In the heart of Transylvania - Sighișoara

Romania, VII.2012, VII.2013

Travelling without a fixed plan and previous geographical inquiry has it's own irresistible charm. While it is possible to miss an important monument or festival, about which you just didn't find out, in the same time every new place that we land in is a surprise. Often there are completely unexpected wonders, and lack of prior knowledge and expectations adds a bit of magic of exploration. So rare in today's described and photographed world.

Frankly speaking, I ended up in Sighișoara by accident as an effect of a choice made semi consiously after a all-night hitchhiking from Slovakia to Tirgu Mureș. It's name sounded like straight from a fantasy book and was intriguing enough to lure me in. But one glimpse on the  Tarnava Mare river, red roofs and towers looking down from a fortified hills and I momentarily knew that I would stay here longer than waiting for another bus south demanded.

The view on main hill of Sighişoara from the Holy Trinity Church

What else than amazement to expect from a city established by German settlers, placed in Romania's region populated greatly by Hungarians? Wonderful mixture of cultures and rich history. Main area of architectonic wonders is the hill overlooking Sighişoara, of course. We can reach it with numerous paths, but the most impressive one leads through the gate in the Clock Tower. Over 60-meters high tower from 13th century is one of the landmarks of the city and currently hosts a historical museum.

The gate under the Clock Tower

After climb our attention is drawn to an enormous sized monastery of the Dominicans and the City Hall placed behind it. But the thing that inspires to get a bit deeper into city's history can be found directly between them - a monument depicting Vlad Tepes head, famous Dracula, without whom is hard to think about stereotypical Transylvania.

Cathedral of Dominican Monastery by night

Vlad Tepes

Sighişoara is a place, where the famous Vlad the Impaler has been born and spent first three years of his life, frolicing as a toddler. "Thanks" to that a whole business exploiting his legend can be found here - Casa Dracula restaurant and numerous accommodation facilities with names targeted for tourists seeking the glimpse of vampire stories. Commercialisation of this single topic is enormous, vampire references can be found on every step, what is being ridiculed by my Romanian friends: "Mister, buy a souvenir, here's the place where Dracula got down from his horse to take a leak!". That's a shame, because there are a lot of interesting stories connected with Transylvanian history lost in the shade of vampires and 15th century tormentor. Locals stated their anger with Dracula's legend while blocking the construction of a theme park planned in Breite natural reserve close to Sighişoara.

In the surrounding of the main market square there can be found charming cobbled streets with architecture characteristic for this part of Romania. The atmosphere is completely different during the day when the streets are bathed in the sunshine, and during the night, when you can stroll through the empty quiet streets lit by the lantern. So it is worth to come back to the same places later in the evening.

The streets of Sighișoara

The next thing that amazed me while discovering the main hill is that at one point I stumbled upon... a next hill on it. A flight of stairs covered with a wooden roof leads even higher, to the Church on the Hill. "Tunnel" that protected students from rain while climbing up to their school establishes a transition from loud market with it's lively voices to peaceful surrounding of the church. In a way it connects and separates to different worlds: physical and spiritual, human and divine. Why the atmosphere is so different from what we've left down below? As you go higher and higher, besides of the Church on the Hill you can also find an old lutheran cemetery with graves of the Saxon settlers.

 Covered staircase leading up the hill

The old cemetery

In the Church on the Hill concerts of the classical music often take place, so it is worth to check the program to not miss something. My experiencing Sighișoara is in great part connected to music, as I had chance to listen to the concert on the hill and during my second stay in this city I had an honour to stay in Vali Racila's house, one of the best Romanian bluesmen. Certainly I can advise to check if during your stay in Sighișoara you can hear him somewhere.

For the fans of festivals and fairs who don't fear crowds, the best time to visit Sighișoara would be the last weekend of July, when each year the  Festivalul Sighişoara medievală takes place. It's a great gathering of medieval brotherhoods, craftsmen, theaters and musicians, accompanied by stalls spread around the old town, and the city for few days turns into mixture between the medieval and present times. Many of the participants stay in camping Aquarius located in the center of the city and can be advised as a budget accommodation.

The stalls during medieval festival

Sighișoara is also a wonderful base for short trips into surrounding villages and little towns. In the tourist information you can rent a bike, definitely the best mean of transportation if you want to experience rural Romania, for example on the way to Biertan. The region is full of picturesque villages and fortified churches, but I guess this is a topic for a whole another story.

Bulgarian-Romanian spring greeting

Martenitsas in Veliko Tarnovo, August 2013

It is year 680, just a year after Bulgarians have arrived in the Danube Delta from what is now Ukraine. After they've established a fortified camp on Peuce island, worried Byzantine emperor Constantine IV sets off with a land army and a fleet to prevent the forecoming invasion. Bulgarians under the command of khan Asparukh are defending themselves on Peuce, while Byzantine emperor's health suffers from the swamp climate, so he leaves the siege. The rumors spread in the army, that emperor has fled, soldiers start to panic and desert. Khan Asparukh pursues the army and wins the battle of Ongala. To deliver the news of victory to the main camp, he send a pigeon with white threads tight to its leg. The pigeon gets wounded by an arrow, but heroically arrives to Peuce with white threads stained with its own blood.

What does it have to do with the spring? It is one of given (by Bulgarians, of course) origins of the tradition of Martenitsas (rom.Mărţişor), which can be found in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and northern Greece. In the first days of March people give each other bracelets and adornments made of white and red yarn. The receiver should wear them on hand or attach them to their close and keep them until the first signs of the spring - blooming birch tree or a stork coming back from the south. Some also add seeing a swallow, but one swallow doesn't make a summer, does it?

What has to be done after first signs of warmer days are spotted - you need to take off the bracelet and hang it on the blooming tree, sharing the happiness and health that you were experiencing during the period you were wearing it. Another option is to put it under a stone and checking after few days if there is some insect underneath. If it's a larva then we'll find happiness in the forecoming year. If it's ants we still will find our luck, but must work hard for it. Worse omen is when we find spiders underneath...

A good year, but also some short-term bliss is provided by one of the Romanian versions of martenitsas - where they are in form of necklaces with a coin attached. After seing a sign of the spring you have to trade the coin for red wine and white cheese (colours of martenitsa) and consume them due to temporary and future happiness.

The custom of martenitsas is widely connected to Baba Marta (rom. Baba Dochia), grumpy and moody old lady, personificating coming spring. Martenitsas are worn to plead the old lady and bring on the warmer days.

As one of the Romanian legends tell, the son of Baba Dochia, Dragobete, married a girl against the will of his mother. Angry and evil gammer sends her daughter-in-law to wash a piece of a dirty wool in the mountain river, and return only when it turns white. Though cunning lady gives her not dirty, but black wool. Desparate and freezing girl stars to cry, when a bearded old man appears (a God in disguise) and hands her a red flower, adising her to wash the laundry with it. The wool turns to white and happy girl comes back home to her husband. After hearing the tale Baba Dochia thinks that the spring came - hence the man had fresh flower. She takes her herd and wearing 12 coats sets of for the mountains. It gets warmer on the way, so she gradually leaves coats behind, but the tricky March weather turns around and evil Baba Dochia freezes.

Another Romanian custom tells about 9 coats, which were taken off by Baba Dochia. The coats stand for the first days of March - from 1st to 9th. In the end of February women choose one of these nine days as an omen - the weather that will come on this day will mark their happiness in the forecoming year.

The origins of the whole martenitsa and Baba Marta/Dochia celebrations aren't clear - are their Roman (since 1st of March was devoted to Mars), Tracian or other. The truth probably lays in the middle, with each culture contributing a bit in its own way, but these is why the folklore connected to the coming of the spring is so reach. And I hope the recepies will turn effective!