The ethnic Czech villages of the Romanian Banat – today home to around 2,000 inhabitants – are a unique cultural phenomenon. They are located in the mountains above the Danube Gorge and are surrounded by populations of Serb and Romanian origin. The villages’ years of isolation have helped...
On the way to Czech villages in the Banat region, we passed through the impressive Iron Gates Nature Park – The Danube Gorges. On the territory of this nature park, the Danube forms the longest gorges in Europe (134 km) and, in its narrowest sector, creates the Great and Small...
Drobeta–Turnu Severin is an important inland port on the Danube in southwestern Romania near the point where the river leaves the Iron Gate gorge. The modern city was established only in the 19th century but the city’s history goes back to the time of Roman emperor Trajan. Mainly because...
A former Roman settlement, the city of Târgu Jiu lies at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, on the banks of the River Jiu. Inhabited since Paleolithic times, the region of western Oltenia was of strategic importance to the Romans. The area provided direct access, through one of...
The stunning Corvin Castle (also known as Hunedoara Castle) is sitting on a rocky bluff with only a wooden connecting bridge for access. This Gothic-Renaissance castle has a gorgeous exterior, almost like a fairytale castle straight from Disney (entrance 35 ROL). With the magnificent...
We planned to drive to Padiș – the heart of the Apuseni Mountains, a large mountain chain, a subgroup of the Carpathians, lying north of the Mureş River in northwestern Romania. The Apuseni Mountains are not high—reaching a maximum elevation of only 1849 meters. Limestone underlies most...
Bánffy Castle is considered one of the biggest castles in Transylvania. From the fourteenth century through 1944, Bánffy Castle was occupied by members of the Bánffy family, whose ranks included the first governor of Transylvania under the Habsburgs as well as a 19th-century Hungarian...
The northwestern Romanian region of Maramureş is home to many villages where century-old traditions are still part of daily life. The inhabitants of this area have preserved, to an amazing extent, the rural culture and crafts of their Dacian ancestors. Maramureş villages are distinguished...
Our last stop in the Maramureș region was Săpânţa located about 20 km west of Sighetu Marmaţiei. The village’s graveyard, known as the Merry Cemetery, became famous for its colorful tombstones decorated with witty epitaphs and naive paintings representing scenes from the lives of the...
We have visited one of the most beautiful churches in the historical region of Maramureș. The unique church of Saint Parascheva was built in 1632, it is a classic example of local architecture with its double roof, a tower with three bells (1673), and two-level windows. The church´s...