Travels in Transylvania
This mountainous region offers much more than blood-sucking vampires.
Published in “Emerging Romania 2003”, Oxford Business Group
The captivating, mountainous region of Transylvania is a wonderful place to spend holidays, whether you’re into hiking, skiing, nature spotting, or exploring well-preserved medieval villages.
Every steeple, shop sign and winding alley has a tale to tell about the region’s fascinating history.
For all that, Transylvania’s two main cities, Braşov and Cluj, are places with modern facilities and a forward-looking attitude.
Broadly put, Transylvania (Ardeal in Romanian; Erdély in Hungarian; Siebenbürgen in German) occupies central and northwest Romania, stretching far enough east and south into the country to just about include Braşov. Purists would say that the less mountainous strip down Romania’s western flank, including cities like Oradea, Arad and Timişoara, is not part of historic Transylvania per se.
A tale of three peoples
Three main facts – and nationalities – provide the broad outline of Transylvania’s complex history.
Firstly, the region has only been in Romania since the end of World War I. Secondly, during the 19th century it was a part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Inevitably, there are different versions of exactly how the transfer happened.
Romanians recall their 1918 declaration of unity in Alba Iulia as a decisive moment, a spontaneous decision for the people of Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia. That date remains a national holiday. For Hungarians, it is a decision imposed from outside. Children are taught that it all happened at the Treaty of Trianon (part of Versailles) 18 months later.
The region remains widely populated by ethnic Hungarians as well as Romanians, mostly living peacefully side-by-side, despite the occasional political blow-up. In many villages, people live much as they did centuries ago, maintaining their ancient traditions.
The third major nationality associated with the region is the Germans, who built the “seven cities” (Siebenbürgen) and gave the region its irresistible Gothic architecture. However, many people from this community left during the 1990s to take up citizenship and residence in Germany.
Popular choice
Of those seven settlements, the closest one to Bucharest, and the one most frequented by foreigners, is Braşov (Brassó in Hungarian; Kronstadt in German).
Nestled among mountains and circumscribed by a well-preserved city wall, central Braşov is remarkably unspoilt. Several strategic factories located well outside the city centre have ensured that the city is prosperous but unpolluted.
The main square, Piaţa Sfatului, contains at its centre the attractive former town hall, dating from the 15th century, which now houses a historical museum. There are lots of places to get an ice cream, coffee or meal in or near this square.
Right next to it looms the darkly gorgeous Black Church. Some of its pews still bear the names of the German families who knelt there, along with delightful paintings and German poetic epigrams.
The magnificent Romanian Orthodox cathedral, dedicated to St Nicholas, lies just outside the city walls to the southwest, in the area called “Schei”. Braşov’s ethnic Romanian population was formerly banished there.
Also worth seeing is the Weavers’ Bastion, a part of the wall that contains a museum. A walk along the wall to this fortress offers great views across Braşov, and can be enhanced still further by taking the nearby cable car.
Where’s the church?
The relatively remote location of the Romanian cathedral in Braşov is far from atypical in Transylvania. Nor is it unusual to find, as in Braşov, that the Romanian cathedral is somewhat newer than the German and Hungarian ones, and ever-so-slightly ostentatious.
This reflects the region’s history, with the Romanians being the last of the three nationalities to establish themselves in most of the cities, although they now constitute the majority in most of them.
Similarly, the Romanian cathedral in Mediaş (Medgyes; Mediasch) is on the “wrong” side of the river with respect to the main town. It is an extravagant edifice, whose architects seem to have gone overboard with the “oriental” influence to distinguish it from the Lutheran or Catholic churches. Mediaş’s German church, with its little figurine clinging to the side of its bell tower, is much more in keeping with the mood and proportion of this delightful, much overlooked city.
Another of the seven cities is Sibiu (Nagyszeben; Hermannstadt), whose medieval city centre, with cobbled streets winding up a steep hill, is even more perfectly preserved and charming than that of Braşov. Once again, it’s the Protestant church that takes pride of place, while the Romanians, who now make up the majority of the population, face a short hike from the centre to get to their cathedral. Somewhat the worse for wear, Sibiu also happens to be the seat of the leadership of Romania’s Gypsy community.
The most raved-about place in Transylvania, in terms of untouched original city walls and streets, is Sighişoara (Segesvár; Schässburg). Eleven towers still stand on its ancient fortifications.
Waving the flag
Perhaps the most interesting city in Transylvania is Cluj. Quite as beautiful as any other city in the region, though more stately than quaint, Cluj is Romania’s third biggest city, with 316,000 inhabitants. Well-located midway between Budapest and Bucharest, it is an administrative and commercial centre.
Cluj was the third city in Romania to get a Benetton and the fourth to get a McDonald’s. It has shopping malls, pedestrian streets, and advertising banners and neon signs sprouting in ever-greater profusion from its walls and streetlamps. It is clean and green, and imposes heavy fines for parking on pavements.
There are plenty of tourist attractions, too, such as an art museum in the 18th-century Bánffy palace on Piaţa Unirii and a pharmaceutical museum on this square. Cluj’s huge, wild botanical gardens require several hours to explore.
One of the nicest views from Cluj is from the top of the hill where the citadel is, in the north of the city. You can watch the sun set over the city’s elegant towers and bustling streets with the Şomeşul Mic river at your feet.
Good hotels include the Astoria by the river, the Continental on Piaţa Unirii, and the upmarket, youthful Transilvania on top of the citadel hill.
Good-value, acceptable restaurants are not hard to find in the city centre. A more nostalgic dining experience can be had at the Continental hotel.
Cluj happens to be a notable exception when it comes to the location of the various places of worship. True, an impressive Gothic Hungarian cathedral, fronted by a large statue of locally-born Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus, is very central. But only a few blocks away you will find the 20th century Romanian Orthodox church, which, like the Mediaş one, is slightly pseudo-oriental. Also note the striking statue of peasant revolt leader Avram Iancu.
These two large churches form the centrepieces of the city’s twin main squares, both equally prominent, which give the whole town centre an appealing “figure of eight” pattern.
Cluj is sometimes seen as a little aggressive in its assertion of Romanian identity. This even comes across in its official full name: Cluj-Napoca. Although it was one of the seven German cities, Romanians maintain that the Romans, from whom they claim descent, established a settlement on the site long before then, named Napoca. The city’s Romanian nationalist mayor, Gheorghe Funar, is notorious for having painted the park benches red, yellow and blue: the colours of the national flag.
Not just cities
Transylvania also offers some wonderful areas for a country ramble or, indeed, some serious hiking or cross-country skiing. Poiana Braşov, just outside Braşov itself, is a popular place for this, as are the forests around Predeal. A map of the area will indicate the signposted hiking routes and the locations of the “cabanas” where you can stop off for some nourishment. Expect local colour rather than luxury.
Lest you thought you could read an entire article about Transylvania without coming across the name Dracula, not far from Sinaia is the castle that belonged to the local prince who bore that nickname. Around these parts, however, he was more often known as Vlad the Impaler because of what he did to his enemies. A chaotic mass of Gothic turrets amid craggy scenery, his castle is unforgettable. Guided tours in English are available.
On the edge
Outside of Transylvania proper, but similar in its Habsburg charm, is Oradea (Nagyvárad; Grosswardein), right on the western edge of Romania.
The home of European Drinks – the company that brings you “American Cola” – Oradea is a pleasant city, with some nice churches to look at, some acceptable restaurants and cafes to sit in and some modern hotels at which to stay.
Oradea’s flat, spacious layout contrasts sharply with the high-gradient claustrophobia of Sibiu or Sighişoara. Its bridge offers a great vista of some of its loveliest buildings.
A closer look reveals the decay that is slowly but surely eating away at its Austro-Hungarian elegance, thanks to a chronic lack of funds. Still, most of the city has escaped the disrepair that afflicts its 12th century citadel, which is in a disgraceful state.
The story in Timişoara is somewhat happier. This attractive city has some fine buildings and lovely gardens, all quite well kept. Civic pride has a long tradition here, as Timişoara was the first city in Europe to get electric street lighting, in 1884.
It is also the heart of the 1989 revolution, and one of its top attractions is the church where the sermons were preached that sparked off that exciting movement.
For a different type of inspiration, try sipping the Timişoreana beer, one of Romania’s finest, brewed in this city.
All the cities mentioned in this article are well-linked by train and bus to each other, as well as to both Bucharest and Budapest. In Cluj’s case, it is even possible to fly there.
