Baroque past in Romania

A most interesting lot of old music notes has just been discovered in Transylvania, according to articles published in Le Monde and the Guardian. The British newspaper, in an article published on June 21 and signed by Mirel Bran, tells us:

Several thousand of these recently discovered manuscripts are held at the National Archives in Sibiu, a pretty town in Transylvania, central Romania. Philippi, a music consultant to the Evangelical church and conductor of the Sibiu Bach choir, has set himself the task of saving this trove of baroque music. "After the end of the Communist dictatorship, a large part of Romania's German-speaking community emigrated to Germany and whole villages were deserted," he explains. "We decided to gather up all we could find among our church records. I had no idea of the treasures hidden here." His work has discovered a little known adaptation of the Pergolesi Stabat Mater, a Bach cantata arranged by the composer for the Lutheran church of Transylvania, works by Johann Sartorius, Knall, Corelli and a host of local composers.

In the picture, the Lutheran church in Sibiu. Read the whole article here.

Non-pasteurized Bucharest

The Travel Eurofile of The New York Times T-Magazine has just published an interesting article signed by Alexander Lobrano under the title Back to Bucharest:

"Disappointed to find that much of central Paris now serves up the same street-level visual refrain as most American cities — Gap, Zara, Starbucks, Subway — friends visiting from Boston yearned for an urban adventure. Where could they go for a long weekend that hadn’t yet been subjected to the centrifuge of globalization? 'Bucharest,' I replied, and they laughed out loud. 'Bucharest!? Is there anything to see there? And what about the hotels and the food?'

'Trust me,' I told them, and wasn’t surprised when they returned three days later raving about the delicious strangeness of Europe’s sixth largest city (if you don’t count Istanbul and leave out Russia), which is a three-hour flight from most western European capitals. Vying for the title with Belgrade and Sofia, Bucharest is one of the last major European cities that hasn’t been pasteurized by gentrification or lost its soul to mass tourism. It’s an odd but lively mutt of a city — one that’s clearly seen better days but where something is also suddenly stirring. The locals love to have a good time, and the Romanian economy is chugging along pretty nicely."

Read the whole article here.

Prince Charles in Transylvania

The Travel section of the Financial Times published, on August 27th, 2010, an interesting article signed by William Blacker about Transylvania:

"When in early 1990 I first went to Transylvania, leaving behind the bright lights of western Europe and adjusting my eyes to the more sober tones of its eastern reaches, I could hardly believe that such a place still existed. In deep winter I crossed the northern Carpathian Mountains and came down, through misty forests and snow-covered roads, into the Middle Ages – or something astonishingly like it. Horses or oxen pulling sleighs occupied the roads, and cows and geese wandered freely. The villagers were dressed in smocks, sheepskin coats and fur hats, and had rough leather strapped to their feet, with woollen cloth wrapped around their calves held in place by thongs; footwear truly from another age, as worn by peasants depicted in ­medieval illustrated manuscripts.

I was just a few hours east of Vienna, but crossing the border into Romania was a journey back in time. I settled there, and for more than 10 years I was fortunate enough to be able to live a rural life that previously I had known only through the pages of a Hardy or Tolstoy novel."

Read the whole article here.

Bukovina in the NYT

Read below part of the article Where Art and Faith Embrace in Gura Humorului, Romania, written by Ruth Ellen Gruber and published on 07 Nov 2009 by The New York Times. You may read the whole article and watch the pictures following this link.

Once the easternmost province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bucovina (“land of beech trees”) today straddles the border between Romania and Ukraine: northern Bucovina was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 and the region’s historic capital, Chernivtsi (Czernowitz in German and Cernauti in Romanian) lies just 30 kilometers, or about 18 miles, north of the frontier.

The southern part, on the Romanian side, is a world of rolling farmland and steep forested hills, where antique villages and peasant culture coexist with new industry and modern construction. Horses and carts (and the occasional herd of cows) share the roads with SUVs, and intricately carved wood and other ornamentation still decorate many village homes and farmsteads.

Exceptional examples of a rich religious heritage form an important part of the mix.

Here are Romania’s famous painted monasteries, built in the 15th and 16th centuries when the region, a stronghold of Orthodox Christianity, was threatened by Ottoman invaders.

The vividly colored frescoes on their exterior walls, masterpieces of Byzantine painting, tell the tales of saints and heroes, and portray in epic imagery the cataclysmic struggle between good and evil at the end of days.

The monasteries are among Romania’s most celebrated cultural treasures. Listed on Unesco’s roster of world heritage sites, they draw large numbers of visitors throughout the year.

Here, too, however, are religious sites far less known and rarely visited that also form important components of the region’s deeply rooted spiritual patrimony. These are the centuries-old Jewish cemeteries, whose weathered tombstones bear extraordinary carvings that meld folk motifs and religious iconography into evocative examples of faith expressed through art.

Bucovina was once home to a large and thriving Jewish community. Today, however, as throughout much of Eastern Europe, only a few dozen Jewish families live there.

Most of the cemeteries are neglected, but several are fairly well maintained and easy to visit.

Though there are many organized tours to the painted monasteries, a car is needed to see the full range of sites. The roads and overall infrastructure in Bucovina have been upgraded significantly since Romania joined the European Union in 2007.

Bucharest's Cool Underground

Matt Gross, the Frugal Traveler, seeks out high style on a low budget. Read below a fragment of his most interesting article Spying on Bucharest's Cool Underground, published on 9 July 2008 by The New York Times travel blogs section:About three years ago, Bucharest experienced a revolution that was entirely ignored by the international community. Granted, the coup was not as dramatic as Romania’s 1989 revolution, in which Nicolae Ceausescu, the Communist dictator who had brutally mismanaged this Black Sea nation for more than two decades, was deposed and executed. Nor was it as momentous as when the country joined the European Union in 2007, along with Bulgaria, its neighbor to the south.

So subtle was the transformation, in fact, that most Bucharestians probably didn’t quite realize what was going on.

Read the entire article here.

Source: The New York Times

Top places for a bargain holiday in Romania

The article Where to holiday beyond the Eurozone, by Annabelle Thorpe, published by The Observer on 18 Jan 2009, proposes that tourists, used to famous attractions which have just become too expensive, change their destinations towards cheaper ones but not of less quality. Two of the proposals points to Romania:

The Spanish Cota de Donana national park in Andalucia is one of Europe's most spectacular wetlands, but twitchers and wildlife-spotters looking for a cheaper equivalent should head to Romania's Danube Delta. More than 300 species of bird can be found in the delta - as many as in the Cota de Donana - along with foxes, wildcats, wolves and even boars. Best of all, there are places to stay within the park, meaning that watching the sun rise or set over the tranquil marshlands is as simple as falling out of bed.

It may not have the dramatic history of its French equivalent Carcassone, but the Romanian walled town of Sibiu has an equally stunning medieval centre and fortifications. It was European Capital of Culture in 2007, but prices have remained low and the cobbled streets and squares are filled with restaurants offering meals for around £10. Sibiu is a musical city, with jazz bars and small clubs tucked away.

Source: The Observer

Romanian wine

The Wine World has recently started to sit up and take notice of an emerging, dynamic region. But its location will almost certainly take you by surprise…

After decades of Communism and some twenty years of regeneration, a few Central and Eastern European countries are starting to produce some particularly interesting wine. Isabelle Legeron sets off on a wine journey from Budapest to the Black Sea to explore this silent revolution.

Watch TODAY Travel Channel's premiere of this journey in Romania on TC Europe 20:00/TC UK 21:00

Source: Travel Channel

Bran Castle: one of top 10

The Bran Castle in Romania, in the middle of the Carpathian mountains, also known as Dracula's Castle, has just been chosen by CNN as one of the top 10 most beautiful castles in the world. Read below the brief description made in the article:

Both the keepers of Bran Castle and the Romanian Tourist Board are keen to emphasize links between Bran Castle and Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Count Dracula. The connections are tenuous, but there's no denying the spooky charm of this massive structure's many turrets and towers. Some of the furniture on display was owned by Marie of Romania, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria who turned down a proposal from the future King George V of England and married the king of Romania instead.

Source: article The world's most beautiful castles, signed by Stephen Whitlock from Budget Travel and published on 15 Jan 2009 by CNN Travel.

Romanian ski resort: most affordable in Europe

A recent survey revealed that the pretty resort of Poiana Brasov is the most affordable ski resort in Europe for lessons and lift passes, bumping Borovets (in Bulgaria) off the top spot. Its well-groomed pistes suit beginners and intermediates, and a new eight-seater gondola has expanded the lift system.

Source: article Ski holidays the Euro can't spoil, written by Nicola Iseard and published on 4 January 2009 by The Observer

Jewish cemetery in Bucharest desecrated

Unknown vandals have knocked over and, in some cases, destroyed the headstones in the cemetery where at least 35,000 Jews are buried, including victims of the Holocaust. It took place during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, on October 24th. The vandals also smashed windows in the administrative offices of the cemetery. No anti-Semitic slogans were discovered on the destroyed tombstones, according to police. Jewish leaders condemned the desecration and said the scale of the destruction suggested the activity was organized — rather than random acts by wayward youths. Paul Schwartz, spokesman for Romania's Jewish community, called the desecration "the worst act of vandalism in the nation in recent times."

Source: article by Maud Swinnen published on October 24th 2008 at European Jewish Press

Romania: best break for autumn colours

Read below part of the article Six of the best breaks for autumn colours - Poland, Spain, England, Italy, Romania or France - take your pick for the best blazing leaves, written by Annabelle Thorpe and published on September 6th 2008 by The Times:

The Carpathian mountains, which dominate Romania's mythical region, are carpeted in beech, oak, spruce and fir that melt into golds, russets and terracotta during autumn. Hikers are well catered for, with endless trails criss-crossing the slopes, and the bears, wolves and lynx that populate the forests make it a favourite destination for wildlife enthusiasts - there is an 80 per cent chance of seeing wild bears. The small towns - 13th-century Sighisoara and medieval Sibiu - are fascinating to explore, and even more attractive under a carpet of autumn leaves.

Read the whole article here.

Romania: vacation secret

I reproduce, below, a fragment of the article Romania: A Well-Kept Vacation Secret for Celebrities, written by Jean Marquit and published on Dec 28, 2005 by Associated Content.

"The country of Romania remains the well-kept secret of the rich and famous. The secret is not just in the inexpensive filming costs, which are increasingly drawing movies and the celebrities that go with them; it is also in the luxuriously metropolitan amenities that live side-by-side with pristine virginity. And whenever one travels to Bucharest, Romania's capital, and from thence into the non-fiction countryside of Transylvania, one is often both uniquely alone and in good company.

The countryside surrounding Bucharest hosts numerous spas and resorts; Romania has long been renowned for its healing waters with dignitaries visiting since the time of the Roman Empire. Armand Assante, who recently shared the screen with Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey in Two for the Money, enjoys the Olimp resort at the coast of the Black Sea. It is a getaway on the shores of a sea long famous for its qualities to heal the body and the spirit."

You can read the whole article by clicking here.

National Geographic Traveler 'Romania'

On February 14, 2008 it was launched in London the National Geographic Traveler ‘Romania’, written by Caroline Juler.

Starting with a detailed introduction to the country’s history, food, land, and culture, the book explores in-depth each of the sections of the country, including Maramures in the north, Moldavia in the east, Wallachia in the south, and Crisana and Banat on the country’s western flank.

Special detailed features give comprehensive information on many diverse topics such as Romanian folk music, the bears and wolves that still prowl the hinterlands, the excellent Romanian wineries, the ethnic minority officially known as the Roma but to this day referred to as Gypsies, and the many myths that immediately come to mind whenever you mention the country’s Transylvania region.

Source: Romanian Cultural Centre London

New Wave on the Black Sea

Read here the most interesting 6-page article by A. O. Scott, film critic at The Times, published on January 20th 2008 at The New York Times - one of the best analysis of today's Romanian cinema written by a foreign critic, who came to Bucharest and talked personally with the country's main film directors.

How do you say "Oscar Scandal" in Romanian?

Have a look here at the film critic Scott Foundas' article from January 15th 2008 published at L.A. Weekly about the absence of the Romanian movie "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" by Cristian Mungiu among the shortlisted films for this year's Foreign Language Oscar. This is one of numerous recent critics to the selection criteria used by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles.

EU: promise, demands - and anxiety

On January 7th 2007 an interesting and still up-to-date article dedicated to Romania, named "In a new light - Joining the European Union brings with it promise, demands - and anxiety" and signed by Tom Haines, who spent New Year in a traditional small village in Southern Bukovina, was published by The Boston Globe. You may have access to the text clicking here. And watch the video here.