Romania

ROMANIA Dennis Craggs May 2025

d Romania ineco-friendly May 2025.

Our starting man: ional Weisskirch), craftswith andLightandland apromoting picturesque village, renowned practices. for point was Sibiu but we soon moved on to Viscri (German: Weisskirch), uresque village, renowned for its rich cultural heritage and stunning landscapes. Situated near the Carpathian Mountains, it is ionally, h culturalit heritage has gained and stunning recognition landscapes. thanksSituated to the e for its well-preserved Saxon architecture, characterized by colourful houses, fortified churches, and cobblestone streets. The the ement Carpathian of Mountains, nowWorld King it Charles, is notable whofor advocated itsofwellis part of aPrince, UNESCO Heritage Site.

One the highlights is its fortified church, dating to the 13th c., which serves as a he rved Saxon architecture, of ruralSaxon traditions characterized and by the colourful natural built at a time when the area belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary. ol ofpreservation the ethnic German community's resilience, cape fortified in the region. churches, and arose cobblestone early infollowing thestreets. morning to ys,Roman Catholic, it We became Lutheran the The Reformation.

It also has an Orthodox church. The village is also known for sustainable tourism, with local initiatives emmitment ssisthe part daily oftoasummer UNESCO cow World migration…the Heritage Site. cows One leave of focused on preserving traditional crafts and promoting eco-friendly ces.

Additionally, it has gained thanks toc.,the involvement of Prince, now King Charles, who advocated for the ghlights individual is owners’ its fortified properties church,recognition dating and make to the their 13thway vation rural natural landscape in the region. We arose early in the morning to witness the daily summer minimal servesof supervision as a traditions symboltoofand pastures thetheethnic around German the village.

Saxon migration…the cows leave their owners’ return unity'sinresilience, the evening, built navigating at aindividual time theirwhen own way theproperties home, area and make their way with minimal supervision to pastures around the . They return in the evening, navigating their own way home, with their owners waiting for them by the entrance. ged heir owners to the waiting Kingdom for of them Hungary. by the entrance.

Initially Roman lic, it became Lutheran following the Reformation. It as an Orthodox church.

orage supplies with the for the consent partyofand thewith parents, a groom’s and these man ng ages a decorated are considered pole. binding Much partying by the community, ensues andeven music if ance cognized are an legally important or by the part church. of the culture. There are enerations shown here. We of course left long before all over.

Viscri we moved on to Pestera andmists Bran Castle, nts of the of the landscapes. fictional character Striking morning of Dracula, although regularly its one time home of Vlad the Impaler, possibly the inspiration for ents of the fictional character Dracula, although r,inBram the valleys Stoker, around never visited Sălciua. of it.

These It is are an caused important by its writer, Bram Stoker, never visited it It is an important tourist ation, more formore that reason I suspect because it had an important defensive role on the borders of Europe with the tmicro destination, climate conditions for that with reason cold than Iair suspect pooling than in mans others.

Between the wars, was given to the Romanian royal family and Queen Marie restored it into ssions se it and hadtrapped an important by thermal defensive inversions rolethe oncastle the and borders high mmer residence. dity ropefrom with local theunderground Ottomans and springs others. and river Between systems. the the always castlemake was given good to images the Romanian for those royal prepared family and for werestored spentcalls.. aitnumber of daysresidence. in the areas around Pestera and Sălciua in the Apuseni Mountains, capturing some morning nafter, Marie alarm into a summer landscapes. Due to an emerging underground river, mists frequently form in the mountainous area around Sălciua, ng wonderful scenic, foggy landscapes.

ugh photos foreign ofwas theinvestments degradation to revitalize colouring the we trespassed onto the land around the tailings dam and took nal stop atenvironmental the Rosia aimed Poieni copper mine where rowing These of waste. photos This mine showis one the of the significant largest stion. of thelake environmental degradation colouring the growing lake of waste. This mine, located in the Apuseni Mountains, ldest copper degradation, mining operations particularly Europe due and todates thein in Europe and dates back to Roman times. Modern exploitation eonmental of the largest and oldest copperinmining operations ruction to Roman of a times. large and Modern growing exploitation tailings dam of to the manage mine mine commenced in the late 20th century, when the Communist government recognized its potential for large-scale genced waste. inThis the dam late poses 20th became c., when risks of contamination Communist to er production.

The mine a the state-run enterprise, contributing significantly to Romania's national economy. waterways, nment recognized affecting its biodiversity potential for and large-scale water quality copper in the extraction of large volumes of copper ore. Following the fall of nces in mining technology during this period allowed ction. gion. Acidic Itinbecame run off athe state-run from exposed enterprise, minerals contributing can leach including decreasing profitability and environmental concerns munism 1989, mine faced various challenges, cantly metals to into Romania's the environment, national economy. leading to Advances long-term ugh foreign investments aimed to revitalize thein operation. These photos show the significant environmental gical gdation, technology damage.

Additionally, during this mining period activities allowed have the particularly due to the construction of a large and growing tailings dam to manage mining waste. This dam pted ction local ofof large habitats volumes andof contributed copper to soil erosion. risks contamination to localore. waterways, affecting biodiversity and water quality in the region. Acidic run off from ed minerals can leach heavy metals into the environment, leading to long-term ecological damage. Additionally, mining ies have disrupted local habitats and contributed to soil erosion. Community concerns over these environmental ts have sparked debates on sustainable mining practices, raising awareness about the need for better management ehabilitation efforts to protect the surrounding area. For me, this was something of an eye opener for environmental s but I suspect that the visit was included in the schedule only because it makes for interesting photos.

Sălciua ed symbol at theoffoot rural of the landscapes, Piatra Craiului commonly Mountains. seenI ng d not on electric have considered utility poles it to andberooftops a tourist in highlight villages. The of st niadensities but I thought of storks theare photos found were in Transylvania, worthy of ially ing here. in Saxon villages like Dumbrăvioara (often called "Stork Village") and Cristian, where university rchers e way there, and conservationists we spent some time actively waiting bandfor chicks a stork to or offtheir frommigration its nest next andto health. the road.

is Craggs