World Heritage in Romania - 2017

World Heritage in Romania

2017

romanianheritage.world patrimoniu.gov.ro

World Heritage in Romania

ROMANIA

Biertan. The village and the fortified church.

Photograph by Martin Rill

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a new approach in the implementation of The World Heritage Convention

Romania accepted the World Heritage Convention in 1990 and adopted specific legislation for its national implementation in 2000. According to this the National Institute of Heritage (NIH) – the national body in the protection of cultural heritage, coordinating activities such as research, restoration, enhancement and management of all categories of cultural heritage – acts as a Focal Point Institution regarding World Heritage in Romania.

Redefining the national strategy, followed by an action plan for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, were undertaken as top priorities of the NIH during 2016. Consequently, several key dedicated processes have been initiated and will be continued in 2017: →→ the revision of the national methodologies for monitoring, preserving and managing World Heritage in Romania was proposed by NIH to the Ministry of Culture and is expected to be approved by Government Decision in 2017 →→ the creation within NIH of a new World Heritage Coordination Unit, directed by the national Focal Point and dedicated to monitoring and managing World Heritage in Romania. The new unit will be operational by the end of 2017 and will include experts in cultural as well as natural heritage protection in a mixed team that will be able to coordinate the management instruments and monitor the seven World Heritage Sites in Romania: • Danube Delta (1991) • Churches of Moldavia (1993, 2010) • Monastery of Hurezi (1993) • Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania (1993, 1999) • Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains (1999) • Historic Centre of Sighişoara (1999) • Wooden Churches of Maramureş (1999) →→ the revision of the national Tentative List, comprising 15 positions dating since 1991, was initiated in 2016 through a national call for proposals.

Present positions and relevant new proposals were assessed by a scientific board and approved by the National Commission of Historic Monuments in the Ministry of Culture and National Identity and are to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre in 2017 →→ the preparation of nomination files was resumed with the revision of former “active” files such as The Historic Centre of Sibiu and its Ensemble of Squares (deferred in 2004) and The Brâncuși Monumental Ensemble of Târgu Jiu (withdrawn in 2015), and with preparing and submitting a new nomination, Roșia Montană Mining Landscape, a cultural landscape approach, the first in Romania.

Danube Delta

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1991 Ref: 588

CriteriA (vii) (x) The Danube Delta is an outstanding example of a dynamic wetland ecosystem on a vast scale, unique both in its European context and internationally. It is also a habitat complex of world value for certain rare and endangered species.

The natural landscape of the Delta – structured mainly by the three river branches of the Danube that flow into the Black Sea in the easternmost region of Romania – is consisting of a mosaic of river branches, channels, lakes of different types and sizes, reed beds, sand dunes, oak forests with Mediterranean vegetation. As the largest continuous marshland in Europe, the Danube Delta is an outstanding example of an important ecosystem and is of great importance for the conservation of diverse fauna and flora.

The Delta is a natural gene bank with inestimable value for the world’s natural heritage, with a high density of many species that are rare or extinct in other European areas. Of the 341 species of birds found in the delta, 12 species have been declared monuments of nature because of their endangered status. For two of these (pygmy cormorant, red breasted geese) the Danube Delta supports the majority of the world population. It has been recognized worldwide as nesting place for many other bird populations such as the White pelican and the Dalmatian pelican and hosts also important colonies of spoonbill and several nesting species of white-tailed eagle. The Danube Delta is a major stopover site (during spring and autumn) for millions of birds, especially ducks, white storks and numerous predators and the wintering host for huge groups of swans and geese. Also found in the delta are avocets, black-winged stilts, glossy ibises, reed warblers, mute swans, plovers, grebes, marsh harriers, falcons, egrets and gulls, etc.

Delta’s special natural conditions have favored the development of human settlements since ancient times. People have adapted to local conditions and formed many settlements (25 villages) spread throughout the entire delta, cultivating traditions and a rich culture that can still be observed on site. Houses and fisheries, specific to each major ethnic group living in this region (Romanian, Ukrainian, Russian-Lipovan), form an interesting inventory of vernacular reed roofed traditional architecture.

Besides being listed as World Heritage, the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve was recognized as a Man and Biosphere (MAB) reserve and also as “wetland of international importance, especially as waterfowl habitat”, according to the Ramsar Convention.

The Danube Delta is one of the largest deltas in Europe, including one of the most unspoiled wetlands on the continent. The Danube Delta is a real natural museum of biodiversity, including 30 types of ecosystems. The mosaic of habitats developed here is the most varied in Romania hosting, under the newest research studies, over 9.400 species of flora and fauna.

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Photographs by Helmut Ignat

Churches of Moldavia

Church of the Resurrection, Suceviţa Monastery.

South Façade. The Ladder of St. John Climacus

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1993, 2010 Ref: 598bis

CriteriA (i) (iv) The external paintings of the churches of Northern Moldavia cover all the facades. They embody a unique and homogeneous artistic phenomenon, directly inspired by Byzantine art. They are masterpieces of mural painting, and are of outstanding aesthetic value in view of their consummate chromatics and the remarkable elegance of the figures. They present cycles of events taken from the Bible and the Holy Scriptures, in the Orthodox Christian tradition. They represent an eminent example of a type of church construction and decoration adopted in Moldavia, which illustrates the cultural and religious context of the Balkans from the late 15th century to the late 16th century.

This group of eight churches with external mural paintings of Northern Moldavia, built from the late 15th to the late 16th century, are masterpieces inspired by Byzantine art: Church of the Holy Cross of Pătrăuţi; Church of Saint George, Voroneţ; Church of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist in Arbore; Metropolitan Saint George Church, St. John Monastery in Suceava; Church of St. Nicolas, Probata Monastery; Church of the Assumption of the Virgin, Humor Monastery; Church of the Annunciation, Moldoviţa Monastery; Church of the Resurrection, Suceviţa Monastery.

This is a very coherent group in terms of religious themes depicted on the murals and the representation techniques used by the regional artists. It is an aesthetic and spiritual programme dating from the 16th century. From an architectural point of view, they were sometimes older churches at the time of the programme of systematic exterior paintings, but the churches sometimes predated the programme of the painting addition. The majority of the wall paintings were completed over a twenty-year period, although some decorative elements date from the end of the 15th century. The period represents the reign of Stephen the Great (1457–1504) and his direct descendants, Bogdan the 3rd (1504–1517), Stephen the Young (1517–1527) and Petru Rareș (1527–1538, 1541–1546). The first and last were particularly involved in constant church building efforts. During the reign of Stephen the Great, the so-called “Moldavian style” would come together in architecture but also in the main iconography programs for interior spaces, which would last until the 17th century.

The Church of the Resurrection in Suceviţa Monastery, added to the List as an extension in 2010, is also the latest in the group, founded by the Bishop of Rădăuţi (later the Metropolitan Archbishop of Moldavia) Gheorghe Movilă and his brothers – its architecture dates from 1584–1586 and its mural paintings from 1595–1601.

Far from being mere wall decorations, the paintings form a systematic covering on all the facades and represent complete cycles of religious themes. Their exceptional composition and characters and the harmony of the colours blend perfectly with the surrounding countryside.

Church of the Annunciation, MoldoviĹŁa Monastery Church of St. Nicholas, Probota Monastery

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Church of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, Arbore Church of the Holly Cross (Rood), Pătrăuţi Church of St. George, Voroneţ Monastery.

West Façade. The Last Judgement

Church of the Resurrection, Suceviţa Monastery Church of St. George, Voroneţ Monastery

Monastery of Hurezi

Hurezi Monastery. Dionsies’ Porch and the chapel on the west side of the enclosure

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1993 Ref: 597

Criterion (ii) The monastery of Hurezi, in Walachia, is a masterpiece of the “Brancovan” style. It is known for its architectural purity and balance, the richness of its sculptural detail, the treatment of its religious compositions, its votive portraits and its painted decorative works. The school of mural and icon painting established at the monastery in the 18th century was famous throughout the Balkan region.

Founded in 1690, the monastery of Hurezi is the most important edifice built by Cantacuzene Prince Constantin Brânconeanu, the ruler of the Romanian principality of Wallachia between 1688–1714, a ruler educated in western humanistic spirituality and culture but also having a strong relation with Byzantium. Together with his family he was responsible for the creation of many monastic ensembles and churches in Wallachia, with mural paintings, richly adorned with sumptuous iconostases and other decorations. This artistic effort was followed by many other noblemen and church dignitaries, giving rise to the remarkable artistic flowering art, known as Brancovan art, representing a synthesis between the oriental Byzantine art and the western art, especially the Venetian one.

This monastic ensemble is the largest and most developed one, its architectural and artistic features make it unique both in Romania, and in South-East Europe. The ensemble of Hurezi displays a complex original programme, designed according to Renaissance structural patterns along an East–West axis, with a rectangular main precinct dominated by the Great Church, the catholicon, and the hermitage small churches placed outside the large precinct, towards the four cardinal points. The layout was planned according to the rules of the Athonite Order, around the catholicon – main church – which is enclosed by a wall, with the infirmary church (Bolniţa) in its neighborhood and surrounded by the Saints Apostles and Saint Stephen smaller hermitage churches.

The catholicon of the Monastery of Hurezi, dedicated to Saints Constantine and Helena, was built between 1690–92 and the interior decoration was completed two years later by the work of the Greek artist Constantinos, who founded the school of mural and icon painters of Hurezi. The Great Church, which was meant to house the necropolis of Prince Brâncoveanu’s family, is three-aisled with a very large narthex, following the pattern laid down by the church of the Monastery of Argeș (1512–17). The interior walls are entirely covered with frescoes in the tradition of Byzantine art – in the narthex, the lower tier of the walls is filled with votive pictures of Constantin Brâncoveanu, his wife, and their 11 children. The east wall of the exonarthex is entirely occupied by a large Last Judgment. The carved wooden iconostasis is of an exceptional high quality, combining decorative elements of Eastern and Western art.

Hurezi Monastery.

The catholicon church �St. Constantine and HeIena�

Hurezi Monastery. Watercolor, 1850, J. Freiwald

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Hurezi Monastery. The infirmary church (Bolniţa) Hurezi Monastery. Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu and his family.

Dedication scene in the catholicon church “St. Constantine and HeIena”

Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania

Biertan. The village and the fortified church

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1993, 1999 Ref: 596bis

Criterion (iv) The Transylvanian villages with fortified churches provide a vivid picture of the cultural landscape of southern Transylvania. They are characterized by the specific land-use system, settlement pattern, and organization of the family farmstead units preserved since the late Middle Ages, dominated by their fortified churches, which illustrate building periods from the 13th to the 16th centuries.

The seven villages in Transylvania that comprise this serial property are outstanding examples of a specific vernacular tradition in southeastern Europe: Câlnic, Valea Viilor, Biertan, Saschiz, Dârjiu, Viscri, and Prejmer each form a compact unit around a fortified church. Originally settled by Transylvanian Saxons and neighbouring Szeklers, these well-preserved, homogenous villages are representative of a group of about 150 such settlements with fortified churches that is unique in the world.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, the Hungarian Crown encouraged a German-speaking population of artisans, farmers, and merchants originating from the lower region of the Rhine and Moseley rivers to colonize its new territories. Known as Transylvanian Saxons, these settlers enjoyed special privileges as “guests on the king’s lands.” In exchange, they had to systematize and defend this vast region in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. The Saxons brought with them the Flemish pattern of land organization, characterized by compactness and regularity, tightly organized groups of farmstead units and households, and community cohesion, all of which contributed to their villages’ distinctive pattern of development. The urban form established during colonization – wherein the church and the community leader’s house stood at or near the centre of the village and houses were closely aligned along one or two streets or clustered around a square – can be easily detected in the present structure of Saxon villages in Transylvania.

Being situated in a region constantly under threat of Ottoman and Tatar invasions, the Transylvanian Saxons built fortifications. While their important towns were fully fortified, their smaller communities’ fortifications were focused on the central church, where defensive towers were added to help withstand long sieges and storehouses were included to safeguard the villages’ most valuable goods. The extent of fortification varies from a small enclosure around the church, to a row of fortifications around the church, to a complete fortress with multiple fortification walls centred on the church. The churches themselves have also been adapted to include defensive functions. These buildings often include many additions, ranging in age from the late Middle Ages when the churches were originally built to the 16th century. All of them are either Romanesque basilicas or single-nave churches of the late Gothic period. Many also include baroque elements, as the baroque style was very popular in the region during the late 18th century. Collectively, the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania provide a vivid picture of the cultural landscape of this region.

Saschiz. The village, the fortified churchand the citadel Valea Viilor. The village and the fortified church

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Viscri. The fortified church Dârjiu. The fortified church. Inner view with frescoes from 1419 The late-Gothic vault of the fortified church in Biertan

Prejmer. Fortified precincts with refuge rooms Saschiz. Front street with 18th –19th c. houses

Dacian Fortresses in the Orăștie Mountains

Costești-Blidaru fortress. Aerial view

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1999 Ref: 906

Criteria (ii) (iii) (iv) The Dacian fortresses represent the fusion of techniques and concepts of military architecture from inside and outside the classical world to create a unique style. The Geto-Dacian kingdoms of the late 1st millennium BC attained an exceptionally high cultural and socio-economic level, and this is symbolized by this group of fortresses. The hill-fort and its evolved successor, the oppidum, were characteristic of the Late Iron Age in Europe, and the Dacian fortresses are outstanding examples of this type of defended site.

The Dacian fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains are a remarkable group of Iron Age defensive works created in the 1st centuries BC and AD also as protection against Roman conquest. The extensive and surprisingly preserved remains are settled in a spectacular natural environment, in the central and western sector of the Orăștie Mountains, concentrated around the basin of the Grădiștea River (Apa Oraşului).

Built in the 1st centuries BC and AD under Dacian rule, these fortresses show an exceptional and unusual fusion of military and religious architectural techniques and concepts from the classical world and the late European Iron Age. The six defensive works, the nucleus of the Dacian Kingdom, were conquered by the Romans at the beginning of the 2nd century AD; their extensive and well-preserved remains stand in spectacular natural surroundings and give a dramatic picture of a vigorous and innovative civilization.

The Dacian civilization, reveals the exceptional historical value (the concept of fortified mountains) and exceptional aesthetical value (the remarkable suggestion of the sacred and impenetrable space of the divine) of the fortresses from the Orăștie Mountains: a grandiose, imposing architecture which used refined decorative effects, a monumental architecture carved in stone, wood and other materials.

The rhythm of the columns of the sanctuaries, the dwelling towers located at the highest places of the fortresses, in perfect resonance with the spirit of the natural environment, single out this ancient civilization. Dacia became a Roman Imperial province in 106 AD – this campaign is graphically depicted in sculpted reliefs unfolding around Trajan’s Column in Rome – and its fortresses were slighted.

As a result of the fortresses being abandoned after 274 AD and never being reoccupied, the authenticity of the remains is exceptional, in spite of the nature rebound and some dilapidation during history. The overall authenticity of the ensemble of sites is very high, large areas being under investigation for further research.

Costești-Blidaru fortress. Walls in “murus dacicus” technique Băniţa fortress on Dealul Bolii

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Grădiștea de Munte. Sarmisegetusa Regia, the capital of ancient Dacia.

The Great circular sanctuary and the “Andesite Sun”

Historic Centre of Sighişoara

Upper Town. Aerial view

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1999 Ref: 902

Criteria (iii) (iv) Sighișoara is an outstanding testimony to the culture of the Transylvanian Saxons, a culture that is coming to a close after 850 years and will continue to exist only through its architectural and urban monuments. Sighisoara is also an outstanding example of a small fortified city in the border region between the Latin-oriented culture of central Europe and the Byzantine-Orthodox culture of south-eastern Europe.

Sighișoara is located in the landscape of unique beauty of the Târnave area, at the junction of the Saeș river with the Târnava Mare river – a geographical position comprised of a triangular plateau. This positioning gives the site a particular urban configuration resulting from adapting the functionality of the site to the landscape.

The historic centre of Sighişoara is composed of a fortified site spread over a steeply sloping plateau dominated by the Citadel Hill and the Lower Town lying below. These two sectors always had complementary functions and form an inseparable group corresponding to the historic boundaries of the medieval town. Apart from 19th century settlements, the historic centre of Sighişoara has kept, with some variations depending on the successive development phases of the site, its original medieval urban fabric with its detailed allotment of buildings plots as well as its network of narrow streets lined with closely aligned rows of houses.

The organic relationship established between the Citadel – with its culminant point, the Hill Church (initiated in 1325), its main symbol, the Clock Tower (founded in the 14th century and extended in the 17th century), the nine still standing medieval fortification towers as well as other religious and civilian distinctive buildings – and the Lower town and between the human habitat and fortifications and the natural surroundings results in a unique structure and a distinctive and picturesque silhouette which dominates the entire landscape.

The settlement is characterized by a great density of buildings that hold individual value as historical monuments and, also due to the diverse topography, form expressive ensembles. The succession of pathways and urban spaces organized according to the topography, but also following interesting compositional principles, create together surprising picturesque effects.

The historical centre of Sighișoara continues to be inhabited to this day, being defined as the most representative medieval urban site in all of Transylvania, due to the fact that, in comparison to other historical cities in Romania, the historical centre of Sighișoara kept its fortified urban medieval structure and its fabric of high architectural quality almost unaltered.

View of the Upper Town and Lower Town “Schoolchildren’s” covered wooden staircase, 1656 View of the Lower Town and the Tanners’ Tower

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View of the Lower Town Tower’s Street and the Clock Tower The Rope Makers’ Tower

Wooden Churches of Maramureş

The wooden church in Plopiș

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1999 Ref: 904

Criterion (iv) The Maramureș wooden churches are outstanding examples of vernacular religious wooden architecture resulting from the interchange of Orthodox religious traditions with Gothic influences in a specific vernacular interpretation of timber construction, showing a high level of artistic maturity and craft skills.

These eight wooden churches are located in the Northern mountainous Romanian region of Maramureș, in eight different villages – The Church of the Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple (Bârsana), The Church of Saint Nicholas (Budeşti), The Church of Holy Paraskeva (Deseşti), The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin (Ieud Deal), The Church of the Holy Archangels (Plopiş), The Church of the Holy Paraskeva (Poienile Izei), The Church of the Holy Archangels (Rogoz), The Church of the Holy Archangels (Şurdeşti).

They are representative for the wooden church architecture of this part of Europe, built in the 18th and 19th centuries. These churches have preserved their traditional plan, composed of a naos and pronaos in the shape of a rectangle, and a pentagonal recessed sanctuary. A portico was added to the western facade of some of them. They are covered by a high, steep, double-pitched roof from which soars a tall bell tower with a gallery similar to stone Gothic churches, giving the churches their characteristic silhouette. The churches stand on a base made of stone blocks and pebble fillings. The wooden beams (in oak or pine) are arranged according to the Blockbau system and assembled by joints in the shape of a V, U, or T, to make the construction stable and flexible. The beams of the upper part of the walls extend beyond the junction points to form supporting consoles for the framework. The outer walls are usually embellished with a torsade motif, while structural components (consoles, door and window frames, balustrade, bell tower gallery, etc) are adorned with sculpted decorations. The three inner areas are covered by ceilings or vaults of different forms. The inner walls were completely covered with paintings during the second half of the 18th century and first half of the 19th century by travelling painters whose names are known. These painters belong to post-Byzantine traditions, but their iconography also reflects the ideas conveyed by the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. The canons of Byzantine art are reinterpreted in a graphic and decorative manner to create a more naive and refreshing style of painting. At the beginning of the 19th century, Baroque and Rococo paintings made their appearance in the wooden churches of Maramureș, probably through the influence of neighbouring countries.

The selected eight churches are outstanding examples of a range of architectural solutions from different periods and areas. They show the variety of designs and craftsmanship adopted in these narrow, high, timber constructions with their characteristic tall, slim clock towers at the western end of the building, either single- or double-roofed and covered by shingles. As such, they are a particular vernacular expression of the cultural landscape of the area.

The wooden church in Bârsana The wooden church in Rogoz

The wooden church in Desești The wooden church in Şurdeşti

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Wooden church in Ieud.

Mural painting. The Last Judgment. Patriarchs

Wooden church in Desești.

Prejmer, The fortified Church.sin Photograph

by Martin Mural painting.

The ancestral of Adam and Eve. Rill

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Institutul Naţional al Patrimoniului National Institute of Heritage 16 Ienăchiţă Văcărescu, Bucharest +40 21 336 60 73 +40 21 336 99 04 secretariat@patrimoniu.gov.ro

Church of St. George, Voroneţ Monastery.

Detail of the West Façade. The Last Judgement

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