All posts by Simona Fodor

AFI Aventurier is the newest indoor adventure park in Bucharest. The park opened in AFI Palace Cotroceni, one of the biggest shopping malls in Bucharest. It is the biggest adventure park opened in a European mall, according to AFI representatives.

It features a suspended route for adults, with over 25 segments with various degrees of difficulty, and a course for children. The highest point of the park is at 26 meters, which is comparable to the height of a nine-storey building.

AFI Aventurier is open daily between 10:00 and 23:00.

Read more about the new indoor adventure park at romania-insider.com.

Two charging stations for electric cars opened in Promenada Mall in Bucharest. The stations were opened in partnership with Renovatio e-charge, and charging is free in the Renovatio network until the end of the year.

The two stations have a 22kW charging power and are located at the -3 level of the commercial center in Calea Floreasca.

Renovatio e-charge has twelve charging stations throughout the country in București, Ploiești, Pitești, Arad, Cluj, Timișoara, Constanța, Sibiu, Deva and Iași.

Retailers Cora and Kaufland also opened charging stations for electric cars this year.

ParkLake Shopping Center opened in Bucharest’s Titan neighborhood on September 1st. ParkLake is located next to the Alexandru Ioan Cuza park in Titan, one of Bucharest’s biggest residential areas.

The new, 70,000 sqm mall has seen a EUR 180 million investment from Irish group Caelum Development and Portuguese Sonae Sierra. The mall is expected to be one of Bucharest’s top five shopping destinations, alongside Baneasa Shopping City, AFI Palace Cotroceni, Sun Plaza, and Mega Mall.

ParkLake has more than 200 stores, restaurants and service vendors, a multiplex cinema operated by Cinema City, and a World Class fitness center.

Read more about ParkLake Shopping Center at romania-insider.com.

Photo: ParkLake Shopping Center Facebook page

Unirea Shopping Center in Bucharest can be accessed starting September directly from the Unirii subway station through an underground passage. It is the capital’s second shopping center benefiting from direct access from the subway after Sun Plaza, which is linked to Piata Sudului subway station.

The subway station corresponding to the downtown Bucharest shopping center was renovated and now includes a commercial gallery of 2,000 sqm and 15 stores, according to Digi 24. The gallery, which links to the shopping center, is set to open officially in September.

The refurbishment project was the result of a partnership between Unirea Shoping Center and Metrorex.

Photo source: Wikipedia

For the traveler looking to explore more of Romania’s Dobrogea region, the town of Babadag offers the opportunity to get acquainted to the history of the area. The town used to host the ancient Roman settlement called Vicus Novus. Roman era landmarks were found in the center of the city, proving the almost urban development level of the settlement as water pipes made of burnt ceramics were found here. Today, at almost 9,000 inhabitants, Babadag is a diverse city, with a significant Muslim and Turkish population.

Between 1677 and 1678 the town served as the residence of the Turkish pasha. In order to be able to better follow and coordinate the military troops in the confrontations with the Russian Empire, the residence of the Otoman pasha was moved from Silistra to Babadag, where the pasha Gazi Ali ordered a mosque to be built, in the 1610s. As such,  some of the most important tourist landmarks in the city speak of the almost 500 years long Ottoman dominance: the Gazi-Ali-Pasa mosque, the Kalaigi fountain sitting in front of it, the mausoleum of Sari Saltuk Dede and the Eastern Art Museum,  hosted in a 19th century, oriental-style building.

And at about eight kilometers away from the city, on the way to Tulcea, the tourist can find the ruins of the Enisala fortress. Raising on a hill next to the Enisala village, the fortress, locally named Heracleea, was built at the end of 13th century by the Byzantine and Genovese commercial powers. At the beginning of the 14th century it was included in the defensive system of the Romanian principality and was afterwards transformed into a garrison of the Ottoman Empire. The only medieval fortress in Dobrogea, the Enisala site stands proof of a time when the region was part of the Genovese colonies which also included the Chilia and Likostomion towns in the Danube Delta.

How to get there?

To get to Enisala you can take the European route 81 and then follow the national road 2A passing through Slobozia to get to the destination.

Where to stay?

Several lodging options are available to tourists looking to visit the place: Babadag Cabin or the La Parmac hotel.

Photo source: Wikipedia.com

Râșnov is known for the fortress of the same name, and it awaits visitors with many other interesting spots and festivals that have started to build a tradition.

Since 2012, the city is the third resort with a ‘national interest’ status in Brașov county, after Poiana Braşov and Predeal. Besides the medieval fortress, visitors can see here the St. Nicolas Orthodox Church, the Evangelical Church, the Historical Center or take a walk in the Sissi Promenade park.

During the Middle Ages the rose was the symbol of the city, first documented in 1331, and a form of the word can be found in the German name of the place, Rosenau. The first Saxon colonists in the area were coming from a settlement called Rosenau, on one side of the Rhine, hence the name given to the place.

The place to visit in the area chosen by many is the fortress of Râșnov, built between 1211 and 1225 as part of a defense system for the Transylvanian villages. The fortress was conquered only once, in 1612 by Gabriel Báthory. In 2002, it hosted the shooting of several scenes from the film Cold Mountain.

In the city visitors can find the Sissi Promenade park, refurbished in 2012. The park was first designed under the name Elisabeta (Elisabethenpromenade) to honor Empress Elisabeth of Austria.

From here, one can stop by the old St. Nicolas Church, a historic monument considered the oldest orthodox church built with an elevation and remaining in the south east of Transylvania. A post-medieval graffiti with the year 1348 can be found in the old altar of the church and on the oldest part of the edifice, the eastern side. The medieval church was built from stone, with gothic elements. Equally old is the Evangelical Church, the place for the Saxon community in town. It is believed to have been constructed in the 13th century, with Roman and Gothic elements to which Renaissance elements were later added.

The Râșnoavei gorges is another attraction close to the city. Several mountain tracks originate here, the best known being Santinela Cheilor and Surplombele de Aur. The Valea Cetății cave is also worth a stop as it is part of a protected area, with unique fauna and flora elements.

If you’re not in town for one of the festivals that are traditionally organized here, among them the Historical Film Festival and the Rockstad rock music festival, you can plan a visit at the nearby Dino Park, the only such one in Romania. Opened in 2015, the park covers an area of 1.6 hectares and hosts 46 real-life dinosaur replicas. It also includes a museum opened in collaboration with Tara Hategului Dinosaur Geopark, where visitors can see an original skeleton of the Balaurul Bondoc dinosaur, a species of dinosaur found on Romanian territory.

Photo: Wikipedia

Within approximately 100 kilometers range from Suceava, in Northern Romania, the Ciocanesti villages are a must-see for anyone interested in exploring some of the country’s oldest traditions and crafts.

The commune sits on both sides of the Bistrita Aurie river, along the national road DN18 with a mountain valley landscape as it is part of the Suhard and Obcina Mestecanisului mountains. Those interested in mountain walks have plenty to pick from in the surrounding area where one can find the Icoana peak (1,593 meters), the Faroane peak (1,715 meters), Botosu (1,473 meters), Orata (1,388 meters), Oita (1,294 meters) or Capraria (1,249 meters).

The site preserves rich traditions, habits, and architecture that led to the commune be declared a museum in 2004. The houses in the area stand out with their exterior painting and some of the best-preserved traditional Romanian dress can be found here. From animal breeding to forest keeping, the occupations of the village inhabitants remain connected to traditions.

One of the main attractions in the village is the Museum of the Painted Eggs, where craftily painted eggs can be admired. Ciocanesti also hosts the national festival of Painted Eggs, a unique event in Romania.

There is a peonies reservation in the area, which can be visited until end-July of each year. The National Trout Festival takes place here between August 14^th and 16^th and throughout summer you can try the whitewater rafting on the Bistrita river. Among the other sites to see in the area are the Ciocanarilor cave and the Sfintii Apostoli Petru si Pavel (St. Peter and Paul) hermitage.

Where to stay:

There are more than 15 guest houses in the area to choose from for accommodation, mostly in the 2 or 3-star category and promising an authentic experience. You can see a list of them here.

You can check the ride from Suceava to Ciocanesti here.

Photo source: www.viatransylvania.com

This town in the north of Sibiu county is home to many well-preserved historical sites. Monuments, churches, old walls and towers carrying a distinct historical significance are all part of the charm of Mediaș. Many of the town’s attractions are very well preserved, even to the smallest details, despite their age.

It stands 56 km away from Sibiu, in a hilly area, at the intersection of the Moșna and Târnava Mare rivers. The area was inhabited since ancient times, and several archeological discoveries attest to this. The city’s first documentary mention is from 1267 and, in time, it knew a multicultural population of Saxons and Székely.

The Ottoman incursion in Transylvania between 1437 and 1438 brought about a marked decay of the economy and demography of the seat of Medias. As many other villages and small towns, it too resorted to fortifying churches as it was unable to secure the defense of high-length walls. In a first stage, in the middle of the 14th century, the town erected walls on a limited surface, consolidated by two towers. After 1400 the existing walls are expanded in height and three more towers were equipped with water moats and guarded roads to protect the area surrounding the St. Margareta church. The ensemble made up of these fortifications carries the name of the Castle.

The St. Margareta Church (pictured) is one of the sites tourists can visit while in town. Set at the center of the entire fortifications complex, it was first mentioned in 1447 as “Die Evanghelische Pfarrkirche der Heiligen Margarethe aus dem Marktflecken Mediasch.” Some of the paintings inside the church represent the coat of arms of the Batoreşti family and of Matei Corvin. The gothic style construction accommodates works by P. Demosch and S. Möss (1679), while the 1678 organ was designed by Sibiu Saxon craftsman Johann West.

The tower of the construction, known as the Trumpets Tower, is erected on the old structure and stands as a symbol of the town and of the Târnava Mari middle region. At 68.5 meters tall, the tower was among the first constructions in the world up until 1969. The bell dates back to 1488 and signals the hours with the help of a mechanically-actioned hammer.

The many towers of the medieval Mediaș are among the city’s top attractions. The Bells Tower, also called the Gates Tower, used to host the church bells, the oldest one being inscribed with the year 1449. It was initially built out of stone and brick and, at the 1695 repairing works, only bricks were used for the upper levels. The Tailors Tower, given to the care of the tailors’ guild, had dumping holes, highlighted by support consoles and arches surrounding them.

The Tower of Maria has battlements giving it a distinct personality and served as a chapel during pest epidemics. The Tower of Ropers stands on the west side of St. L. Roth house and became the ‘bacons’ tower during the 19th century because the entire Saxon community would store the smoked bacon here. The School Tower can be found at the west of the Ropers Tower, while the Parochial House, built on the outside of the first defense wall of the Castle is the oldest built housing in Medias. The House of the Chaplain was built perpendicular to the wide side of the parochial house, creating the sensation of an interior yard. The covered stairs, a way to access the castle, has a vault built in the late Gothic style and has on its levels access doors to the old prison and kinder garden.
The old city hall, firstly documented in 1583, was built above several vaulted rooms, at the level of the Ferdinand I square. It is here where several landmark houses are located. The Schuller House is remarkable partly because of the restoration works performed by Hermann Fabini. It was first documented in 1588 and served as a residence for the descendants of the Schuller family. A pub and inn functioned here for a long time. Today it hosts a range of cultural and artistic events. Another stop could be the Rosenauer House, built in 1621 in the style of the Transylvania Renaissance. During the renovation works between 1790 and 1793 the façade was improved with rich stuccos. Also to see is the Schuster Dutz House, which belonged to the Saxon poet, was built around 1690 and used to house a pharmacy between 1783 and 1900. In its turn, the Guggenberger House hosted until 1790 a school for a religious order of the Piarists. 

All in all, plenty of sites to see. And when they are exhausted plenty more await in the surroundings, where many fortified churches can be found.

Photos: Wikipedia, mediaslive.ro

While this city on the Black Sea coast makes for a perfect summer destination, it has plenty of sites tourists can visit in any other season. One of Romania’s largest cities and an important port, Constanța is also one of the oldest settlements on the country’s territory. It was established around 600 BC and used to be known by the name of Tomis. Museums, historical monuments, a micro-reservation and sunny beaches are just some of the attractions the city has to offer.

One of the city’s best known symbols is the Casino, a historical building (pictured) which is in heavy need of restoration. Although currently closed, visitors can still admire it while talking a walk on the city’s pier. The Casino was erected during the reign of King Carol I. It was built in the Art Nouveau style, according to the plans of Daniel Renard, and inaugurated in August 1910. In May of this year a new a tender was announced for consolidation and renovation works estimated to require EUR 7 million.

An ethnically diverse city, Constanța hosts several mosques, testimony of its Turkish and Tatar population. The Grand Mosque of Constanța or the Carol Mosque is one of the most important architectural monuments in the city. It was rebuilt also during the reign of King Carol I and inaugurated in 1913. It took the place of the old Mahmudie mosque, named after Sultan Mahmud (1808-1839) and built in 1823 by Pasha Hafız Mehmed. The new edifice displays a unique style, combining the Egyptian- Byzantine style with Romanian architectural insertions. It stands in Ovidiu Square, which visitors can admire from the top of the mosque after climbing the 140 spiraling steps of the 47 meters minaret of the construction.

The Ovidiu Square bears the name of the Roman poet Ovid, who was exiled here by emperor Augustus. A contemporary of Virgil and Horace, he is often considered, alongside them, as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Island of Ovid can be found ten kilometers away from Constanța, on lake Siutghiol. The island is said to be the place where the poet used to do his writing. Although specialists found no evidence of the poet’s stay here, it is still a nice site to visit, within the reach of a boat ride. For more insight into the ancient settlements here, the Constanța Archaeological Park keeps the ruins of the Tomis city.

Also on the city’s pier is the Genoese Lighthouse, honoring the Genovese merchants who established a prosperous sea trade community here in the 13th century. The 7.9 meters tall lighthouse was rebuilt in 1860, on the basis of a 1300 Genovese lighthouse on site, by Armenian-born French engineer Artin Aslan.

The city’s History and Archaeology Museum is also worth a stop. It hosts various pieces belonging to the Neolithic cultures of Hamangia and Gumelnița, including the statues of ‘the sitting woman’ and the ‘thinker’ of Hamangia, dating back to the 5th millennium BC. The museum also counts in its patrimony various agricultural tools, Greek-Roman amphorae, statues of Greek gods, and more notably, the white-marble Glykon snake and the Scythian kings- engraved coin collection.

The Romanian Naval Museum offers visitors an insight into the history of the local naval forces with the help of more than 37,000 pieces, from coins and drawings to tens of ship reproductions. Another good site to visit is the micro-reservation, part of the city’s Natural Sciences Museum. Inaugurated in 1985, it gives visitors a sample of the rich vegetation and wildlife in the Dobrogea region.

Photos: Wikipedia/ Roxana Postoiu, Adian Cadar

The Sturdza castle in Miclăuşeni, Iasi county, is ready to receive visitors after spending almost ten years undergoing restoration works. The castle can be found in the park of the same name and its reopening is part of the Travel to 1900 project, which aims to gather further funding to continue works on the edifice.

The Sturdza castle, property of the Moldova and Bucovina Metropolitanate, is now a Neo-Gothic construction built between 1880 and 1904 by Gheorghe Sturza and his wife Maria. The ensemble on site includes three monuments, all of them historical monuments: the 1787 Buna Vestire church, the castle and the surrounding 19th century park.

The castle dates back to the 17th century, it was rebuilt in 1752 and again in the 19th century. The Miclăușeni park was first documented in 1410. Simion Stroici built here a mansion at the beginning of the 17th century, the ruins of which could still be found on site at the beginning of the 20th century. By the end of the 17th century the domain enters the property of the Sturdza family and in 1752 Ioan Sturdza rebuilds the mansion. His son, Dimitrie Sturdza, built between 1821-1823 a church close by. Alecu Sturdza Miclăușanu, the son Dimitrie, sets up a 42 hectares surface around the mansion as a park, landscaped in English style, with ornamental trees and alleys surrounded by flower beds. A late Neo-Gothic style castle is built on the site of the former mansion between 1880 and 1904, after a project of architects Iulius Reinecke and I. Grigsberg. The castle is inspired by the Princely Palace in Ruginoasa and the Culture Palace in Iasi.

The castle can be visited Saturday and Sunday, between 12:00 and 17:00. Accommodation is available close by at Casa Macrina.

Miclăuşeni is 66 km away from Iasi, on the DN28.

Photo: Wikipedia.

A new entertainment park opened in the capital, in the Tei-Plumbuita park, in District 2 of Bucharest.

The main attraction of the park is the Ferris wheel, which is 63 meters tall and counts 44 cabins. Other entertainment options in the park are the 15-meter tall roller coaster, the electric cars, a swings area, slides and inflatable mattresses. A smaller Ferris wheel exists in the park. It 12 cabins which lift 16 meters high.

The entire park features areas themed after various tales.

The main attractions are open Tuesday to Friday, from 10:00 to 21:00, and Saturday and Sunday, from 10:00 to 22:00.

The city with a rich Art Nouveau heritage welcomes tourists interested in seeing its many monuments or sampling the life in East-Northern Romania. Close to the border with Hungary, Oradea is the capital of the Bihor county and is well known locally for its proximity to Baile Felix thermal resort, only eight kilometers away. The city stands on the banks of Crișul Repede river, which cuts the city in two.

Starting with February 2012, Oradea is a member of the Art Nouveau cities network, an initiative of the Brussels Region Monuments and Sites Department. The Romanian city is a member alongside other European cities with a rich Art Nouveau heritage such as Helsinki, Barcelona, Glasgow and Budapest. The Art Nouveau decorative art and architecture style was prominent in western Europe and the USA from about 1890 until the First World War and is recognizable by its intricate linear designs and flowing curves. The Art Nouveau network found Oradea’s most impressive capital of artistic and architectural heritage to be the Secession style buildings, palaces built around 1900.

A tour of the city can start in Unirii Square, where the churches and palaces found on site combine seven architectural styles: Baroque, Classicist, Eclectic, Historical, Secession, Romantic and Neo-Romanian. Palatul Vulturul Negru (The Black Eagle Palace) is found here. Built in the Secession style on the former site of the Black Eagle Inn, the construction was meant to host a theater, ball rooms, a casino and offices. It stands out with the Y-shaped passage and the three entrances with floral and figurative motifs.

Biserica cu Luna (The Moon Church) has an astronomical clock depicting the phases of the moon. It was built in the style of late Baroque, with Classicist elements.

The Oradea Fortress is one of the most important late medieval architecture monuments in Transylvania. It was a significant religious, cultural and military landmark in its time.

The Baroque Palace of Oradea, which today hosts the Țara Crișurilor museum, was designed by Viennese architect Franz Anton Hillebrandt with the help of Italian engineer Giovanni Battista Ricca. It is one of the important Art Nouveau monuments in the city. The edifice counts 282 windows on its three levels. The palace belonged to the Roman Catholic bishop until 1945, when the Communist regime took it over. It was returned to the Roman Catholic Church in 2003. The museum hosts four sections: natural sciences, history, ethnography and art.

Standing at the heart of the city is the State Theatre, hosting the Regina Maria Theater and Szigligeti Theater. It was designed by architect Rimanóczy Kálmán Junior with plans by Vienna firm Fellner and Helmer. The two Austrian architects had built around 100 theaters and opera houses in Europe by the end of the 19th century

Various tours can get one acquainted to the city: a tour of churches, its palaces or a tour of the Secession. Oradea is also home to beautiful parks, art galleries, and many sites of rich history and culture to discover.

For a quick visit the option of taking the plane there is available and the Oradea International Airport re-opened in 2015. By car, the city can be reached via E81.

Photo: oradea.travel

Colibița, a village in Bistrița Bârgăului commune in Bistrița county, is often described as the area in Romania where locals and visitors breathe the purest air, comparable to what one experiences on the peaks of the Alps.

It is more than a touristic description. An air quality study showed that the value of the maximum ozone concentration measured on site stood at 90 micro-grams per cubic meter. The average value in Romania is of 72.6 micro-grams per cubic meter, while at over 120 micro-grams per cubic meter the air is no longer breathable, authorities with the Bistriţa-Năsăud county council explain in a report of a local news agency.

Air quality aside, the site impresses with stunning views of the lake winding through the mountains, several touristic attractions and trekking options.

Located at an altitude of 900 meters, Colibița sits between the Călimani and Bârgă mountains, in Northern Romania. It used to be a mountain resort from 1923 up until 1975 but accommodation facilities in the area started degrading and after 1980 the resort disappeared with the construction works at the barrage that gave way the lake. After 1990 several private villas were built in the area, and they now offer accommodation to those looking to enjoy the Colibița landscape.

Options for spending time here include hiking trails to Tăul Zânelor, a protected area surrounding the lake by the same name, or to Borcut mineral water spring, trails to Bistricioru peak or to the Tihuta high mountain pass. The later, by its Hungarian name of Borgó, is referenced in Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel as the gateway to the realm of Count Dracula. Mountain cycling, kayaking or fishing can also be added to the list.

Authorities in the region are hoping to turn Colibiţa into a resort again and are working to receive the status. There are however several conditions that need to be met, among which: a modernized, signalized road, public transport between the site and a train station or bus station, furbishing and public lighting for the walking areas, and a minimum 500 accommodation places in tourist housing in the area.

How to get there:

Colibița is 50 km away from Bistrița, on the E576 road to Vatra Dornei, going through Livezile, Josenii Bărgăului and Prundul Bârgăului communes. Once out of the Prundul Bârgăului, take a right through the Bistrita Bârgăului to reach the village.

Photo: Colibita Facebook page

The Nicolae Simache Clock Museum in Ploiesti, a one-of-its-kind in Romania and southern Europe, reopened last week after undergoing restoration works lasting for more than two years.

The 1890 building hosting the museum went through an ample refurbishment process, supported with EU funding. The collection of the museum includes almost 4,000 pieces, ranging from solar quadrants and water clocks to clocks that need turning once every 365 days, clepsydras, tabletop clocks or pendulums.

Various historical pieces can be found in the Ploiesti museum, such two astronomical clocks manufactured in 1544 and 1562 by Jakob Acustodia (Holland) and Jeremias Metzker (Augsburg). Likewise, two golden clocks that belonged to King Carol I of Romania or tabletop clocks which belonged to local cultural personalities such as ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza and writers Mihail Sadoveanu or Vasile Alecsandri. Another historical piece in the museum collection is the water clock, designed by Charles Rayner in 1654 in London.

The most important category of pieces is that of pocket watches. The oldest piece of this kind in the museum was made by Philip Jakob Bickelman in Linz in 1652. Watches manufactured by famous French and English watchmakers in the 18th and 19th centuries – Julien Le Roy, Antoine Lepin, Abraham Louis Breguet, Benjamin Barber, George and Edward Prior -can be found here. The emergence of the serial watchmaker companies in the 19th centuries is also reflected in the collection with pieces done at Patek Philippe, Genève, Schaffhausen, Omega, Doxa, Longines, Hebdomas or Roskopf Patent.

A lot of other remarkable watches and clocks can be found here, making a visit worth a while. Ploiesti is at a 60-minute drive north of Bucharest, taking the DN1/ E60 or the Bucharest – Ploiesti highway A3.

The Nicolae Simache Clock Museum is located at 1 Radu Stanian St., close to the city’s Art Museum.

A new wing was inaugurated at the Dimitrie Gusti Village Museum in Bucharest, at the same time with the institution’s 80-year anniversary.

Nhe new section includes 30 houses which have been moved from various villages across Romania to the capital. Visitors will be able to find here an inn, a dance area as well as a playground for children visiting the museum. Besides constructions from various areas of Romania visitors will be able to find here a Minorities Alley, featuring a Jewish house from Maramures or an 1896 Saxon house from Sibiu.

The Village Museum in Bucharest was one of the first open-air ethnographic museums in the country and in Europe. It was established in 1936 following sustained theoretical and field research undertaken by professor Dimitrie Gusti, the founder of the Bucharest Sociology School.When the Bucharest museum opened in the 1930s, only two other such museums existed in Europe: the Skansen Museum in Stockholm, opened in 1891 and the Bigdo Museum in Lillehamer, Norway. In Romania, professor Romulus Vuia had opened in 1929 the Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania in Cluj.

The museum was designed to show visitors the reality of village life, as it was or is lived by the Romanian peasant. At the opening it stood on 6.5 hectares of land and featured 33 authentic complexes, transferred from the researched villages: houses with annexes, a church, technical installations and fountains.  One of the oldest constructions that can be admired here dates back to 1775. It is a household from Berbesti, Maramures county. Also among the oldest pieces are an 1800 Hunedoara household and a 1772 wooden church from Dragomiresti, Maramures county.

Besides visiting the patrimony of the museum, the public can sample the permanent exhibition selling items created by anonymous craftsmen: ceramics, textiles, wooden and glass icons, wooden objects, toys and furniture.

The Village Museum is taking part in the Night of the Museums event, when access to the New Village area of the place will be free between 19:00 and 22:00.

Photo: A. Anghel/ Photo source: Muzeul Satului Dimitrie Gusti Facebook page

City Compass Media is looking for an intern for an online research project over the summer for our English-language print guide City Compass Romania: Bucharest & Beyond, the 2017 edition; here is an excerpt of the 2016 edition.

The candidate should be a young Romanian native, highly efficient in finding information online, fast and thorough, and should enjoy and strive for clarity and accuracy.

This project – based internship can become a part-time or full-time job in our media organization for the right candidate. Please send an email to state your interest in this internship, as well as a CV, to Simona Fodor, [email protected].

The Romanian government adopted this week a decision by which the Văcărești Nature Park is officially established. Also known as the Văcărești Delta or the Delta of Bucharest, the area stands out with its biodiversity and formed naturally, over the past 25 years around the Văcărești lake, in the District 4 of the capital.

The 189 hectares site stands between Calea Văcărești, Olteniței Road, the Vitan-Bârzești Road and Splaiul Dâmboviței. It was brought to public attention after National Geographic Romania ran a story on it in 2012. The article was signed by Cristian Lascu and Helmut Ignat, and was titled ‘The Delta between Blocks.’

The Văcărești lake is an artificial lake, established as part of works alongside the Dambovita river, and it was meant to be part of hydrologic system of defense of Bucharest against flooding. Works on it started in 1986, when the Văcărești monastery was also demolished, but were stopped after 1989 and the site abandoned.

During this abandonment period, a diverse vegetation and fauna developed. Over 95 species of birds and water animals can be found in the area. Several otters, a protected species, were spotted on site in 2014. Specialists say the presence of this mammal at Văcărești is a sign of the health of the ecosystem.

Several species found here, protected by the local and European legislation, are subject to illegal hunting each year. With its new statute, the place will be protected by law and administered following ecological principles.

Photo: Helmut Ignat

The Palace of Culture in Iasi, hosting the Moldova National Museum Ensemble, is reopening its doors this week. The event marks the end of the restoration works at the Palace of Culture.

The building is the work of architect Ion D. Berindey and blends several architectural styles: neo-gothic, romantic and neo-baroque. It was inaugurated in 1925, by King Ferdinand of Romania, as The Palace of Justice. Starting with 1995 the edifice hosts four museums, gathered as the Moldova National Museum Ensemble: Moldova History Museum, Stefan Procopiu Science and Technics Museum, Moldova Ethnographic Museum, The Art Museum and the Research and Conservation Center for Cultural Patrimony.

The monument has 298 rooms and stands on a 36,000 sqm surface. During the Second World War it served as headquarters for the German and, later, Soviet, troops.

The reopening of the four museums will offer the public the opportunity to visit a series of temporary exhibitions, featuring patrimony items belonging to the Iasi institution, as well as two travelling exhibitions. One comes from the National History Museum in Bucharest and it is titled ‘Ancient gold and silver of Romania’, and the other from the Peles Museum in Sinaia, called ‘Art and ceremony at royal dinners.’
The refurbishment works involved the architecture and historical structures, the conservation and restoration of mural and wood paintings, the restoration of the stained glass, of the stone decorations, ceramics, metal and glass items.

The financing of the works was undertaken in a partnership with Council of Europe Development Bank. The total value of the works performed on site stands at EUR 26 million.

Photo: Ionel Pomana/Wikipedia

The month of May is the time of the year when peonies bloom, and one area of Romania has a unique place where this flower can be seen. It is the steppe peony reservation at Zau de Campie in Mures county. The reservation is 65 kilometers away from the city of Targu Mures and is the highest-altitude place in the world where steppe peonies grow, at 450 meters. Because of the warmer winter this year they started blooming earlier. They usually stay in-bloom for about seven days.
The peonies in the reservation, which covers 3.5 hectares, are between 10 and 30 centimeters tall. There are about 50,000 of them, 40,000 more than in 1950 but the flower can now be found only in the reservation, established in 1932 by Alexandru Borza. He is often regarded as one of the founders of Romanian School of Botanic.
During the Second World War, the steppe peony was saved from extinction and the surface of the reservation was expanded to 3.5 hectares by Marcu Sancraianu, who was the custodian of the reservation for 60 years, until 2005.
Other reservations in Romania where peonies can be seen are the one in the Macini mountains, in Dobrogea and the one at Comana, close to Bucharest. To get to the Macini reservation, one needs to follow the Cozluk route starting in Greci village. The route is accessible by car or by bicycle and is about 16 kilometers long. The reservation in Comana was built to specifically protect the peonies in the area, carrying the name of Scientific Reservation of Peonies. It was designed alongside the thorn plant reservation, on a 231 hectares area.

Photo: mures.citynews.ro 

The Deva fortress, one of the most important medieval fortifications in Transylvania, is set to reopen in April, after three-year long restoration works.

The fortress was closed between 2007 and 2012. Refurbishment works restarted in 2013 at two of its precincts, according to local media reports. These are the first restoration works conducted at the fortress since 1849, when the site’s ammunition deposits exploded, destroying the eastern side of the monument. The works were financed with funding coming from the European Fund for Regional Development and the Deva city hall.

The Deva fortress was erected during the 13th century but living traces on site date back to the Neolithic. Its first documentary mention is made in 1269, followed by another mention in 1444 when prince Iancu de Hunedoara receives the fortress ‘with all of its riches’, meaning 56 villages and gold mines. During the second half of the 17th century, prince Gabril Bethlen built here a bastion serving as prison and torture place. At the foot of the bastion he built the Magna Curia palace, a Renaissance-style building. In 1784 the fortress served as refuge place for the noblemen escaping the revolt led by Horea, Closca and Crisan. Around 1817, emperor Francis I of Austria had the place refurbished, with works on site lasting for 12 years.

The monument is accessible by foot but also with a cable car, running between 09:00 and 21:00 May through September and 08:00 to 20:00 October through April.

How to get there:

From Bucharest, you can take the E81, the DN1/E60 and DN1/E68 or the DN1/E68 as shown here. Once in the city, the fortress can be found behind Stadionului St., as shown here.

Photo source: cetateadeva.ro.

A plasma globe, lightning recreated in a lab and a tesla coil are some of the attractions of the newly opened Experiments House in Bucharest. The venue is the first non-profit scientific center in the country and offers students the opportunity to learn in an informal environment. It has a permanent display of scientific exhibits which were created to allow learning while visitors play and interact with them.

The center aims to put to good use kid’s love for play rather than of reading and targets children in kinder gardens, schools, high schools as well as their teachers and educators, and families in Bucharest and Ilfov county with a ‘science for all’ motto. It was developed in partnership with Swiss Technorama Science Center and benefits from the know-how transfer from the Swiss Romanian Scientists Network.

At some of the workshops visitors can attend while on site, they can find out what happens when a candle burns and afterwards, what is the ‘nothing’ that surrounds us all, and what can and cannot be done with a microwave oven.

Science enthusiasts can also organize birthday or other type of parties here, with various shows in the program as the center has a dedicated Party Room.

The official opening is set for January 25th and entrance is free for the first six months.  The venue is located on Calea Vitan Barzesti.

Photo source: Casa Experimentelor Facebook page

Romanian history fans and particularly those interested in the personality of Prince Constantin Brancoveanu can now add a new spot on their list of sites to visit as the Potlogi court is now open to the public.

Built in 1689, it includes the Brancoveanu palace, the ruins of the old princely house, of the help house and those of a repair shop for carriages. The court is surrounded by a tall brick wall and its entrance is marked by an arched gate. The court is divided into three parts: one for the staff, one for the military and one exclusively for the princely family. The Sf. Dumitru church can also be seen on the right side of the entrance.

The estate is representative for the residential architecture of the end of the 17th century, and is designed in an elaborate style, featuring gardens and water areas.

The ensemble, which is now open following RON 40 million restoration works, has first underwent repairing in 1915. After Brancoveanu was killed in 1714, the palace was devastated. During communist time, its decay further advanced and the site even served as an animal farm.

Now, with a new outlook, the ensemble will be included in a national tourist circuit alongside the Mogosoaia palace and the Targoviste court.

How to get there:
The Potlogi commune can be found 45 km north of Bucharest, following the E81.

As old as the 17th century, the Cotroceni complex in Bucharest has its beginning tied to the local prince Serban Cantacuzino who built it, west of Bucharest, between 1679 and 1681. Standing out within the complex, which is today the residence of the president of Romania, were the church, similar to the episcopal church in Curtea de Arges and the palace, built according to baroque architecture, typical of the Western Europe civilization of the time.

The complex was modernized during the rule of Prince Barbu Dimitrie Stirbei, who in 1852 establishes the Cotroceni gardens, one of the largest in the capital. French architect Paul Gottereau built the princely palace between 1893 and 1895, redone after 1977. A new wing was added to the palace at the same time, hosting today the headquarters of the Romanian presidency.

Through time Cotroceni served as residence for the local princes. In 1895, the newly built palace was meant for Ferdinand de Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. After the 1918 union, Queen Marie left her mark on the palace, with various improvements bearing her artistic vision.

Those visiting the Cotroceni can get the opportunity of finding out more not only about the many landmark events in local history that took place here but also see its many and varied parts. These include the old royal cellars, the pavilion, the annexes of the palace (the garage, the gardener’s house), the military buildings, the chapel, the royal train station, several funerary monuments and the extensive gardens. All in all, plenty of history on site, the only residence in local history that kept its initial purpose for such a long time.

The museum is open Monday to Sunday, from 9.30 to 17.30. Visits can be made only with previous appointment, in groups of maximum 15.

Photo source: Wikipedia

The Banloc castle, the only one in the Banat region of Romania, is one of the country’s historical monuments whose potential is left unseen and unexploited, mainly for lack of funding.

Located 50 kilometers away from Timisoara, the once imposing castle and its gardens now stand derelict after years of neglect and a 1991 earthquake that inflicted serious damage. The castle was erected in 1793 by Lázár Karátsonyi. The descendants of the Kárácsonyi family sold the castle in 1935 to the Queen Elizabeth of Greece, the sister of King Carol II of Romania. After the queen left the country in 1948, the property was nationalized. The statues in the surrounding park were vandalized and the library and archives were burnt down. From 1950 to 1958, the castle served as a retirement home and as an orphanage, and it also hosted a school.

The castle is seeing recently support for its transformation. The Romanian Cultural Institute is organizing here on October 31st the first concert in a series of events meant to offer a new life to the place. The ancient music ensemble Flauto Dolce and Nicolae Voiculet will perform at the castle, the venue where Franz Liszt gave one of his last concerts for Queen Elizabeth of Greece. More details about this event can be found here.

How to get there:

By car, from Timisoara, take the DN59/ E70 for an approximately one-hour drive.

Photo source: Wikipedia, Panoramio

A lesser known site but nonetheless interesting is the national museum dedicated to Romanian engineer and aviation pioneer Aurel Vlaicu. The museum can be found at the border between the Hunedoara and Alba counties, in the village carrying the pilot’s name.

The collection of the museum is telling of the aviator and inventor activity that Aurel Vlaicu undertook. Having served in the Austro-Hungarian Navy and on an engineer’s position with the Opel car factory in Rüsselsheim, Vlaicu first built, together with his brother, a glider which he flew in the summer of 1909. He then moved to Romania and obtained financing from the Romanian Ministry of War and the Minister of Public Education to build his first powered airplane. He flew it for the first time in 1910 over the Cotroceni airfield. In 1911 he built his second model, with which he competed in the International Flight Week in Aspern-Vienna. He was awarded in this competition for precision landing, projectile throwing and tight flying around a pole. The third model, unfinished at the time of his death, was built on a contract for the Marconi Company for experiments with aerial radio.

Documents, drafts and graphs related to this activity as well as personal items are all part of the collection of the museum.  Visitors can see here the bicycles the inventor equipped with various engines, his toolkit, and also the project designs of his personal inventions. All in all, a museum worth the visit for those interested in aviation, engineering or local history.

How to get there:

A five-hour drive by car from Bucharest, taking the E81 as shown here.

At around one hour drive from Bucharest, on the way to Prahova Valley, sits Ploiesti, a city of around 200,000 people and the ninth most populous in Romania. A transport hub and an important industrial and oil industry center, Ploiesti emerged as a trade and manufacturing town in the 17th and 18th centuries. During the 19th century the city was an important oil extraction and refinery site, which also made it the target of the Allies during the World War II. Ploiesti is also known as the place of the self-proclaimed Republic of Ploiesti, a short-lived 1870 revolt against the Romanian monarchy.

Although not a traditional tourist destination, the city is home to several unique museums in the country. The Oil Museum opened in 1961 and hosts several historical oil extraction equipment, oil-based street lamps and various items documenting the history of the oil industry in the area and in the country. The Clock Museum, currently undergoing renovation, hosts almost 1,000 items from all over Europe, among which a 1634 wood pendulum activated by a water fall, the first pocket watch, tower horologes and many other pieces crafted by British, French or Swiss master watchmakers.

Also on the cultural side, the city is home to the Ploiesti Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the top-rated philharmonic orchestras in the country. Architecturally, there is a wealth of 19th century buildings to see but also the 1785 Hagi Prodan Museum. Built by local merchant Hagi Prodan, it exemplifies old Romanian architecture and for a short time it also hosted the first museum in Ploiesti – the county museum.

You can see some of the city’s most historical parts by taking a walk on the Chestnuts Boulevard (Bulevardul cu Castani), which links its South train station to the center. On the way, you can check the building of the Clock Museum, the county Art Museum – hosting pieces by landmark Romanian painters such as Nicolae Grigorescu, Theodor Aman, Gheorghe Tattarescu, Ion Andreescu or Stefan Luchian – or the History Museum. A visit through the city wouldn’t be complete without a stop to the main market – Halele Centrale (pictured), hosted in a 1930 building designed by architect Toma Socolescu, whose name is linked to many works in the city whose mayor he also was.

Close to Arad, in western Romania, the locality of Macea hosts a beautiful historical monument and botanical garden surrounding it.

The botanical garden today belongs to the West University in Arad but started as a park developed by Tibor Karolyi around the castle his father had bought from its initial owner, Petru Csernovics. He hired gardener Josif Prohaska to manage the landscaping works and a pool, a fountain, a tennis court, rows of flowers and new alleys and many new species of plants and trees were added to the park between 1900 and 1902.

In 1935 the castle changes owners again, and approximately 10 hectares of woods are being cut from the site. After undergoing a period of unfortunate transformations between 1935 and 1968, the park receives the statute of ‘dendrologic site’ and under the supervision of professor Pavel Covaci the network of alleys is being rebuilt, new species are introduced and a greenhouse is set up.

If in 1968, around 60 ligneous species were growing in the park, over 2,000 species of plants and trees can be found today as part of the garden. Some of the species to be found here are the Maidenhair tree, the red cedar, the European ash or the Pagoda tree.

While visiting the garden, an important attraction point remains the Macea castle, built starting with 1724 by Serbian family Csernovics. Ranked as a historical monument, the castle combines baroque and byzantine elements with details of modern architecture.

How to get there:

You can take the E81 and DN7/E68 as shown here.

For those interested in the alternative venues of the capital, Halele Carol make a good example of a re-conversion that turned the former Hesper plant into a culture and events site. Along with other former industrial sites of the capital, such as the Bragadiru Palace and Factory or Customs Warehouse – the Ark, it stands proof of attempts to recover the city’s industrial heritage.

The plant started as a small shop established by Swiss engineer Erhardt Wolff in 1877 in Ghencea and transferred in 1887 on its current site. Soon the establishment expanded its activity and started manufacturing military equipment and installations for the heating industry. In 1921 the plot upon which the plant stood had a 15,000 sqm surface, it had its own internal railway and was directly linked through a deposit line to the railway station. During the Second World War, the plant manufactured mainly army-related equipment, while afterwards the production was geared towards equipment for the construction industry. The changing activity of the site is reflected also in the various names it carried through the years, from the Wolff-Hesper Factory to Steaua Rosie (the Red Star) to the present day Hesper.

Once a new the urban plan for the Carol Park area was elaborated, the site was included in the green area, where the existing constructions would be turned into multi-functional spaces, serving as locations for sports, exhibitions and performances. Since the beginning of the year Halele Carol accommodated music concerts of alternative bands, music festival Rokolectiv, a Nordic Film night and many other architecture and design events.

If you manage to visit the site by September you can still catch the current exhibition of works by Norwegian artists and architect. Tackling the theme of post-industrial design, the exhibition is organized in partnership with the Norwegian art center USF Bergen and includes five large wood and metal objects that are meant to improve the appearance of the space.

Photo source: halelecarol.ro

Spectacular water colors and an unusual development are the trademarks of the Vida Luncasprie lake in Bihor county. What sets the lake apart is the overflow in its middle, creating the impression of a whirlwind.

The lake is actually the accumulating site of a dam, built with a funnel-shaped overflow, meat to prevent the lower the water pressure on the dam in case of heavy rains. The overflow now sits in middle of the lake and gives it its unusual appearance.

The surrounding woods mirror on the lakes six-hectare surface making it change its colors with the seasons. The lake is about two kilometers long, running alongside a forestry road from where the entire scenery can be admired, away from noise, crowds and traffic.

The Vida Gorge is nearby and is also worth a visit. For those with a drive to explore more, the Rosia valley in close vicinity is home to tens of caves, the best-known of which are the Farcu crystals cave and the Meziad cave. The roads nearby are used for off-road sports while the lake is a good destination for fishing.

How to get there: take the E81 and DN76/E79, passing through Ramnicu Valcea, Sibiu and Hunedoara. The route can be checked here.

Photo source: www.bihorinimagini.ro

Romanian 15th century prince Vlad Tepes inspired many thrilling stories, most famously Bram Stocker’s Dracula character. What is less known is the Tepes castle in Bucharest, found in the Carol Park.
The castle is a replica of the Poenari fortress in Arges county, built at the beginning of the 13th century. The Bucharest castle however was built in the 19th century by King Carol I of Romania. The castle was inaugurated in 1906 as part of Romania’s General Exhibition held in the Carol Park to celebrate the king’s 40 years of reign. The exhibition was also meant to showcase the way in which Romania had progressed between 1866 and 1906.
Architects Stefan Burcus and V. Stephanescu worked on the plan of the building for which Carol I ordered a water tower. This was incorporated in the castle’s 23 meters tall tower and has a capacity to 200 cubic meters. Winding wooden stairs take the visitor to the tower platform where they can admire the view of the Carol Park and of Bucharest. The entire building is dressed in stone and red bricks.
After inauguration, the castle accommodated many exhibitions and was visited often by Romania’s royal family. During the 1920s it became a site where troops guarding the Monument of the Unknown Soldier were stationed and between 1942 and 1944 several additional barracks were built in the vicinity to accommodate further troops.
Starting with the 1990s, the castle was used as headquarters for a gendarmerie sub-unit and in 2004 it became the official headquarters of the National Bureau for the Celebration of Heroes, an institution under the custody of the National Defense Ministry.

Nowadays the castle opens for visiting only on Museums’ Night but you can still take in its architecture while taking a walk in the Carol Park. The address is 6 General Candiano Popescu St.

Photo source: www.hoteleos.ro