies nationales, la direction de la Compagnie nationale des autoroutes et des routes nationales a ignoré ce fait parce que le directeur général avait tout simplement décrété que la loi sur les avertisseurs d’intégrité ne s’appliquait pas dans notre cas. »

    Egalement à compter de 2013, Claudiu Tutulan a déposé de nombreuses saisines après avoir vérifié l’emplacement des centres commerciaux situés près des routes nationales et européennes, qui devraient payer des taxes à l’Etat. Même s’il avait constaté des manques à gagner très importants, de plusieurs millions d’euros, il n’a été non plus protégé contre les abus de la direction de la Compagnie nationale des autoroutes et des routes nationales. La loi de l’avertisseur d’intégrité ne l’a pas non plus aidé. Claudiu Tutulan : « En 2013, j’ai invoqué la loi 571/2004, la loi de l’avertisseur d’intégrité mais les responsables de la compagnie ont ouvert une enquête qui me visait et ont voulu me licencier. J’ai été sanctionné par deux avertissements, même si je leur ai dit que la loi de l’avertisseur d’intégrité les obligeaient à accepter l’investigation de la presse, à s’expliquer à la télévision. Mais ils ont continué à voler et ont tout simplement ignoré la loi. J’ai été envoyé en missions dans le territoire sans aucun per-diem et sans couverture des frais de transport. Mon salaire a également été diminué d’environ 220 euros. Malgré les difficultés financières personnelles, j’ai continué mon travail aux côtés de mes collègues. Ce n’est que récemment que M. Neaga a été placé sous contrôle judiciaire dans le cadre d’un dossier instruit par le parquet anti-corruption. Le problème c’est que cette loi est complètement inutile si nous refusons de nous soulever contre ceux qui volent. Finalement, ce sont nos enfants qui auront à souffrir ! »

    Les histoires des trois avertisseurs d’intégrité ont déjà été présentées au grand public par le biais d’une pièce de théâtre appelée «Gens ordinaires», écrite et mise en scène par Geanina Carbunariu. (trad. Ileana Taroi, Alex Diaconescu)

  • Jean-Marie Monplot (France) – réseaux routiers et ferroviaires roumains

    Jean-Marie Monplot (France) – réseaux routiers et ferroviaires roumains

    Les autoroutes ne sont pas payantes, seul un pont sur une autoroute vers la mer est payant. Mais peut-être faudrait-il commencer par compter les km d’autoroutes dont le pays dispose : au 31 décembre dernier, 747, selon les données de l’Institut national de la statistique, dont 733 en usage seulement !



    La construction de réseaux autoroutiers a toujours été un grand problème en débat. La Roumanie s’est proposé d’en faire construire, mais pour différentes raisons, ce type d’infrastructure continue de manquer dans le pays. Nous avons la plus ancienne autoroute entre Bucarest et Piteşti, d’une centaine de km, remise en état. C’est en 2013 que le plus grand nombre de km d’autoroute ont été construits : 117. A l’opposé, en 2006, la Roumanie n’a réussi à en bâtir que 17.



    Cette année, la Compagnie nationale d’autoroutes et de routes nationales devrait en inaugurer 95 km. Mais il y a loin de la coupe aux lèvres… L’année dernière, en Roumanie, plusieurs km d’autoroute inaugurés une année auparavant ont dû être démolis car réalisés à la va-vite et sans respecter les normes, sur un terrain insuffisamment consolidé et selon une solution technique discutable, ils mettaient en danger la vie des usagers.



    En matière de voies ferrées à usage public, l’Institut national de la statistique précise qu’il existait, l’année dernière, en Roumanie, 10.770 km. La meilleure densité des voies par millier de km a été enregistrée dans la région de Bucarest, avec plus de 150%, et dans la région Ouest (près de 60%). Les régions du sud-est et du nord-ouest ne sont pas en reste, avec près de 50%. Fin 2015, les voies ferrées exploitées et électrifiées était de 4030 km, soit 37% du réseau de voies ferrées en usage.



    La Roumanie n’a pas de TGV en Roumanie, et les trajets sont très longs. 10-11 h pour rejoindre Arad, à moins de 600 km de Bucarest, et 14 h de train jusqu’à Baia Mare, dans le nord-ouest du pays, par exemple. Les trains se traînent effectivement à vitesse d’escargot. Les lignes ne sont pas prévues pour des vitesses supérieures. La seule à vitesse maximum de 160 km/h est celle reliant Bucarest à Constanţa, il en existe une autre où les trains peuvent atteindre 140 km/h, et pour le reste, la vitesse maximum est à 120.



    Pourtant, faute d’investissements dans l’infrastructure ferroviaire du pays, qui était une des meilleures d’Europe en 1990, les trains roulent maintenant deux fois moins vite que durant l’entre-deux-guerres. Actuellement, la vitesse moyenne de circulation est de 71 km/h. Le transport de voyageurs a un bon potentiel, mais il ne peut pas être mis à profit par la Compagnie nationale des chemins de fer à cause de la gestion défaillante qui a conduit à une crise généralisée dans ce secteur. Les trains circulent lentement et peu, pour ne pas dérailler, et les voyageurs choisissent d’autres moyens de transport. De ce fait, la compagnie de chemin de fer se porte de plus en plus mal, faute de clients. La Roumanie aurait besoin de 2 milliards d’euros pour réparer ses voies ferrées.

  • Routes et tessons

    Routes et tessons

    13 bracelets, d’une série très connue surtout dans l’espace transylvain, qui remontent à il y a 3000 ans, à la fin de l’âge du bronze, d’anciens pots reconstitués, mais aussi des casques et ustensiles utilisés dans l’exploration d’un site archéologique sont exposés dans la collection appelée « Routes et tessons ». Accueillie par le Musée de la civilisation dacique et romaine de Deva, dans le centre du pays, l’exposition raconte l’histoire des cinq mois d’exploration archéologique du chantier, des pièces qui y ont été découvertes, mais aussi de la manière dont le travail a été réalisé avec les ouvriers. Comme caractéristique générale du chantier, les archéologues nous ont dit que dans les sites explorés entre Abucea et Ilia ont été découverts des agglomérations et logements de la fin du néolithique jusqu’au haut Moyen Age.



    Cătălin Rişcuţa, chef de la Section d’archéologie du Musée de la civilisation dacique et romaine de Deva, fait état de l’idée de cette exposition : « Il s’agit d’une exposition ayant pour sujet les recherches effectuées par notre institution en collaboration avec l’Institut national d’archéologie Vasile Pârvan de Bucarest. C’est en fait l’histoire des fouilles archéologiques sur un tronçon d’autoroute entre les villes de Lugoj et de Deva, à la frontière des départements de Hunedoara et de Timiş. Par cette exposition, nous avons essayé de montrer au public ce qui se passe sur un chantier archéologique. D’habitude, les gens apprennent que des fouilles archéologiques sont faites sur un terrain pour pouvoir construire ensuite. Peu d’entre eux s’imaginent en fait ce qui se passe sur ce terrain. Nous avons fait le choix de ne plus organiser d’expo classique, dans laquelle on aurait exposé des pièces avec des explications techniques des découvertes mises au jour. Nous avons essayé de créer une atmosphère, de montrer au public comment les choses se déroulent sur le terrain. A cet effet, nous avons fait une série de panneaux avec beaucoup d’illustrations, qui indiquent toutes les étapes de notre recherche, ainsi qu’une série de reconstitutions à l’identique. Respectivement, plusieurs piédestaux en terre, sur lesquels nous avons placé du matériel archéologique, ainsi que des outils avec lesquels travaillent les archéologues. »



    Selon notre invité, l’idée était de mettre en évidence l’ambiance, le déroulement des travaux. Le travail de l’archéologue n’est pas facile, vu les conditions difficiles auxquelles il est soumis, dont le froid ou la chaleur excessive, ajoute Cătălin Rişcuţa, chef de la Section d’Archéologie du Musée de Deva. Il nous a également parlé d’autres composantes de cette exposition: «Nous avons exposé aussi une partie des objets découverts au cours de cette recherche, de la céramique avec de très belles décorations. Il y a aussi des objets en métal, des outils en bronze, notamment, car tous les 5 sites que nous avons étudiés sur cette partie de l’autoroute datent de la fin de l’âge du bronze. Chaque objet est accompagné d’explications scientifiques».



    Mais est-ce quelque chose d’habituel pour les travaux de construction d’une autoroute de mettre au jour des vestiges historiques? Voici la réponse de Cătălin Rişcuţa : «La construction d’autoroutes ne fait que reprendre des trajets anciens établis depuis des milliers d’années. Concrètement, cette autoroute traverse la vallée de la rivière Mures. La vallée du Mures est une route de circulation très ancienne. Par conséquent, on y retrouve les habitations de ceux qui ont circulé et vécu dans ces zones. Une autoroute est une chance pour les archéologues, c’est une section de l’évolution historique des communautés humaines d’un certain espace. Il est normal de découvrir de tels sites. En définitive, ils ne sont pas si nombreux que ça — on a trouvé 5 sites sur une distance de 22 km, dont deux sont plus grands et appartiennent à des communautés préhistoriques. Tout ce que nous faisons c’est de sauvegarder ce qui existe encore, nous n’arrêtons pas la construction de l’autoroute. Ca fait déjà une année que nous avons terminé notre travail ».



    Enfin, tous les objets dont nous venons de parler sont à retrouver au Palais Magna Curia de Deva. (trad.: Ligia Mihaiescu, Valentina Beleavski)

  • A la une de la presse roumaine – 20.02.2015

    A la une de la presse roumaine – 20.02.2015

    Dans la presse bucarestoise en ligne de ce vendredi : les échos dans la presse internationale de l’action des procureurs anti-corruption roumains ; une ample interview télévisée du président de la Roumanie ; les revendications des syndicats de l’administration publique ou encore l’histoire de la plus haute route de Roumanie, le Transfagarasan.


  • A la Une de la presse roumaine 12.09.2014

    A la Une de la presse roumaine 12.09.2014

    “Combien importante sera Corina Creţu pour la Roumanie?” sinterroge la presse écrite roumaine du jour, en débattant la nomination de la sociale-démocrate roumaine au poste de commissaire européenne en charge de la Politique régionale. A lire également du refus du vice-premier ministre roumaine Liviu Dragnea de couper le ruban dinauguration dune route départementale, ruban dans des couleurs inattendues, ou encore de la nouvelle “mode” dans les établissements scolaires roumains…


  • La route de Transfăgărăşan

    La route de Transfăgărăşan

    Elle traverse le plus haut massif de Roumanie, les Monts Făgăraş, dans le centre de la Roumanie. Si pour les chauffeurs, un voyage sur le Transfăgărăşan est un véritable défi, pour le reste de la famille c’est un véritable spectacle. Les paysages qui s’étalent d’un côté et de l’autre de la route sont époustouflants. Pour leur part, les gîtes de la région proposent des services de plus en plus variés. C’est une destination pour toute la famille, mais recommandée aux chauffeurs chevronnés et surtout passionnés des quatre roues. D’ailleurs Jeremy Clarkson, le célèbre présentateur et réalisateur de l’émission Top Gear, a affirmé que le Transfăgărăşan était la meilleure route au monde pour conduire la voiture.



    Corina Sava, la manager d’une entreprise qui gère trois hôtels et un chalet sur le Transfăgărăşan, est une passionnée de la région qui aime parler de cette route de 92 kilomètres, de ses 27 ponts et viaducs et de son tunnel, le plus long de Roumanie. « Le Transfăgărăşan est la route la plus spectaculaire de Roumanie. Il est au top des plus époustouflantes routes au monde. Ce n’est pas un classement fait en Roumanie, mais au niveau international. On ne saurait ignorer non plus le fait que nous nous situons dans une région si belle. Comme son nom l’indique, le Transfăgărăşan traverse le massif le plus haut de Roumanie, les Monts Făgăraş. Il arrive à une altitude de 2042 mètres dans la zone du lac glaciaire de Bâlea. Il a été construit entre 1970 et 1974 et nous pensons qu’aujourd’hui encore il ne serait pas facile à réaliser. Il traverse le Massif de Făgăraş sur une distance de 90 kilomètres. C’est une route merveilleuse, à travers des destinations touristiques uniques en Roumanie et au monde : lacs glaciaires, cascades, le lac de retenue et le barrage de Vidraru et la citadelle de Poenari qui est liée au mythe de Dracula. »



    D’habitude, la route s’ouvre à la circulation routière lorsqu’elle peut être facilement déneigée. La sécurité est un souci permanent de ceux qui gèrent la route, ce qui fait que de ce point de vue, la route roumaine n’est pas inférieure aux autres routes alpines d’Europe. Au sujet de la date d’ouverture de la route, Corina Sava affirme qu’elle dépend d’un ordre des autorités relatif au passage du tunnel en toute sécurité. « Les périodes sont clairement délimitées : la route est fermée entre novembre et juillet. Elle reste ouverte le long de l’été, jusqu’en octobre. Cette année, à l’occasion du 40e anniversaire du Transfăgărăşan, nous espérons convaincre les autorités de le garder ouvert pendant une période plus longue. Il resterait fermé uniquement au milieu de l’hiver. »



    L’unique hôtel de glace de Roumanie est érigé chaque année depuis 2005 près du lac de Bâlea, à une altitude de 2034 mètres. Il a une forme circulaire et il est composé de huit chambres à lits doubles, d’un bar et d’un restaurant. Vu que c’est l’unique construction de ce genre d’Europe de l’Est, le succès a été immédiat. Environ 8 mille touristes roumains et étrangers ont visité cet espace inédit installé sur le sommet des Carpates.



    Une église de glace est également érigée chaque année. Ce lieu de culte est ouvert à tous les croyants, quelle que soit leur confession. Il s’agit donc d’un itinéraire merveilleux qui propose une offre très variée de loisirs. Corina Sava: « On a fait bâtir de nouveaux hôtels, à trois et à quatre étoiles, qui offrent des services du plus haut niveau. Nous proposons des loisirs sur le lac de Vidraru, alors que dans les forêts de la région du Transfăgărăşan il existe des parcs d’aventures. On organise aussi des croisières sur le lac en petits bateaux et catamarans. Les touristes peuvent également aller à la pêche sur le lac, selon la saison. Les parcs d’aventures du Transfăgărăşan proposent des tyroliennes, des ponts népalais et toute sorte d’activités spécifiques. »



    Dumitru Grecu est le gérant d’un hôtel de quatre étoiles. Voici ce qu’il propose: « Nous avons bâti un nouvel hôtel sur la structure d’un ancien. Donc ce qu’était auparavant un petit chalet est de nos jours un hôtel quatre étoiles. Si la météo n’est pas favorable aux randonnées, les touristes peuvent aller au SPA, jouer au bowling et au billard. Nous organisons des soirées de club et de chill-out. Si le temps le permet, nous organisons des activités en plein air : paintball, tyrolienne, randonnées en 4×4. Nous avons aussi un terrain de sport, où les touristes peuvent pratiquer toute une série de jeux : tennis, volley-ball, mini-foot. Nous organisons des croisières en bateau, pédalo, canot sur le lac Vidraru. Actuellement, celui-ci est superbe. L’eau est claire et on peut y pratiquer la pêche sportive. »



    Le prix d’une nuitée dans un deux étoiles commence à 25 euros. Dans l’hôtel présenté par Dumitru Grecu, vous devriez débourser une soixantaine d’euros pour une chambre à deux places, petit déjeuner et SPA compris. Sachez que pendant l’été et les week-ends, le prix de l’hébergement est plus grand et que la majorité des places sont réservées deux semaines à l’avance. Dumitru Grecu parle des touristes étrangers qu’il a accueillis à travers le temps. « Juste en ce moment, nous accueillons un groupe d’étrangers. Certains d’entre eux ont seulement franchi le seuil de notre resto et ils ont décidé d’y passer la nuit. Nous avons reçu des touristes de différents pays : France, Emirats Arabes Unis, Australie, Etats-Unis. La plupart viennent d’Europe, mais nous recevons des touristes de tous les coins du monde. Notre hôtel est situé sur un promontoire qui offre une vue superbe sur le lac et sur le massif de Făgăraş. Les touristes aiment aussi la cuisine du resto qui propose des plats traditionnels, mais aussi des plats internationaux sophistiqués. »



    Un circuit de cyclisme est organisé sur le Transfăgărăşan, qui accueille également différentes étapes de rallye et de compétitions pour les tout — terrain. Au sommet se déroulent différentes fêtes consacrées à l’élevage des moutons, une activité spécifique à la région. Voici donc que le Transfăgărăşan peut être une destination pour tous à partir des accros à l’adrénaline et jusqu’aux familles…(trad. : Alex Diaconescu)