Radio România Internațional

Tag: Transylvania

  • Dishes of Transylvania

    Dishes of Transylvania

    In the Apuseni Mountain area, in Transylvania, self reliance is the norm. People work hard, and therefore their food is rich and heavy. Pork and mutton, cabbage, potatoes and dairy products are the norm. Lard is used rather heavily, alongside plenty of smoked fatback eaten with onion and homemade bread. Homemade spirits are also a local staple.



    One local recipe you might be interested in is rich soup made with smoked meat, based on either cabbage or potatoes. Another local specialty is the pork and sausage stew, with lard-fried onion. Another delicious local preparation is pies that resemble a stuffed crepe, with salted cheese inside. The crepe dough resembles bread dough, a plain flour, water and salt combination. After the dough is left to rise, it is rolled into thin sheets, which are then layered with cheese in-between. The resulting pie is served topped with butter or sour cream. It can also be served as a desert if the filling is sweet.



    Another rich dish is layered polenta, prepared in various ways throughout the country. It is typically made in a metal or clay pot. Take sliced sausage and finely cubed pork and brown them separately, preferably in a Dutch oven. Also separately make a soft polenta. Use some of it to cover the bottom of a larger oven dish, previously greased with the liquid left from browning the meat and sausage.



    Spread out over the polenta the above-mentioned meat products, then another layer of polenta, add on top of that crumbled hard sheep cheese, the salty kind, then another layer of polenta. You can also beat an egg and brush it on top of the whole thing. Bake in the oven until golden brown. When serving you can top it with a dollop of sour cream.



    If you are terrified by the caloric content and the amounts of fat in this dish, remember it was meant for people in the countryside who worked hard all day in the field and in the household. Enjoy!

  • Cistercian Abbeys in Transylvania

    Cistercian Abbeys in Transylvania

    The Cistercian monks belonging to this well-known Catholic order founded in 1098 in the French town of Citeux or Cistercium in Latin, also travelled to Transylvania in the Middle Ages, establishing their easternmost abbey in Carta, near Sibiu.



    The monastery in Carta was not, however, the first Cistercian structure on what is today Romanian territory. The first was built in 1179 in Igris, near Timisoara, in the west, under the patronage of the then Hungarian king and his French wife. The monastery was a daughter-house of the Cistercian abbey of Pontigny and hosted the earliest known library in Romania. Its dependency in Carta, which was directly subordinated to royal Hungarian authority, was built several decades later.



    Art historian Corina Popa tells us more about the characteristics of the Cistercian monastery in Carta: “The monastery was built in a particular location, close to Fagaras Country, which already had a majority ethnic Romanian population, but which was also home to many Saxon settlements. The monastery lies on the border between the two groups. Its property, granted to it by the Hungarian king, contains Saxon villages such as Crit, Mesendorf, Cloasterf and even Cisnadioara. The Romanian village of Carta lies very close to the monastery. The name Carta may come from Kerz, the German word for candle, as the monastery was dedicated to St Mary with Candles. The German name of the village is also Kerz, that is candle.



    The precise year when the building of the Carta monastery began is not known, says Corina Popa: “Following archaeological excavations, it was established that an oratory, either a small chapel or a temporary church, was used until the monastery was built, in 1205 or 1206. The exact date is not known, because no documents have survived. We can, however, make an assumption based on the dates of various donations. The building of the monastery is probably linked to the year 1223, when a monk gave the monastery a part of the village of Cisnadioara and its church, which translated into additional income for the monastery and the possibility to continue building works. It is possible that the monastery was finished around 1240. Unfortunately, the Tartar raids into Transylvania in 1241 and 1242 destroyed many religious sites and villages. Carta monastery was depopulated after 1241, but is repopulated in 1260 when it was also extensively rebuilt in the version we see today.



    Of the old abbey, only a section of the wall has survived, as well as one of its towers and the sanctuary. Based on these remains, experts have been able to reconstruct the original shape of the Cistercian monastery, whose spirit can be summed up by the motto “pray and work.



    Corina Popa explains: Following archaeological excavations and historical and archive research, experts managed to form a clear picture of what the monastery site looked like originally. The church used to stand to the north, while the body of the monastery, with the auditorium on the ground floor and the dormitory on the first floor, was located to the east. The dormitory had direct access to the church for the monks to be able to go straight to mass. The refectory and the administrative wing were located to the south. This was a rather large monastery and after it was dismantled, its church, or rather its choir, became the community parish church of the Saxon village of Carta. The monastery church was too big for this small Saxon community, so people only used its eastern part and completely neglected the rest of the building. Characteristically for a Cistercian church, its transept, the section lying across the main body of the building, had a rectangular chapel to the east, which reflected the way these monks lived, keeping silence, praying and working. They could therefore retreat to these chapels and pray in tranquillity. The cloister, a covered walk around the four sides of the interior courtyard, was also used by the monks to say their prayers in an atmosphere of peace and quiet.



    With the exception of Carta, nothing else has survived of the Cistercian structures built on Romanian territory. The church in Igris is forever lost, having most likely been destroyed in the Middle Ages, during the Tartar raids.

  • The Spindle Still on Its Way

    The Spindle Still on Its Way

    RRI and Village Antenna awarded three of their faithful listeners with a weeks vacation in Transylvania. Djamilla Bekkai of Morocco, Gilbert Dupont of France, and Anca Balaban of Romania were all winners in the prize winning contest ‘Home with Mother Rutas Spindle.



    A week in Transylvania is a gift coveted by anyone, since it is a region which draws in tourists from all over the world. A visit to Transylvania can consist of hitting the top destinations, such as the fortified city of Sighisoara or Bran Castle, known as Draculas Castle, not to mention Peles Castle, the former summer royal residence, or the fortified German churches in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, some of them under UNESCO heritage protection. But it can also consist of a deeper understanding of the place, with a longer trip that takes the tourist right to the homes of locals.



    RRI and Village Antenna Radio took three of their faithful listeners to Transylvania, reverting to a combination of these two approaches to tourism. Djamilla Bekkai of Morocco, Gilbert Dupont of France, and Anca Balaban of Romania were the winners of our radio contest called “Home with Mother Rutas Spindle, which ran all across this summer on the two radio stations.



    Early this month they actually went to the home of the old woman whose legacy is the world traveling spindle, which carries her story all over the world, starting from the village that she never left. The spindle has traveled so far over one million miles all over the world. We asked our guests to share with us some of their impressions. Here is Djamilla Bekkai of Morocco:



    Djamilla Bekkai: “I loved the people, the scenery, the spontaneity of the people I have met, who were very kind. I loved the architecture as well. I was impressed by the churches. Where I live we only have a couple of churches. The architecture of these churches is fabulous.



    The three had a week to travel first to the village of Mandra, in Brasov County, where the local women wore Mother Rutas wedding garb, and in Sona, the village where famous Romanian painter Stefan Caltia was born. They also visited the two mock villages in the outdoor museums in Bucharest and Sibiu. Then they went to the fortification of Fagaras, which was used as a political prison in communist times. Next came Brasov, with its old time city square, and the Transfagarasan trail, ending up at the Sambata de Sus monastery, built in Romanian Renaissance style. They enjoyed Romanian hospitality everywhere, as Gilbert Dupont told us:



    Gilbert Dupont: “This trip, so thoughtfully organized by Radio Romania, allowed us to visit famous places, but also to gain a deeper understanding of Romania, in places off the beaten path.



    There was not an idle day in the seven they traveled. As surprised as they were with the historical monuments and the architecture of Sibiu, European capital of culture in 2007, our guests were equally impressed by the village of Sibiel, where they were welcomed in the home of the Luca family, where they actually took part in the reenactment of a traditional wedding, taking on the roles of newlyweds or godparents. The interactive visit also took them to arts and crafts manufactures where local craftsmen showed them how to turn simple wood and iron into tools and objects of art. Anca Balaban of Romania was better acquainted with some of these aspects, but she also had quite a few pleasant surprises:



    Anca Balaban: “I would like to thank you first of all for allowing me to visit new places. I have seen things with different eyes, and I have been given new insight into places I thought I knew. The evenings in Sibiel, with the reenactment of a peasant wedding and other traditions in Marginimea Sibiului, have opened my eyes to new aspects of Romanian history and traditions.



    The last day of this revealing trip was even more surprising. It started with a trip to a traditional sheepfold in Fagaras, where our guests spent time with the shepherds milking the sheep, feasting on cured cheese and sheep pastrami. Later on they visited the Peles and Pelisor castle and mansion, the heart of Romanian royalty, in the mountain town of Sinaia, which wrapped up a wonderful trip. Along the way the guests were accompanied symbolically by Mother Rutas spindle. The spindle was back from a journey to the island of Bali. Our guests were happy to keep company to the globetrotting spindle, taking their story back home, spreading far and wide the story of their trip into a little known world of traditions and legend.

  • Discover the Soul of Transylvania

    Discover the Soul of Transylvania


    With the tranquility of its scattered villages, the simple folk, the fresh air and ancient customs, but also the traditional food, our destination is as famous as it is insufficiently promoted. Once you get to Transylvania, you’ll make another surprising discovery. Next to these villages, or right in the heart of them, stand impressive churches – fortifications raised in the 12th century. In this relatively small geographical space, there are over 200 such structures. From April 5th until October 31st, over 400,000 tourists are expected to visit these churches as part of a special programme entitled Discover the Soul of Transylvania and initiated by the Evangelical Church of Romania. The priest Stefan Cosoroaba explains:



    The project Discover the Soul of Transylvania was born out of necessity. After 1990, almost all Transylvanian Saxons, members of the Evangelical Church, emigrated. Gone with them were also the craftsmen and the people responsible for the maintenance of the churches. Over 150 medieval fortified churches in Southern Transylvania were almost orphaned. This string of monuments is almost unique in Europe. So the Evangelical Church in Romania and its Bishopric started a project to substitute for the disappearance of the communities that have maintained these churches for 800 years. Unfortunately, the present local communities don’t get involved enough in maintaining historic monuments, be they UNESCO or A or B category. Cultural tourism becomes a means of substituting communities that no longer exist and is the only possibility of securing a future for these historic monuments. This is the purpose of the Discover the Soul of Transylvania project.



    Almost 200 events are scheduled for the duration of the programme, with visitors now being able to enter around 65 fortified and medieval churches. 41 are included in the Transylvania Card 2015, the first tourist card in Romania. Father Cosoroaba told us more about it:



    The Transylvania Card is an attempt to promote fortified churches not only individually, but also collectively, giving its holder free access to the major fortified churches. On top of free access, this card offers discounts for various tourist services provided by our partners in the region. This is therefore an integrated travel programme. We don’t just promote the churches, but also the entire area, including the locals. The card provides discounts to 65-70 restaurants, B&Bs and events. More information about this card is available on a special website. Information about the fortified churches and the tourist services available, as well as the Discover the Soul of Transylvania project is available in German, Romanian and English. The card can be bought at 8 different locations in southern Transylvania. It costs 50 lei, the equivalent of 11 euros, with the money going exclusively to restoration. You can also order it by e-mail.



    As opposed to five years ago, when up to 70% of the visitors to the fortified churches were foreign, Romanians have also started to take an interest in their heritage in recent years and now account for half of the number of people visiting the fortified churches. Father Stefan Cocioroaba:



    In the German area of Europe, in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, people have the highest level of interest for these fortified churches. In recent years, however, we’ve had more and more tourists from France, Spain, Poland and Britain. We have even had visitors from China and Japan. There are no set routes, just areas of interest. Most tourists make an obligatory stop to Biertan, which is probably the most important UNESCO fortified church of all the 150, but they also stop at Prejmer, near Brasov, in Sighisoara, with its Church on the Hill, and the Monastery Church. The Black Church in Brasov is very popular, but Viscri is also gaining ground. Prince Charles owns a home here and he has grown very much attached to the area.



    Once in Biertan there is a big chance you meet Codruta Pleias. She is one of the locals, a woman very proud of her native village whose history and rich cultural heritage she knows very well. Codruta Pleias:



    Proof of the exceptional cultural heritage of this place is the fortified church here, included on the UNESCO heritage list. The fortress is located in the middle of the village and is surrounded by three rows of walls. In the 16th century, Lucas Unglerus of Biertan was appointed evangelical archbishop. He agreed to take over this position on condition he could stay on in Biertan, which involved moving the archbishopric here. This is a wonderful place, surrounded by forested hills. For three hundred years, Biertan has been the spiritual centre of the Lutheran Church in Transylvania.



    Stefan Cosoroaba also recommends a visit to the fortified church in Cisnadioara:



    This is the oldest fortified church of all the 150. It was built by the Walloon settler who came from Western Europe in the 11th century. The place had been, for a long time, a pilgrimage site. The beautiful view of the Cibin and Fagaras Mountains can be admired from the front side of the church. It is located on St. Michael’s hill, so we can imagine the pilgrims climbing this hill in the dark, through the woods, and reaching their destination, a place full of light where they could take everything off their minds and find peace. Climbing St. Michael’s hill is equally difficult today but it’s well worth it, because once at the top, you are rewarded with a breathtaking scenery and the opportunity to see a priceless historical site.




  • Transylvanian Goulash

    Transylvanian Goulash

    Lately in Romania, the entrepreneurial spirit has woken up to the realisation that food can be an incredible incentive to join a festival or event, especially since they come with free samples.



    A recent festival dedicated to pork preparations brought together in the Transylvanian city of Oradea both Romanian and Hungarian cooks and food aficionados. This was the cue for this week’s recipe, which is one of the few Eastern European dishes that are easily recognised by many Westerners, we are talking about goulash. As a typical Hungarian dish, it is very popular in Transylvania, which was part of Hungary for hundreds of years and still has a sizable Hungarian population.



    Transylvanian goulash is a pork dish, using fattier pork cuts, as the cuisine in that entire area tends to be rather heavy. You obviously may opt to use lean meat, but bear in mind that it loses flavour. You also need onion, carrot, celery root, potatoes, hot pepper, garlic, thyme, dill, black pepper and salt. Fry the sliced onion in oil, then add the cubed meat. After a few minutes add the chopped carrot and celery root, along with a few crushed garlic cloves. Cook for a few minutes, then cover with water and leave to simmer, under cover. When the meat is nearly ready, add the cubed potatoes and leave to cook.



    When everything is almost ready, add finely chopped dill, thyme, crushed black pepper, along with the optional hot pepper, depending on your tolerance. Add salt to taste. Serve hot with pickles of your choice. It goes well with a red wine, preferably drier. Enjoy!

  • The Avram Iancu Memorial Museum

    The Avram Iancu Memorial Museum

    An outstanding leader of the Romanians in Transylvania in the 1848 revolution, Avram Iancu was born in Vidra, a village in the Apuseni Mountains of great interest in terms of ethnicity and history.



    Avram Iancu became a legendary figure in Transylvania, and in recognition of his merits and achievements, king Ferdinand set up a memorial museum in the hero’s native village. The museum was opened in 1924 in Avram Iancu’s family house and was visited by the royal family, which was on a journey through Transylvania after the province became part of Romania in 1918. The museum, which isn’t just a memorial house but also an ethnographic museum of a region with an outstanding tradition, has been there for 90 years. Let’s find out more from museographer Ionel Heller.



    Ionel Heller: “The house, which was built around 1800 by Avram Iancu’s parents Alexandru and Maria, and was also bequeathed to his children, is a peasant house with a stone foundation, walls built out of fir timber and a steep roof of shingles so that rain and snow slides off. Another building, which was erected on the premises in 1924 with help from the Sibiu-based Astra Society, is actually housing the museum, which is more of a cultural compound. The premises also include a school, a kindergarten and a church. We have there the memorial house, consisting of a living room and a guest room, a porch and a church. In the museum compound we have a history exhibition, an exhibition of ethnographic artifacts, which has on display tools used in a peasant household.”



    The section devoted to Avram Iancu as a historical figure has on view two swords that belonged to the hero.



    Ionel Heller: “This is a peasant household specific to that region, with a tall bed built in such a manner so as to preserve heat for a long time. On that bed lies a special kind of hey mattress. In front of the bed there is a baby cradle. Then there are shelves all over the place, just like in any other peasant house. In the corner of the room there is a coffer where valuables were kept, such as money and keys. Also in the corner there was a pipe and a cupboard for dishes and food. The stove that you see there was used to heat the entire room and cook meals.”



    A peasant household also included other buildings, where tools used in daily activities were kept.



    Ionel Heller: “The ethnographic section of the museum has on display folk costumes and various tools used in the weaving of cloth; one can see there a shuttle, a loom and other tools very useful in a peasant’s household. In the last room we have the replica of a cart loaded with all sorts of goods to be sold in fairs across the country. People of this area used to barter the goods they produced in their households for grain in the south of the country.”



    The museum in the Avram Iancu village, named after the hero, is more than a memorial house, and it is worth visiting by someone who wants to get a better understanding of the specificity of this region, inhabited by proud and industrious people.

  • The fortified church and the peasant stronghold of Saschiz

    The fortified church and the peasant stronghold of Saschiz

    Saschiz, located in the centre of Romania, was inhabited at first by Szeklers and then by Saxons. It distinguished itself through 2 features typical of Saxon settlements in Transylvania: the fortified church and the peasant stronghold. The church, located in the city centre is one of the biggest and most impressive Saxon places of worship. Today, it can be admired in its original state, being almost unaltered. Saint Stephen is the patron saint, and the church has 22 buttresses and, as expected, it took a long time to build. Alin Pora, historian and co-author of “A monograph of Saschiz ”, tells us more.



    “The construction works began in 1945 and ended in 1525. In order to build this edifice the intervention of the Saxon Community in Sibiu was required and the documents showing how the money was sent from Sibiu were kept. From an architectural standpoint, the church is built in a late Gothic style with a starred arch. A unique element in this church’s construction is the creation of a place, above the arch, from where archers would defend the community in case of an attack. Initially, the fortified church had another fortified wall that was destroyed with time and was never rebuilt. The reason for this was that, shortly after the church was built, so was the peasant stronghold in Saschiz, which served both as a residence and as a storage space for provisions in times of peace. In times of war, the villagers would take cover in the stronghold.”



    Recent archaeological findings show that, despite previous suspicions, St. Stephen’s Church was not built on top of an older basilica. As a consequence, its size and facets are the same today as when the church was originally built. In 1677, the main tower was expanded, having as model the clock tower from Sighisoara, a rival town for Saschiz in the Middle Ages. Therefore, the tower is large and big and it has a clock at its top, as well as a statue commonly known as Bogdan, which rings a warning sound every 15 minutes. The warnings referred to attacks from the Tatars, which was the main reason why the stronghold was built. Alin Pora tells us more:



    “The peasant stronghold was built for defence purposes. The legend says that villagers from 7 villages took part in the construction and you could not pass through Saschiz unless you put some effort into the construction. For instance, merchants who would pass with their carts had to unload their merchandise at the end of the village, fill their carts with rocks and go up to the stronghold, and only after that could they pass through Saschiz. The stronghold dates from around the same time as the church. It had seven towers, one of them being the school tower, built as a token of the Saxons’ respect for education. The stronghold is on a hill, north of the church and tower.”



    Apart from the school tower, the peasant stronghold of Saschiz had other towers, such as the gate tower, the princes’ tower on the north side, the priests’ tower and the ammunition tower. However, none of these can be seen today because the stronghold was never rehabilitated and it was abandoned during the communist period. If it is to be renovated, the City Hall must first get European funds. If rehabilitated, the stronghold of Saschiz would definitely attract as many tourists as the ones in Rupea or Rasnov.




  • The Vienna Arbitration

    The Vienna Arbitration

    In the 1940s Romania promoted a foreign policy that was supposed to guarantee the integrity of its borders. As of 1938 Germany stood out as the European power calling the shots in Europe, while France and Great Britain adopted a more defensive policy. Therefore Romania decided to come closer to Germany, the only country that could guarantee its borders. However, the rapprochement took place later, after France capitulated in the summer of 1940. Hungary and Bulgaria, Germany’s allies, that had territorial claims over Romania, took advantage of their favorable status and asked to have their claims met. Gheorghe Barbul participated in the negotiations following which Romania had to concede northern Transylvania to Hungary in the summer of 1940. He recalled in an interview given in 1995 to the Center for Oral History of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation the circumstances of Romania’s rapprochement to Germany:



    “I remember Hitler’s letter dated July 15, 1940, which was an answer to a letter sent by King Carol in which he offered Germany Romania’s friendship. It writes about territorial problems saying that Romania, at a time when it had a position of strength, annexed territories from its neighbors. Having lost that position, Hitler found it normal to negotiate an arrangement between Romania and Hungary, on the one hand, and between Romania and Bulgaria on the other. Romania had already lost Bessarabia. Hitler said that if an agreement was not reached, Germany would no longer show interest in what was going on in southeastern Europe, since Germany was strong enough to not need Romania’s oil. It was a kind of ultimatum, in the sense that Romania would remain on its own if it didn’t want to negotiate with its neighbors. And the threats from Russia, Hungary and Bulgaria were looming.”



    Under these circumstances, Romania showed willingness to start negotiations with Hungary and Bulgaria. On August 16, 1940 negotiations were started in Turnu Severin (in the southern county of Mehedinti) between Romania and Hungary. The Hungarian delegation asked the Romanian delegation led by Valer Pop to concede a territory of 69 thousand square kilometers, with a population of 3.9 million inhabitants. The secretary of the Romanian delegation, Gheorghe Barbul, recalls the atmosphere during the talks:



    “We were on a ship anchored in the port of Turnu Severin and were heading for the town hall headquarters or the prefect’s office to meet with the Hungarian delegation led by Count Hory. Talks lasted for 3 or 4 days, if I’m not mistaken. Each day was the same. The Hungarians would ask: What territories are you willing to surrender? To which Valer Pop, the head of the Romanian delegation, would give the same answer: it’s not a territorial dispute between Romania and Hungary, it’s rather a matter of nationalities. We surrender as much territory as needed for the exchange of population that could be made between Romania and Hungary. That is the Hungarians in central Transylvania, in Targu Mures or elsewhere would be transferred to the western Romanian border, in Crisana, and the Romanians would go to those territories from where the Hungarians left. The Hungarians would not accept Romania’s proposal and talks were protracted without an agreement being reached. Then the talks in Targu Mures were suspended with no positive result being obtained”.



    Unhappy with the failure of the meeting, Hungary called on Germany and Italy to intervene to settle the conflict. On August 26, 1940, the German and Italian foreign ministers, Ribbentrop and Ciano, asked the two countries to come at a mediation meeting. Convened in Vienna, for the meeting with the Hungarian representatives, Romania was represented in the negotiations by its then foreign minister, Mihail Manoilescu. Gheorghe Barbul is back at the microphone with more:



    “This was not a negotiation. Manoilescu, who headed the Romanian delegation, was presented with the new map of Romania. Seeing it, Manoilescu fainted and he needed medical care. There was nothing else to be done than informing the authorities in Bucharest, who hesitated to approve the new map. It took quite a while for the approval from Bucharest to reach Vienna. Meanwhile the Germans exerted a lot of pressure saying that there was an understanding between the Soviets and Hungarians, according to which, in case of failed negotiations in Vienna, they would undertake common military action against Romania. The rumor went that the Russians would go as far as the eastern Carpathians and the Hungarians would go deep into the heart of Transylvania. On August 24th the Germans had already told Romania that Soviet troops had been deployed on the Prut River. That seemed to be true, but not even today could one surely tell whether it was just blackmail or the mere truth”.



    Irritated by the Romanians’ refusal to settle the conflict, Ribbentrop and Ciano threatened Manoilescu that a potential new refusal would have very serious consequences for Romania. The Crown Council convened in Bucharest and the participants gave 19 votes for and 10 against the arbitration of the Axis. The next day, at the Belvedere Palace, the 4 delegations concluded the arbitration act under which Hungary was granted the northern half of Transylvania. 4 years later, following tougher negotiations, northern Transylvania was returned to Romania.