Romania
I visited Romania with Lightandland in May 2025. The first images are taken around the city of Sibiu, famous for its Germanic architecture, the legacy of 12thC Saxon settlers that give Transylvania its widespread German heritage and influence. There follows photos of the nearby Astra Village Museum and its small active orthodox church.
We then moved on to Viscri (German: Weisskirch) which has a fine 13thC. fortified church, built by the ethnic German Transylvanian Saxon community at a time when the area belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary. Initially Roman Catholic, it became Lutheran following the Reformation. It also has an Orthodox church. Viscri is also famous as the place where Prince Charles purchased a property and regularly visits. He established a foundation engaged in restoration of the traditional farmhouses in the area and traditional crafts such as the blacksmith here pictured, visited by tourists. We arose early in the morning to witness the daily summer cow migration…the cows leave their individual owners properties and make their way with minimal supervision to pastures around the village. They return in the evening, navigating their own way home, with their owners waiting for them by the entrance.
These were our only attempts at the wildlife. Storks are commonly found. The bears are viewed from behind glass in the mountains near Brasov.
We also had the opportunity to attend roma festivities and the roma invited us into their house to witness their work making copper products and to take portrait photographs of the family. Colour, music and dance are an important part of the culture. There are four generations shown here. If you take a photo in colour, you see the colour of their clothes...if you take a photograph in black and white, you see the colour of their souls...so said somebody!
From Pestera, we visited a wool processing museum which gave us the opportunity for some nice portraits and detail.
We took to the landscapes around Pestera and Salciua.